The “gossip king” went by the nickname Caini’er—no one knew her real name. She was a young girl of about ten or so.
Her daily routine was also gathering pig feed, and after she was done, she’d wander around the village. Wherever there was excitement, she’d be there!
Her mother was the number-one gossip in the village, though she wasn’t the type to spread rumors—she just loved to ask around. She’d never talk outside, mostly just sharing the latest news with her family behind closed doors.
Most of Caini’er’s information came from her mother, with the rest from her band of friends who ran around everywhere.
Su Yun often ran into her on the mountain. For just a couple of fruit drops, she could get a whole pile of village gossip.
Who got into a fight with whom, which village girl secretly had a crush on a male educated youth, which two families were at each other’s throats over what, and so on…
By now, Caini’er considered Su Yun a kindred spirit. She knew this educated youth sister loved watching the drama as much as she did. Whenever there was a commotion in the village, if it was on her way, she’d even come fetch Su Yun to join the spectators.
Speak of the devil—just as they entered the village, Su Yun spotted Caini’er squatting by the roadside. She got off the cart and walked over.
Su Yun patted Caini’er on the shoulder. “What are you doing here? It’s so windy and dusty today—go play in the village.”
“Sister Su Yun, I’m waiting for my mom. She went to the county too.”
“Which one is your mother?” Su Yun was curious. She’d never met Caini’er’s mother, the one who held the village gossip in her hands.
“The one in blue. I’m going to help my mom carry her things. I’ll come find you to play tomorrow!”
Caini’er waved and skipped toward the cart.
Su Yun followed her gaze. Caini’er’s mother had been sitting in a corner the whole ride, barely saying a word. Su Yun had assumed she was just a quiet auntie, but now she realized she’d probably been silently watching the show all along—a quiet spectator.
Back at the educated youth site, Su Yun handed An Qin and Liu Huan the items and photos she’d brought for them. She told them she was going to take an afternoon nap and didn’t want to be disturbed, then went into her room.
As usual, she bolted the door first. She took out the mirror and placed it on the kang cabinet, and put the basket away.
Then she began carefully inspecting today’s haul:
The milk powder came in an iron can, labeled “Red Star Brand Whole Milk Powder with Sugar.” A full catty per can—enough to last Su Yun quite a while by herself. She’d keep it in the kang cabinet and have a cup every night to supplement her calcium.
What surprised her a bit was the small medicine kit. This was likely a medical kit specially issued by the hospital to health workers or barefoot doctors at village clinics.
It was a reddish-brown wooden box, not large—just a bit bigger than a modern woman’s makeup case.
Under the latch, a red cross was painted, and on the lid were the words “Serve the People.” On both sides, sturdy canvas straps were attached so doctors could sling it over their shoulders when making house calls.
Opening the lid, the inside was divided into compartments and stocked with quite a few items: a thermometer, a stethoscope, red flower oil for bruises and sprains, bottled hemostatic powder, gentian violet solution, gauze, cotton bandages for wound dressing, a small bottle of cold medicine, burn ointment, and a copy of The Barefoot Doctor’s Manual.
Su Yun went ahead and put the fever reducer in there too. This kit would take up one storage slot on its own—life-saving items obviously needed to be accessible at a moment’s notice.
She took out The Barefoot Doctor’s Manual and flipped through it. Her eyes widened in surprise—she’d expected it to be a collection of folk remedies for common ailments, but the content turned out to be remarkably comprehensive and detailed.
The manual covered over twenty chapters, including diagnosis and treatment of common diseases, emergency care, Chinese herbal medicine, preventive healthcare, and more, all presented with illustrations.
From common coughs, vomiting, and diarrhea to more complex conditions like pneumonia and cardiovascular diseases—it covered them all. It also included preventive knowledge such as mosquito control and rabies prevention, as well as first-aid techniques like wound bandaging.
There were also many treatments combining Chinese herbal medicine with Western drugs—for example, using purslane plus anti-diarrheal medicine to treat dysentery. It was a true integration of Chinese and Western medicine, perfectly suited for rural areas where medical resources were scarce.
Su Yun even saw sections on midwifery, pediatric common diseases, acupuncture and massage, and gynecological conditions!
She was genuinely impressed by how comprehensive it was. She decided that after finishing that thick botany book, she’d study this manual too—though it wasn’t exactly thin either. For now, she put the manual back in the medicine kit and continued looking through her other items.
At the bank today, she’d checked in several times in a row, receiving a total of 110 yuan. Adding that to the 20-plus yuan she had left, she now had 130 yuan in her storage grid and over 7 yuan in her cloth bag.
She’d also checked in several times at the textile factory entrance. The first time, she got 3 skeins of wool yarn. Su Yun thought that was a bit too little, so she kept checking in. On the second try, she actually got five catties of cotton!
Su Yun was so excited she almost jumped for joy!
She’d been worrying about not having cotton to make a thick winter padded coat! It hadn’t even occurred to her that the textile factory could produce cotton! What a windfall!
She knocked herself on the head—how stupid could she be!
The fabric at textile factories was made from cotton, after all!
After that, Su Yun used all her remaining check-in opportunities at the textile factory. Cotton was something you couldn’t buy even with money and coupons!
This region had brutally cold winters, and the demand for cotton was high. Most of the brigade’s land had to be used for grain, leaving very little for cotton.
And even the cotton that was grown had to be turned over to the commune. Villagers generally only planted a bit of cotton in the corners of their private plots—barely enough for their own large families, so they wouldn’t trade it with anyone.
City folks who wanted to buy cotton had to have cotton coupons, and even saving up a whole year’s worth might not be enough to make one padded coat. Plus, the supply cooperative was often out of stock.
So cotton for warmth was extremely scarce in this era, much more valuable than fabric—which was exactly why Su Yun had dumped all her check-in opportunities on it.
Checking her interface, today’s haul in her storage grid also included 10 skeins of coarse wool yarn, 12 catties of cotton, plus a ready-made outer garment and a pair of long pants.
The top was a fall jacket—a khaki-colored work-style piece. The pants were black corduroy.
The two pieces matched perfectly and would be good to wear when the weather cooled down. For now, she folded them and put them in the wooden chest at the foot of the kang.
The coarse wool yarn was light gray, with each skein weighing half a catty. Two skeins would be just enough to knit a women’s sweater. She put those in the wooden chest too.
When Su Yun was a child, she’d worn sweaters and wool pants knitted by her grandmother. As a teenager, she’d also learned how to knit from her grandmother, and she still remembered how to do it.
In a couple of days, she’d ask the carpenter for a few knitting needles. Then, in her spare time, she could start knitting, aiming to finish before autumn so she’d be ready when the temperature dropped.