Song Wei nodded in agreement and continued exploring the area. She bought a bolt of fabric that didn’t require a ticket, though it was pricier than what the supply and marketing cooperative would charged and had a few flaws. Despite this, plenty of people were asking about it, and by the time Song Wei arrived, only two bolts were left.

It seemed the seller was a family member of someone who worked at the textile factory and had brought three bolts of fabric altogether. Without haggling, Song Wei bought one of the remaining bolts and quickly left. Immediately, a crowd rushed to buy the last bolt, but they were purchasing by the meter.

Afterward, Song Wei bought a few pairs of socks for herself and Heidan. With the essentials handled, she left the area and headed to the address the woman had given her earlier. It turned out to be a hidden alley.

Song Wei didn’t worry about it being a potential trap; after all, who could ambush her and win? She walked in with confidence and relief when she found the woman waiting to do business, as promised.

“There you are,” the woman said, quickly pulling her in and showing her the cornmeal in a sack.

Unlike finely milled flour, cornmeal in this era was coarsely ground using stone mills. A few years down the line, cornmeal would be downgraded to animal feed, but for now, it was still considered a better staple than sweet potatoes or yams.

“How much?” Song Wei asked.

The woman held up two fingers. “Two mao (0.2 yuan) per jin. Cornmeal is filling and waste-free since it’s already ground. This price is fair.”

It was about forty pounds, a decent amount. Not wanting to waste time bargaining, Song Wei agreed.

After stashing her purchases, including the cornmeal, rice, fabric, and socks, in her backpack and covering it with an old cloth, she found a spot to wash her face. Finally, she slung the heavy pack onto her back and started heading back.

At the county entrance, the ox cart was already crowded with villagers, all carrying bags of goods they had purchased.

Some of them were eyeing each other’s bags with curiosity.

“Hey, Heidan, what did Song Wei buy?” someone asked.

“Song Wei’s been awfully nice to you, getting you new shoes and all. Those are brand new!” one of the women remarked with a hint of jealousy, looking at Heidan’s shoes. A few of the more stingy onlookers were practically wishing they could pull the shoes off his feet for their own kids.

Heidan quickly hugged his legs, clutching his shoes protectively as he warily watched a few of the older women.

“Let me see what Song Wei bought,” one of the women said, reaching toward his backpack.

Alarmed, Heidan clung to it tightly, his face turning red. “Get away! Don’t touch it!”

“It’s not even your stuff. Why so protective?” the woman scoffed. “You really are an ill-mannered, ungrateful brat!”

The woman moved as if to push him aside forcefully.

“What’s going on here?” the ox cart driver stepped over and scolded her. “That’s Song Wei’s stuff—who said you could go rummaging through it?”

The woman was bold enough to berate Heidan, but she wouldn’t dare defy the cart driver. She gave a sheepish smile and mumbled, “I was just curious. I wasn’t planning to take anything.”

Song Wei’s voice rang out as she approached. “Well, if you’re that curious, why don’t you show us what you bought first?”

Heidan turned around, his face lighting up with joy.

With her backpack full to the brim but covered up, Song Wei was carrying it casually, almost as if it were light as a feather.

Ruffling Heidan’s hair, Song Wei looked at the woman with a mocking smile.

“How about it, Auntie? You can also show us how much money you brought.”

The woman immediately put her hands on her hips and shot back, “Who do you think you are? Why should I show you?”

Song Wei’s smile faded as she returned the woman’s glare with a mocking look of her own.

“Exactly. Who do you think you are? Why should I show you my stuff?”

She didn’t bother hiding her irritation and even rolled her eyes before turning away, leaving the woman fuming.

The ox cart driver, who had been watching the exchange, couldn’t help but look at Song Wei with some concern. She’d bought quite a bit; he hoped his old ox could manage.

Still, Song Wei’s earlier gesture of giving him a white steam bun made it hard for him to complain.

Once everyone was ready to go, Song Wei offered, “There’s barely enough room on the cart for everyone. I’ll just carry my backpack and walk alongside.”

Carrying a load over a hundred jin (about 110 pounds) was nothing for her, and it saved her the trouble of her belongings drawing unwanted attention. Plus, she could trust her strength more than any ox cart.

The driver was surprised but grateful. “That’s very considerate of you,” he said, a bit sheepishly.

Heidan wanted to get down and walk with her, but she stopped him.

“Stay on the cart,” she said. “You still need to keep an eye on our stuff up there.”

Heidan immediately remembered the woman who had tried to dig through the backpack earlier. He nodded, giving up his plan to walk alongside her.

The ox cart’s pace was actually slower than Song Wei’s walking speed, so she strolled alongside. From their seats, a few of the women couldn’t help but question her.

“Song Wei,” one of the women asked, “if Heidan is supposed to be working for you, why do you give him nice clothes and shoes? Aren’t you just losing out?”

Song Wei smiled and replied, “I’m not mistreating him just because he helps me. Winter is around the corner, and without proper clothes and shoes, he’d get sick. Then, I’d have to spend money on a doctor anyway, which would be even more expensive.”

The woman who asked could only respond with an awkward smile. “True, true.”

Some of the others muttered among themselves, feeling she was overly generous.

“Song Wei’s at least kinder than the Lin family,” the ox cart driver commented, irritated by how the Lin family had treated Heidan.

One of the women turned the conversation back to the Lin family, a bit of gossip lighting up her face.

“By the way, Song Wei, was what you said about the Lin family that day true?”

Even though Song Wei had later clarified that she’d only been joking, many people were still curious. Several older villagers had confirmed that back in the day, old lady Lin was indeed close with several other men before she got married.

“My mother-in-law said that old lady Lin was a girl from town. How did she end up marrying old man Lin, anyway? And I heard that soon after she got married, she was already pregnant.”

“I heard that Lin Dahai was born prematurely.”

Song Wei’s eyes widened in surprise. She’d just been making wild guesses, but it seemed there might be truth to her suspicions about the Lin family after all.

The women on the ox cart eagerly chimed in with what they knew.

“It’s true. Out of all the Lin sons, old lady Lin likes Lin Dahai the most, doesn’t she?”

“All the other Lin sons have a bit of their father’s look in them, but Lin Dahai doesn’t resemble old man Lin at all.”

“And remember, old lady Lin made her third son (Heidan’s father) work like a mule to earn money, only to turn around and buy a job for Lin Dahai.”