Chapter 20: Wealth and School

Luo Qiao casually asked, “Uncle Geng, do you have any receipts here? If you do, please help me find some. You can deduct the cost from the money for the ginseng.”

Geng Ming looked at Luo Qiao and nodded knowingly, “Alright, please wait here.”

When Geng Ming returned, he had a leather bag in his hand containing exactly four hundred yuan, all in large unity bills. Another leather bag held two large unity bills and various types of receipts.

Luo Qiao quickly glanced inside and saw sugar coupons, cloth coupons, soap coupons, and various industrial coupons. Unfortunately, there were no meat coupons. What made Luo Qiao particularly happy was finding a sewing machine coupon among them.

Geng Ming felt that the price offered for the ginseng wasn’t as high as what she could get in the city. Since he already had a sewing machine at home and no use for the coupon, he decided to give it to Luo Qiao.

After receiving the money, coupons, and a few instructions from Geng Ming, Luo Qiao sold the several kilograms of unprocessed bupleurum in her basket at the front of the herbal medicine shop before bidding farewell.

Thinking about her home, she planned to visit the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to exchange those coupons for goods.

The Supply and Marketing Cooperative was quite spacious, bustling with many people. Every counter where goods were sold was crowded, so she had to move towards the back first to see if there was anything she needed.

When she reached the end of the aisle, Luo Qiao noticed a simple winter stove for sale at the counter. She asked about the price, “Comrade, how much is this stove?”

The salesperson didn’t even look up and simply replied, “Six industrial coupons, six yuan.”

Luo Qiao considered it briefly and realized it wasn’t particularly cheap. However, the stove was compact and could burn coal and firewood, which might be hard to come by in winter. Since she had encountered it now, she decided to buy it.

She counted out six industrial coupons and handed over six yuan. The salesperson behind the counter was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting Luo Qiao to actually make the purchase. After verifying the money and coupons were correct, they brought the stove out from behind the counter.

Luo Qiao immediately regretted buying the stove—how was she going to carry anything else now?

The salesperson saw the regret on her face and understood what she was thinking as she stared at the other counters ahead. Surprised that this young girl could produce industrial coupons, they offered, “Why don’t you leave the stove with me for now? You can come back to pick it up after you finish shopping.”

Luo Qiao was relieved and grateful. She realized she had been a bit scatterbrained not to think of that herself. Thanking them profusely, she headed towards the nearby counters to continue her shopping.

Anyway, except for the sewing machine coupon, all the coupons in hand were almost used up. She bought a thermos, Liberation shoes and cloth shoes, soap, towels, toothpaste and toothbrushes, as well as a vintage enamel basin and a comb.

The comb that the original owner brought with her was now missing a tooth and almost worn out. As for the toothpaste, there was no toothpaste left. The bristles of the toothbrush were almost worn out too, and the towel was torn and unusable, resembling a spider web.

So, apart from the small stove she bought today, everything else was essential.

When she returned to the counter where she bought the stove, her hair had been scattered by the crowd. She quickly tied it back up and thanked them before leaving the supply and marketing cooperative.

She was afraid of running into people from the village, so she found a secluded corner to store the small stove in her space. Outside, she only left the shoes and basin, as shoes were necessary to wear outside.

The basin would be used to wash clothes in the river in the future, which was acceptable.

After sorting all this out, she headed towards the middle school in the commune, wanting to inquire about what to do in her situation.

However, she found out upon asking that to attend junior high school, she needed to take the exam with this year’s elementary school graduates. Only if she passed the exam could she attend junior high school. Otherwise, she would need an elementary school graduation certificate, and the middle school would decide the grade based on exam results.

Before Luo Qiao could ask anything else, the person had already impatiently waved her off.