Chapter 44

When Xu Di got home, Xu’s mother was already there, busy making dinner.

“Mom, I’m back, is there anything I can do?”

“Nothing for you to do, it’s all done.”

Xu’s mother replied from the kitchen, Xu Di thought, should she tell Xu’s father and Xu’s mother about Zhang Chaoyang?

But recently, the family’s atmosphere had just improved a little because of Xu Mei, she didn’t want to tempt fate.

Besides, Zhang Chaoyang wasn’t back yet, she thought, maybe she should tell her family after they met and had a result.

Xu Di was conflicted, she wasn’t in a hurry, she would wait and see, she didn’t know when Zhang Chaoyang would be back.

Xu Di went back to her room to put down her things, she changed into her home clothes before coming out.

On the coffee table in the living room, there was a pile of things.

Fabric, mugs, soap, hair oil, a small mirror… the colors showed that they were wedding supplies for Xu Mei.

Xu Di didn’t pay attention, she had already accumulated a lot of tickets in her space, although she didn’t have tickets for big items like televisions, bicycles, and watches, she didn’t lack tickets for everyday use.

She worked at the department store, so she had access to plenty of supplies.

Whenever there was new merchandise, if she liked something, Xu Di would buy some and put it in her space.

Not to mention anything else, she had accumulated a lot of wool yarn, red, blue, black, and even a little pink.

These things wouldn’t go bad in her space, she would be able to use them when she got married.

Most importantly, she had already saved four or five thousand yuan.

An egg wasn’t expensive, it was only a few cents, but little by little, it added up, especially when the quantity was large.

Soon, she would be selling her fruit, which would be another source of income.

“You sister doesn’t know when she’ll be home, will she come back alone or with her partner?”

Xu’s mother came out of the kitchen and chatted with Xu Di about Xu Mei.

“Then call and ask, doesn’t she have a phone?”

“Your father doesn’t want you to ask, he said if your sister wants to tell us, she will.”

Xu’s mother was angry again when she mentioned it.

“Xu Di, you’re also eighteen years old, have you thought about what kind of partner you want to find?”

Xu’s mother wanted to understand her younger daughter’s thoughts, so she could have some idea.

“Yeah, soldiers, police, those kinds of professions are fine, the most important thing is that the person has to be decisive, he can’t listen to his parents for everything.

He has to be responsible, able to support a family, respect women, and be faithful to marriage.”

“You’re so shameless, you’ve thought about a lot. It’s just, soldiers, wouldn’t that be too hard, being a military wife isn’t easy?”

Xu’s mother thought that marrying a soldier would be too hard. Her husband would be away from home all year round, she wouldn’t be able to rely on him for much.

Even if she could join the army, they would still be together less often.

“It’s a bit hard, but what kind of partner wouldn’t be hard?

Are you and Sister-in-law not hard-working? You do everything at home, washing clothes, cooking, taking care of the children, it’s all you.

My dad and my brother are considered good in the family compound, they can occasionally lend a hand. But they can only do so much.

There are so many men in our family compound who treat themselves like grandfathers. There are even some who beat their wives, I absolutely wouldn’t want someone like that.”

Xu Di took the opportunity to drop a hint, so that it wouldn’t be too surprising when she talked about it later.

Xu’s mother didn’t expect that Xu Di was giving her a heads-up, she thought it was just a casual chat between mother and daughter, it wasn’t until later that Xu’s mother remembered and realized that Xu Di had already planned it out.

Their conversation was interrupted by others coming in, then they started eating and doing other things, the topic didn’t continue.

On the weekend, Xu Di called Jin Weidong and asked him to wait for her at the lake in the park at nine o’clock in the morning.

Xu Di never called from a fixed place, she was afraid of being discovered, even if it meant walking a few more steps or taking a few more bus stops, she wasn’t afraid of trouble.

Xu Di arrived at the park early, she went to the cave to put the goods first. She had planned to walk around the cave to create some false appearances.

Otherwise, it would be all white snow everywhere, only the area around the cave would have footprints, it would be obvious, like lice on a bald head.

Unexpectedly, when Xu Di slowly turned around, she realized that she had overthought it, the snow in this area had been swept clean.

She thought it must be Jin Weidong, otherwise, who would be so bored, in such a remote place, to sweep the snow on the path clean.

Xu Di was afraid of running into Jin Weidong, she looked around carefully before cautiously entering the cave.

Fortunately, no one was there.

She took the money, took the prepared goods out of her space.

Before leaving, Xu Di looked around again, making sure no one was there, before she came out.

It’s better to be safe than sorry, Xu Di valued her life.

As for why she dared to tell Jin Weidong her real name, it was because there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people named Xu Di in the vast city of Beijing.

Names were too repetitive in this era.

If you shouted “Jian Guo” on the street, ten or eight people would turn around.

Every time Xu Di contacted Jin Weidong, she used a phone that wasn’t near her home or her work.

She came to see Jin Weidong this time to talk about the fruit.

For this, Xu Di had specially taken out a few samples from her space, apples, pears, persimmons, and dates.

Xu Di didn’t have a watch, she guessed that it was almost time, so she walked towards the lake.

From afar, she saw Jin Weidong, wrapped in an old military coat, waving to her.

“Sister Xu, are you freezing?”

“It’s okay, I’m wearing a lot of clothes.”

“Sister Xu, do you have any new goods?”

“You kid, you’re not very old, but you’re quite smart. You guessed it all, I’m in danger!”

Xu Di and Jin Weidong stood half a meter apart, whispering.

There were many people around, men and women, they weren’t out of place.

The frozen lake was a playground for children.

Some were playing ice hockey, some were sliding on sleds, and some were skating…

Jin Weidong looked at the lively ice surface, thinking about his earnings over the past few months, he was only grateful.

“Sister Xu, don’t worry, I’m Jin Weidong, although I’m not very old, I still have my morals.

I’ve overcome my difficulties thanks to you, Sister Xu, I won’t be ungrateful.”

“I hope so, we’re all taking risks, we’re just trying to make a living.

The reason I dare to meet you like this is because I have my own means. If we cooperate well, you’ll be good, I’ll be good, everyone will be good. Otherwise, we’ll just go our separate ways, there are many roads in the world.”

Xu Di was clear-headed and open-minded.

She couldn’t do the space business for too many years, when the reform and opening up happened, supplies wouldn’t be scarce anymore, her space would just be a hidden safe.

“Sister Xu, actions speak louder than words.”

Jin Weidong didn’t make any more promises, everything would depend on his actions.

“I’ll have a batch of fruit coming soon, apples, pears, large persimmons, and dates, about seven or eight hundred pounds, do you want them?”

“Yes, fruit is very scarce now. It’s even rarer before the New Year.”

Jin Weidong didn’t expect Sister Xu to be so powerful, she actually had fruit.

“These are samples, you go back and try them, I’ll give them to you for fifty cents a pound.”

Xu Di’s fruit was fresh and tasted good.

The apples in the department store’s grocery store were also four or five cents a pound, and you needed tickets.

“Thank you, Sister Xu, you’re taking care of me.”

Jin Weidong got the goods from Sister Xu at a lower price, at least cheaper than the loose goods he had been getting.

“Alright, next week, add forty pounds of fruit to the original goods, ten pounds of each.

The money is still in the same place. As before, you prepare some warm clothes, I’ll still leave the goods in the cave, you can pick them up in the afternoon.”

Xu Di finished her instructions and left.

Jin Weidong was happy, he would be able to make another profit before the New Year, he could buy some good medicine for his grandma.

As for Sister Xu’s secret, he wouldn’t investigate.

Every time he picked up the goods, he was alone, he didn’t even tell his siblings.

As Sister Xu said, if the cooperation wasn’t good, they would go their separate ways, the only one who would lose was himself.

Beijing was so big, it wouldn’t be hard to find someone like him who could sell goods.

Jin Weidong wasn’t very old, but he was a veteran in this business, he knew what he could do and what he couldn’t do.

He carried the bag of fruit home and gave it to his grandma to try.