Chapter 51 The Acquisition Station

Jiang Pan Yu didn’t care about Zhao Xiuzhu’s feelings at all. What she was thinking about now was how to handle the situation when the event was triggered.

Today was the day Tan Yanlu harvested the ginseng she had grown and took it to the town’s acquisition station to sell.

In Tan Yanlu’s memories from her past life, the ginseng she had cultivated by watering it with Spirit Dew looked like a high-quality old ginseng that had been growing for over a decade.

The ginseng had an excellent appearance, with every root clearly defined and not a single one broken. Tan Yanlu’s original intention was to use the ginseng and her tears to repay Gao Shaolin for saving her life, and then completely sever ties with him, never to interact again.

After Tan Yanlu handed the ginseng to Gao Shaolin at the entrance of the acquisition station, she took the remaining ginseng inside. Because the ginseng looked so good, the station offered a high price of 150 yuan to buy it. Tan Yanlu was very satisfied and naturally agreed to the deal.

Of course, if she had gone to the black market, the price would have been slightly higher. However, Tan Yanlu didn’t want to invite trouble, so she chose to take a small loss and sell the ginseng at the acquisition station.

Little did she know that even going to the acquisition station wasn’t safe. The large sum of money she received from selling the ginseng brought her a catastrophic disaster.

Although the crime rate was extremely low in this era, it wasn’t nonexistent. As soon as Tan Yanlu left the acquisition station with the money, she was targeted by a group of criminals.

She was then robbed, nearly assaulted, and ultimately met a tragic end, dying on the streets.

Meanwhile, Gao Shaolin ended up with Tan Yanlu’s valuable possessions and, relying on women, became a winner in life.

Jiang Pan Yu recalled that when they were about to leave in the morning, Tan Yanlu had placed a long, small cloth bundle into her basket. It was about the length of a girl’s forearm, and it was probably the ginseng she intended to sell for money.

This meant that the plot point would definitely be triggered today. In fact, by now, Jiang Pan Yu wasn’t worried that Tan Yanlu would act impulsively for Gao Shaolin’s sake.

The progress bar for the mission had been slowly climbing and had now reached 25%. The Gossip System told Jiang Pan Yu that the higher the progress bar climbed, the weaker the psychological influence on Tan Yanlu would become.

Tan Yanlu’s increasing wariness of Gao Shaolin was proof enough that she was gradually breaking free from the trajectory of her fate.

Once the progress bar exceeded 60% and reached 70% or higher, Jiang Pan Yu wouldn’t need to worry anymore. Tan Yanlu would have awakened on her own, and the rest could be left to time.

After Tan Yanlu chatted with the educated youth at the residence for a while, the two groups parted ways. After all, everyone had unfinished business, and it wasn’t appropriate to delay any further.

After the educated youth dispersed and entered the market, Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu headed straight to the state-run restaurant. Last time, they hadn’t had enough time to enjoy a meal there, so this time they decided to satisfy their appetites first.

The state-run restaurant in town wasn’t actually called “State-Run Restaurant”; it was named “Peace Restaurant.” However, being a state-run establishment, it had an air of prestige and was considered a rare and excellent job in this era.

Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu each ordered different dishes. Jiang Pan Yu chose a plate of twice-cooked pork for 40 cents and a bowl of white rice for 3 taels of grain ration and 6 cents.

Tan Yanlu ordered a plate of stir-fried pork with green peppers (a full 0.25 pounds of meat) for 40 cents and a bowl of noodles with gravy for 20 cents.

The two of them only spent a little over one yuan to eat until they were stuffed. It was cheap, but without the grain and meat coupons, the price would have at least doubled.

Although they often bought eggs to treat themselves after moving out, eggs could never compare to the delicious aroma of meat.

Their mouths were greasy from eating, and there were still leftovers. Fortunately, this time they remembered to bring lunch boxes. They packed the leftovers into their boxes before leaving the restaurant.

They walked slowly to the recycling station, holding their full stomachs. They planned to find some discarded chairs and tables to repair.

Unexpectedly, upon entering, they saw Lian Xiuran picking through some old newspapers.

Lian Xiuran was also surprised and quickly greeted them, though his greeting was quite different. To Tan Yanlu, he smiled like a little angel, but when facing Jiang Pan Yu, he simply nodded and that was it.

Then, turning his head, Lian Xiuran flashed a big, toothy smile at Tan Yanlu. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging like crazy.

Jiang Pan Yu couldn’t bear to look at his infatuated expression and rolled her eyes at him before heading to the next room to pick out chairs and tables.

Naturally, Lian Xiuran had no idea that Jiang Pan Yu had already labeled him as a “simp.” He continued chatting enthusiastically with Tan Yanlu.

Jiang Pan Yu, seeing the array of broken chairs and tables, called Tan Yanlu over to help pick some out.

Many of these pieces were made of good wood, but unfortunately, they had been deliberately damaged.

They could only choose the less severely damaged ones. They wouldn’t be able to form a matching set, so they tried to pick furniture of the same color to make it look more cohesive.

In the end, they selected two small stools, two wooden benches, and a foldable table, all of which needed repairs.

It’s like in those period novels where the heroine goes to the recycling station and always finds gold bars or precious wood under the chairs and tables—pure fantasy.

The people who work at the recycling station have sharp eyes. Any good wood would have already been taken, leaving only the mediocre or unwanted pieces for outsiders to see.

Besides chairs and tables, Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu also picked out a lot of old newspapers. These had many uses: as wallpaper, to cover the heated brick bed, and most importantly, as toilet paper.

This was quite luxurious, as in rural areas, people rarely used toilet paper, opting instead for leaves, dry straw, corn cobs, or corn husks.

In the end, a thick stack of old newspapers and the broken furniture only cost them one yuan, which Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu split equally.

Leaving the recycling station, they thought Lian Xiuran would leave, but he shamelessly stayed behind: “I don’t have anything else to do later, so I might as well go back with you. It’ll be troublesome for you to carry all this stuff, so I’ll help out.”

With that, Lian Xiuran grabbed the heaviest and most cumbersome foldable table and walked ahead, not giving Tan Yanlu a chance to refuse.

Tan Yanlu had no choice but to accept Lian Xiuran’s kindness, but she still needed to make a trip to the purchasing station. Naturally, Jiang Pan Yu and Lian Xiuran followed along.

The three of them carried quite a few things as they headed toward the purchasing station. Since today was the day to deliver the Task Pigs for the market, the purchasing station was particularly crowded when they arrived.

A long line had formed at the purchasing station, with people selling various items—dried vegetables, grains, eggs, and even dried mushrooms and herbs collected from the mountains. The purchasing station accepted everything.

Next to the purchasing station was the food station, where the Task Pigs were delivered. An even longer line had formed at the entrance of the food station, accompanied by the sounds of pigs and the overwhelming stench of pig manure.

With so many people around, it was impossible for the three of them to queue together while carrying their belongings. In the end, only Tan Yanlu went to stand in line at the purchasing station.

Though Tan Yanlu said she was going to queue, her eyes kept darting around as if searching for something. Jiang Pan Yu knew this was the influence of subconscious hints—Tan Yanlu was supposed to hand over her Golden Finger to Gao Shaolin before joining the line.

However, due to various reasons, Tan Yanlu and Gao Shaolin hadn’t developed any emotional entanglements. As a result, Tan Yanlu hadn’t asked anyone to call Gao Shaolin out today, and it was impossible for him to appear here now.