Since she was going regardless, after getting her money, she had to stock up on supplies to make her life comfortable enough.
Though the first two-thirds of her past life were rough, the latter part was very comfortable. She definitely wouldn’t be able to eat coarse anything anymore.
More importantly, her grandfather and the rest of the family in that area were all destitute now. They needed to be subsidized as well.
When her grandfather found her in the 90s, he was already as thin as bones and flesh, and his body was riddled with weakness. He was also alone, with every member of the family dead for various reasons.
He had held on to find her, but he wasn’t able to hold on for much longer after that. When he died, he died with a smile, because he could be with the rest of his family again.
At the time, she felt a little bitter.
So happy that you left me alone? She asked, but that was already when she was facing his casket.
She had few regrets in her past lifetime, and her family—not including her mother—had been her greatest regret.
She looked at her document with a determined expression on her face.
Earlier this year, just like in her past life, there was a strong earthquake that terrorized the far North. Tens of thousands perished, but at least there were warning signs that were acted upon, otherwise, there would’ve been more casualties.
In another year, there would be another major earthquake that would once again shake the northern part of the country. That one, however, was stronger and directly affected Baisha Village. Unlike the previous one, it did not have warning signs.
Hundreds of thousands perished in that disaster, with several provinces experiencing damage that they had never experienced before. Among the casualties were her family members who had been sent down to different provinces in the region.
In this life, she would save her family. She wouldn’t let grandpa witness losing everyone anymore.
In this life, she swore that they would all live well!
...
The first thing she had to do was gather funds. The job test wasn’t until tomorrow. The best thing she could do for now was sell what she had.
Buying and selling outside the official stores owned by the state was illegal during this time. To get things outside of the institution, it could only be through the black market.
This era was characterized by control and scarcity. The rationing was very strict, and most things needed tickets or coupons, on top of money, to purchase. Generally speaking, anyone with means would find the amount rationed to them lacking.
However, even if one had money, there was a limited amount they could buy. There were also those who simply could not get tickets, which also had limited channels. Hence, the black market emerged.
But how to find the black market? Obviously, it wasn’t a place that would be easy to find. After all, the punishment for getting caught was either imprisonment or years of hard labor, not to mention the social stigma associated with it.
She was going to sell the first batch of peas and potatoes she had harvested before. She planted a bit from this batch, but those would not be ready in a while.
With these planting activities, her space has now expanded from a small bathroom to approximately two by two meters in area and two meters in height. The batch she planted in the hospital had also matured. Once she replanted the seeds and eyes from the first-generation potatoes and beans, the space would see another upgrade. After putting aside the eyes and pods she’d use for replanting, she had nearly a hundred jin of potatoes and 50 jin of beans in stock, and she was planning to sell most of them.
She took a basket she got from the house and placed it on her back. It was a common design that every household had. She added a bit of the things she was selling and then covered the top with fabric.
She walked around to find some clues. As she did so, she added some light disguise. When entering the black market, people would have some sort of cover on their face for security reasons.
She was already wearing Wang Dashan’s big jacket, which was loose on her petite frame. She then took one of the plain shawls she got from her mother’s room and wrapped it around her head and face.
She straightened her gait, hoping to appear a bit imposing, though to no avail. There was no way: she was too thin and small.
Since the Black Market was illegal, there were naturally no signs leading to it. It was often a network of people and informal trading spots. Finding them relied heavily on connections.
Connections, network..., friends—at this point in her past life, she had none of these.
She was suppressed so much that she was forced to stay at home. Had she not performed very well at school and had her teachers not specifically visited her home to stop the withdrawal of enrollment, her mother would’ve stopped her from studying too. After all, when she was at school, who would clean the house?
The compromise was that she’d go home every day and complete her chores regardless, which was what she did despite the trip to school taking at least an hour each way on foot.
In such a repressed life, how could she make connections?
But no matter—
Since she didn’t have it, she’d have to make them.