One thousand jin of fine grain, one thousand jin of coarse grain, eggs, pork, pork fat, a bucket of fish, a bucket of shrimp, fabric, cotton, milk powder and malt extract, soybeans and mung beans, brown sugar, live chickens…

Before long, they had filled the earthen rooms and storage rooms completely.

Qiao Jiuru settled the payment for these goods with Xiao Lei and secretly slipped him two extra yuan.

“Xiao Lei, if we need anything else, where should I find you next time?”

“Auntie, you can find me at the black market over at Xiehe. Just say my name.”

Xiao Lei never expected that this seemingly refined and sensible auntie would be so generous as to pay him extra money in secret.

Besides, she was introduced by Uncle Guang, someone completely trustworthy.

So Xiao Lei told Qiao Jiuru the location of the black market he was guarding.

“Thank you, Xiao Lei. We’ll come to you if we need anything.”

While thanking Xiao Lei, Qiao Jiuru saw him and the other three off.

Only after they disappeared into the darkness did Qiao Jiuru immediately close the door and hurriedly, together with Su Huaiyuan, put all the supplies into their space.

Then the couple entered the space together.

“Ah Ru, with this much stuff, it should be enough for us to eat for two years. From now on, we don’t need to feel so anxious or urgent.”

Su Huaiyuan looked at the piles of rice, flour, meat, eggs, and other supplies on the ground and felt much more at ease.

Not to mention, in these past few days, whenever they had free time, they had been working the land inside the space. Unconsciously, they had already dug out two acres.

They dug and planted at the same time. Now sweet potatoes, potatoes, Chinese cabbage, scallions, garlic, and ginger had been planted.

What amazed them the most was that little green shoots were already sprouting in the sweet potato and potato fields.

“When we get to the place where we’re sent down, we’ll find seeds to plant wheat and rice, and also grow more vegetables.”

Qiao Jiuru felt more confident about their future life, more assured, and gradually more secure.

“There’s so much land here. We can plant as much as we want! Soon, we’ll have more grain than we can eat.”

Looking at the vast fertile land before him, Su Huaiyuan felt the future was bright.

He didn’t think life would be hard anymore.

He was willing to work and farm. As long as the family could eat their fill and not go hungry, he feared nothing.

“Alright, then you’ll be the one planting it all.”

Qiao Jiuru finally felt like joking.

Regarding what was going to happen the night after tomorrow, she suddenly felt much calmer.

The couple first poured the fish and shrimp into the river inside the space, watered the potatoes and sweet potatoes planted in the field, and kept an eye on the situation outside the space.

Half an hour passed, and outside it was still as quiet as a mouse.

Apparently, no one was coming to prey on them.

“Huaiyuan, let’s go to the black market one more time. If we can buy more, it’s better. Over a hundred jin of rice and flour will be enough for us for two months.”

With grain in hand, their hearts were calm.

Besides, they still had nearly three thousand yuan left, and their eldest son Su Ze had over two thousand yuan. Now a thousand yuan was a lot of money and very practical.

“Alright, after buying, we’ll head home.”

Su Huaiyuan agreed. They would buy as they went and head home along the way — the timing was just right.

After deciding, the couple left the space. The storage room was still very dark; they only turned on one flashlight.

Then, carefully stepping out of the storage room, they closed the door and prepared to push the bicycle leaning against the wall.

Suddenly, they heard several harsh coughing sounds from the neighboring yard, some from elders, some from children.

“Grandpa, grandma, it’s bad! The younger brother and sister have a fever!”

“Grandpa, grandma, big brother, what do we do?! Xiao Luo and Xiao Yu’s fevers are so severe.”

“Wuwu… Grandpa, grandma, I’m so scared. We don’t have money to take the little ones to the doctor.”

Just as Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan were about to push the bike out the door, the courtyard beside them became chaotic, filled with the cries of children.

“Cough cough cough, Xiao Luo, Xiao Shu, Xiao Nian, don’t cry! Grandpa’s going to check on your little brother and sister.”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry! Grandma’s going to get some cold water to cool them down.”

Two aged voices rose, followed by the sounds of footsteps and occasional sobbing.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan stood at the doorway, unmoving.

After a while, they couldn’t help but sigh.

The couple could tell that the family next door was full of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people, without money to even go to the hospital when sick. Life was really hard for them.

“Let’s go have a look.”

After a long while, Qiao Jiuru could no longer harden her heart and turn a blind eye.

“They are all unfortunate people.”

Su Huaiyuan didn’t oppose; he couldn’t bear to see it either, especially when they were capable and couldn’t just pretend not to hear.

Soon, the couple went together to knock on the door.

The Song Family.

Inside, Song Baocheng and his wife anxiously wiped the bodies of their two feverish grandchildren with cold water. On the bed lay three grandchildren with red, swollen eyes.

They didn’t know if this helped, but they had no other choice. No money for the hospital, nowhere to borrow from.

Just as Song Baocheng and his wife were filled with sorrow, the door suddenly rang.

“Knock knock knock…”

In this quiet, near-dawn morning, the knocking sounded very clear to everyone in the house.