Chapter 7 – The Supply and Marketing Cooperative

So, Nan Qiao could only try her best to dress nicely, comfortably, and with a touch of flair—so long as it didn’t contradict the era’s sensibilities.

After washing up in her space, Nan Qiao ate a pork patty and egg panini and an iced latte she had bought before transmigrating. Only then did she step out.

She folded the bedding that Tao Zhi had brought yesterday and placed it neatly in the corner. Then, she opened the door and stepped outside. A glance at the Shanghai-brand watch her father had given her showed it was already half past six. Judging by the silence, Shen Nian hadn’t woken up yet.

Nan Qiao was not the type to be late. Since she planned to freshen up and eat breakfast in her space each morning, she naturally woke even earlier than most.

Seeing that there was no movement from Shen Nian’s room, she went straight to the door, knocked, and called out, “Nian Nian, get up—you’re going to be late!”

No response after the first knock. No response after the second. It wasn’t until Nan Qiao rapped the door loudly that the sounds of rustling and dressing came from inside.

Hearing this, Nan Qiao finally stopped knocking and sat down on a bench in the courtyard, waiting for Shen Nian to emerge.

After a few minutes, Shen Nian came hopping out of the room while putting on her shoes, apologizing as she moved: “Sorry, Qiao Qiao, I overslept! I’ll be ready in a sec!”

Without waiting for Nan Qiao to respond, she swiftly brushed her teeth and washed her face. After putting her washbasin and toiletries back in the room, she dabbed on some fragrant snow cream. Then, she grabbed a few peach crisps and came out again.

Clamping the bag of crisps between her teeth and locking the door, she finally ran over to Nan Qiao.

“Qiao Qiao, I’m ready! Let’s go. Did you eat breakfast yet? Here, have one!” Shen Nian said, pulling out an unbroken peach crisp and offering it.

“You eat it. I had some biscuits while waiting for you,” Nan Qiao declined.

“Alright then. I’ve got a lot, so if you ever want some, just ask me.”

Nan Qiao nodded, then locked the courtyard gate and walked toward the village entrance with Shen Nian.

By the time the two reached the entrance, Sheng Yanchuan was already seated on the tractor, waiting for them.

Some other villagers who were heading to town had also gathered and climbed onto the tractor. Near the driver’s seat sat a small but awkwardly placed parcel, taking up two seats due to the way it was set down.

That seat was shielded by a front panel that blocked wind and dust. Naturally, many village women and aunties tried to move the parcel to sit there instead.

But before anyone could reach for it, a cold and unfriendly gaze bore down from above.

One aunt stammered, “W-What’s wrong, Chuanzi? Can’t we sit here?”

Sheng Yanchuan didn’t respond—just kept staring. And the closer her hand got to the parcel, the darker his stare grew.

Sensing the threat, the aunt gave up the idea. Fine, let the wind blow. Better that than getting eaten alive by this brat.

The other younger women, having witnessed this, didn’t dare approach either and backed away.

This Sheng Yanchuan, well, he couldn’t exactly hurt them, but he was known for being a wild card. The Sheng family was a big clan in the village, with many aunts, uncles, siblings.

On top of that, Sheng Yanchuan had been burly since he was young and acted like a tyrant in the village, fiercely protective of his family. A few years back, Old Wang’s grandson hit Sheng’s little sister on the head while horsing around. Normally, a child’s roughhousing would just call for a quick apology.

But Old Wang couldn’t bear to let his precious grandson take the blame and refused to make him apologize.

While everyone assumed the matter would blow over, Sheng Yanchuan declared that if a child misbehaved, the father should be held accountable—and went and beat up Old Wang’s son.

At first, Old Wang’s son didn’t even know why he was getting hit. By the time he figured it out—after seeing the wound on Sheng’s sister’s forehead—he could only grit his teeth and go home to beat his own kid. Only then did the issue settle.

Since then, gossip in the village said: Sheng Yanchuan doesn’t hit women or children, but if you cross him, he’ll beat your male relatives to a pulp.

No one dared provoke the Sheng family anymore. No one dared provoke Sheng Yanchuan. After all, who didn’t have sons at home?

They might not be able to fight back, but they could sure avoid him.

Especially now that Sheng Yanchuan’s mother had become the Women’s Federation chairperson, and he was one of the few people in the village who could drive a tractor—he was even more untouchable.

So when Nan Qiao and Shen Nian arrived, they saw a tractor packed to the brim in the back but with the front completely empty.

They were momentarily confused. What’s going on? Isn’t it cramped back there?

Shen Nian, being a carefree city girl, didn’t have the usual hang-ups about boys and girls keeping their distance. So when she saw the crowd, she frowned.

“Ah, Qiao Qiao, it’s all my fault for waking up late. Now there’s no place to sit—what do we do?”

An older aunt with dark skin and a sly look said, “Girls, you’re the new educated youths, right? There’s a parcel in front, but you two are slim. You can squeeze in there.”

A younger woman beside her seemed to want to say something to warn them, but before she could speak, the older aunt glared at her. The younger woman instantly lowered her head and stayed quiet.

Nan Qiao had already picked up on the odd atmosphere. She suspected Sheng Yanchuan had reserved those seats for them, especially since he had promised to take them to town. Just as she was about to ask—

Shen Nian had already climbed up cheerfully. “Comrade Sheng, did you save these seats for us? Thank you so much! I thought I’d messed everything up by being late.”

She set the parcel aside and called out, “Qiao Qiao, come up! There’s plenty of room!”

Nan Qiao smiled sweetly, her voice soft and delicate as she thanked him.

As she stepped up, she casually glanced at the man sitting near the front, a piece of straw dangling from his mouth, pretending to be laid-back.

He seemed nonchalant, but the way he was fiddling with his clothes betrayed his tension.

“Well, well, so this Chuanzi brat refused to let us sit there just to save the spot for some pretty city girl,” a woman with rough features sneered, spitting out sunflower seed shells as she spoke.

Hearing Nan Qiao board the tractor had already stirred something in Sheng Yanchuan’s expression. But that woman’s comment made his face darken instantly.

He turned to her, voice cold. “Aunt Lifen, what’s your eldest son been up to lately? Haven’t seen him around… Why don’t you tell him I’ll be paying a visit sometime soon?”

The aunt’s smugness vanished. She forced a smile and replied, “Oh, he’s busy with farm work… real busy. No need to visit, no need at all.”

But in her heart, she cursed: You little thug. Why bring my son into this?!

Seeing her fall silent, Sheng Yanchuan turned to Nan Qiao and Shen Nian, his tone softening as he explained, “Tao Zhi’s coming too—she told me to save these seats for you.”

Nan Qiao nodded, saying nothing more. She preferred to believe Tao Zhi was just a cover for his intentions.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, they saw Tao Zhi running over from a distance with a small cloth bag on her back.

Seeing her arrive, Nan Qiao stood up and pulled Tao Zhi up to sit between her and Shen Nian.

Once Tao Zhi was seated, Sheng Yanchuan started the tractor and drove off with a loud chug-chug-chug.

Tao Zhi, sitting snugly between Shen Nian and Nan Qiao, chirped away non-stop.

“Jie, I woke up late today. I didn’t make you miss your ride, did I?”

“So Tao Zhi woke up late too? That makes the two of us! I overslept as well—it was your Nan Qiao-jie who came to wake me up,” Shen Nian whispered sheepishly.

“So I’m not the only one who likes to sleep in!” Tao Zhi giggled. Then she reached into her little cloth bag and pulled out three eggs.

She stuffed one into each of their hands. “These are from my mom. She said I must give them to you two jiejies. Hurry and take them—if I don’t finish my task, she won’t give me any good food!”

“Then I’ll gladly accept. Thank you, Tao Zhi. And remember to help me thank your auntie, okay?” Nan Qiao replied warmly.

Although the two girls wanted to decline, they saw how tightly Tao Zhi clutched her cloth bag, afraid they might try to return the eggs. So they gave up and simply placed the eggs in their pockets. Never mind that they had already eaten—besides, with the bumpy, dusty road ahead, Nan Qiao couldn’t bring herself to eat another bite.

As for Shen Nian, she stuffed the rest of her peach crisps into Tao Zhi’s hands. The little girl was so sweet and well-behaved that Shen Nian couldn’t help but dote on her.

Seeing that both older girls accepted the eggs and even gave her snacks in return, Tao Zhi beamed happily. She began peeling one of her own eggs, deftly finishing it in a few quick moves. Then she stood up carefully and held the peeled egg out to Sheng Yanchuan.

“Ge, have an egg. Mom sent this for you too.” Sheng Yanchuan glanced sideways at her, then leaned over and took a bite directly from her hand.

He wasn’t worried there wouldn’t be enough for Tao Zhi. His mother might skip him, but she’d never forget her.

Sure enough, after sitting down again, Tao Zhi pulled out another egg and started peeling it for herself…

The women on the tractor—young wives, aunties, and unmarried girls—watched the warm interactions with envious eyes.

Eggs were precious! And just like that, four of them were gone—two to the family and two to educated youth. Was Huimei trying to butter up a city girl to be her second son’s wife?

And didn’t she realize what kind of condition her son was in? Big, burly, and brutish—these delicate city girls couldn’t possibly handle someone like Chuanzi. If they really married him, they’d suffer every day.

Some aunties began thinking mean thoughts in silence.

The unmarried girls, though, felt a mix of envy and anticipation.

Envy because even after marrying into their in-laws’ families, they had never received an egg from their mother-in-law.

Anticipation because they hoped to one day marry into a family with such a warm-hearted mother. If it weren’t for Sheng Yanchuan’s infamous temper, marrying him wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. Just look at that strong, solid build…

As those thoughts spiraled, a few of the young women flushed with embarrassment… As for exactly what they were imagining, well—that was up to the individual.

With the steady putt-putt of the tractor, they soon arrived at town.

“Be here by four o’clock sharp this afternoon if you want a ride back,” Sheng Yanchuan shouted to everyone, and then he said no more.

Everyone disembarked and went off to their own errands.

After helping Tao Zhi down, Sheng Yanchuan turned to Nan Qiao and asked,
“Comrade Nan, could I trouble you with something?”

“Of course. What is it?” Nan Qiao responded readily.

“I need to buy some tractor parts and can’t take Tao Zhi along. But I also don’t feel safe leaving her alone, so… can she stay with you? I’ll try to be back by noon.”

Nan Qiao glanced at Tao Zhi, who was looking up at her with sparkling, hopeful eyes. A soft smile tugged at Nan Qiao’s lips.

“Sure, go ahead and take care of your errands. Leave Tao Zhi to me,” she agreed.

“This little one’s so well-behaved—I’d be happy to look after her,” she added affectionately, wrapping an arm around Tao Zhi’s shoulder.

Seeing Nan Qiao agree, some of the sharpness eased from Sheng Yanchuan’s rugged face.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Then he turned to Tao Zhi and, without hesitation, pulled out a da tuanjie (a large denomination bill) and handed it to her. “Buy whatever you want, okay?”

“Don’t worry, gege. I’ll take good care of myself and won’t make you or the jiejies worry.” Though she said that, Tao Zhi hesitated as she stared at the money.

If she didn’t accept it, her sisters might end up paying for her. But if she did… this was way too much money!

I’ll take it for now and return what’s left later, she decided, patting her pocket with renewed confidence and a smile.

Sheng Yanchuan gave her head a pat before saying to Nan Qiao again,
“Then I’ll leave her in your care, Comrade Nan.”

Nan Qiao nodded. Then, she, Tao Zhi, and Shen Nian began heading toward the supply and marketing cooperative.

Shen Nian wanted to buy some snacks and pastries to keep on hand—who knew when they’d next get a chance to come out once they started working?

As for Nan Qiao, she didn’t have anything she particularly wanted to buy, but she was curious about this era’s supply and marketing system. So the three of them went together.

As for their luggage, they decided to fetch it in the afternoon. After all, it didn’t make sense to carry bags around all day.

When they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, it was relatively quiet—probably because most people were still at work in the mid-morning hours. The salesclerks behind the counter lounged around, chatting lazily.

When Nan Qiao and the others walked in, they barely raised their eyes to glance at them—there was no intention to offer any assistance.

Even though Nan Qiao had read many novels set in this era before transmigrating, it wasn’t until she experienced it firsthand that she truly felt its unique atmosphere.

Back in the 21st century, shop girls would swarm customers like they were prey—there was no such thing as being ignored like this.

But these shopkeepers had iron rice bowls. Their income didn’t depend on sales, so whether they sold more or less didn’t matter.

“Qiao Qiao, there are pastries over there. I want to take a look. Come with me?” Shen Nian asked sweetly.

Seeing Tao Zhi’s eyes light up as well, Nan Qiao agreed.

“Sure. Xiao Tao Zhi, you come too. If you see anything you like, tell me—Jie will buy it for you.”

“No need, Jie. I’ve got money. Tao Zhi can buy something for you instead!” the little girl declared generously. She was reluctant to buy snacks for herself, but she had no problem spending for her sister.

Looking at the sweet, earnest little girl in front of her, Nan Qiao couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Go on and see if there’s anything you like. Just buy for yourself and your family—Jie doesn’t need anything.” Seeing her walk toward the counter, Nan Qiao added gently.