Chapter 30: Buying Supplies at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative for the Countryside

Leaving the state-owned restaurant, Iron Orchid took a bus to the textile factory. She had to sell the job her father left behind, which would be a good source of income.

Iron Orchid went directly to the textile factory’s leader and explained her intentions.

The leader was a little surprised: “Are you sure you want to sell the job? It’s hard for a girl like you to live on your own, why don’t I help you get a desk job?”

Iron Orchid declined his kindness, saying that she was going to the countryside tomorrow and wouldn’t need the job anymore.

Hearing this, the leader became excited:

“Comrade Lanyan, why are you going to the countryside? Is someone forcing you? Tell me, I’ll help you!”

Iron Orchid: “Don’t worry, it’s my own decision, I want to contribute to the country.”

She had already dealt with her enemies herself, she didn’t need anyone else’s help.

The leader wanted to persuade her again: “Lanyan, your father was also a friend of mine when he was alive, if you have any difficulties, tell me.”

Iron Orchid shook her head: “Uncle, really, it’s nothing, don’t worry.”

Seeing that she insisted, the leader stopped pressing her.

“Alright, your father’s job can be sold for 1,000 yuan according to the market price, if you agree, I’ll give you the money first, and then I’ll arrange it for someone else.”

Iron Orchid: “Okay, thank you, leader.”

……

Leaving the textile factory, Iron Orchid went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

She was going to the countryside, so she had to buy some things.

The supply and marketing cooperative was also keeping up with the times, they even had a “Countryside Ten Essentials” set, and it didn’t require coupons.

But you had to show proof of going to the countryside to buy it. This was to prevent people who were deliberately trying to take advantage from buying a lot of things, which would make it impossible for those who needed them to buy them.

The ten essentials were all daily necessities, packed in a large net bag, they were:

Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towel, enamel cup, thermos, enamel basin, flashlight, sewing kit, toilet paper.

Iron Orchid had these things in her space, after all, she had emptied several houses.

But Iron Orchid still bought a brand new set, just in case, she didn’t lack money anyway.

Iron Orchid also bought some sanitary napkins.

The sanitary napkins in those days were made of cotton, they were washed and reused, and when they were worn out, they were thrown away, which was considered good.

Rural women would sew their own menstrual pads and put ash in them to absorb blood.

Iron Orchid couldn’t stand that, so she had to buy more sanitary napkins.

She had found hundreds of bolts of cloth at the deputy director’s house, she would sew new ones when she ran out.

Besides daily necessities, Iron Orchid also bought some commonly used tools.

Things like pliers, hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, tape measures, etc., all required industrial coupons.

Iron Orchid had a lot of coupons, so she bought one of each.

The uncle at the counter curiously asked her why she bought so many, Iron Orchid lied and said she needed them to fix her bicycle.

Actually, these were tools, used to kill…

Ahem, slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue.

They were very useful for fixing bicycles, she had a bicycle in her space.

Iron Orchid then went to buy some snacks.

Sunflower seeds for watching the show were a must, they were the essence of gossip.

There were also Great White Rabbit candies, fruit hard candies, nougat, bubble gum, and other sweet treats.

Then there were some pastries, sponge cake, rice candy, white sugar cake, she bought ten jin of each, so she could eat them whenever she was hungry.

The malt milk she had taken from Zhang Cui’s house was almost finished, so Iron Orchid bought five bottles.

This was considered a supplement, it was sweet and delicious, like milk, and it could also fill you up.

Finally, she bought some kitchen seasonings, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, chili sauce, etc.

On this trip to the supply and marketing cooperative, Iron Orchid spent over 100 yuan.

When she got home, she put the things in her space and started to organize all her assets.

Money: She had over 4,200 yuan in savings at home, she took over 500 yuan from Zhang Cui’s house, she looted 3,300 yuan from Aunt Ma’s house, and she got over 10,000 yuan from the deputy director’s house.

Taking away the money spent these days, plus the 1,000 yuan from selling the job, the remaining amount adds up to over 20,000 yuan.

A ten-thousand-yuan household in the 1970s was quite impressive.

But Iron Orchid wasn’t satisfied. She wanted to buy several courtyard houses for retirement when she came back, she had to earn more money.

Iron Orchid looked at the black land outside the yard. In a short period of time, the various grains in the black land were growing well, and they would be ripe in about a month and a half.

By then, she would have already gone to the countryside.

When the time came, she would go to the black market in the county and sell the grain, her small treasury would be overflowing.

Food: She had enough grain to last her a month, including what she bought from the black market and what she looted from the three families.

Daily necessities were not a problem, she had just bought so many from the supply and marketing cooperative, plus what she had looted from the space, it would be enough for several months.

Finally, there was her small treasure trove – the Treasure House.

It was filled with all kinds of gold, silver, jewels, jade, antiques, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, paper money, stamps, Moutai, etc., all collected from the black market, scrap yards, trades, and looting.

Iron Orchid would go for a stroll whenever she had time.

These were her capital for making a fortune in the future, worth billions of yuan, she was so fond of them!

If she had the chance, she would continue to hoard, until the space was full.

No one dislikes having more money.

She, who had been poor for so long, was even more greedy.

Iron Orchid spent two hours organizing the space again.

Everything was categorized, all the furniture and decorations were arranged, everything looked neat and tidy, and it was very cozy.

After finishing all this, Iron Orchid went to the kitchen and started making meat buns.

She still had a lot of pork from her previous purchase, she chopped it all into meat filling and made meat buns to eat.

Anyway, it was in a preserved state in the space, it wouldn’t go bad no matter how long it was kept, she could just heat it up when she wanted to eat it.

Iron Orchid made 100 big meat buns.

It was dark outside, and she was hungry, so she decided to eat meat buns for dinner.

The meat buns had thin skins and large fillings, every bite was full of meaty flavor, tender and juicy.

Iron Orchid couldn’t control herself, she ate six big meat buns in one go.

After eating, she drank a cup of malt milk, and only then did she feel refreshed.

She rested for a while, and Iron Orchid continued to work.

She still had a lot of beef bones in the space, so she braised them all, it would be a dish for when she didn’t want to cook.

While braising the beef bones, Iron Orchid didn’t idle, she packed her luggage for the train to the countryside.

A large net bag, filled with the ten essentials, this was for outsiders to see.

A leather suitcase, filled with clothes and a few bottles of orange canned fruit.

Two aluminum lunch boxes, one filled with five meat buns, the other with four boiled eggs and a few pieces of sponge cake.

This was Iron Orchid’s daily food intake.

It was hot now, so she didn’t dare to bring anything else.

She could eat from the space later or buy a boxed lunch on the train.

Finally, Iron Orchid cut herself a thick fringe and put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses without lenses.

In the mirror, a girl with a braided ponytail, carrying a green satchel, appeared. (as shown in the picture)

Hmm, not bad!

Simple and plain, she didn’t look threatening at all.

She had gained some weight, and she was even prettier now.

She didn’t want to be treated specially when she went to the countryside, so it was better to keep a low profile.

Playing dumb and growing strong, let’s go!