Xiao Jun: .....
"Fine, I misspoke, alright?"
"I forgive you," Shen Zhao said indifferently, then got up and walked outside the door.
One person pushed a bicycle, and another carried a large basket and set it down.
"The items you wanted, I've checked off the ones on the list."
Shen Zhao took the list and looked at it.
Seeing that all the tickets on the list were checked off, she felt a little more satisfied.
Most of the money she exchanged this time was used to buy various tickets. The prices were a bit high, but it saved trouble.
Xiao Jun took the remaining money and handed it over, "The bicycle was 145, and the other odds and ends were rounded up to a full 100 yuan for you. Count the rest of the money."
Shen Zhao borrowed the money, didn't even look at it, and stuffed it directly into her pocket.
"No need. Your mouth isn't great, but I trust your character."
Trust my ass!
As soon as Xiao Jun took the money, she had already counted it in her heart. The amount was correct.
But Xiao Jun was quite pleased, even ignoring the first half of her sentence.
She wasn't as cold on the outside as she appeared.
She's a female comrade who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside!
So, for once, she was kind, "You have a lot of things, do you want me to help you send them back?"
"No need," Shen Zhao immediately refused, tied the bamboo basket to the back of the bicycle, and pushed the bike away.
When she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned back, revealing a brilliant smile, "My name is Shen Zhao."
Until her back disappeared behind the door, Xiao Jun hadn't withdrawn his gaze.
Haozi provocatively leaned in, "What's up, Brother Jun? You've got a crush on her? She's just average-looking."
Xiao Jun snapped back to reality and slapped him on the head, "You know nothing. Can't you feel it? She has a... special charm."
"What charm? Small chest, small butt, nothing worth looking at."
"You..." Xiao Jun slapped him again, "I can't explain it to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, his younger brother led another female comrade in, "Brother Jun, a female comrade says she has a big business deal to discuss with you."
"Bring her in."
Hiss...
Is today a lucky day for romance?
Xiao Jun watched the fair-skinned and beautiful female comrade walk in, muttering to himself.
"Hello, comrade. My name is Gu Qiu."
"Mm, what do you want to sell?" Xiao Jun asked coldly.
Gu Qiu smiled and took out many fresh, tender vegetables from her bamboo basket.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, eggplant, loofah, bitter melon...
None of these were vegetables that could be seen in winter.
Could such a small bamboo basket hold so many things?
Xiao Jun finally understood what that sense of incongruity he felt was about.
When he first saw Shen Zhao, her bamboo basket was empty, used to hold the thug's money and clothes.
Ten minutes later, he saw her again, and she had a bag of rice. This meant she lived nearby?
.....
Shen Zhao didn't know that her space was almost discovered.
After leaving the black market, she found a place and put the bicycle and most of her belongings into her space.
For others, riding a bicycle on that mountain road would be fatal, but she had no problem. Having a bicycle would speed up her descent.
Then, with the tickets she had just obtained, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two cans of malted milk essence, new soap, and a large lock.
She actually wanted to buy milk powder, but the supply and marketing cooperative in this small place didn't have it.
After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, she carried a string of lunchboxes to the state-run restaurant.
It was now ten-thirty in the morning, and there were few people in the restaurant. The staff were indifferent, but Shen Zhao didn't mind.
On the wall of the restaurant hung a small blackboard, with the day's available dishes written in chalk. She finally ordered braised pork belly, stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with cured meat, and a bowl of rice.
The braised pork belly was on the sweeter side, and the stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with cured meat were cooked with bright red chili paste, making them fragrant, savory, and spicy.
The local dishes were mostly spicy. Perhaps it was because it rained often here, people liked to eat spicier food to ward off the cold.
Shen Zhao quite liked it.
After finishing the dishes and rice, she ordered one of everything on the blackboard to go, spending all the money she had "robbed" that morning.
Just as she reached the door, she made eye contact with Gu Qiu.
She raised an eyebrow. What a small world. "Educated Youth Gu, what a coincidence."
Gu Qiu was very enthusiastic, "Yes! Have you eaten? If not, I'll treat you!"
Shen Zhao shook her head, "No need, I've already eaten. I have something to do. See you at the place we separated this morning?"
Gu Qiu smiled and agreed.
Shen Zhao left with her lunchboxes, strolling leisurely through the town, memorizing the terrain.
Half an hour later, the two met up and returned to the village together.
It was easier to go down the mountain than up, and the two returned to the village at one in the afternoon.
They each went home to put down their things and agreed to go check on the new house together.
The He Family's house was in the center of the village. By the time Shen Zhao arrived, Gu Qiu was already there, talking to the workers and seeming to be getting along well.
Oh, Wen Yixun and Ji Bai were also there.
Shen Zhao looked at the location of her house. The foundation had already been marked out, and five or six people were busy laying the foundation.
She walked over and gave each of them a handful of fruit candies, about a dozen or so, not a small amount.
"Thank you all for your hard work these past few days. When the house is built, I'll buy you meat for an extra meal."
The few dark, tanned, and thin men were a little surprised.
After all, Shen Zhao seemed difficult to get along with, yet she generously gave them candy.
Each of these men had a string of children at home, and they would be overjoyed to take it back. They all smiled and promised to finish building it as soon as possible.
Gu Qiu and Wen Yixun came over.
"Educated Youth Shen, we start work tomorrow. We want to gather at the Educated Youth Point tonight to relax. Are you coming?"
Shen Zhao thought about it. She had to live here. She couldn't be too isolated.
"Okay. I bought some pastries today, and I'll also contribute two sections of preserved sausage and five century eggs. But you'll have to do the cooking, I don't know how."
"It's okay, I'm quite good at cooking. I'll show you tonight."
After speaking, Gu Qiu whispered in her ear, "I heard that Zhou Xiaoyan's uncle works at the police station in town, which is why she's so arrogant."
Who in the village wouldn't be afraid of the police station? She indeed had the capital to be arrogant.
Shen Zhao glanced sideways, "So, do you want to make up with her?"
"How could that be? We've already fought. What will be, will be." Gu Qiu waved her hand, "At most, we'll endure for three more years, and then we can return to the city. What's there to fear?"
Shen Zhao paused, a suspicion rising in her heart.
She pulled Gu Qiu aside and, seeing that no one was eavesdropping, asked, "How do you know we can return to the city in three years? Do you have some inside information?"
Gu Qiu was stunned for a moment, a flash of annoyance in her eyes, and said somewhat unnaturally:
"Yes, my family has inside information. The National College Entrance Examination might reopen in three years, so you should review when you have time these years. Once it reopens, you can get into university and return to the city."
Shen Zhao didn't miss the fleeting change in her expression.
She felt even more strange.
Gu Qiu said "might," but her expression was so certain, as if she was completely sure of the truth of the matter.
Moreover, this person was naive and enthusiastic towards others.
Only she lacked the weariness of women in this era.
Looking at her every move and way of speaking, her family shouldn't be a powerful one.
How could she know about policies so far in the future?
Shen Zhao, having been an empress, understood even more how difficult such changes were and that such news would not be revealed so early.
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