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Su Yi held Ye Nuannuan’s hand, and since they were walking slowly, it gave Nuannuan a chance to become familiar with the surroundings.
Not far from the military compound was the busiest street in the town.
On both sides of the street were the post office, supply and marketing cooperative, agricultural and sideline products store, state-owned restaurant, guesthouse, and more.
Being a major town with numerous connections and close to the military base, the area was bustling with a wide range of products available.
However, being in the remote Northwest, the area was not as progressive as big cities with regard to private businesses.
There were no street vendors or shops set up along the roads; occasionally, nearby farmers came to sell their homegrown vegetables and collected eggs.
Su Yi and Ye Nuannuan made a round of the town and first entered the supply and marketing cooperative, planning to pick up essential items.
She bought two sets of underwear as replacements and three pairs of socks.
Noticing her own black cloth shoes were worn and dusty, she decided to buy a pair of sneakers and also requested a pair of white sandals.
The cost for just the two pairs of shoes came to five yuan!
Su Yi winced at the cost, so when the sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative recommended polyester fabric, Su Yi decisively declined!
“Polyester is now available for half the fabric tickets, it’s a bargain!”
Su Yi twitched her lips, feeling a bit guilty, “No, I prefer to wear cotton.”
Cotton is breathable, and the key is that it costs only fifty cents per meter!
She selected six meters of goose yellow cotton, planning to make a shirt for herself and use the remainder to sew a dress for Ye Nuannuan.
She also chose six meters of light blue cotton, intending to make a top for herself and use the leftover fabric to make a piece for Ye Xiaowu.
As for pants, she opted for navy blue and black.
She selected eight meters of each color, planning to make two pairs for herself and one pair each for the children.
Having new clothes for herself, Su Yi didn’t want the two kids to look on enviously.
Besides, children grow quickly in spring, and last summer’s clothes were already too small for them.
The fabric alone cost her fourteen yuan and used up all her fabric tickets.
She couldn’t buy any more even if she wanted to.
Su Yi grumbled internally about the few fabric tickets she had received from Qin Yunfeng, feeling they were too little.
Little did she know, those fabric tickets were actually ones Qin Yunfeng had collected from his comrades to please Bai Ruolin.
Fortunately, summer was approaching, so these supplies would be sufficient for now.
After buying the clothing materials, Su Yi took Ye Nuannuan to the grocery counter.
She initially intended to see if there were any tasty snacks, but when she found out the prices were so high and required grain tickets, she quickly abandoned the idea.
“Nuannuan, how about I make you some snacks when I get back?”
Ye Nuannuan eagerly agreed.
“So good! Let’s go, I’ll buy you some candy!”
Su Yi bought a pound of White Rabbit milk candy to satisfy the kids’ cravings and also picked up a pound of white sugar and a pound of mung beans to make snacks.
She also bought some spices for making tea eggs.
After their outing, Su Yi realized that while thirty yuan seemed like a lot—more than many people’s monthly salary—it still amounted to just one yuan per day for the three of them.
She was far from achieving her goal of being worry-free about food and clothing.
Moreover, this current situation was only temporary, and no one knew how long they could stay there. Su Yi needed to find ways to earn money.
She decided to start with making tea eggs.
The eggs at the supply and marketing cooperative were five cents each, but Su Yi didn’t have any egg tickets.
So, she took Ye Nuannuan to a nearby farmer’s stall. After looking around, they stopped in front of an elderly woman.
“Grandma, how much are your eggs?”
The elderly woman looked up at Su Yi and said, “Oh, such a beautiful young lady! My eggs are six cents each. The supply and marketing cooperative sells them for five cents, but you don’t need any tickets here.”
Seeing that the elderly woman had already explained everything without Su Yi asking, it seemed she was quite familiar with the market.
“Grandma, if I buy a lot, can you give me a discount?”
“How many do you need? What kind of discount are you looking for?”
“I’ll take the whole basket. I have a use for them. If I run out, I’ll come back to buy more in a few days!”
“Come back in a few days? Oh dear, eggs don’t keep for too long. Besides, we don’t have any more eggs at home!”
“If you don’t have any, don’t people in your village have them?”
In the 1970s, due to concerns about poultry competing with people for grain, there were regulations limiting each household to raising no more than three chickens.
However, this regulation was abolished around 1977-78.
Now, farmers keep chickens at home, not only for their own consumption but also to save and sell for extra money.
Selling a chicken can provide a good amount of money for the New Year if one is short on funds.
Upon Su Yi’s reminder, the elderly woman quickly understood, “Alright! Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll sell them to you for five cents each. The sooner I sell them, the sooner I can go home and cook for my grandson!”
The basket had sixty eggs. Su Yi paid three yuan and asked for the elderly woman’s address and contact information.
She planned to test the waters first, and if the tea eggs sold well, she would call the elderly woman to collect more eggs.
As for where to sell the tea eggs, Su Yi had chosen a location: the bus station, which connected directly to the city and county, was the busiest place in town.
Su Yi covered the eggs with cloth, noting that it was getting late, and headed back with Ye Nuannuan.
As they passed the gatehouse, a comrade came running out to deliver a lunchbox to Su Yi.
“Comrade Su, thank you for the tea eggs. They were delicious!”
“By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier—Deputy Company Commander Qin came to town looking for you yesterday. He searched for half a day but couldn’t find you and eventually went back. When he asked us, we said we hadn’t seen you!”
Su Yi thanked the comrade with a smile.
On the way back, she started to ponder.
Why was Qin Yunfeng so eager to find her? Was he looking to reclaim the money or retrieve the letter of annulment?
Or perhaps, was he trying to force her back to her old home?
Regardless of his intentions, his plans were doomed to fail.
She wasn’t the original Su Yi, and there was no personal connection with him. If there were any grudges, they would be more than enough to make it a mortal enmity.
As reality proved, people couldn’t withstand being ‘remembered’.
As Su Yi entered the courtyard, she ran straight into Qin Yunfeng and Bai Ruolin.
Su Yi had initially hoped to avoid a confrontation, but it seemed impossible to escape.
Qin Yunfeng, upon seeing her, was momentarily stunned before rushing forward, “Su Yi! Where have you been these past two days? Do you know I’ve been looking for you all day?”
Hearing his tone, Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Qin Yunfeng, are you sick? Get it straight—we’re no longer in a relationship. Why would I need to report to you about where I go?”
Qin Yunfeng was taken aback by her response, but he didn’t waste time on pleasantries. He reached out his hand directly.
“Su Yi, first give me the letter of annulment from that day. We can discuss the rest later.”
“Pfft—” Su Yi spat directly on his outstretched hand.
“What kind of person do you think you are? If you want the letter of annulment, you’re dreaming.”
With that, Su Yi didn’t intend to linger. She firmly grasped Ye Nuannuan’s hand and prepared to leave.
“Su Yi, you’ll regret this!”
Seeing Qin Yunfeng staring at Su Yi’s retreating figure, Bai Ruolin couldn’t help but push him.
“Brother Qin, why is Su Yi even here in the courtyard? And look at how much stuff she’s carrying—doesn’t that child look like Ye Nuannuan?”
“Isn’t she just taking advantage of Ye Nuannuan being home alone to steal things and possibly even kidnap the child? I think she’s gone mad with greed.”