Chapter 25

Wu Xiaoxiao waved her hands repeatedly, “No, no. Wearing these clothes makes it easier for me to buy things in town, work in the fields, and even climb trees if needed. I can’t wear those fancy clothes anyway. If Sister Zhang Yan and you want to go shopping, go ahead. We can just meet up somewhere for lunch. I rarely come to town, so I want to check out if there are any places selling small items.”

Gu Zhenghong leaned in and asked, “Oh? Xiaoxiao, what do you want to buy? There’s really not much worth buying around here. If you ever get a chance to visit Beijing or Haishi, those cities have big shopping malls you can explore.”

Wu Xiaoxiao shook her head, “I’m not looking for anything specific. I just want to see what people are selling here.”

Wu Changfa seemed to understand her intentions. “Xiaoxiao, are you thinking about selling something to help out at home?”

Wu Xiaoxiao nodded a bit shyly, “Yes. Before, I only focused on studying and helping out with farm work at home. I never really thought about these things. But now, watching my mom work hard every day just to earn a few labor points—it’s tough. And besides, we need to plan for the future.”

Wu Changfa assumed she meant saving up for a dowry. That made sense. After all, with Wu Laosi gone, life for Xiaoxiao and her mother wouldn’t be easy. He motioned toward the door, signaling her to step outside—this wasn’t a conversation to have inside the supply store.

Once outside, Zhang Yan and Lü Hongni went off to browse clothing stores.

Gu Zhenghong wanted to tag along with Wu Xiaoxiao, but seeing Uncle Changfa’s expression, he felt a bit embarrassed. He had already made things too obvious today. So, he played it cool and simply agreed to meet them later at a noodle shop for lunch before parting ways.

After splitting up, Uncle Changfa looked at Wu Xiaoxiao seriously and asked, “Xiaoxiao, you and that educated youth, Gu…”

Wu Xiaoxiao quickly shook her head and waved her hands in denial. “No, no! Uncle Changfa, don’t worry. There’s nothing going on. I don’t know what’s up with him today either. Before, I liked reading books, and the educated youth dormitory had a lot of books, so I often went there to borrow some. But now, I’m too busy working in the fields and haven’t been there in a long time. Maybe since we haven’t seen each other for a while, that’s why he was acting like that today.”

Uncle Changfa was experienced in these matters. He knew that if it were just an ordinary friendship, half a month of not seeing each other wouldn’t make someone act that way. However, these educated youths weren’t here to stay long-term. Seeing that Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t show any signs of shyness or special emotions when mentioning Gu, he figured there really wasn’t anything between them.

That made sense. Xiaoxiao was still young, focused on her studies, and now putting all her energy into helping her family. It was unlikely she’d get involved in something like that.

“Good, good. I just wanted to ask. These educated youths won’t stay here permanently; they’re not like us villagers. Anyway, Xiaoxiao, about selling things—you mentioned wanting to see what’s available. I actually know a place. Let’s go check it out.”

Even though the whole country was under rationing and ticket-based supply, there were always people secretly trading goods. And now, as the political climate was shifting, more and more people were testing the waters by doing small businesses. The county town was actually more relaxed in enforcing these rules.

As they walked, Uncle Changfa explained, “In the past, if you wanted to trade goods, you needed an introduction from someone and had to meet at a designated place to exchange cash for goods in secret. But starting last year, there have been fixed locations where people can openly set up stalls. At first, people were hesitant to go, afraid of getting caught. But later, they realized that not only were they not punished, but sometimes even the families of town officials would come to buy things. Gradually, people became more daring.”

The two of them walked for a while before arriving at their destination.

“There’s nothing particularly special here. Most of the stuff being sold is what we already have in our village. But if you’re thinking about selling something, you might want to consider it. Oh, and in a while, there’ll be a big market fair. There’ll be a lot more things to buy and sell then, so keep an eye out,” said Uncle Changfa as he led Wu Xiaoxiao to the back entrance of the agricultural machinery station.

There was a large open platform in this area, with several small stalls lined up next to each other. Rough cloths were spread on the ground, displaying various items for sale, though no one was actively calling out to customers.

Wu Xiaoxiao carefully observed the goods. Most of them were common in the village, with the majority being eggs—likely from villagers who raised chickens and ducks and collected their eggs to sell. There were also vendors selling rice and flour. The prices here were higher, but since these goods didn’t require ration tickets, people whose household grain supplies were running low would come to buy them. One vendor was even selling tofu.

Apart from those, she noticed an old lady selling a few vegetable seedlings. But since it was already close to noon, the remaining plants were already wilted.

As Uncle Changfa had said, most of the items for sale here were things villagers already had. Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t step forward to ask about prices since she wasn’t planning to buy anything. Asking just for the sake of it would be awkward. Instead, she stood nearby and listened to a few people inquire about prices, quickly getting a rough idea of the market rates.

Overall, gathering eggs or picking vegetables from the village to sell here wouldn’t be profitable. First, it was a 30-kilometer journey to town. Second, the items were too common to fetch good prices. Only villages closer to town had the advantage of picking fresh produce and bringing it over to sell.

For Wujiacun, their village was simply too far. If they wanted to sell something, it had to be a high-value item—one that couldn’t be sold at a regular street stall.

Wu Xiaoxiao decided she needed to think things through more carefully once she got back.

Before long, it was lunchtime, and everyone gathered at the restaurant they had agreed on earlier. Restaurants at this time didn’t really have a menu to order from—there were only three or four dishes available each day.

Each of them ordered a bowl of beef noodles. Soon, the food was served. The broth smelled rich and fragrant, and inside the bowl, two thin slices of beef floated atop the noodles. At just 30 cents per bowl, it was quite a bargain.

Just as they sat down, Zhang Yan excitedly showed off her purchase. “Look what I found in that clothing store!”

Liu Dayu frowned. “Didn’t you just say there was nothing good to buy here? The clothes in that store are all old-fashioned.”

“The clothes are outdated, but I found something great this time.” Lowering her voice, she said, “The store owner has overseas connections. This is imported cosmetics from abroad.”

As she spoke, she pulled out a small, delicate bottle. Wu Xiaoxiao took a quick glance at the label and couldn’t help but laugh.

This brand had survived all the way into the apocalypse, though by then, it had become a dime-a-dozen product. Since most ability users didn’t even need skincare products, it wasn’t particularly valuable.

If it really was the original brand, this small bottle would be worth a lot. But the label on Zhang Yan’s bottle was crooked and even missing two letters. It was obviously a knockoff.

So, there were counterfeit products even in this era.