Li Hong had barely finished speaking when Aunt Chen slapped her hard. “How dare you talk like that! Weren’t you going out? Go on, get out of here!”
After scolding her daughter, Aunt Chen turned apologetically to Yan Sisi. “My daughter’s spoiled. Just ignore whatever nonsense she says.”
“Mom, why are you always taking the side of outsiders? Who’s really your daughter here?” Li Hong shot a glare at Yan Sisi, who was sitting on the stool with her porcelain-white face, then sneered, “If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to bring such a tiny amount of stuff over.”
Yan Sisi felt her face flush red. She had hidden some of the things under the vegetables because she feared Aunt Chen might refuse them, but it was true that Aunt Chen had been injured because of her, an unchangeable fact.
Seeing this, Aunt Chen’s expression turned stern. She thought her daughter had been spoiled too much and lacked basic social etiquette. She glanced at her eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Yun, who immediately went forward and pulled her younger sister-in-law outside.
Once the commotion cleared, Aunt Chen lowered her gaze to the basket of fresh vegetables and praised, “Xiao Yan, your relatives really grew these well. Winter’s coming soon, and it’s not easy to have vegetables this fresh now.”
With her years of experience buying vegetables, she could tell that these had been carefully tended; otherwise, they wouldn’t look this good.
Yan Sisi, wearing her red scarf and showing her porcelain-white face, replied awkwardly, “My relatives have a greenhouse. Even in the cold weather, they can grow vegetables inside, so we can still have fresh vegetables in winter.”
She remembered that in the book she had read, the heroine had a friend whose family ran a greenhouse. That explained how fresh vegetables could be grown even in winter, perfect for explaining the origin of her own vegetables.
Aunt Chen, hearing “greenhouse” for the first time, asked curiously, “Really? You can grow vegetables in winter?”
“Of course! Otherwise, you wouldn’t see vegetables of this quality even at the market,” Yan Sisi replied. When she noticed Aunt Chen’s daughter approaching again, she became nervous about interacting with her and stood up, pretending she had something to do. “Auntie, I still have some things to do, so I’ll be going now.”
As she turned to leave, she passed the doorway and clearly heard a cold snort.
Li Hong, watching her walk away, reached into the basket and began scrutinizing the vegetables. “Mom, just this little bit of vegetables and she’s already won you over?”
Aunt Chen lightly patted her daughter’s hand to stop her from rummaging, then pulled out the disheveled vegetables. Just then, her eldest daughter-in-law noticed the treats hidden under the vegetables: sponge cakes, brown sugar, and White Rabbit candies.
Li Hong, realizing what she had just said, blushed furiously. After a long pause, she muttered, “Why hide the things you came to give?”
Yan Sisi had no idea what had just happened at Aunt Chen’s house. Back at her own home, she realized her money was running low and planned to try selling some of the vegetables from her space that afternoon.
When Yan Sisi entered the space, she saw that the tomatoes and peppers were already bearing fruit, and bright red strawberries were scattered on the ground. The strawberries looked fresh, glossy, and inviting.
She couldn’t resist and squatted down, gently picking one and putting it in her mouth. The sweet taste immediately filled her tongue, so sugary it seemed to reach straight to her heart. When her teeth touched the fruit, a subtle, indescribable fragrance wafted up.
The strawberries grown in the space were completely different from the ones she had eaten before. They were bigger, sweeter, more fragrant, impossible for anyone to resist.
Yan Sisi ate more than ten strawberries before stopping. Out of the twenty or so she had planted, she had only picked a few. These strawberries were not only delicious but also abundant.
She left the space in an instant, intending to grab a plate from the kitchen. But before she could open the door, she heard someone entering the house. Her heart jumped, and she froze at the doorway for several seconds. Then she quickly slipped off her shoes and tossed them under the bed, climbed into the blanket, and closed her eyes. The entire movement was seamless.
The next moment, the door opened. Seeing her daughter still in bed, Yan Sisi’s mother quietly closed it again.
Hearing the door close, Yan Sisi finally exhaled in relief, cautiously opening her eyes to glance toward the door. Soon, she heard the sounds of cooking from the kitchen. She quickly got out of bed, tidied up her traces, and pretended to have just woken up. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her mother with a surprised expression: “Mom, you’re back?”
“I arranged the timing with someone. I’ll go there early this afternoon,” her mother said, moving efficiently to start cooking. Seeing the vegetables on the table, she asked in surprise, “These vegetables are really fresh, Sisi. Did you buy them?”
Yan Sisi froze for a moment, then nervously replied, “Yes.”
Oh no! She had forgotten to put away the vegetables on the table. Her heart raced, but she still looked at her mother expectantly.
Her mother picked up a stalk of greens and examined it. The milky-white stem connected to tender green leaves, and when she gently pinched it, water seemed to appear. Each leaf looked fresh and delicate. She praised, “These are so crisp and juicy. Where did you buy them? Since when does the market have vegetables this good?”
“I met an old man by the roadside. These are vegetables he grew himself,” Yan Sisi said, smiling despite her fib.
Her mother immediately set the vegetable down, worried. “You didn’t go to the black market, did you? That’s not a place for you.”
Yan Sisi shook her head quickly at her mother’s anxious expression. “No, I didn’t. I just happened to meet an old man on the roadside. There was no one around.”
At this time, it was still the planned economy era, nearly a year before the market economy described in the book would appear. People didn’t dare sell openly on the streets; everything had to be done quietly in corners.
After being scolded a bit, Yan Sisi obediently returned to the living room and started reading her language textbook.
About half an hour later, her mother called loudly from outside the room, “The food’s ready! Come get the dishes.”
“I’m coming!”
Yan Sisi set the stir-fried greens on the living room table, while her mother carried over the fish soup and mixed-grain rice. They both sat down to eat, and Yan Sisi reached for the greens first.
The first bite was crisp, tender, and juicy, with a subtle salty flavor and a hint of the vegetable’s natural oiliness, blended with the fresh crunch, it was incredibly delicious.
When Yan Sisi lifted her chopsticks again, her mother had already taken several bites and said as she ate, “Sisi, you picked these greens really well. Next time, buy more if you see them.”
Earlier, her mother had scolded her about not buying roadside food, but now she clearly found it irresistible. Yan Sisi teased lightly, “But didn’t you say I shouldn’t buy roadside things? What if someone caught me?”
“Child, are you silly? If you can’t buy it, at least you can trade for it, right?” Her mother said, reaching for the greens again.
Seeing that most of the vegetables would be eaten, Yan Sisi quickly stopped talking and began mixing the greens with rice, eating heartily.
By the end of lunch, Yan Sisi’s stomach was full. Although the meal was simple, just stir-fried greens and fish soup, it was very satisfying. She thought that if she could dig a pond in the space to raise fish or shrimp, it would be even better.
After washing the dishes, Yan Sisi’s mother packed the leftover food into an aluminum container and said to her obedient daughter still seated at the table, “I’m going to deliver your father’s meal. I won’t be back for a while, so behave at home.”
Yan Sisi nodded obediently, “Don’t worry, Mom, I promise I’ll behave.”
Of course, sometimes her legs had a mind of their own, and she couldn’t resist the urge to go out.
After waiting a while for her mother to leave, Yan Sisi borrowed a scale from Aunt Gu next door and learned how to use it before heading back home.
At home, she retrieved a thin hemp rope and scissors from the kitchen, preparing to tie up the vegetables later.
With the basket, rope, scissors, and scale ready, she locked the door firmly and carried everything into the space. She started with the small harvested greens, weighing out half a pound per bundle, did the same with the spinach, then harvested some peppers of similar size, about ten peppers per pound.
Yan Sisi placed the weighed vegetables in the basket, arranging the tied bundles of greens, spinach, and peppers around the outside, and layered some fresh greens in the middle. She then added some strawberries on top to attract buyers.
After cleaning up, she feared being seen carrying the basket outside, so she stored it in the space. She returned the scale to Aunt Gu and even gifted her a bundle of greens. Before leaving, she observed the surroundings of the housing compound.
Seeing few people outside, she hurried back home, changed into an old sweater and seldom-worn cloth shoes, tied a blue scarf she found in her mother’s room around her head, and rubbed some dirt on her face. She looked like an inexperienced country girl, ensuring that people in the compound wouldn’t recognize her, before heading toward the black market she knew of.
As she walked, she discreetly retrieved the basket from the space when no one was around and covered it carefully with a cloth before continuing.
The closer she got to the black market, the quieter her surroundings became, and her steps faltered. The next moment, someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind. Frightened, she opened her mouth to scream, but the person quickly covered her mouth. She heard a familiar, firm voice in her ear:
“Are you trying to get yourself killed? There are people at the black market. Turn back immediately.”
The person then took her arm and said warmly, “Cousin, I finally found you! Didn’t I tell you to wait where you were? How did you end up all the way out here? My mom’s been worried sick at home.”