Chapter 22

“What? 50 cents for one industrial voucher?” Ning Shu thought of the industrial vouchers she exchanged at the hostel.

Weren’t they 30 cents each? She didn’t know the price of industrial vouchers. She hadn’t researched the prices of this era before time traveling.

After all, who, living a good life in the modern world, would specifically study the prices of this era?

Although she had the memories of the original owner, she didn’t have the opportunity to handle money or industrial vouchers before going to the countryside.

After going to the countryside, she had money and vouchers, but she didn’t use them all and kept them aside. Money was sufficient for her needs, so why would she bother exchanging industrial vouchers?

Therefore, since the original owner’s memories didn’t include this information, naturally, she wouldn’t know.

But unexpectedly, she had been deceived.

Was she deceived? Or did Li Fei intentionally offer her a high price?

“Sister, you’re too polite. Is it really 50 cents for one industrial voucher? I remember that 30 cents was enough,” Ning Shu asked tentatively.

“It’s hard to say. People who urgently need them would pay more, while those who don’t urgently need them definitely won’t spend money. 50 cents per voucher is a fair price.” She was in a hurry to use them. Even if it was more expensive, she would still buy them.

But she had a good relationship with Ning Shu, so offering a higher price would hurt their relationship.

It was better to offer a fair price. She remembered this favor.

Ning Shu understood now. So, when she exchanged with the hostel manager earlier, she had offered too little. Even at 50 cents each, they could have been exchanged. Missing 2 cents per voucher, she had lost a total of 6 yuan.

But it couldn’t be said like that. At the time, she felt it was worth exchanging the temporarily useless vouchers for 150 catties of sweet potatoes with red skin and white flesh because she sold them for 600 yuan on the app.

With this 600 yuan, she could buy eggs, fruits, milk, meat, and other things to improve her life.

But if she kept the vouchers, 30 industrial vouchers would be worthless paper.

Even if she sold them for money to buy other things, she would still need other vouchers.

But she didn’t need vouchers on the app.

It could only be said that everyone had different values.

“Then I won’t be polite. I’ll go with what you said,” Ning Shu said. “By the way, sister, I brought some apples and pears from elsewhere. They’re not big, but very sweet. I also have some large oranges. Do people here want them?”

Li Fei glanced at the other salesperson when she heard this, then pulled Ning Shu aside. “Do you have this source?”

“Ning, I have a friend. Her man and mine were comrades-in-arms. She works in an orchard and has a way to send fruits over. But with the fruit and shipping costs, it might not be cheap. Also, the quantity isn’t large. It’s just a few dozen catties each time, which is inconvenient to deliver in large quantities.”

“Of course, and not everyone can afford these fruits. Rarity adds to their value,” Ning Shu replied. “The size and appearance of apples and pears matter, but taste is the most important. I haven’t seen those large oranges you mentioned. What are they like?”

“They’re mandarins from Sichuan and Guangdong provinces, particularly sweet. A few days ago, she had someone send me some. Let me check if they’ve arrived. If they have, I’ll bring them for you to see.”

“Sure, I’ll wait for you at the supply and marketing cooperative.”

“All right, see you there.”

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Ning Shu didn’t go anywhere else.

She sat in a nearby park for a while. After about fifteen minutes, she found an empty corner in the park, shielded by trees and fake rocks, opened the app, clicked on the mandarins, and selected ‘retrieve’.

Two portions of mandarins were then retrieved.

The mandarins were packed in sacks. Two sacks, each weighing 6 catties, totaling 12 catties. Carrying 12 catties of mandarins might have been a bit heavy, but it lightened her load.

Ning Shu emerged from the corner and went to the supply and marketing cooperative, taking about half an hour for the round trip.

“Ning, I’ve been waiting for you,” Li Fei said as she saw Ning Shu approaching. She had been waiting patiently since Ning Shu left.

She came out from behind the counter and greeted Ning Shu. “Let’s go to the storage room.”

“Okay,” Ning Shu replied.

The two went to the storage room. It was a bit messy, filled with various items previously sold.

“You made me wait,” Li Fei said. Ning Shu then took off her basket and opened the sacks, revealing the mandarins inside.

Yellow and large, the mandarins dazzled Li Fei’s eyes. “So these are mandarins. They look a bit like oranges but bigger and yellower.”

Ning Shu peeled one directly and offered it to Li Fei.

Seeing Ning Shu peeling such a beautiful mandarin, Li Fei felt a pang in her heart, feeling as if money was being torn apart.

She took the half offered by Ning Shu and tasted a slice. “So sweet, this is the sweetest mandarin I’ve ever tasted. It’s not an orange, it’s a mandarin. Sweeter than apples. Apples have a slight sourness, but this has none.”

“What do you think, sis? Can these be sold?” Ning Shu asked. If they could, maybe she could try.

However, mandarins weren’t frequently available on the app; it was only occasionally. It was better this way—occasional. If she had fruits frequently, it would be strange.

“Definitely. These are amazing,” Li Fei replied without hesitation. “With this taste and appearance, you can sell them at a higher price. Since you’re not using vouchers, selling them for 6 to 8 cents per jin won’t be a problem. However, with a small quantity, you can only sell to people with good conditions. How about you sell them to me? I know some people.”

As a salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Fei often encountered wealthy people here.

They were the least resistant to such fruits, especially when they cost only a few cents per jin; they could afford it.

“Then I’ll sell them to you, sis. It saves me a lot of trouble,” Ning Shu agreed. She didn’t like retailing. “So, I won’t care how much you sell them for. I’ll give you four cents per jin. How about that?” Hearing Li Fei say they could be sold for 6 to 8 cents, selling her ten jin would earn her at least 2 yuan. It might seem little, but it was significant in this era.

“Okay, I’ll take all of these. I’m not planning to sell this batch; I’m going to give them away,” Li Fei said.

“I only have 12 catties here. I’ll give you 10 catties and keep 2 catties to take home for my family to taste,” Ning Shu hastily added, afraid Li Fei would take all of them.

Seeing Ning Shu’s nervousness, Li Fei chuckled. “Look at you being nervous. Next time you have fruits of this quality, remember to come to me.”

“Sure.” It was just too tiring to travel to the county town every time, taking two hours each way. She planned to get a bicycle.

The original owner hadn’t bought a bicycle in all these years because she didn’t know how to ride one. Otherwise, with her personality, she would have bought one. But Ning Shu knew how to ride, so she definitely needed to buy one. “By the way, sis, are bicycle tickets easy to get now?”

“Not easy at all,” Li Fei answered truthfully. “Ordinary people can’t get them easily. Bicycle tickets are limited… Isn’t your man a military officer? Bicycle tickets from the army might be more useful.”

Ning Shu knew, of course, that it would be easier to get bicycle tickets from the army, but she felt a bit embarrassed to ask Lin Guodong directly.

However, since it wasn’t easy to get them from Li Fei’s side, she decided to ask Lin Guodong.

There was no need to feel embarrassed; she could ask him for bicycle tickets.

With this in mind, Ning Shu decided to write to Lin Guodong for the tickets when she got home.

However, directly asking for tickets in the letter wouldn’t be appropriate. She needed to send something along with it to show her intentions, so the other person would feel better.

When Ning Shu left the supply and marketing cooperative, her basket contained one jin of fruit candy and four mandarins.

As she walked, nearing the brigade, she retrieved two portions of fried river fish with scallions from the app.

One portion only had five fish, definitely not enough.

Ning Shu loved fried river fish with scallions, especially the scallions inside. She could eat five on her own, and with her two child, she would definitely need two portions.

But was the packaging for this fried river fish with scallions a bit too extravagant? It was packed in aluminum containers, a mere 10 yuan for one portion.

In the modern era, an aluminum container alone would cost six or seven yuan, right? Even if one brought aluminum containers from the modern era to this time, they could sell for several yuan each.

This surprise was quite unexpected.

Two portions of fried river fish with scallions in aluminum containers—then what about pan-fried hairtail? Ning Shu was excited.

Perhaps she could get rich by selling aluminum containers.

She realized her household items might increase in number—like the sacks for fruits, a sack for fragrant pears, a sack for apples, and the two small sacks of mandarins given to Li Fei this time. There would be more sacks in the future.

Besides the two portions of fried river fish with scallions, she also retrieved the two portions of cowhide sandwich biscuits she bought yesterday.

When retrieving items from the app, one had to retrieve all items of the same type at once; partial retrieval wasn’t possible.

The cowhide sandwich biscuits were packed in tin boxes, with 60 biscuits in total. Yes, cowhide sandwich biscuits packed in tin boxes, just as high-end as aluminum containers.

Ning Shu dragged her heavy steps back into the village. At this hour, most villagers were already eating or had finished eating. It wasn’t surprising that Ning Shu came back late; the road was just too long.

“Ning Shu went to the county town again, right? Look at how heavy her basket is…” Some people who were taking a stroll after dinner or chatting with neighbors in front of their homes noticed Ning Shu.

“I don’t think it’s heavy. She looks so relaxed carrying it; she probably doesn’t have much stuff in it.”

“Why would she carry such a big basket if she doesn’t have much?”

“Trying to show off, I guess.”

Ning Shu hadn’t walked far when she heard their conversation. She frowned, turned around, and faced the nosy gossipers.

“I’m not trying to show off. Compared to you all, I am indeed affluent. There really isn’t much in my basket, just two portions of braised pork.” With that, she turned and walked away.

“You…” The group of people was infuriated, but all they could do was seethe. They didn’t dare to do anything. Besides Lin Guodong being a military officer, his family was quite influential in Qinglin Bay Production Brigade.

…

With Yi Bao and Er Bao sitting neatly under the eaves, they had finished the Swiss rolls their mother left for them in the morning. Now, they were eating the fruits she had left behind.

The two brothers ate evenly—one bite each, one bite each, and the Sanbao with a spoon.

Even though they were eating slowly, the small fruits disappeared quickly.

“Bro, the apples are gone too.” Yi Bao sucked on the apple core. The apple was sweet, but the core was a bit sour. It made him tear up, but he didn’t want to spit it out.

“Bro, when is Mom coming back? I’m starving. How about we go to the old house to eat?” Er Bao asked.

The Yi Bao was also hungry, but he wanted to wait a bit longer. Mom had been so good to them these past few days, and today, she had said she would come back soon when she went to the county town.

So, he wanted to wait a little longer.

” Yi Bao… Er Bao…” Lin Haicai called out from the yard entrance. “Grandma is calling you both for dinner.”

When Lin Mu brought Zhang Qinfang to apologize yesterday, she heard Ning Shu mentioning her plan to go to the county town.

Lin Haicai had been playing around here this morning, and when he went back, he mentioned that his aunt had gone to the county town.

So, Lin Mu sent Lin Haicai to call them.

Yi Bao and Er Bao stood up. Since Grandma was calling them for dinner, they had to…

“Auntie…”

Suddenly, they heard Lin Haicai calling out Aunt.