Font Size:
As soon as they left, Ning Shu had the three children take a bath. The two elder children helped each other while she bathed the youngest.
After the children finished bathing, Ning Shu bathed herself. When she came out, she found Yibao standing in the yard.
“Yibao, why aren’t you sleeping?” Ning Shu brought the changed clothes to the well.
“I… I want to wash clothes.” After delivering the clothes to his grandmother’s house yesterday and seeing his mother washing clothes herself, he thought he should wash his own clothes today.
In fact, Yibao preferred to do things by himself if he could, rather than asking his grandmother for help.
“Well, then, I’ll teach you how to wash clothes.”
So, the two of them, one big and one small, washed clothes in the yard. Because it took some time to teach Yibao how to wash clothes, by the time they finished washing and were hanging them to dry, Lin Xiaoshan arrived.
Lin Xiaoshan brought 12 catties of shelled chestnuts, and Ning Shu happily gave him 10 eggs in return.
After Lin Xiaoshan left and the clothes were dried, Yibao went back to his room to sleep.
Ning Shu found another way to pass the time by making clothes.
This time, she took out a pair of corduroy pants that didn’t fit her and made a pair of corduroy pants for each of Yibao and Erbao.
When she finished making the pants, it was almost midnight, so she went to the space room.
Today, she sold chestnuts in the early morning, totaling just over 31 catties. She rounded it down to 30 catties and divided it into 15 portions, each weighing 2 catties and priced at 8 yuan.
After putting the products on the shelves in the early morning, Ning Shu returned to her room and checked the five group buy items for today.
Without hesitation, Ning Shu bought one portion of gray dumplings for 8 yuan, one portion of pan-fried belt fish for 18 yuan, one portion of sour fish with pickled vegetables for 38 yuan, one portion of newly laid eggs for 35 yuan, and two portions of sugared oranges for 50 yuan, totaling 149 yuan.
Making money wasn’t easy, but spending it was quite effortless. Ning Shu didn’t want to think about money anymore.
However, she was particularly happy to buy the newly laid eggs because they were the most nutritious.
After making her purchases, she went straight to bed.
The next day…
“Mom… Mom…”
Ning Shu was awakened by Yibao’s voice. When she checked the time on her phone, it was already 7 o’clock. It wasn’t early anymore.
“Coming, coming.” She had stayed up until midnight yesterday and couldn’t get up in the morning.
She decided not to stay up late anymore.
As Ning Shu got up, she checked the app. All 15 portions of chestnuts were sold out. Although the earnings weren’t much, only 120 yuan, it was still less than what she had scratched off yesterday.
However, spending more money than earning wasn’t a solution.
Ning Shu yawned as she opened the door. “Go wake up Erbao and Sanbao, I’ll start cooking,” she said.
“Okay…” Yibao didn’t immediately leave, but followed Ning Shu.
“What’s wrong?” Ning Shu stopped and asked when she noticed him following her, lowering her head.
Even though they had gotten along well yesterday, after spending the night, he reverted back to being a shy and cautious little turtle.
“No need… I can help with the fire,” Yibao said timidly.
“You don’t need to.” Ning Shu refused. Five-year-old children could play around in the yard, but playing with fire was not allowed. “Go wake up your brothers and then take a walk in the yard until I call you for breakfast.”
“Take a walk?” Yibao didn’t understand.
“Yes, take a walk. It’s good for your health and helps you grow up strong and tall,” Ning Shu explained.
“Okay, I’ll go now.” Yibao immediately went to wake up his brothers for a walk because they had already gotten up and didn’t sleep in like Mom.
She woke up a bit late, and she had to go to the county town, so she didn’t cook porridge.
Ning Shu steamed pumpkin, meat dumplings, and egg custard.
She mashed the pumpkin to make pumpkin puree for Sanbao, gave each child a bowl of egg custard, steamed two meat dumplings, one for herself and half for each of the two elder children.
The pot in the countryside was large, so the steaming rack was also large enough to fit all these items.
The stove was lit, giving Ning Shu a chance to freshen up and apply some snowflake cream.
Returning to the kitchen, she took out the remaining two cake rolls and cut them into eight pieces.
Steaming the pumpkin and meat dumplings was quick; they could be ready in about 20 minutes. Ning Shu called out, “Breakfast is ready.”
“Coming!” Erbao was the first to respond, his voice the loudest.
“Here we come.” Yibao followed Erbao’s lead.
“Eat… Mom eat… pot pot…” Sanbao spoke the most, but the slowest.
Yibao and Erbao led their brother in, seeing that Mom had already set breakfast on the table—there were leftover cake rolls, egg custard, pumpkin, and something that looked like rice but wasn’t white.
“Mom, what’s this?” Erbao asked.
“This is zongzi. There are two halves here, one for each of you and Yibao,” Ning Shu said as she made pumpkin porridge, mashing the pumpkin and adding hot water and a little sugar to make it into a paste.
“Mom, what are you making?” Compared to the delicious food on the table, what Mom was making intrigued Erbao more.
Ning Shu carried the pumpkin porridge over. “It’s pumpkin porridge for Sanbao,” she said as she picked up Sanbao to feed him.
Then she explained to Yibao and Erbao, “Children digest this kind of porridge easily. You guys are eating zongzi, which has meat inside, and it’s especially delicious.”
Yibao picked up a zongzi and took a bite. “It’s delicious. I can taste the meat, it’s a bit firm, but very tasty.”
“I’ll make it for you again tomorrow,” Ning Shu said.
“Tomorrow I want to eat it too,” Erbao added.
“You’ll have it too. But I’ll be going to the county town later, so you have to watch over Sanbao at home. Remember, no playing with water or fire, okay? If you get hungry, eat this cake roll, and you can also have apples and pears. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“We know,” Yibao and Erbao said. It wasn’t a big deal for them because Mom often went to the county town before, and they were used to it.
Ning Shu didn’t say much more because Yibao and Erbao were indeed used to Mom being away.
However, when the original owner left, she would lock the door and take the key, leaving only the key to the children’s room and not even leaving a grain of food.
But Ning Shu… she left behind a bowl of cake rolls, an apple, and a pear.
After settling things with the two elder children, she packed her bag and basket and left.
Carrying a basket on her back was more convenient than carrying a sack.
As Ning Shu left, Yibao and Erbao put Sanbao into the basket, then lifted it and left as well.
In the county town…
A two-hour walk wasn’t easy at all. If it were her previous body, Ning Shu might have walked without even panting because she was used to exercise.
But this body had never exercised, so her feet were really slipping.
When she arrived in the county town, she first went to the hospital.
The wound on the back of her head had healed well. In another week, the stitches could be removed, and then she wouldn’t need to go back every three days, just remove the stitches a week later.
After leaving the hospital, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative.
“Ning Meizi…” Ning Shu had just entered the cooperative when someone called her. “You haven’t been here for a long time. What have you been busy with lately?”
Ah, it was an old friend of the original owner, named Li Fei, a salesperson at the county supply and marketing cooperative.
The reason they knew each other was simple—one was a salesperson, and the other was a wealthy customer. More importantly, the original owner had money and vouchers.
“Li Jie.” Ning Shu greeted with a smile. “I went back to my mother’s house a while ago, and I got hit by a bicycle over there. Look…” She turned around, revealing the bald patch on the back of her head where the hair had been shaved.
“Oh my goodness…” Li Fei covered her chest. “I was really shocked. How serious was it?”
“I went into shock at the time and had to get stitches. I was in bed for a week,” Ning Shu said. “But luckily, I can get the stitches removed in another week. I came to the hospital today for a follow-up and also to see you, Li Jie.”
“It’s good that you thought of me, but when you’re injured, you should rest at home. When can’t I come to see you?” Li Fei smiled and scolded her.
The original owner didn’t have the same attitude towards Li Fei as she did towards the Lin family, because Li Fei was an employee of the supply and marketing cooperative and also a city dweller.
In the original owner’s mind, they were all city dwellers and were equal.
“Now that I’m out and about, it’s just a matter of walking. And I’m fine now,” Ning Shu said, taking out a pound of sugar coupons and a dollar from her bag. “Sister, give me a pound of fruit candies.” There were about a hundred fruit candies in a pound. She needed to prepare more for the chestnuts the children would exchange this afternoon.
“Sure thing.” Li Fei quickly weighed out a pound of fruit candies. When the scale stabilized, she even added an extra candy. It wouldn’t tip the balance, but she wouldn’t let just anyone take advantage of her.
Li Fei handed the fruit candies to Ning Shu and whispered, “Meizi, do you have any vouchers lately?”
“What vouchers do you need, Jie?” Ning Shu asked. She had quite a few vouchers, but she didn’t know if Li Fei wanted any specific ones.
“Do you have any industrial vouchers?” Li Fei and Ning Shu had known each other for many years and weren’t embarrassed to ask each other for things.
Ning Shu liked clothes and needed several sets made every year. If she didn’t have enough fabric vouchers, Ning Shu would find a way to exchange them for her.
Of course, Ning Shu had also exchanged food vouchers and meat vouchers for her.
“I only have 10 industrial vouchers. If it’s not enough, you can wait until next month. My man will send more,” Ning Shu said. If she had known a week ago that Li Fei needed industrial vouchers, she wouldn’t have exchanged 30 with the hostel manager.
She had saved 10 for herself. Lin Guodong could send 2 industrial vouchers every month, so generally, she really didn’t lack industrial vouchers.
“That’s enough, that’s enough. Just give me five,” Li Fei said gratefully. “My brother is getting married, and we’re short one pot. A cast-iron pot costs 15 industrial vouchers. My family has gathered 10, but we’re still short 5.” These industrial vouchers were really hard to come by.
They weren’t something just anyone could have. They were for workers and soldiers in state-owned factories.
She knew Ning Shu’s man was a military officer, so she thought of asking Ning Shu. She hadn’t asked the wrong person after all.
“Ning, I won’t take advantage of you. According to market price, one industrial voucher is worth 50 cents. I’ll give you 2.50 yuan. How about it?”