“Little comrade, you live in the family housing, right? Oh my, you’re really blessed-looking! If I didn’t see you with two kids, I’d want to set you up with my child,” said a woman.
“Let me tell you, you came at just the right time. The vegetables in my garden are ready to eat, and they grew too much at once. My family can’t finish them, so you can pick whatever you want yourself.”
“We villagers are honest people—we never overcharge,” she added.
It was peak vegetable season. Usually, vegetables cost five fen per half-jin; now they were three fen, and buying in bulk was even cheaper.
Anyone could sell vegetables, but if you overcharged, buyers could just go elsewhere.
The woman set a fair price. Even though Lin Zhi had agreed beforehand, seeing the tickets in her small cloth bag, she couldn’t help but grab Lin Zhi’s hand and quietly ask if she could use the tickets instead of cash.
Village-issued tickets were rare, and industrial tickets even rarer.
The woman’s home kettle had been broken for a long time, and she had been unable to buy a new one. She’d been hoping to trade for industrial tickets for ages but had asked many people with no luck.
Lin Zhi did have a few industrial tickets, but they were valuable. She wasn’t a fool and wouldn’t give them away easily.
After negotiating, she gave two industrial tickets to the woman and used money to buy vegetables and two hens.
The woman had been reluctant to part with her egg-laying hens and had gone out to find someone to trade with.
Lin Zhi didn’t care who the woman got them from—she had the chickens she wanted. As for the two industrial tickets she gave away, she wasn’t using them anyway, so it was no loss.
Carrying the vegetables and the two hens, Lin Zhi called out to the twins, who were playing with bugs under a tree. “Xiao Ze, Xiao Run, let’s go home.”
He Ze dropped the stick with bugs and whispered to He Run, “Doesn’t she usually call us ‘Iron Egg’ and ‘Dog Egg’? Why isn’t she anymore?”
When the twins were born, they were so tiny and weak like kittens that Grandma He Ting gave them easy-to-raise nicknames.
The family usually called them by these nicknames, so hearing different names made both boys pause.
He Run blinked his big eyes innocently and shook his head.
He Ze didn’t expect an answer; before He Run finished shaking his head, he pulled him toward Lin Zhi.
They had delayed a bit on the way back. By the time they returned to the unit, it was almost mealtime.
He Ze constantly remembered she had promised to buy them White Rabbit milk candies. Passing by the supply store and seeing Lin Zhi not stopping, he quickly blocked her.
“You promised to buy us White Rabbit candies,” he said.
Lin Zhi, exhausted from carrying two flapping hens, paused and patted her head with her empty hand. Right, she’d forgotten.
White Rabbit candies were in high demand and usually sold out quickly at the supply store, but they got lucky—the store had just received stock.
Even so, there were limits: each person could only buy half a jin.
Lin Zhi bought some miscellaneous items like biscuits and pastries too, so she could take them out later without arousing the twins’ suspicion.
Half a jin of White Rabbit candies had dozens of pieces. Lin Zhi gave five to herself and kept the rest stored.
He Ze collected the candies given out, and since He Run had no objection, Lin Zhi didn’t interfere further.
The vegetables they bought would last five to six days. After setting aside enough for tonight and tomorrow, Lin Zhi stored the rest in her grocery store to keep fresh.
The newly purchased hens went to the backyard. To prevent them from flying away, Lin Zhi tied them with rope, and she made a makeshift chicken coop using firewood.
She lined it with some pine needles and patted her hands, satisfied with her work.
For someone who had never done farm work, she had managed to build a chicken coop—quite impressive.
There’s a saying that people from affluent families awaken farming skills after a certain age. Lin Zhi had doubted it, but seeing her front and backyard now, she felt a sudden urge to plant vegetables and had to believe it.
The twins were fascinated by the first living creatures other than themselves in the house. They squatted in front of the coop, staring at the chickens as if they were treasures.
“I’ll leave the chickens to you from now on…” Lin Zhi began, but the twins turned their heads. Seeing their lack of enthusiasm, she paused and added, “If you take care of them, all the eggs will belong to you. I won’t take any.”
“Really?” He Ze’s cold, distant expression melted instantly upon hearing the eggs were theirs.
Lin Zhi laughed. “It’s just two eggs. You think I’d trick you?”
She had originally bought the chickens to eat, but seeing the twins so interested, she changed her mind.
For now, the chickens didn’t need feeding. Lin Zhi stopped the two brothers, who were about to go bug-hunting.
“You don’t need to feed them tonight—start tomorrow. Right now, your task is to take the candies outside and enjoy them when there are people around.”
“If anyone asks, tell the truth. Do you know what that means? Just say what you did, exactly. Got it?”
He Ze nodded. “Got it. But I’m saving my candy for tomorrow.”
“Little rascal, if you want to work, I can’t let you hoard candy.” Lin Zhi tapped his forehead and gave him two more pieces, then sent them off.
With the vegetables bought, the twins would no longer eat plain rice porridge tonight—they got a fragrant vegetable porridge, plus one fried egg each.
While waiting for the porridge to cool, Lin Zhi couldn’t resist and tilled a small patch of the yard, sowing seeds for greens.
The seeds were from her grocery store. She didn’t have a huge variety but had the common ones.
Tomorrow she would till the remaining ground and plant more vegetables. For now, the backyard was occupied by firewood and bedding, so she focused on tidying the front yard.
After sowing the vegetables, the twins hadn’t returned yet. Even though she knew nothing would happen in the family housing, Lin Zhi decided to go out and look.
Turning a corner, she saw the twins surrounded by a crowd of people. Among the women, one slender, fair-skinned woman immediately drew attention.
One glance and Lin Zhi knew who she was—the female lead. Her beauty was undeniable; even among celebrities, she wouldn’t stand out.
Lin Zhi was beautiful herself, but compared to the female lead, there was a slight gap.
Still, she was satisfied with her own appearance. Beyond resembling her past self, the original owner had also been well-proportioned and had excellent skin.
She was now 1.62 meters tall, weighing around 120 pounds, healthy and slightly soft, but not fat.
She had curves where they should be, and a layer of soft flesh that felt particularly nice—she couldn’t resist squeezing herself in the shower.
In her past life, she could never gain weight. Now, suddenly, she had curves in all the right places. If she hadn’t pinched her thighs to control herself, she might have laughed out her teeth.
Seeing Lin Zhi approach, Wen Xiuxiu frowned and sighed. “Lin Zhi, take better care of the kids. Look at yourself and then at them—no one would think you’re from the same family.”
The children were so thin they looked malnourished, while the mother ate until she was plump. This was entirely irresponsible.