Chapter 9

Shen Yan insisted on personally taking her there, and Gu Keqing, unable to refuse, let him.

When the two of them arrived hand in hand at the entrance of the village, there were only two seats left on the ox cart.

Supporting her by the waist, Shen Yan helped her up.

Gu Keqing stared at the simple wooden cart, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might jump out of her chest, a fine sheen of sweat forming on her forehead.

“Be careful when you get to the city,” Shen Yan told her, handing Old Man Zhou, the cart driver, five fen and politely giving him a few instructions.

Only after the seats were filled did he wave them off.

“Shen Yan’s wife, your man really spoils you,” one auntie sitting next to Gu Keqing said with envy.

“That’s right—newlyweds stick together like glue.”

“And just look at how pretty she is. In the whole Cao Hua production team, there’s no girl or wife as good-looking as her.”

The women on the cart took turns praising her, making Gu Keqing’s face turn red.

“Aunties, have some candy.”

Since she planned to live here for a long time, the first order of business was to build good relationships with the locals.

She handed a few pieces to each person, but when she reached a female educated youth, the woman didn’t take any—instead, she shot her a fierce glare.

In her eyes flashed a complicated mix of emotions: jealousy, resentment, hostility…

Gu Keqing was puzzled. She had just arrived here—how could she have offended anyone?

Little did she know, the one glaring at her was the book’s main enemy—the heroine, Qi Zhilan.

“Qi Zhilan, if you’re not eating it, we will! Hmph, lunatic,” Sun Lili said with a haughty tilt of her chin, rolling her eyes at Qi Zhilan.

It wasn’t until Gu Keqing had finished handing out the candy that she realized—the heroine had already taken a dislike to her.

Heh.

And here she was, foolishly trying to give her candy.

Still… it seemed Qi Zhilan’s relationship with the two female educated youths beside her wasn’t all that good.

If she stirred the pot a little, their relationship might sour even more.

“I’m Gu Keqing, I came down in the last batch of educated youth,” she said, deciding to strike up a conversation.

“Oh… I’m Sun Lili, this is Xia Ye, and those two are Wang Zishan and Luo Yang.”

“Nice to meet you all.”

After learning their names, she reached into her basket, took out some small cakes from her space, and began handing them out to the people on the cart.

“Oh my, Shen Yan’s wife, you’re so generous—we really can’t take this,” the aunties said, reluctant to eat the cakes, tucking them away to bring home for their grandchildren.

In the countryside, people barely scraped together a little cash all year, let alone had the chance to buy such treats in town.

“You should all take one too,” Gu Keqing said, offering the cakes to the educated youths.

Luo Yang, nearly faint with hunger, didn’t hesitate—he grabbed one and took a bite. “Thanks, giving us candy and cake.”

“We didn’t have any breakfast this morning—almost starved to death,” Sun Lili said, shooting Qi Zhilan an angry glare.

“All your fault, with all your fussiness—why don’t you just move out?”

“Exactly!” Xia Ye said around a mouthful of cake, nodding in agreement.

“Thank you, Comrade Gu—you’re so kind,” Wang Zishan said sincerely.

“What happened this morning? No breakfast?” Gu Keqing asked casually, watching them eat.

“Some people act all high and mighty—won’t eat this, won’t eat that—and even smashed the cooking pot. If you’ve got the guts, move out,” Sun Lili said, her voice growing louder now that she had the strength from eating.

So, it was Qi Zhilan who broke the pot.

Gu Keqing observed the group quietly.

Since there was already friction between them, why not make the crack even bigger?

After all, she was going to be fighting Qi Zhilan for a long time—she had to use every person and every opportunity she could.

If she lost, it would be the end of her.

And Gu Keqing had no intention of dying early in this era—if anyone was going to die, it would be the heroine.

Qi Zhilan, sitting on the edge of the cart, ignored Sun Lili’s barbs.

What she cared about was how close Shen Yan and Gu Keqing looked—like a couple in the throes of love.

In her previous life, Qi Zhilan had married a man who, though ugly, had decent conditions, letting her live well.

Here at the educated youth station, all they had was coarse grain and salty pickles—barely fit for human consumption.

Qi Zhilan wanted white flour, but it was rationed and in short supply.

She’d quarreled with Xia Ye, the cook, and in the process smashed the pot.

Sun Lili, having missed breakfast, was fuming—hence her outburst on the cart.

From the book, Gu Keqing remembered that Sun Lili and Xia Ye were supposed to be Qi Zhilan’s close friends.

So how had they turned against each other the moment they arrived?

She couldn’t figure out what went wrong, but she knew Qi Zhilan was skilled at manipulating people.

The foolish Sun Lili and Xia Ye could be won over again easily.

They might be fighting now, but give it some time and they’d probably reconcile.

And as for Qi Zhiyun—she needed to be wary of her too. After all, they were cousins, and a single word from her could wipe out all of Gu Keqing’s achievements.

The ox cart rattled along until they finally reached the county seat.

“Back to the production team at 2 p.m.,” Old Man Zhou told everyone.

Gu Keqing deliberately lingered until the others had left, then took a few cakes and pieces of candy from her space and gave them to him.

“Uncle Zhou, take these home for your family to enjoy.”

He waved his hands quickly, startled. “Girl, I can’t take them—keep them for yourself. Such good things are expensive.”

Country folk were honest and ungreedy, even when given things for free.

This was what Gu Keqing liked most about this era.

In later generations, there were too many people who loved taking advantage, and it was disgusting.

“Just take them, Uncle Zhou. I’m going now.”

With that, she shouldered her basket and quickly headed toward the black market.

She remembered the book’s description of it—there were two locations, and the nearest one was down an alley between the state-owned restaurant and the guesthouse.

It was well hidden; without an insider, you’d never find it.

She pulled a dark scarf from her space, disguised herself, and after asking several older women coming from that direction, finally found the entrance.

This trip, she didn’t just plan to sell goods for money—she also wanted to get some ration tickets.

Without tickets, she couldn’t buy ready-made clothes or fabric.

The Shen family’s clothes were patched over patches.

She intended to buy everyone two sets of new clothes and get some fabric to sew more.

The black market had quite a few stalls, with plenty of buyers coming and going.

She picked the most secluded spot at the back, laid out a piece of cloth, and began placing the goods she’d prepared from her space.

Her location wasn’t very noticeable, so for a long while, only a few people wandered over to glance at her wares.

But Gu Keqing wasn’t worried.

Good goods didn’t fear being found late—someone with an eye for quality would buy them.

Finally, after nearly an hour, a man carrying a black satchel stopped at her stall.

“What are these paper-wrapped blocks?” he asked.