Xu Ning came out of the supply and marketing cooperative and decided to visit the black market to check the prices there. She still had over 500 old-style bed sheets in her space.

After wandering for more than half an hour, Xu Ning finally found the place in an alley by a river. At the entrance of the alley stood two teenagers, around seventeen or eighteen years old. When they saw Xu Ning, one of them asked, “Are you buying or selling?” Xu Ning replied, “I want to buy something.”

One of the teenagers said, “Five cents.” Xu Ning had heard from the people at the youth camp that a fee was required to enter, regardless of whether one was buying or selling. She took out five cents from her pocket and handed it to the teenager who had spoken. The teenager accepted the money and said, “Once you buy something, leave quickly. Don’t linger inside.”

Xu Ning nodded and quickly walked in. There were many people squatting along both sides of the alley. Some had bags in front of them, while others had baskets. The goods were displayed with just a bit showing for people to see. Xu Ning approached a middle-aged woman who had a bundle in front of her with a piece of floral fabric peeking out. She walked up and asked, “Sister, what kind of fabric is in your bundle?”

The middle-aged woman replied, “We have bed sheets and cloth. Do you want any?” As she spoke, she opened the bundle for Xu Ning to see. Xu Ning unfolded the bed sheet at the bottom and asked, “How much is this bed sheet?”

The middle-aged woman sized her up and said, “No tickets, 20 yuan.”

Xu Ning looked at it and put it down. The woman said, “Miss, this bed sheet is wide and large. Feel the fabric—it’s from a big factory, not the old cotton cloth woven in the countryside.”

Xu Ning replied, “Sister, it’s too expensive. I don’t have that much money.” With that, she turned to look at other places. The woman called out, “18 yuan is the lowest. I won’t sell it for any less.”

Xu Ning smiled and said, “Sister, I don’t have enough money. I’ll come back another day when I have more.” With that, she walked away and inquired about prices from two more vendors to get an idea. However, Xu Ning had no intention of buying anything at that moment.

After leaving the black market, Xu Ning checked the time and saw it was almost time to meet Old Chen. She headed back, and when she was close to the agreed location, she found a secluded corner to put the things she had prepared in her space into a basket. She also carried a large bundle containing cotton clothes for herself and Xu An.

When she arrived at the meeting spot, she saw that the cart was almost full. It was not the same people from the morning; these were likely people who had walked over early in the morning to save the five cents fare. Some of the aunts and elder women preferred to walk to save the fare and then take the cart back if there was space; otherwise, they would walk back. Old Chen made the trip daily, and anyone who arrived on time could take the cart. If not, they could take another cart from a nearby village if there was one going in their direction.

As Xu Ning approached home, she took another bundle of cotton from her space and placed it on top of the basket. She intended to prepare cotton clothes for the original owner’s parents. Whether she made them herself or took them from her space, the materials had to have a source. There was still Xu An at home.

Xu Ning saw that the small door was closed from the inside, indicating Xu An was home. Since they had moved from the youth camp, they rarely used the old door. They came and went through the small door, which was more convenient for fetching water and going up the mountain.

Xu Ning called out for Xu An to open the door. Xu An opened it, saw that Xu Ning had bought so many things, and quickly took the bundle inside, placing it on the dining table. “Sister, what is this?” she asked, opening the bundle to reveal two sets of new cotton clothes and a piece of dark gray fabric underneath. “Sister, don’t we already have cotton clothes?” Xu Ning placed the basket on the table and said, “Our cotton clothes are too thin for this place. Remember, when we first came to the countryside, we were so cold that we didn’t dare to go outside.”

When Xu Ning and her younger brother Xu An had first arrived in the countryside, the coldest part of winter was yet to pass. Although they wore the new cotton clothes their mother had hurriedly made for them, which were quite thick, they still felt cold in the northeastern region where temperatures dropped to tens of degrees below zero. Since they had arrived during the winter break, they didn’t have to work in the fields. Every day, they sat on the heated brick bed, unable to do much because their clothes and shoes were too thin. The three male youths who lived with them noticed this, and whenever it was Xu Ning and Xu An’s turn to fetch water or cook, the three men helped them out. Thinking of this, Xu Ning decided she would return the favor when the opportunity arose.

Xu An, recalling their early days, said, “Sister, we should stock up on more firewood. I heard from Jianmin that a few years ago, there was a lazy family in the village who didn’t gather enough wood for the winter. They ran out of firewood to heat the brick bed, and when the mountains were sealed with snow, they went out to gather more. Not only did they barely find any wood, but they also got chased down the mountain by a wild boar! The boar bit a huge hole in the man’s behind, and that’s how he got cured of his laziness.”

Xu Ning laughed at this and patted Xu An’s head, saying, “Alright, we’ll listen to you, Little An. Let’s stock up on plenty of wood to keep the brick bed warm during winter.”

Xu Ning first set aside the bundle of cotton from her basket, then began taking out the other items one by one: three racks of ribs, five pounds of pork, ten pounds of rice, ten pounds of white flour, ten pounds of cornmeal, five pounds of noodles, one pound of black fungus, two pounds of shiitake mushrooms, one pound of dates, two pounds of White Rabbit candy, two bags of milk powder, four cans of fruit, a free-range chicken, and twenty apples.

Xu An was stunned as he watched her take out item after item. After a long while, he said, “Sister, how did you buy so much? We don’t have that many ration tickets!”

Xu Ning replied, “I bought them at the black market, Xiao An. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and once it starts, we won’t be able to go into town for a while. The work during the harvest is heavy, so we need to eat well to keep our strength up. When I was in town today, I saw many of the aunts buying food too.” The last part was a little white lie to reassure her younger brother. In truth, everyone else had their goods wrapped up so tightly that she couldn’t have seen what they were buying anyway.

Xu Ning asked Xu An to put the cotton clothes and cotton bundles into her room. Meanwhile, she soaked the shiitake mushrooms and washed a small piece of meat, planning to cook some meat sauce. When the harvest began, they would be pressed for time at noon, and having some noodles with meat sauce would be a quick and hearty meal. There were still two large jars of meat sauce in her space, so she could take those out and mix them with the fresh batch.

Once the meat sauce was ready, she stored it in jars. Then, she kneaded some dough to make savory pancakes. With a cup of malt milk and the pancakes, the siblings ended up eating until they were stuffed. Xu Ning suggested Xu An go for a walk nearby to digest the food.

She salted the pork, ribs, and chicken to preserve them for the harvest season. Since Xu An had already seen the ingredients, she planned to sneak out a bit more from her space later and mix it with the other food when the time came.

After salting the meat, Xu Ning took a bucket to fetch water. The water tank she had bought was large enough to hold eight buckets of water, which would last two to three days. She had bought the tank when she went to the county to buy a pot. She had also bought several jars for pickling vegetables and paid Old Chen five cents and two steamed buns to make a special trip to deliver everything. On that trip, she had also bought all the pots, pans, and tableware, and she had taken out two thermos bottles from her space.

In the afternoon, Xu An took the basket and went to gather pigweed. She had taken the day off and, carrying the basket and a shoulder pole, headed up the mountain. Daqing Mountain connected to several other mountains, and few people dared to venture deep into the woods. There were wild boars, and some said there were tigers, though no one had ever seen one.

Xu Ning didn’t dare go too far into the mountains either. Wild boars—that was a challenge best left for the male and female leads. She was content with gathering firewood and digging up some wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain.

After collecting two large bundles of firewood, she carried them on the shoulder pole, and her basket was filled with wild vegetables, topped with a layer of mushrooms. When she got home, she placed the firewood in the woodshed, where a tall stack of neatly arranged wood was already stored. There was also a bundle of firewood on the ground, likely gathered by Xu An earlier while collecting pigweed.

Xu Ning checked the time and emptied the wild vegetables and mushrooms from her basket at the kitchen door. She hurried back up the mountain, calculating that she still had time to make two more trips.

When Xu An returned and saw that his sister was not home, he noticed a large pile of wild vegetables and mushrooms at the kitchen door. He put the wild vegetables into his basket and carried them to the riverbank to wash. After washing them, he spread them out to dry and then went back to wash the remaining vegetables.

By the time Xu Ning came back, Xu An had already washed all the vegetables and cleaned the mushrooms, which were now drying in a basket. Xu Ning put the firewood into the woodshed and took out the mushrooms from the basket.

Seeing Xu Ning return, Xu An hurried to get water for her to wash her face and hands. By the time Xu Ning finished washing, Xu An had already taken the wild vegetables to the stream. The stream was very shallow, only reaching up to his calves at its deepest, and flowed down from Daqing Mountain.

Checking the time, Xu Ning saw it was already past six o’clock. She cut the pork ribs from lunch into small pieces and put them into a pot to stew. She also washed a large bowl of the mushrooms she had collected and mixed white flour and cornmeal to make pancakes. When the ribs were nearly done, she added the mushrooms and let everything stew together for a few more minutes.

When Xu An came to the door, he smelled the delicious aroma and quickly hung up the washed wild vegetables before rushing into the kitchen. Xu Ning served the soup and pancakes. Xu An said, “Sister, it smells so good,” and swallowed in anticipation. Xu Ning smiled and said, “Sit down and eat.”

After the meal, Xu An went to wash the dishes while Xu Ning spread out the fabric she had brought back from the market on the heated brick bed. She pondered how to make clothes for her original parents and younger brother. Although the fabric she had brought from her space looked worn, it was still not suitable for outerwear.

Xu Ning retrieved all their old clothes and planned to make three jackets: one for her original parents and one for her younger brother. They would wear new cotton clothes underneath. The adults’ cotton clothes could be taken from her space, where she had dozens of sets. However, for the two-year-old child, she would need to sew new clothes. She remembered watching her grandmother make clothes from fabric when she was young and had learned a bit. She felt confident she could manage sewing a few jackets, though she wasn’t skilled at making cotton clothes. They needed to be prepared before winter became unbearable.

Xu Ning pondered where to start with the scissors. Just then, Xu An walked in and saw the fabric and clothes on the heated brick bed. He asked, “Sister, what are you doing?” Xu Ning replied, “Making cotton clothes for Dad, Mom, and Little Brother.” Upon hearing this, Xu An’s eyes filled with tears, and he asked, “Sister, should we write a letter to our parents? Dad said he would contact us, but it’s been so long.” Xu Ning said, “Mom and Dad are busy with work. Let’s wait a bit longer. If we haven’t heard from them after the autumn harvest, we’ll write a letter to them, okay?” Xu Ning thought that by then, they would have arrived, and there would be no need for letters. For now, she just needed to comfort her younger brother.

Once Xu An stopped crying, Xu Ning had him try on the cotton clothes she had brought back. They were a bit big, and the sleeves of the cotton pants and jacket were too long. But since they were growing quickly and would still need to wear sweaters and thermal underwear in winter, a little extra size was acceptable. Xu Ning had him take off the clothes and put them in his own room.

She decided to start by making the three jackets to practice her sewing skills before making cotton clothes for Xu Mo.

The next day, during work, Xu Ning, Li Fengjiao, Lin Qiuhua, and a few aunts were mending pockets in the warehouse, preparing for the grain storage for the autumn harvest. They overheard that more educated youths were coming to the village. The village head and Old Chen would be going to the township to pick them up the next day. They would assign five to Yushu Village. One of the aunts sighed, “You know what, we don’t even have enough to eat here. The city is so much better. Why do they want to come to the countryside?” The other aunts glanced at Xu Ning and the others, hinting for the speaking aunt to be quiet. Xu Ning continued to mend the pockets, her face expressionless. She thought that the female protagonist was finally arriving, and both Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua exchanged glances, their expressions not very pleasant.

After work in the afternoon, Xu Ning noticed there was still daylight left and thought about the wild vegetables she had not fully dug up the day before. With the autumn harvest approaching, there would be no time to dig, so she decided to go back and collect more. Xu Ning carried her basket and headed up the mountain. Xu An, who was turning the partially dried wild vegetables, saw Xu Ning carrying her basket and asked, “Sister, are you going up the mountain?” Xu Ning replied, “I found a patch of wild vegetables yesterday but didn’t finish gathering them. Since we still have time today, I’ll go and get some more.” Xu An said, “I’ll go with you,” and grabbed his basket to follow Xu Ning out.

The siblings each filled a large basket with wild vegetables. As dusk approached and they prepared to head back down the mountain, a wild boar suddenly darted out from the side. Xu Ning turned around and froze, staring at the approaching wild boar. She quickly grabbed Xu An, who was also frozen in fear, and they both turned and ran down the mountain. As they fled, Xu Ning desperately thought, “I’m not the heroine, I’m not the heroine, don’t come after us! Boar God, Boar God, please wait, your heroine will be here tomorrow!”

The Boar God didn’t heed Xu Ning’s desperate plea. It clamped down on Xu An’s basket, which he had not had time to drop. Fortunately, Xu An was short, and the basket was large; if the boar had bitten him directly, it would have been a severe injury, if not fatal. Seeing this, Xu Ning quickly drew a machete from her space and swung it at the boar. The blade struck the boar’s head, making it even more enraged. The boar let go of Xu An’s basket and charged at Xu Ning. She turned and ran sideways, as a man coming down the road carrying firewood saw the boar behind her. He dropped the firewood and grabbed his carrying pole, using it to strike the boar’s head. After a few blows, the boar was incapacitated.

Xu Ning then looked at the man, recognizing him as the middle-aged man from the cow shed conversion. Xu An also arrived.

Xu Ning hurriedly thanked the man, who waved his hand and said, “Are you two hurt? Don’t come up the mountain too late in the future. It will be even more dangerous when it gets colder.”

After speaking, the man looked at the dead boar. Xu Ning also looked over. The boar was not very large, weighing about 80 to 90 jin. If it had been a big boar, it wouldn’t have been so easy to kill. The man said, “I’ll drag it to the foot of the mountain. You can take it from there.” Xu Ning quickly replied, “Uncle, you killed it and saved my life. I can’t take it. You should keep it.”

Without a word, the man picked up his firewood and used a rope to drag the boar forward. Xu Ning and Xu An followed him with the basket and machete. When they reached the foot of the mountain, the man handed the rope to Xu Ning and said, “Take it back.” Without waiting for a reply, he headed towards the cow shed. Xu Ning called out, “Uncle…” but the man waved his hand without turning back.

Xu Ning understood that even if the man took the boar back, it wouldn’t be kept for long. People came and went every day. In the morning, they took the cows out, and in the evening, they returned them. There were also daily deliveries of cow feed. The man, even if he submitted the boar, would not gain much favor from the villagers because he was considered a troublemaker. This thought made Xu Ning feel a pang of sadness.

Xu An, standing beside her, asked, “Sister, what should we do with this boar?”

Xu Ning came back to her senses and said, “Let’s drag it back for now.” Although Xu Ning was stronger than average, dragging a boar was still quite a challenge. As they approached the well, Xu Ning and Xu An planned to take a small path back to their little door. Unexpectedly, they found Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua washing clothes by the well. Seeing the dead boar, they screamed and fled, leaving their clothes behind as they ran towards the youth camp.

Xu Ning was speechless. She couldn’t understand why people were so afraid of a dead boar—it wasn’t alive. Originally, she had intended to bring it back and keep it for later, but now she couldn’t hide it. Since she couldn’t keep it a secret, she decided to use the opportunity to make a name for herself. She turned to Xu An and said, “We should hand over this boar. If anyone asks how it died, tell them we killed it ourselves and don’t mention the uncle, okay?” After confirming their story, the siblings headed towards the camp with the boar.

A short while later, they saw three male educated youths running towards them with sticks. When they saw that the boar was already dead, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Did you two kill this boar?” Xu Ning nodded and said, “Yes, my brother and I were gathering wild vegetables when the boar came charging at us. We managed to kill it.” She downplayed the incident as if they had just killed a chicken.

The three male youth looked at her in surprise.

Xu Ning then asked, “Do you have anything else to do? If not, could you help me take the boar to the village head’s house? My brother and I will return the basket and then come over.” The three men took the rope from her and dragged the boar towards the village. Xu Ning and Xu An put the basket away at home, drank some water, had a few cookies, and then went to the village head’s house. Along the way, they once again reviewed their story.

On the way to the village, Xu An told Xu Ning, “Sister, once when I went to the mountains to collect firewood, I carried too much and it was very heavy. It was this uncle who helped me carry it down to the foot of the mountain.” Xu Ning sighed when she heard this, thinking that this was a huge favor she owed. She said to Xu An, “Our lives were saved by that person. No matter how much more we owe, it’s worth it. We’ll repay it slowly in the future.”

As they arrived at the village head’s house, many people had already gathered there. When the three male educated youths brought the wild boar, those who had seen them on the way also followed. Seeing the siblings arrive, everyone crowded around them, asking, “Xu educated youth, did you really kill this wild boar?”

Xu Ning repeated the story she and her brother had agreed upon.

Xu Ning said to the village head, “Village head uncle, my brother and I happened to encounter this wild boar while digging for wild vegetables today. It tried to attack us, so we killed it.”

Everyone in the crowd stared at her.

Someone in the crowd said, “Wow, this is a wild boar. You just killed it like that?”

Another person added, “Xu educated youth is known for her strength.” The crowd continued to talk about her, making her sound more impressive.

Xu Ning cleared her throat lightly to interrupt the conversation, as it was getting exaggerated.

She said to the village head, “Village head uncle, the autumn harvest is coming soon. If we kill this pig and distribute it among the villagers, it will help supplement their nutrition. Although this pig is a bit small, it will still be useful.”

Yushu Village was a small village under the Qianjin Brigade, with just over 100 households. However, as people still lived with their extended families, each household had many members, ranging from ten to as few as seven or eight. Xu Ning’s suggestion to supplement their nutrition was not an exaggeration. Besides bones and internal organs, each household could get up to half a jin of meat.

The village head asked his wife to boil water and slaughter the pig in the open space in front of his house. He called all the villagers over. Regardless of the size of each household, everyone received half a jin of meat. It was challenging to divide the meat fairly when there were more people than meat. Xu Ning received one jin, and the village head said he would give her more, but she declined, asking for only one jin.

Since they had already given away the entire pig, it was unnecessary to worry about that little bit. Everyone only received half a jin, so if she took more, it would be unfair to those who got less. The pig was indeed killed by her, but since she decided to share it, she had to ensure fairness, or it would only lead to resentment.

The educated youths at the base also received one jin of meat. Since Xu Ning and her brother had already taken their share, it was divided between two families, and since the wild boar was dragged by three people, it was only fair for them to get their share too.

The remaining bits of the pig, including the offal, were given to the village head’s family.

After returning home, the siblings lay down on the kang and didn’t want to move. Despite Xu Ning’s nonchalant tone earlier, she was actually very scared inside. Now that the tension had passed, her legs felt weak.