Xu Ning heard about Lin Miao’s mishap in the afternoon while she was out chopping wood on the mountain.

Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei, who were chopping wood with her, said, “Xu Zhiqing, be sure to keep a close eye on your bicycle when you ride into town next time. Today, Lin Miao rode her newly bought bicycle to town, and it got stolen while she was there.

Gu Wenping offered to take her to the police, but she said she had already reported it. Who knows if they’ll be able to find it?”

Xu Ning recalled the chaotic scene she had witnessed at the black market earlier in the morning. Lin Miao had probably been in too much of a hurry to pay attention to her bicycle, and someone must have taken advantage of the situation.

In the book she had read, it didn’t seem like Lin Miao had encountered anything like this. The black market was truly a dangerous place. Even though Lin Miao was the novel’s protagonist, and the protagonist’s aura had allowed her to escape unscathed, she still lost a bicycle. As for someone like her, a mere side character, it was better to keep a low profile.

Once the reforms and opening up came, there would be plenty of opportunities to make money. For now, her main priority was to ensure her family’s safety.

Xu Ning, not too concerned, casually replied to the two women, “Don’t worry. My bicycle is my lifeline. I’ve never let it out of my sight, no matter where I go. If anyone dares to steal it, I’ll fight them to the end!”

Wei Lanlan rolled her eyes at Xu Ning and said, “Well, you better make sure to keep a close watch on your lifeline.”

At the youth camp, Lin Miao lay on her bed, feeling frustrated but unable to voice her grievances. She kept thinking about the terrifying moment at the black market—she had almost been caught. Luckily, she had run fast enough, but she hadn’t had time to get on her bicycle. In the chaos, someone had ridden off with it.

That bicycle had cost her dearly; she had sold many of the items from her space to afford it. Her space was a livestream room filled with samples sent by suppliers from before she had time-traveled. There wasn’t much of anything in it, and she couldn’t go to the police to report the theft. How could she explain why her bicycle had been at the black market in the first place?

The family she had transmigrated into was only average in terms of living conditions. They used to send her a few yuan each month, but this year, it had dwindled to every two months.

Whenever she thought about Xu Ning receiving 30 yuan and ration coupons each month, Lin Miao couldn’t help but feel jealous. There were still seven years until the college entrance exams would be reinstated. If she had known, she wouldn’t have bought that bicycle. She could’ve saved the money to improve her life during these difficult years.

She tried to console herself, thinking that there were still some things left in her space. If she spent sparingly, it would be enough to last until the exams returned. When that time came, her opportunity would arrive.

As Xu Ning and the others were carrying firewood down the mountain, they saw Old Chen’s ox cart hauling a large water tank toward the cowshed.

It must have been something Grandpa Qi had asked Old Chen to help buy from town. The backyard of the cowshed had a lot of cabbage growing this year, and the small tank they had wasn’t enough. Xu Ning’s mother and Aunt Lu had mentioned getting a bigger one, so Grandpa Qi told Old Chen, who drove the ox cart, to bring one back when he went into town that morning.

Wei Lanlan asked Xu Ning, who was walking ahead, “When are you going to harvest the cabbage from your private plot?”

“Tomorrow, I’m not going up the mountain. I plan to stay home and harvest the cabbage to make sauerkraut. Are you two going to pickle any sauerkraut?”

Wei Lanlan replied, “We don’t know how to pickle sauerkraut. How about we help you harvest your cabbage tomorrow, and then the day after, you help us pickle ours?”

“Sure! But have you bought a jar for it? If not, tell Old Chen to bring one for you tomorrow. Just give him a dime for the delivery fee,” Xu Ning reminded them.

The two women slapped their thighs, realizing they hadn’t bought one yet. They hurried off to the cowshed to find Old Chen.

Seeing them carrying their firewood, Xu Ning called after them, “Hey, take the firewood back first! Just wait at the gate of the youth camp. Old Chen won’t pass by here on his way back to the village.”

The two, laughing awkwardly, turned around with their firewood. Xu Ning rolled her eyes at them before heading home.

After dinner, while Xu An stayed home doing his homework, Xu Ning took Xu Mo with her to the cowshed.

Aunt Lu had mentioned that her sauerkraut didn’t taste as good as Xu Ning’s, so she asked her to come by in the evening to explain how to do it.

When the siblings arrived, their parents, along with Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu, had already cleaned the cabbage and the jars.

Xu Ning stood to the side, directing everyone on how to pickle the cabbage. Once everything was ready, they placed stones on top to weigh it down.

Xu Ning’s mother, noticing how confidently she gave instructions, asked her, “Ningning, who taught you how to make sauerkraut? We’ve never pickled it at home before.”

Xu Ning had anticipated this question and replied, “I learned it from Aunt Dashuan in the village. Her sauerkraut is famous for being delicious, and every year, people ask her to help them pickle. She also taught me how to pickle cucumbers.”

Xu Ning wasn’t exactly lying. Last year, when she pickled sauerkraut, she had indeed consulted Aunt Dashuan for advice.

Grandpa Qi, who was standing nearby, chimed in, “Dashuan’s wife is well-known in all the surrounding villages for her pickling skills. Back in the day, many suitors came to her family’s door because of it. Dashuan himself was a handsome and hardworking young man, and that’s how he managed to win her over.”

Grandpa Qi enthusiastically shared the gossip about the younger generation, and Xu Ning listened with great interest. It wasn’t until Xu Mo began yawning repeatedly that Xu Ning reluctantly called it a night and headed home.

The next day, when Xu Ning started harvesting her cabbage, not only did Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei show up to help, but Chen Xiangdong and Sun Hao also came along. Ge Hongbin had gone into town to buy a jar.

Everyone wanted to learn how to pickle sauerkraut from Xu Ning. Chen Xiangdong and the others had planted the same crops as Xu Ning in their private plots: cabbage, radishes, and green onions.

Xu Ning watered her crops, and they followed suit. When she weeded, they did the same, learning from her by observing everything she did.

So, after hearing Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei ask Old Chen to bring a jar for sauerkraut yesterday, the three men decided to get jars of their own and learn the process from Xu Ning.

With everyone pitching in, they quickly finished harvesting the cabbages from the field.

Xu Ning then demonstrated the process of pickling sauerkraut—how much salt to use for a certain amount of cabbage, and the key points to remember after the cabbage was pickled.

The group felt a little overwhelmed, worried that they might ruin the cabbage if they didn’t get it right. So, they asked Xu Ning to come by the next day and supervise them through the process. Xu Ning agreed.

After pickling her own sauerkraut, Xu Ning spent a few more days chopping firewood in the mountains. Once the woodshed was full and there was a large pile stacked in front of the private plot, enough to last through the winter, she decided to stop.

When Xu Ning came back, carrying two buckets of water, she saw Xu An and Xu Mo extracting pine nuts from pine cones. Over the past few days, they had already filled two large sacks.

Seeing Xu Ning return with the water, Xu An asked, “Sis, when are you heading into town? Can you send some pine nuts to Big Brother (Xu Yang) and Big Brother Lu?”

Xu Mo nodded eagerly beside Xu An and said, “Sis, send them plenty. We’ve gathered so much, and we can’t finish it all. Mom and Aunt Lu also collected a lot. Just a few days ago, they had me carry some over.”

Xu Ning nodded and replied, “I’ll head into town tomorrow. If you want to write letters, you should do it now. Xiao An, go ask Mom, Dad, Uncle Lu, and Aunt Lu if they have anything they need to send or any instructions.”

Xu Ning planned to bring some vegetables to an elderly couple the next day, along with the 20 bedsheets she had promised Su Hongying.

After dinner, Xu Ning took out two bags she had sewn over the past few days. In one bag, she packed hazelnuts, pine nuts, dried mushrooms, dried wood ear fungus, and dried wild vegetables—this one was for Lu Xiaotang. The dried wood ear fungus and wild vegetables were from Aunt Lu, meant for Lu Xiaotang’s aunt, who lived in a military district.

For Xu Yang, she only packed hazelnuts and pine nuts. Since he ate at the mess hall and didn’t cook for himself, the dried vegetables wouldn’t be useful to him.

As for Lu Xiaoran, she decided to wait a few more days to send her package. Aunt Lu was still finishing a pair of shoes for her, and they weren’t quite ready yet.