Seeing Li Meiling grinning from ear to ear, Yun Yixuan couldn’t help but be affected by her excitement and smiled as well. Still, she calmly reminded her, “We only managed to get such a good price this time because we had wild ginseng. Ordinary medicinal herbs alone wouldn’t have earned us nearly this much. Doctor Meng also paid us a little more for the other herbs because of the wild ginseng. We shouldn’t expect to get such a high price next time.”
Her voice was gentle and steady, like a refreshing breeze that helped calm Li Meiling from her excitement.
“I know. As long as we can make some money, that’s already good enough. At least we won’t have to go hungry anymore.”
Li Meiling smiled happily, her eyes shining with contentment.
In this era of scarce resources, having even a little extra income was already an enormous blessing for her.
Looking at Li Meiling, Yun Yixuan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. People in the 1970s were so easily satisfied. Their happiness was pure and simple, yet incredibly genuine.
Yun Yixuan casually draped an arm around Li Meiling’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“Come on. This big sister will take you somewhere even better and broaden your horizons.”
Her voice carried a hint of teasing confidence, as though she were about to introduce Li Meiling to an entirely new world.
Li Meiling mercilessly pushed her away and pretended to be annoyed.
“Oh, give it a rest. What do you mean, ‘big sister’? I’m older than you, remember?”
She even gave Yun Yixuan a dramatic eye roll before breaking into a smile.
“Come on, then. Take your big sister somewhere we can keep making money.”
The two continued down the street, laughing and teasing each other along the way, attracting curious glances from passersby.
They walked while asking for directions, but Li Meiling grew increasingly puzzled. She couldn’t understand why Yun Yixuan was taking her to the scrap recycling station.
Seeing the confusion written all over her face, Yun Yixuan smiled and explained, “The scrap station is the only place where we might be able to find old high school textbooks.”
Li Meiling became even more confused.
What did they need high school textbooks for?
Yun Yixuan smiled, lowered her voice, and leaned close to Li Meiling’s ear.
“In less than two years, the country will restore the national college entrance examination. When that happens, we’ll have a chance to attend university. It’ll also be our opportunity to leave this place.”
Her words struck Li Meiling like a thunderbolt.
Li Meiling stared at Yun Yixuan in shock, her eyes widening as though she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“Really?”
Her voice trembled slightly with disbelief, but her eyes were already filled with surprise and anticipation.
Yun Yixuan smiled mysteriously, her expression brimming with confidence.
“Of course. Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, and I know.”
A trace of caution appeared in her eyes, as though she were guarding an earth-shattering secret.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
Li Meiling gave her a firm promise, tears glistening in her eyes.
They were tears of hope for the future.
In an era where there seemed to be no way out for them, the restoration of the college entrance examination was like the first light of dawn, illuminating the road ahead.
The scrap recycling station was located inside a dilapidated courtyard.
The gray earthen walls, about the height of a person, were badly weathered and looked as though they might collapse at any moment, like an old man nearing the end of his life.
Whenever the wind blew, the battered wooden gate creaked loudly, as though telling the story of all the years it had endured.
An elderly man in his fifties sat near the entrance. His hair was streaked with gray, and his face was covered with wrinkles left behind by the passage of time. There was also a trace of exhaustion in his eyes.
When he looked up and saw two young women approaching, he asked, “What do you need?”
His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of suspicion.
Yun Yixuan immediately put on a bright smile, warm and friendly like a flower blooming in spring.
“Sir, we’d like to buy some old newspapers and books to cover the windows at home. The wind keeps coming through the cracks, and it’s so cold at night that we can barely sleep.”
As she spoke, she took four pieces of candy from her pocket and slipped them into the old man’s hand.
Candy was a rare treat in this era of shortages.
The old man’s eyes flashed with surprise when he saw the candy in his palm.
Yun Yixuan immediately smiled and said, “They’re for you. Something sweet to enjoy.”
Her words were full of friendliness and goodwill.
The old man glanced at Yun Yixuan, then at Li Meiling. Seeing the sincere smiles on both young women’s faces, he finally nodded.
“Go on in. But don’t rummage around where you shouldn’t.”
His tone carried both a reminder and a warning.
Yun Yixuan quickly nodded like an obedient child.
“Of course. Don’t worry, sir.”
With that, she grabbed Li Meiling and headed into the scrap recycling station.
“We’ll split up. I’ll search the left side, and you search the right.”
Yun Yixuan quickly divided the work, and the two immediately began searching without wasting another second.
As Yun Yixuan rummaged through the piles of discarded items, a thought occurred to her.
In novels, transmigrated heroines always seemed to stumble upon some incredible treasure at scrap recycling stations.
She couldn’t possibly pass up such a perfect opportunity.
What if she really did find something valuable?
Holding a wooden stick, Yun Yixuan tapped every table and chair she came across, hoping to discover some hidden secret.
Eventually, she stopped in front of a table with one missing leg.
The damaged table looked extremely old and worn, but the decorative patterns carved around its edges were smooth, intricate, and elaborate. One glance was enough to tell her that it had been crafted by a highly skilled artisan.
She tapped the hollow panel beneath the tabletop again.
Knock. Knock.
A crisp, hollow sound came from inside.
Trusting her instincts, Yun Yixuan immediately concluded that there had to be a hidden compartment inside.
She glanced around.
No one was watching.
Li Meiling was also completely focused on searching for books.
Yun Yixuan reached up and touched the peach blossom mark behind her ear.
“Store.”
The moment she silently gave the command, the table vanished before her eyes and was safely stored inside her mysterious space.
About half an hour later, both of them had found what they were looking for.
They had collected more than twenty sheets of old newspaper, along with textbooks for all three years of high school.
They found nine books covering Chinese, mathematics, and politics, as well as textbooks for physics and chemistry.
Unfortunately, there were no history or geography textbooks.
When the old man saw the books they had chosen, he gave the two young women a complicated look. There was both suspicion and curiosity in his eyes.
Yun Yixuan immediately smiled and explained, “My younger brother will be starting high school soon. If I can buy his high school textbooks from you, we won’t have to pay a high price for new ones at school.”
Her excuse sounded perfectly reasonable, leaving little room for suspicion.
The old man still looked at Yun Yixuan doubtfully, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply took out his scale, weighed everything, and calculated the total price.
“Four yuan and sixty cents altogether,” the old man said.
“All right, sir.”
Yun Yixuan happily paid him.
The two women packed the books and newspapers into their woven sacks, lifted them together, and walked out of the recycling station.
Their figures gradually disappeared into the distance, leaving behind only the battered gate of the scrap station, still creaking back and forth in the wind.
“Come on. Big Sister is treating you to braised pork!”
Yun Yixuan puffed out her chest and raised her head proudly, her chin tilted upward with an air of arrogance. With one hand casually resting on Li Meiling’s shoulder, she looked every bit like an imposing big sister boss.
The corner of Li Meiling’s mouth twitched.
She looked at Yun Yixuan helplessly and complained, “Do you really enjoy being everyone’s big sister that much? It’s always ‘Big Sister this’ and ‘Big Sister that’ with you.”