Chapter 28: Building Connections

With this thought in mind, Su Niannian no longer felt as distressed about spending money.

By the time she walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative, nearly an hour had passed.

She had stored some of her purchases in her personal space, while the rest were placed in the bamboo basket on her back.

Near the supply and marketing cooperative, there was also a black market—one that Su Niannian had visited in her past life.

By the time she entered, it was already noon, so there were even fewer people around.

Weaving through the narrow paths, Su Niannian bought some rice, white flour, and pork before leaving the black market.

She then turned and entered the state-run restaurant, purchasing twenty meat buns. Wrapping them in oil paper, she divided them into two portions—one stored in her personal space and the other placed in her bamboo basket.

Today’s shopping had cost her more than eighty yuan.

Now, she had about 130 yuan left in her hands.

Seeing that it was about time, Su Niannian headed toward the ox cart.

By the time she arrived, quite a few people were already waiting there.

“Su Educated Youth, come over here! I saved you a spot,” Aunt Zhou called out when she saw Su Niannian approaching. She shifted closer to Aunt Liu, making room for her to sit.

This immediately sparked Zhao Sulan’s dissatisfaction.

It was her first time riding an ox cart, and she hadn’t realized how hard the wooden planks were. She had no idea that she needed to bring a cushion.

Just moments ago, when she had tried to sit on a cushion in that spot, the two older women had scolded her.

Yet now that Su Niannian had returned, these two women were all smiles as they made room for her to sit.

This was blatant favoritism!

Su Niannian had just settled down, placing her bamboo basket beside her, when she noticed Zhao Sulan peering into it.

“What is that awful smell? It’s disgusting! Don’t sit so close to me,” Zhao Sulan complained, shifting to the side while covering her nose with her hand.

Before Zhao Sulan mentioned it, no one had really noticed. But now that she pointed it out, they too picked up on a faint unpleasant smell.

Still, being villagers, they were used to all kinds of odors and didn’t find it particularly offensive.

“If you’re so disgusted, why don’t you just get off and walk instead? So fussy,” Aunt Zhou sneered. Sitting right next to Su Niannian, she rolled her eyes dramatically at Zhao Sulan.

“Su Educated Youth, what did you buy? It does have a bit of a smell,” Aunt Liu asked curiously, wondering what the pretty young girl had brought back.

“It’s a set of pig offal. I plan to braise it at home. Once it’s done, I’ll share some with you, Auntie,” Su Niannian said politely.

The moment Aunt Liu heard it was pig offal, she quickly waved her hands.

That stuff was certainly cheap—probably only a dime per half kilogram, even cheaper than rice and flour.

But this stuff wasn’t tasty at all—it was practically a waste of firewood to cook it.

Not to mention, it was a hassle to clean. Take pig stomach, for example—inside, it was full of whatever the pig had eaten but hadn’t yet digested.

And pig intestines? They were filled with waste. No matter how many times you washed them, there was always a lingering smell.

“No, no, our family doesn’t like eating that stuff. And are you sure you weren’t tricked? This kind of thing really isn’t tasty,” Aunt Liu said bluntly.

She was never one to beat around the bush.

“If you can’t afford meat, then just don’t eat it. Why go for something nobody wants? So greedy.” Zhao Sulan clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes dramatically at Su Niannian again.

“Whether she’s greedy or not, it’s not your money she’s spending!” Aunt Zhou snapped, thinking Zhao Sulan was acting like she had a screw loose.

“As long as it’s cooked the right way, this stuff can taste even better than pork.”

Su Niannian’s eyes curved into a smile as she spoke.

Naturally, no one present really believed her.

If it truly tasted good, it wouldn’t be sold at such a low price.

In this era, just having enough to eat was already a struggle. This was still considered meat, after all—if it could be made delicious, it wouldn’t be so cheap.

However, seeing that Su Niannian was just a young girl, they didn’t say much more. They figured they might as well let her try—if she failed, it would just be a lesson learned. After all, she had already bought it.

Aunt Zhou could only sigh helplessly.

At that moment, the last aunt finally got on the ox cart, carrying large bags in both hands.

Old Zhang urged her to sit down quickly.

However, as she sat, she accidentally sat on Zhao Sulan’s newly bought mattress.

Zhao Sulan immediately complained, saying the aunt was dirty and that her new mattress had been soiled.

In response, several aunts snapped back at her without hesitation.

That group of aunts had sharp tongues—Zhao Sulan was no match for them at all.

Finally, under Old Zhang’s mediation, the commotion barely settled down.

Seeing that everyone was present, Old Zhang urged the ox cart forward.

The fare for the trip was five jiao per person, but the return trip was free.

After about two hours, it was already past four in the afternoon when the ox cart arrived at the entrance of Kaoshan Village.

One by one, people got off and went their separate ways.

Zhao Sulan, looking displeased, hugged her new mattress tightly and headed toward the educated youth dormitory.

Su Niannian smiled and said, “Grandpa Jiang, you’ve had a hard time driving the cart all the way. I bought a few extra of these buns, so please don’t refuse.”

Grandpa Jiang looked at the plump, white meat bun in her hand, his eyes showing a hint of emotion, but he still waved his hand. “Girl, I can’t accept this. This is fine food, and it’s got meat filling. How could I take it from you?”

Aunt Zhou, standing nearby, chuckled and persuaded him, “Oh, come on, Grandpa Jiang, just take it. This girl has a kind heart. If you refuse, she might not bring you anything next time.”

Aunt Liu also chimed in, “That’s right! This child is thoughtful and knows you’ve worked hard. It’s not like this happens every day, so don’t be so polite.”

Only then did Grandpa Jiang sigh, accept the bun, and smile as he nodded. “Alright then, I’ll thank you for this, Little Su Niannian.”

Su Niannian smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, waved goodbye to everyone, and carried her basket as she walked toward her residence.

“This is obviously from the state-run restaurant,” someone remarked.

Su Niannian smiled and said, “Grandpa Jiang, I just got here, and I might have to trouble you with things in the future. Please accept it, or else I won’t dare to ask for your help later on.”

Without giving him a chance to refuse, Su Niannian directly stuffed the bun into Grandpa Jiang’s hand, then shouldered her basket and walked away.

“This girl…” Grandpa Jiang looked at the bun in his hand, sniffed it, and then put it away.

He planned to take it home for his wife.

A bun from the state-run restaurant—his wife hadn’t had one in a long time.

Su Niannian still remembered how, in her previous life, she had poor relations with the villagers. When she fell ill, there was no one willing to take her to the county town. This time, she was determined to build good relationships.

The brigade’s tractor was hard to borrow, so this ox cart was an important means of transportation.

Thinking that it was only four o’clock, Su Niannian figured that Song Zhaodi was probably still at work. So, she headed straight to the Gu family’s house with her basket on her back.

When she arrived, she saw Gu Nan working in the courtyard.

Su Niannian was momentarily surprised—she hadn’t expected Gu Nan to be home so early.

But after a second thought, it made sense. The man was strong and worked fast. Now that the sowing was done and it wasn’t the busy farming season, the daily workload wasn’t too heavy. Since a full day’s work earned only eight work points, it was reasonable that he had finished early.

With that in mind, she adjusted her basket and strode into the yard.

“Sister Niannian is here!”

Gu Ningning, who had been helping Gu Nan pick out nails, immediately ran over excitedly when she saw Su Niannian arrive.

Inside the house, Mother Gu also came out when she heard the commotion.

Su Niannian took off the basket from her back and pulled out a bag of red dates.

“These are for you and Auntie to eat. Red dates help replenish blood.”

Gu Ningning happily accepted the bag with a big smile.

Gu Zhi looked at the dates—each one was plump, sun-dried to a deep red hue, and obviously of good quality. She could tell at a glance that they must have cost quite a bit.

“You child, why waste money buying this?”