Chapter 11: Wholesale Market

After passing five or six stores, they reached the entrance to the residential community. Zhou Huifang greeted people as she walked and pulled Xiaomei inside.

Not far in, Zhou Huifang pointed at a shop and said, “This is the garage of Auntie’s house. It’s currently rented out for someone to open a store.”

Then she greeted the shop owner, “Xiao Li, how’s business?”

The owner smiled and replied, “Thanks to Sister Zhou, business is so-so.”

Xiaomei looked at the shop sign that said “Foreign Trade Surplus Stock.” She didn’t quite understand what that meant, but seeing that clothes were hanging inside, she figured it was a clothing store.

“Don’t underestimate the small number of clothes in her shop—lots of people buy from her, especially the teachers. They say the cotton clothes are comfortable to wear,” Zhou Huifang explained to Xiaomei.

She then pointed to the cars parked in front of the shop, “These belong to the teachers from the kindergarten across the street. The kindergarten is small, so the education bureau coordinated with the village to let the teachers park here. They arrive around 7:45 a.m. and leave before 4:30 p.m. After their cars are gone—before 7:30 in the morning and after 4:30 in the afternoon—elderly farmers from Dongshan, Xishan, and Guangfu bring vegetables from their home gardens to sell here. Lots of people buy from them because farm-grown vegetables are tastier and healthier than greenhouse ones.”

As they walked, she stopped by a minivan, “This is Auntie’s car. Makes it easier to shop, and the parking spot is rented too.”

Xiao Mao joked, “Your aunt is good with money. She rents the garage for 1,000 yuan a month—12,000 a year—but the parking spot only costs 500 yuan a year. In and out like that, just think how much she’s earning!”

“Hey now, everyone does this—not just me,” Zhou Huifang said with a laugh, secretly pleased.

That’s the benefit of being in a relocation community from her own village. The village committee naturally helped their own, especially with her husband working in the village office.

She turned and saw Xiaomei seemed lost in thought, staring at the street they’d just passed.

“What’s wrong? Did you see someone you know?” she asked.

Xiaomei snapped out of it and shyly smiled, “No, Auntie.” She hesitated, then asked, “Can I also set up a stall to sell vegetables?”

“Of course! You just have to pay a small fee—50 cents a day. As long as your vegetables are good quality, and you don’t short people on weight, anyone can set up a stall. Yours are real farm-grown veggies, right? No chemical fertilizers or pesticides? Not greenhouse-grown?”

The barrage of questions flustered Xiaomei a bit.

After getting in the van, Xiaomei finally calmed down and answered patiently: “We don’t use chemical fertilizer, just manure and chicken droppings. Makes them taste really good.”

“No pesticides either. There aren’t many bugs, and the ones we do get, we just catch and feed to the chickens.”

“What’s a greenhouse? I don’t know. We just grow them in our backyard. It’s fenced to keep out dogs and chickens. That’s about it.”

“That’s pure, natural, healthy, home-grown produce! It’ll definitely be popular. When you come sell, tell Auntie—I’ll help you sell too.”

Xiaomei was deeply moved. Having somehow ended up in this place, she was lucky to meet such a warm-hearted Auntie Zhou, who helped ease so many of her worries.

At that thought, a new idea struck her.

She thanked Auntie Zhou, then asked, “Auntie, who’s older—you or my mom?”

“Oh, I’m definitely older. My son is already twenty-six.”

“How old are you, Auntie?” Xiaomei asked nervously.

“I was born in 1972. You do the math.”

“Ah!” Xiaomei widened her eyes. “So… young!”

Xiaomei’s heart pounded: I’m older than you!

She was born in September 1968—clearly older than Zhou Huifang!

“Hahaha!” Zhou Huifang laughed heartily. “Not young anymore. I’ll be 50 soon. What about your mom?”

How could Xiaomei answer that? Her mother, Gu Hua’e, was born in 1948.

Thinking fast, she blurted, “My mom was born in 1984.”

“Then she’s still young—just 37 this year, not even 40.”

“Auntie, you look even younger than my mom,” Xiaomei said sincerely.

Compared to someone from 1976, people from 2021 really did look younger.

Zhou Huifang laughed joyfully again.

Xiaomei sighed in relief—she finally figured out what year it was.

She had time-traveled from 1976 to 2021.

What had happened in those 40+ years? Everything seemed to have changed—people lived in peace, prosperity, and happiness, unlike her own family, who still struggled to meet basic needs under pressure.

On the way, Xiaomei quietly asked Zhou Huifang more questions—what area of Suzhou they were in, if Guanqian Street still existed, and so on. She managed to ask everything her grandmother had told her to find out.

Unknowingly, they arrived at the Nancheng Vegetable Wholesale Market in Suzhou.

Since ancient times, Suzhou was the land of fish and rice—a wealthy region of the Jiangnan area. In recent years, it had become one of China’s leading cities, the second-largest destination for migrants in the country, and a symbol of economic growth.

As the city’s main wholesale produce market, it was enormous, filled with a dizzying variety of goods and packed with people like no other place.

As soon as she got out of the van, Xiaomei was stunned.

She had never seen such a bustling place in her nine years of life. Her head spun, ears ringing from all the noise, and her eyes couldn’t keep up with all the sights.

This wasn’t a street, a tree, a few fields, or rice paddies.

This was a sea of food—Xiaomei felt like every edible thing in the world was gathered here.

She stuck closely to Zhou Huifang, terrified of getting lost.

Zhou Huifang noticed her pale face, eyes filled with wonder, fear, and confusion, and realized this girl must’ve never been anywhere this crowded. She took Xiaomei’s hand.

“Let’s go look at the eel stall first,” she said softly in her ear.

She often came here to buy goods and knew exactly where everything was. She led Xiaomei toward the seafood wholesale building.

Actually, the seafood section was the smelliest place in the entire market—it truly stank.

But oddly enough, Xiaomei became more alert. Despite the foul odor, there was a strong salty scent that she found oddly pleasant. It brought her back to life.

There were plenty of eels—fresh and preserved ones. The fresh ones needed to be frozen. Xiaomei asked for the dried, preserved red eels—smallest size available. Zhou Huifang bargained with the vendor and got them for 13 yuan.