Chapter 22

Suddenly, she flipped to the bottom of the recipe book and spotted a dish—Tomatoes with Sugar—and her eyes lit up. Tomatoes! Her grandma had just picked some and placed them in the cupboard for tomorrow.

As for sugar, she had some in her room. Her father thought she was physically weak, so whenever the commune’s supply and marketing cooperative had items like malted milk, white sugar, or brown sugar, he’d bring her some.

Jiang Yao went back to her room, fetched the sugar, sliced up the tomatoes, sprinkled the sugar over them, and stirred it all together.

As soon as she finished, a “mission completed” notification sounded in her mind—a cauliflower coin earned.

She picked up a piece with chopsticks and tasted it. Not bad. Seeing that the candles in her grandmother and father’s rooms were still lit, she split the dish into two small plates and brought them to their rooms.

Li Guihua ate the tomatoes her granddaughter had prepared, feeling deeply content. So late at night, yet Yao Yao had made a sweet treat for them—using the sugar her father had specially bought for her, no less.

The next morning, Jiang Yao, still thrilled from landing the job, woke before dawn. The alarm she had set in the recipe book was completely unnecessary.

She went into the kitchen, took out some cornmeal, and decided to make corn pancakes—knocking out both breakfast and the recipe mission at the same time.

Just as she was pressing the pancake dough against the side of the pot, Li Guihua got up. The sky outside was already tinged with white—you could make out the road.

Li Guihua rubbed her eyes when she saw her granddaughter in the kitchen. She hadn’t even come to wake her yet, so why was she already up?

And she was making pancakes?

Li Guihua looked up at the sky. The sun hadn’t risen from the west, yet her eldest granddaughter, who had never cooked before, was actually in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Yao Yao, leave it, leave it—let Grandma do it. Why are you up so early? I was just about to finish breakfast and then wake you.”

She put down the washing supplies in her hand and tried to take the spatula from Jiang Yao, but Jiang Yao dodged with a quick step.

No way she was giving this up—this was today’s mission, and she was just about to complete it.

“Grandma, I’m almost done. You go ahead with your chores. Tonight, I’ll taste your cooking again, okay?”

“I’m craving that dish you make so well.”

“Alright, alright—Grandma will cook for you tonight.”

Li Guihua beamed so wide her eyes nearly disappeared into her smile. Hearing her granddaughter request a dish, she dropped all her usual firmness and left the kitchen happily.

That morning’s breakfast came early, but the whole family sat around the table. Under the gray, misty sky, they ate corn pancakes with a bowl of thin porridge and some pickled vegetables.

“Come, try Yao Yao’s cooking—it’s her first time in the kitchen!” Li Guihua said, placing a pancake on each person’s plate and ladling out a generous portion of porridge to ensure everyone ate their fill.

“Well, I’d better have a good taste of Yao Yao’s cooking,” said Jiang Chaomin with a laugh.

He took a big bite of the corn pancake, gave a thumbs-up, and said, “Not bad! First time cooking and you’ve already got it just right. No wonder you’re my daughter—fast learner!”

After breakfast, Jiang Yao rode her bicycle to the county and stopped at the gate of the Yanjun County Supply and Marketing Cooperative, taking a moment to observe her surroundings.

Yanjun County was a moderately sized place, and the cooperative she worked at was the largest in the county.

It was located in the east of town, just a street away from the state-run hotel, and not far from the county government offices.

The cooperative occupied nearly half a street—apparently consolidated from a few pre-Liberation storefronts. It wasn’t a single large building as Jiang Yao had imagined.

These storefronts hadn’t been physically merged, either. There was just a door at the back connecting to the warehouse and cafeteria.

The cooperative had multiple departments, providing various supplies to the public. Jiang Yao was assigned to the Food and Pastry Sales Department, which occupied two storefronts.

Other departments included the Agricultural Supplies Division, which sold fertilizers, pesticides, and other farming materials, as well as the Scrap Collection Station, a staple of any period drama.

Just as Jiang Yao stepped into the pastry counter, back at the Jiang family’s home in the Forward Brigade, an unexpected visitor arrived.

“Third Aunt Jiang, you haven’t gone to work yet? Perfect, let’s go together.”

“Gu Li, what a coincidence. I cut my hand yesterday, so I’m not going to the fields today. You go on ahead.”

Li Guli entered the Jiang family courtyard and walked over to Li Guihua.

“Auntie, how’d you manage to hurt yourself? Let me take a look. Well, it’s not serious, thank goodness.”

After glancing at her hand, she got straight to the point.

“So… about what I mentioned last time, have you thought it over? The other side is getting impatient. I need a clear answer soon.”

Seeing Li Guihua hesitating, she pressed harder. “What’s there to hesitate about? If we weren’t such close relatives, I wouldn’t have even offered you this opportunity.”

“If you miss this, it’s gone. Sure, the young man likes your granddaughter, but his family can’t wait—they want him married this year. If you don’t agree soon, they’ll find someone else.”

“Your eldest daughter-in-law is young and inexperienced—she can’t make these decisions. You’re the only reliable elder in your family. Think it over carefully.”

“I’m heading to the fields. You think on it.”

With that, Li Guli left, her face full of smug confidence, clearly thinking the marriage was as good as settled.

After all, this auntie loved her granddaughter like her own eyes. Deng Hongda had one of the best reputations among eligible bachelors from several brigades. There was no reason for Li Guihua to say no.

Inside the Yanjun County Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Jiang Yao finished her paperwork and followed Aunt Chen to her assigned counter, where she was briefly instructed.

She would be working the counter alone, which mostly sold pastries: fragrant sponge cakes, neatly shaped rice cakes, fennel seed pastries, crispy salted biscuits…

Next to those were rows of neatly stacked canned fruits.

To the right, a young married woman handled the candy counter, selling brightly colored fruit candies, hard candies, and rare goods from Shanghai—like the famous White Rabbit Milk Candies, known for the slogan: “Ten candies equal one cup of milk.”

At the next counter, an older woman and a younger comrade sold high-demand items like white and brown sugar. Their products were so popular that the shelves emptied in minutes.

The room wasn’t large—just enough space for three counters. The other storefront of the food and pastry division was right next door.

When Jiang Yao entered, she took a quick look inside—it was spacious, filled with many goods, and had more than twice as many salespeople.