After working in the fields for several days straight, everyone was finally given a day off.
Most people planned to go to the town today. Aunt Meihua had told Yun Ting that they needed to go early in the morning—otherwise there wouldn’t be space on the tractor, and they would have to take an ox cart or walk.
The package her family had sent should have arrived by now.
She also wanted to send a letter home and check out the local black market. If it seemed safe, she planned to sell a batch of grain and fruit. Quite a lot had already piled up in her space.
Yun Ting got up early, washed up, ate a steamed bun, and headed out with a bamboo basket on her back. She had exchanged for the basket with Aunt Meihua. The night before, she had asked around—aside from Wang Xue, the others were all going to town.
When she came out, Yang Qingqing was also ready, so the two of them headed to the village entrance together.
When they arrived, only three people were already sitting on the tractor, including Aunt Meihua. The moment she saw Yun Ting, she waved happily.
“Little Comrade Yun, come quickly!”
“Aunt Meihua, you’re so early.”
“Not really—I just got here. Comrade Yang is going to town too?”
“Yes, Aunt Meihua.”
“Oh? You city kids must have brought quite a bit of money with you, right?” an older woman beside them asked. The gleam in her eyes was impossible to hide.
“Hey, Li Big-Mouth, what kind of question is that?” Aunt Meihua immediately snapped back. “These days most families are ordinary—who has that much money?”
“Meihua, I was just asking. I wasn’t asking you. Why are you so worked up? Afraid I’ll compete with you?” the woman retorted.
“I just can’t stand hearing that nonsense. What am I competing for? Say that clearly!”
“Auntie, that’s a bit too serious,” Yun Ting said quickly. “We’re just more familiar with Aunt Meihua. Besides, our families don’t have money either—how much could we bring?”
She couldn’t let Aunt Meihua get criticized because of them.
This Li Big-Mouth was the same woman who had been arguing on their first day of work. Just from her nickname, you could tell what kind of person she was.
“Alright, Li Big-Mouth, say less,” another auntie tried to mediate.
“Hmph.”
Soon more villagers and educated youths arrived, and the tractor quickly filled up. With loud sputtering noises, it headed toward town.
Those who missed the ride had to find their own way.
When they arrived in town, everyone went their separate ways.
Yang Qingqing probably wanted to go to the black market as well, so she didn’t go with Yun Ting. Yun Ting thought the same—it was more convenient to act alone.
She first went to the state-run restaurant to see if they had steamed buns. If possible, she wanted to buy more and store them in her space.
When she arrived, quite a few people were already lining up, so she joined the queue.
Soon it was her turn.
“I’d like twenty meat buns.”
“Why do you need so many?” the server asked with a frown.
“Uh… I’m buying them for some other educated youths as well.”
“One yuan forty cents, and four liang of grain coupons.”
Yun Ting handed over the money and coupons, received the oil-paper-wrapped buns, and placed them in her basket. After walking out and turning into a quiet corner, she transferred the buns from the basket into her storage space.
Next, she wandered through the supply and marketing cooperative, buying some fruit candies and sponge cakes. She didn’t buy anything else.
Then she walked around, trying to locate the black market. Usually black markets were in hidden areas, often near hospitals.
After asking around, she reached the area near the hospital. At the entrance of an alley, she saw several people acting suspiciously—this was probably the black market.
First she found a quiet place, entered her space, and changed her appearance so she wouldn’t be recognized. Only then did she come out again.
She put some rice and apples into her basket—just a small amount. Since she hadn’t figured out the situation yet, she didn’t want to be too bold.
After paying two mao at the entrance, the guard waved her in.
She found a spot and had just set down her basket when a woman in factory work clothes approached.
“Little sister, what do you have?” the woman asked in a low voice.
“Big sister, I have premium rice and apples. Want some? They’re excellent,” Yun Ting said, lifting a corner of the basket to show her.
“Wow! These apples look great, and the rice too. How are you selling them?”
“Big sister, these are top-quality goods and I don’t have much. The apples are one yuan each—each weighs more than a jin. The rice is one yuan fifty per jin.”
“That’s… pretty expensive.”
“Big sister, at this price you’re definitely not losing out. The apples are sweet and juicy. And look at the rice—big, white grains. Have you ever seen such good quality?”
The woman hesitated for a moment.
“Alright. Give me four apples and five jin of rice.”
“That’s eleven yuan fifty. Since you’re being so generous and supporting my business, I’ll give you an extra handful of rice.”
“Thank you! Little sister, if you get good goods again next time, come find me at the textile factory. Just say you’re looking for Zhou Yulan.”
“Alright, I’ll remember.”
With a good start, several more customers came, and soon most of the goods in her basket were sold.
Today she earned sixty-seven yuan and forty cents. In an era when the average monthly salary was only a dozen or twenty yuan, that was already quite a lot—all thanks to the convenience of her space.
She decided not to sell anything more today. Next time would be enough.
She bought two jin of red dates from an older man and five jin of eggs from another woman.
Unfortunately, she didn’t find anyone selling meat this time—she had wanted to stock up on more.
She didn’t linger at the black market and headed toward the state-run restaurant. Since she had finally come to town, she wanted to treat herself to a good meal.
When she arrived, Yang Qingqing wasn’t there, but Lu Jiayan and Zhou Yang were, along with several other educated youths.
“Comrade Yun, where’s Qingqing? Isn’t she with you?” Lu Jiayan asked.
Tsk tsk… calling her Qingqing already, Yun Ting thought.
“No. When we got to town, she said she had something to do, so we separated.”
Yun Ting didn’t say more. She looked at the menu board. Today’s dishes were: braised pork, braised fish, braised eggplant, plain noodles, and dumplings.
She ordered braised pork, braised fish, a serving of dumplings, and a bowl of white rice.
The server asked, “Can you finish all that? Don’t waste food.”
“Oh, some of it is for takeaway. I won’t waste it.”
If the other educated youths hadn’t been there, she would have ordered even more to store in her space.
She chose an empty table instead of sitting with Lu Jiayan and the others. It was better to keep some distance.
“Comrade Yun, come sit with us,” Zhou Yang invited.
“No thanks, I’ll sit here.”
The cooks at the state-run restaurant worked quickly. Before long, the server called her to pick up her food. In those days, you couldn’t expect them to bring it to your table—the servers often acted quite arrogant.
Yun Ting took out her lunchbox, packed some of the food into it, and placed it in her basket—though in reality she moved it into her storage space.
Then she started eating heartily.
Mmm… the chef here is actually quite good. The braised pork tasted excellent.
Zhao Weidong watched Yun Ting ordering food and became even more convinced that her family background was good. He secretly made up his mind to win her over.
Yun Ting had no idea that someone unpleasant had set his sights on her—but even if she knew, she wouldn’t be afraid. She would make him learn exactly how to spell the word regret.
Yang Qingqing finally arrived, looking quite pleased. Yun Ting guessed she had made a good profit today as well.
“Comrade Yang, over here!” Lu Jiayan called out immediately when he saw her, his eyes lighting up.