The way Xiao Wu held the lighter out made it obvious he wanted to light the cigarette for her.
Holding the cigarette between her fingers, Li Tingyun felt troubled.
She didn’t know how to smoke.
“Big Brother?” Xiao Wu called out in confusion when Li Tingyun still hadn’t put the cigarette in her mouth after a long while.
Li Tingyun waved her hand, tucked the cigarette behind her ear, and lowered her voice as she said, “Let’s finish checking the goods first.”
Thinking Li Tingyun was worried about mistakes in the shipment, Xiao Wu lit his own cigarette instead. After taking a deep drag, he said, “Big Brother, don’t worry. In our line of work, honesty is the most important thing. As long as your goods pass inspection, my boss won’t shortchange you by even a cent.”
Li Tingyun nodded. “I trust you people too. Otherwise I wouldn’t have handed over such a large shipment directly to you.”
That was what she said aloud, but inwardly she thought differently.
Xiao Wu was simply one of her ways to make money. But with her space in hand, she wasn’t afraid of him stealing her goods.
After all, if she wanted to, she could instantly return every item to her space.
Before long, the entire shipment had been counted.
“There are three thousand jin of rice, five thousand jin of eggs, five thousand jin of duck eggs, and two thousand jin each of corn and sweet potatoes.”
Xiao Wu turned back and asked, “Big Brother, is that right?”
Li Tingyun herself didn’t know the exact numbers. She had only estimated roughly.
Now that she heard the report, it sounded about right, so she nodded. “That’s correct.”
Money exchanged hands alongside the goods. After settling the payment, Xiao Wu smiled at her.
“Big Brother, let’s work together again in the future. My boss really likes the quality of your goods.”
Without changing expression, Li Tingyun nodded. “Maybe next season. Or after the next harvest of crops.”
“Sounds good!” Xiao Wu answered cheerfully before turning around to organize the loading of the goods.
Li Tingyun headed toward the county town. Once she reached a deserted spot, she entered her space, removed her disguise, and placed the several thousand yuan she had earned today into the safe inside her space.
Holding onto such a large amount of money made her feel absolutely delighted.
Although she was still far from being able to buy a courtyard house, she was at least moving steadily toward that goal little by little, wasn’t she?
One day, there would definitely be a courtyard house with her name—Li Tingyun—on it.
When she entered the county town, it was as lively as ever.
It was almost lunchtime, and all the restaurants had opened for business.
The state-owned restaurant was especially bustling. Even standing outside, she could smell waves of delicious aromas drifting from inside the dining hall.
After thinking about it, she realized that since transmigrating from the future, she still hadn’t tasted the local food here.
Curious about the cooking standards of this era, Li Tingyun decided to give it a try.
She ordered a sweet-and-sour fish, a bowl of egg-drop soup, and a serving of white rice, which altogether cost one yuan and one jiao.
Carrying the tray to a stool and sitting down, she couldn’t help sighing emotionally. No wonder older generations always said that in this era every cent had to be split in half before spending it. Just a little over one yuan could buy this much food.
If this were the future, you couldn’t get away without spending at least a hundred yuan.
The state-owned restaurant was popular, so its standards should have been fairly high.
But as Li Tingyun ate, she still felt it didn’t taste as good as the food made with ingredients from her space.
She herself knew how to cook sweet-and-sour fish too. The fish from her space had fresh, tender flesh that practically melted in the mouth. Compared to that, the restaurant’s fish fell far short.
After finishing the meal, she remembered something she had forgotten last time.
The college entrance examination hadn’t been reinstated yet, so books were scarce in many places.
She decided to try her luck at the scrap collection station.
An old man was watching over the station. Since many people came there hunting for useful items, he merely glanced casually at Li Tingyun when she entered, showing no surprise.
Li Tingyun searched around on her own. After rummaging through piles of things, she found several children’s books. Compared to books from the future, the illustrations weren’t as colorful, but something was better than nothing. She decided to take them home.
Soon after, she also found several lower-grade textbooks and held onto them as well.
Usually, people who came to the scrap station were looking for second-hand furniture, pots, or other household goods.
This was the first time the old man had seen someone searching for books. He sized Li Tingyun up, probably wondering why anyone would want such worthless things.
The old man held up five fingers and said, “Five mao.”
So cheap?
Li Tingyun was a little surprised.
But after thinking about it, she realized that many things in this era simply weren’t as expensive as in the future, so it made sense.
She took out five mao from her basket and handed it to the old man. After putting the books back into her basket, Li Tingyun started the journey home.
Once she reached a deserted place, she took the electric scooter out of her space and smoothly rode it all the way back.
She didn’t know whether the space somehow automatically recharged it. She had already traveled to the county town and back twice. By that distance, the battery should have been dead long ago, yet the display still showed a full charge.
Still, no matter what the reason was, having a scooter with endless power was definitely a good thing for her. At the very least, future travel would be much faster than walking.
When she arrived at Shuangbanqiao Village and saw the iconic giant banyan tree, Li Tingyun assumed she would once again see her children playing underneath it.
But after carefully looking around, she couldn’t find Dabao or Second Treasure anywhere.
It was just after lunchtime. Usually at this hour, the family would have just finished eating and the children would be outside digesting their food. This was the time Dabao and Second Treasure were most likely to be playing there.
So why weren’t they around today?
Could it be that Mother Yi was overwhelmed taking care of three children alone?
Imagining Mother Yi struggling helplessly with the kids, Li Tingyun unconsciously quickened her pace.
When she arrived home and looked inside, not a single person was there.
There was no chattering from Dabao and Second Treasure, nor the soft babbling sounds of Third Treasure.
Everyone was gone?
Unwilling to give up, Li Tingyun searched every room again, but still found nobody.
If the children and Mother Yi weren’t here, then had they gone to the Yi family’s old house?
Not even bothering to drink water, eager to see the children, she put down her basket and hurried toward the Yi family’s old residence.
At last, she spotted the small figures of Dabao and Second Treasure at the entrance.
From a distance, Li Tingyun called out, “Dabao, Erbao!”
Hearing her voice, the two children looked up and immediately rushed into her arms, repeatedly calling, “Mother! Mother!”
Using her hands to wipe the sweat from their foreheads, Li Tingyun asked, “Why weren’t you waiting at home for me? It’s so hot outside. Don’t you know to stay indoors out of the sun?”
The two children each hugged one of her legs, blinking their big eyes up at her.
Li Tingyun glanced inside and took their hands as she walked toward the house. “Where’s Third Treasure? Is he inside with Grandma?”
But Dabao suddenly tugged at her sleeve and whispered softly,
“Mother… I heard Grandma say that Father is coming back.”
Li Tingyun froze.
Father?
Which father?
Dabao, Erbao, and Third Treasure’s father?
Her husband… was coming back?