Miao Yunwei explained gently, “The eldest sister sprained her waist. All the liniments are here. She should be fine after resting for a couple of days, just avoid heavy work during this time.”
The man politely accepted them, saying, “Thank you.”
Chen Aping also thanked Miao Yunwei with a cheerful smile, “Comrade, thank you for your trouble. It’s not easy for a young girl like you. You should hurry back and rest.”
After Miao Yunwei left, the man asked, “Cousin-in-law, do you really like this ticket seller?”
Chen Aping nodded without hesitation, “The girl is kind-hearted and attentive. It’s not my first time coming to the provincial capital. The two ticket sellers I encountered before were both seasoned veterans—the bus was empty, and you couldn’t see anything. This time was different.
The girl speaks softly and gently, even handing out trash bags to everyone and reminding them how to use them. During breaks, she cleans the bus spotlessly, and there’s even a pleasant fragrance!
When she found out I was injured, she took the initiative to help me with my luggage as soon as we got off the bus. My heart was truly warmed. From now on, I’ll only take this girl’s bus!”
The man nodded thoughtfully.
The next day, Miao Yunwei and Miao Pingkang returned to Quan City. Cai Zhiming had already prepared two hundred jin of sweet potatoes.
Spotting the bus pulling over from a distance, he immediately ran over to help the passengers load and unload their luggage, taking the opportunity to update Miao Yunwei, “The two hundred jin of sweet potatoes are over there, two large sacks in total. They’ll take up about the space of two people’s luggage. What should we do then?”
Miao Yunwei brushed it off playfully, “No problem, no problem. Wait a moment. Many passengers on this bus only brought a little luggage, so there’s plenty of extra space. I’ll go rearrange the luggage to make room—it’s simple. I used to work as a loader, so I’m very familiar with the luggage compartment.”
Cai Zhiming wanted to help, but Miao Yunwei dodged his attempts. After she finished rearranging, there was indeed an empty spot at the outermost edge.
He quickly carried the first sack of sweet potatoes over, and Miao Yunwei pushed it further inside, followed by the second sack.
The two large sacks were placed at the very back, with the passengers’ luggage closer to the door.
Miao Yunwei crawled out from inside and immediately closed the luggage compartment door.
“Done. More people will get off in Xiamen, so the luggage compartment will be even emptier.”
Her words interrupted Cai Zhiming’s train of thought. He nodded and said, “This time, it’s the same as before—already divided into one point eight, no tickets needed. They said they want to exchange for sugar, and if tickets are required, that’s fine too.”
Miao Yunwei breathed a sigh of relief, “That makes it easier! I was worried they wouldn’t provide tickets. Sugar is a hot commodity—even employees at the sugar factory can’t just pay without tickets.”
Cai Zhiming nodded repeatedly in understanding, “The main issue is that supplies here have been cut off. Occasionally, when restocking notices are posted, they’re sold out in less than an hour. Even with money and tickets, you can’t buy any—that’s the real problem.”
Miao Yunwei turned and headed to the rest area, counting out three yuan and sixty fen to give to Cai Zhiming.
It was time to depart.
When the siblings returned to Nanxi City Bus Station, Miao Yunwei actively helped the loaders with their work, moving the passengers’ luggage out. Once it was mostly done, she removed her ten cubic meters of space.
She pulled the two sacks of sweet potatoes down.
Just as the luggage compartment door closed, Miao Jianguo suddenly appeared beside the siblings, “What are you doing? What’s this?”
Miao Yunwei was startled. Turning to see who it was, she immediately broke into a smile, “Dad! You came just in time. Help me take these sweet potatoes home first. There’s also a sack of melon vines Mom wanted—I’m not sure if they can still be planted.”
Miao Jianguo took a sharp breath, glanced around, and first loaded a bag of sweet potatoes onto the vehicle, telling Miao Yunwei to ride his bicycle back home.
He himself rode Miao Pingkang’s bicycle.
Since Miao Pingkang still had to report on the situation, Miao Jianguo went home alone first, pulling the other bag of sweet potatoes.
Once home, he pulled Miao Yunwei aside with a serious expression. “Who taught you to do this? You’ve only just become a regular employee, and you dare bring back so much stuff? What if someone reports you?”
Meng Suling, who had been inspecting the items nearby, was startled and lost her smile, her brows furrowed tightly. “Jianguo, is it really that serious?”
Miao Jianguo stomped his foot in frustration. “Yes! It’s only because we’ve been lucky these two times—there was enough space in the luggage compartment. What if there wasn’t enough room? Do you think people wouldn’t complain? Zhang Xiuqing and the others dare to do this because they’ve long figured out the tricks, and they have some connections. They know what they’re doing. Can our family compare? I’ve worked hard there for decades, and I’m terrified of making even the slightest mistake. Do you understand?”
Miao Yunwei obediently accepted the scolding, neither promising to change nor refusing to do so.
Meng Suling glanced at her daughter and then at her husband, stepping forward to smooth things over. “Alright, alright, the child knows she was wrong. Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll go make something for her to eat.”
After all, this was his beloved second daughter. After saying those words, Miao Jianguo also felt uneasy and muttered gloomily, “You rest well first. I’ll go pick up your brother.”
As soon as he left, Meng Suling hurried into the main room. “Your dad is just like that—don’t mind him. Did anyone gossip about you bringing back so many sweet potatoes this time?”
Miao Yunwei shook her head honestly. “Mom, it’s only two hundred catties of sweet potatoes. They’re heavy, so at most, it’s two sacks—not that much. They said they want to exchange them for brown sugar, not money. Later, you can ask around the compound to see who’s willing to trade brown sugar for them. Lower-grade brown sugar is six mao per catty, and good-quality is seven mao per catty. The sweet potatoes are still priced the same as last time.”
Meng Suling paused for a moment and quickly asked, “What about the sugar residue? How should that be calculated?”
Miao Yunwei was momentarily stunned, stroking her chin in thought. “How about four mao? Calculating it at four mao should be fine.”
“Deal! We’ll keep a hundred catties for ourselves. I’ll ask your Aunt Xiao if she wants the remaining hundred catties.”
Aunt Xiao was Xiao Xuemei, known throughout the sugar factory compound for her warm-heartedness and resourcefulness. She had a good relationship with Meng Suling, and more importantly, she worked in the sugar factory’s finance office—a trusted confidante of the leadership.
Miao Yunwei gave Meng Suling a thumbs-up and asked curiously, “Mom, did Dad say anything after he came back last night?”
Meng Suling shook her head. “His vehicle returned before dark, and he went straight to handle the early retirement procedures. When he came back, he said he didn’t have to go to work starting today and asked about you and your brother.
Of course, I said everything was fine. Your dad was overjoyed. Early this morning, he went to the building materials factory and brought back several bags of cement. The backyard wall is already half a meter high.
He’ll continue tomorrow, and it should be done in three or four more days. Your dad said there aren’t many people in the backyard, and we’ve collected plenty of stones, so we can make it taller. He plans to build it two meters high and tie bamboo spikes at the very top.
He can do whatever he wants with it. We’ll just go to work as usual.
Also, I’ve been thinking—since you and your brother have different work schedules, not having a bicycle is inconvenient. I’ll give you my bicycle to use, and I’ll just walk to work.”
Miao Yunwei quickly shook her head, “Mom, forget it, one car is enough for me and big brother to go to work. When I come back, you can just have Dad pick me up! Occasionally, he can even help me bring some things back!”
Meng Suling raised her eyebrows, “What? Are you really not afraid of death? You still want to buy things?”