Before the sun had even fully risen, and the sky outside the window was still a sheet of ink-blue, Lixia was woken up by her mother’s voice. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she sleepily groped for her clothes and put them on, her teeth still chattering—the early morning chill seeped through the cracks of the dilapidated window, making her feel cold right down to her bones. Father Yuan was already packed and prepared, clutching a cloth bundle in his hand that carefully wrapped the ten pearls. The father and daughter stepped out of the house into the morning dew, walking along the field ridges toward the main street. The dirt road beneath their feet was full of potholes. After walking for nearly half an hour, they finally spotted the utility pole hanging a wooden sign that read “Bus Station.”
Not long after, the “chug-chug-chug” sound of a motor drifted from a distance, and a dark green bus wobbled over, its chassis splattered with quite a few mud spots. Father Yuan quickly picked Lixia up and rushed to the bus door in a few strides. The door opened with a “creak,” and a wave of heat mixed with the smell of gasoline surged out. Carried into the vehicle by her father, Lixia quickly found a seat near the front—she got motion sickness, so sitting near the front would make her slightly more comfortable. Just as they sat securely, the conductor walked over carrying a canvas bag on her shoulder, her voice booming: “Tickets, please! Three dimes per person to the county seat!” Father Yuan hastily fished out the money and handed it over, carefully folding the bus tickets before tucking them into his pocket.
The bus drove at a leisurely pace, stopping whenever it passed a market town to open the doors, let people off, and let people on, stopping three times in total. Leaning against the window, Lixia watched the scenery outside change from agricultural fields to low-roofed tile houses, and then into slightly neater streets, quietly counting the time in her heart. Finally, the bus stopped at an intersection hanging a sign that read “XX County Seat,” and the father and daughter followed the crowd off the vehicle.
The streets of the county seat were much more bustling than those in the village. By the roadside were stalls selling breakfast, with steam billowing from the food steamers, and vendors pushing bicycles while crying out their wares, their bells clinking “ting-ling-ling” without stop. Father Yuan was clearly not a frequent visitor to the county seat; he held Lixia’s hand tightly, a look of constraint in his eyes as he glanced east and west to find his bearings, even slowing his pace a bit. Seeing that her father had hit a snag, Lixia walked toward a girl not far away who was wearing a floral shirt and a ponytail—the girl wore clean cloth shoes and carried a canvas bag in her hand, looking refined and fashionable, presumably a local resident of the county seat.
“Hello, older sister,” Lixia said, tilting her small face up, her voice sweet as honey. “May I ask where there is a place that sells rings? My dad wants to buy a ring for my mom.” She didn’t directly mention selling pearls, fearing it would attract unwanted attention; mentioning buying a ring was much more natural instead.
The girl looked down and spotted Lixia. Although the padded jacket the little girl wore was washed until it was faded, with patches sewn onto the cuffs, her hair was combed neatly and her face was perfectly clean, exuding a touch of cleverness. The girl couldn’t help but smile, pointing her finger toward the left: “Look, around the corner up ahead is the state-owned store, they sell jewelry inside.”
Lixia cast a glance in the direction she pointed and quickly pulled Father Yuan to offer her thanks: “Thank you, older sister!” Having said that, she yanked her father toward that direction, whispering to him, “Dad, the state-owned store that older sister mentioned definitely buys pearls! They sell jewelry, so perhaps they also buy these valuable things.”
Father Yuan instantly let out a sigh of relief in his heart, secretly rejoicing that he hadn’t listened to his wife last night and had brought Lixia along—this girl’s cleverness was much better than a coarse man like him who only knew how to farm.
The father and daughter turned a corner and soon spotted the signboard of the “State-Owned Department Store,” with red background and yellow characters, exceptionally eye-catching. Stepping into the store, a comforting wave of heat enveloped the two of them. The shelves were piled with various merchandise, ranging from fabrics to enamel mugs, a feast for the eyes. Lixia spotted the jewelry counter at a single glance, where silver bangles, copper rings, and a few slender necklaces were displayed inside the glass case.
Father Yuan pulled Lixia over to the counter. Looking at the people coming and going around them, his lips moved, but he felt too embarrassed to speak—he had never dealt with so many city folks in his life, and his heart felt apprehensive. Seeing her father like this, Lixia let out a helpless sigh and tiptoed, gesturing for Father Yuan to pick her up. Resting both hands on the counter, she tilted her small face up toward the sales assistant inside: “Older sister, do you buy pearls here?”
The sales assistant was a young woman in her twenties, wearing a blue work uniform with a Chairman Mao badge pinned to her chest. Hearing the little girl’s words, she was first stunned for a moment, then glanced at Father Yuan beside her, asking in a gentle tone, “Do you want to sell pearls?”
“Mhm, mhm!” Lixia nodded vigorously. “We have pearls we want to sell.”
Father Yuan also quickly joined the conversation, his voice a bit tight: “Comrade, we do indeed have some pearls, we don’t know if you buy them here.”
“We buy them, wait a moment.” Seeing that this father and daughter were dressed simply and their eyes were sincere, not looking like swindlers, the sales assistant turned around to speak with a colleague beside her, then said to them, “Come with me, talk to the manager.”
Following the sales assistant past the shelves, they arrived at a room in the back hanging a sign that read “Manager’s Office.” The sales assistant spoke a few words to a middle-aged man wearing glasses inside, presumably explaining that Lixia and her father had come to sell pearls, and then turned around to leave. The manager stood up, a gentle smile on his face, and said to Father Yuan, “Hello, please take a seat.”
Lixia pulled the still-constrained Father Yuan into a seat. Before Father Yuan could speak, she asked first, “Uncle, what is the price for buying pearls here? Does it depend on whether the pearls are good or not?”
The manager was amused by her directness and nodded, saying, “Yes, the price of a pearl depends on its quality, such as whether it’s round, bright, or has any flaws; all of these affect the price.”
Father Yuan quickly fished out that cloth bundle from his chest and opened it with extreme care. The ten pearls lay inside the cloth, gleaming with a faint pearlescent luster under the light. He handed the cloth bundle over: “Please take a look, how is the quality of these pearls?”
The manager took the cloth bundle, pulled out a magnifying glass from his drawer, and examined them carefully one by one. He first picked up those seven pearls that Lixia had taken out from the system, his brow relaxing: “These seven pearls are not bad, round, with a bright luster, and no real flaws.” He then picked up the three that the fourth brother and second sister had found. “This one is slightly inferior, but still counts as regular. The last two are a bit small, and their luster is also weaker.”
After finishing his examination, the manager set down the magnifying glass and said to Father Yuan, “For these ten pearls, for the seven inside that are of good quality, we can give 30 yuan per piece; for this medium one, 20 yuan; and for the last two, 10 yuan per piece. Added together, it’s seven times thirty, plus twenty, plus twenty, for a total of 250 yuan. What do you think of this price?”
Hearing this, Father Yuan’s eyes instantly lit up, and his hands trembled a bit—250 yuan! To their household, this was simply an astronomical figure! He had never seen so much money in his life; for a moment, he was too excited to speak, merely nodding his head continuously.
Listening from the side, Lixia actually felt a bit hesitant—she didn’t know if the purchasing price in the city would be higher, but on second thought, she was just a young village girl, how would she know about prices in the “city area”? Being able to sell them for this price in the county seat was already very good. If she questioned further, it would arouse suspicion instead. Thus, Lixia obediently closed her mouth and said nothing more.