Xu Ning got up early to prepare for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Her mother and Aunt Lu were busy making dumplings, while Xu Ning focused on the dishes. She made braised pig’s head, which Grandpa Qi loved, and stir-fried fatty intestines, favored by her father and Uncle Lu. Her mother and Aunt Lu enjoyed chestnut chicken soup, while Xu An and Xu Mo liked any kind of meat. She also prepared her own favorites: braised lamb with radishes, braised pig trotters, and a big pot of goose stewed in an iron pot. For the vegetables, she made scallion tofu, cold seaweed salad, and stir-fried mushrooms with eggs. Finally, she steamed a pot of brown sugar sponge cake.

Since Xu Ning had once brought a batch of brown sugar sponge cake to the cow shed and received unanimous praise from the five people there, she decided to stop buying snacks for them and instead started making sponge cakes to send over every few days.

Once she finished the last dish, she carried it to the cow shed. Xu An had already delivered all the stir-fried dishes, and the three of them were also going to the cow shed to have their reunion dinner. Grandpa Qi, Father Xu, and Uncle Lu raised their glasses for a toast, while Mother Xu, Aunt Lu, and the three siblings enjoyed the soda Xu Ning had bought. They all lifted their cups, exchanging blessings as they welcomed the year 1970.

After the Spring Festival, before they knew it, it was time for spring planting. Xu Ning asked Xu An about school.

Xu An said, “Sister, I don’t plan to transfer to a new school right now. There are only a few months left until the break, and I plan to start fourth grade in September.”

Xu Ning calculated that the elementary school still lasted five years, while both junior and senior high school were two years each. Completing high school wouldn’t delay his college entrance exams until 1976, so she agreed to let him start in the second half of the year.

A few days earlier, Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei had come to visit and mentioned Lin Miao building a house at the youth work site. They were constructing two rooms—one for living and one for a kitchen. They also talked about Gu Wenping and Yang Wenli planning to build another room together.

Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei wanted to build their own house as well. They had already written home for money to support their plans, but since they had just arrived and hadn’t earned many work points, they would need to rely on their families for support to build a separate house.

The village had announced yesterday that it was time for spring planting, and work would start tomorrow. Xu Ning planned to take a trip to the city today.

Su Hongying had asked her about the bedsheets several times. Xu Ning intended to bring her twenty sets today, and there were still fifty complete sets of vintage-style bed sheets and duvet covers in her space. She also decided to take two of those for Su Hongying to look at.

When Xu Ning arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, she exchanged a knowing glance with Su Hongying. Su Hongying immediately understood and went to ask the director for leave, saying she needed to go home to pick up some things.

Su Hongying led Xu Ning directly to her home. Xu Ning first handed over the twenty bedsheets, then took out two complete sets of bed sheets and duvet covers from her backpack. She opened the sets for Su Hongying to see.

“Sister Hongying, these are from my friend, who plans to take a complete set of bedding to Haishi. Do you want them? If you do, you can keep these two sets; if not, I’ll return them and let him take them to Haishi.”

Su Hongying touched the sets of bed sheets and duvet covers, unable to hide her delight. However, she knew such goods wouldn’t be cheap, so she asked Xu Ning, “Sister, how much is one set? I’ll be honest with you; I’m planning to sell them too. If they’re too expensive, I’m worried they won’t sell well.”

“Sister Hongying, my friend said one set costs at least fifty yuan. If you’re worried about selling, let him take them to Haishi. After all, it’s a big city, and there are more wealthy people there.”

Hearing that one set was fifty yuan, Su Hongying thought that selling them for fifty-five yuan each would still be quite easy.

She said to Xu Ning, “Sister, I’ll take both sets. Wait here; I’ll go get the money for you.”

After Su Hongying handed Xu Ning 460 yuan, she asked, “Sister, when will you have more bedsheets next time?”

Xu Ning replied, “Hongying Jie, I’m not sure. My friend can’t guarantee when he’ll have them, but he promised that if he does, he’ll definitely set some aside for me.”

Su Hongying happily said, “Great, great! Thank you so much, sister.”

After leaving Su Hongying’s house, Xu Ning checked the time—it was eleven o’clock. She then headed to the machinery factory. She parked her bicycle not far from the entrance, planning to wait for a woman to come out and see if she needed bedsheets. Most of the workers at the factory were men, and the few women working there were either from the union or the office. These two types of people typically had connections or education, so they weren’t likely to be short on money.

Before long, people began to exit the machinery factory. Xu Ning noticed a woman in her twenties, dressed quite fashionably for the time.

Xu Ning pulled her hat down and quietly approached the woman, saying, “Comrade, would you like some bedsheets? I brought them from the south.” She revealed the bedsheets in her basket for the woman to see.

The woman glanced into her basket and signaled Xu Ning to follow her. A bit apprehensive, Xu Ning slowly trailed behind her. After walking for a while, Xu Ning stopped.

Seeing her pause, the woman turned and asked, “Why are you stopping? My home is just ahead.”

Xu Ning looked around at the factory workers, thinking that this area must be the housing complex for the factory. She continued following the woman.

The woman opened a small gate and gestured for Xu Ning to enter. “Come in; no one’s home. My parents and husband are still at the factory.”

After that, she led Xu Ning inside. Xu Ning didn’t follow her into the main room; instead, she set her basket down in the courtyard to show the woman the bedsheets.

Noticing Xu Ning’s cautious demeanor, the woman didn’t press her and instead asked her to spread out the bedsheets in the yard.

Once Xu Ning had laid them all out, the woman’s eyes lit up, and she asked, “How much for one set?”

Xu Ning replied, “Twenty yuan each, no haggling.”

Hearing this, the woman said, “Young girl, can’t you lower the price a bit? I want two sets.”

When Xu Ning heard her negotiating, she stuffed the bedsheets back into her basket and prepared to leave.

The woman quickly grabbed her arm, saying, “Hey, hey, hey! Why do you turn to leave as soon as I suggest lowering the price? Come on, let’s negotiate a bit more.”

Xu Ning thought to herself, Sister, try bargaining at the supply and marketing cooperative and see how that goes.

“Comrade, I already said no haggling. It’s twenty yuan each; do you want them or not?”

Seeing that Xu Ning really wouldn’t budge on the price, the woman decided to buy two sets. As Xu Ning handed over the bedsheets, she intentionally revealed the duvet covers beneath them. The woman immediately asked, “What’s this?”

Xu Ning explained, “This is a set: one set of bed sheet and duvet cover. I don’t sell them separately.”

The woman, clearly delighted, asked how much for the whole set. Xu Ning told her it was fifty-five yuan, no bargaining.

Hearing the price, the woman hesitated, thinking that fifty-five yuan was her husband’s monthly salary, while her own salary was only thirty-five. However, she liked them so much that she finally gritted her teeth and bought one set.

Xu Ning continued to approach a couple more households that appeared relatively well-off, successfully selling two more bedsheets as part of a set.