Back at home, Lu Cheng had just finished washing the dishes. “You wait by the door for me; I’ll go borrow a bike.”

Thinking about borrowing the bike reminded Lin Qingqing of something. “A few days ago, I ordered some cabinets, and Xiuyue brought me to pick them out. Today is just the right time to check if they’re finished. If they are, I can take them home.”

“Sure, just lead the way later,” Lu Cheng replied.

Lu Cheng then went to borrow the bike while Lin Qingqing returned to the house to get some money and tickets.

She had initially intended to take her savings book to withdraw money but thought that would be too formal.

Instead, she grabbed the loose change from the iron box Lu Cheng had given her.

Not knowing how much the sewing machine and bicycle would cost, she simply counted out five hundred.

Surprisingly, even though the iron box was filled with loose coins, there were still about two or three hundred left after taking out five hundred.

That was quite a bit of spare change!

Thinking of Lu Cheng’s advice about saving half his salary and spending the other half, Lin Qingqing figured this must be from the half of his salary he hadn’t spent.

Before long, Lin Qingqing reached the entrance of the compound, and Lu Cheng arrived shortly after.

Knowing Lin Qingqing would get in the car, he didn’t bother getting out to open the door.

Once they reached the county town, they headed straight for the department store.

Since they had a specific goal, they knew exactly where to go.

Luckily, they found both the women’s bicycle and the sewing machine in stock, and the total cost was around 330 yuan.

After buying the items, they decided to visit the market since they were already there.

However, Lin Qingqing was concerned about the sewing machine and bicycle in the car, so she asked Lu Cheng to wait in the car while she went inside.

The market was bustling with a variety of vegetables, and as long as it wasn’t too late, there would always be fresh produce.

However, there wasn’t much meat available.

Lin Qingqing bought some red beans, edamame, green peppers, and a whole winter melon because she planned to make stinky winter melon.

Lin Qingqing was quite good at making pickled vegetables, whether it was stinky winter melon or pickled radishes, thanks to her grandmother’s expertise in that area.

The winter melon weighed about twenty pounds, which was too heavy for Lin Qingqing to carry, so she left it on the stall and planned to have Lu Cheng come over to help her with it later.

Then she wandered over to the meat section.

“Hey… are these bones and pig intestines for sale?” Although Lu Cheng had bought some meat yesterday, they had many guests, and she could only make minced meat steamed eggs, which wasn’t very satisfying.

The vendor glanced at Lin Qingqing. “Yes, one pound of meat tickets can be exchanged for three pounds of bones. Pig intestines don’t require meat tickets; do you want some?”

“Absolutely!” Lin Qingqing was thrilled.

Although there wasn’t even a bit of meat on the bones, the nutrients would still be great for making soup.

As for the pig intestines, stir-frying them with onions was also a delicacy.

So, Lin Qingqing bought three pounds of bones and ten pounds of pig intestines.

After that, she went to buy onions.

By the time she exited the market, both her hands were already full.

Lu Cheng was staring at the entrance of the market and quickly got out of the car when he saw Lin Qingqing struggling with her bags.

“Let me help.” He took the things from her hands. “Did you buy pig intestines?”

The pig intestines were packed in a wooden barrel.

Lin Qingqing didn’t bring anything to carry them, but the vendor had helped her out by lending her the barrel after she bought all the intestines.

However, there was a deposit of ten cents for the barrel.

“We’re going to make marinated pig intestines; they have a strong flavor and can last a few days. When you want to eat them, just cut a bit off and reheat it, and the taste will mellow,” Lin Qingqing had already planned this out.

Plus, even though the pig intestines weighed ten pounds, after washing, they would only weigh around six or seven pounds. “By the way, I also bought a twenty-pound winter melon. You need to pick it up later; the stall number is 3-25.”

Lu Cheng replied, “Okay, you rest in the car; I’ll go get it.”

When Lu Cheng came back, he was cradling the winter melon in his arms, and he looked remarkably at ease with the twenty-pound weight.

He placed the melon in the back of the car and then asked from the driver’s seat, “Do you want to go anywhere else?”

Lin Qingqing said, “No, let’s go directly to the carpenter’s house.”

“Got it.”

The carpenter’s place was conveniently located between the county and the army base.

When Lin Qingqing and Lu Cheng arrived, the carpenter wasn’t home, so his wife greeted them.

The carpenter’s wife, in her fifties, was very welcoming.

“Comrade Lin, your cabinet is finished! We were just planning to deliver it to you in the next few days.” They had previously delivered furniture to the army base, which made it easy for them.

Lin Qingqing paid her and said, “Thank you, auntie. I just happened to have a car today, so I wanted to stop by and check. By the way, do you swap chickens?”

This was a polite way of asking if she sold them; it avoided raising eyebrows because everyone used “swap” instead of “sell,” since bartering was encouraged by the state.

The carpenter’s wife was taken aback. “Do you want some, Comrade Lin?”

Lin Qingqing quickly clarified, “No, no, I was just asking. If your family’s chickens are available for swapping, I might want some next time.”

Now understanding, the carpenter’s wife replied, “Then feel free to come by next time. By the way, Comrade Lin, do you accept eggs? You usually buy your eggs from the market or the supply and marketing cooperative, right? You’d need an egg ticket for those. Our eggs don’t require a ticket; they’re just a dime more expensive than those from the market or cooperative. What do you think?”

Eggs from the market or cooperative cost fifty cents per pound, but required a ticket.

If you didn’t need a ticket, they could be bought for sixty cents per pound, which Lin Qingqing thought was a good deal.

Of course, for the carpenter’s family, their eggs didn’t even fetch fifty cents a pound when sold to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Lin Qingqing almost immediately replied, “Of course! Besides money, if you want to exchange for tickets, you can let me know and I’ll see if I have any.”

Upon hearing this, the carpenter’s wife felt a spark of interest.

She actually had something she wanted to buy but didn’t have the tickets. “Comrade Lin, do you have any industrial tickets? I want to buy a thermos, but I don’t have a thermos ticket or any industrial tickets.” To buy a thermos, one could either use a thermos ticket or five industrial tickets, but unfortunately, they in the countryside had no means to obtain either.

Lin Qingqing remembered the pile of tickets in her iron box and said, “Yes, I have some. I’ll come over tomorrow morning to exchange with you. Besides industrial tickets, I have other tickets as well; I can trade potatoes and sweet potatoes with my aunt.” This way, she could get food in return, killing two birds with one stone.

The carpenter’s wife was delighted and exclaimed, “That’s wonderful! If I can get sugar or fabric tickets, that would be even better.”

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng finished assembling the cabinets Lin Qingqing had ordered.

Instead of staying in the car, he waited off to the side.

It was the first time he had to wait for someone like this and the first time he heard Lin Qingqing chat with others; he found it quite interesting.

The proud and stubborn impression he had of her more than half a month ago was gradually fading after spending these past few days together.

Lin Qingqing thought she was a steady, sensible, interesting, and thoughtful person.

Lin Qingqing didn’t want to keep Lu Cheng waiting too long either, as she wanted to go back and study the sewing machine.

For the past few days, she had been using Lu Cheng’s training clothes as pajamas, and she was eager to make some pajamas and home clothes.

So she ended her chat with the carpenter’s wife relatively quickly.

“Did you wait long?” Lin Qingqing approached Lu Cheng.

“Not really,” Lu Cheng replied. “Are you coming to exchange for food tomorrow?”

“Yes, there are plenty of tickets. I’ll find some things the carpenter’s family needs and exchange them for what we don’t need. That way, we can buy a bit less food for the house.”

Hearing her say “we” put Lu Cheng in a surprisingly good mood.

“Tomorrow, I’ll have to start training, so I won’t be able to accompany you.”

“I have a bicycle!” Lin Qingqing didn’t mind at all. “By the way, what’s the daily schedule like if you go to training?”

Lu Cheng explained, “Except for special occasions, we generally wake up at 6:30 when the alarm goes off. We need to be at the training ground within fifteen minutes. Then we have breakfast at eight, followed by an hour of rest. Lunchtime is from twelve to one-thirty, for an hour and a half. Then we go back until five-thirty. That’s the usual schedule. But in July and August, it’s quite hot, so training times will be adjusted.”

“The schedule will change from day to night. Typically, it’s from 6:30 AM to 11:00 AM, and then from 6:30 PM to 11:30 PM.”

Lin Qingqing noted the times.

She could align her meal prep with Lu Cheng’s training schedule; if not, she would just leave his meals for him.

Of course, this was contingent on her having the time and interest to cook. If she was busy or uninterested, they would all just eat at the cafeteria.

When they returned to the compound, Lin Qingqing started preparing lunch while Lu Cheng made several trips to move the cabinets.

As Lin Qingqing was washing the pig intestines, Lu Cheng returned, and she quickly handed him the task of cleaning them, as men typically had more strength and could finish the job faster.

In her past life, pig intestines always came pre-cleaned.

While Lu Cheng washed the intestines, Lin Qingqing tackled the winter melon.

Although the melon would be pickled, she decided to stir-fry a portion for lunch.

Lin Qingqing planned to prepare three dishes and a soup: stir-fried winter melon, braised pig intestines, “Di San Xian” (a dish made of three fresh vegetables), and a bowl of steamed eggs.

“Lu Cheng, can you get me a wine jar? The kind made from clay for storing wine. I want to use it for pickling the stinky winter melon.” If he couldn’t find one, she would have to settle for a wooden barrel, but that wouldn’t work as well.

Lu Cheng knew what she meant. “There’s one at the cafeteria. I’ll go get it in a bit. How many do you need?”

“One is enough.” After cutting off three pounds of the twenty-pound winter melon for stir-frying, the remaining seventeen pounds would not fill a whole jar after peeling and seeding.

“Got it.”

While Lu Cheng continued washing the pig intestines, Lin Qingqing finished cleaning the winter melon and the ingredients for Di San Xian.

Di San Xian consists of three kinds of freshly grown vegetables: potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers.

This was also why she had bought green peppers at the market.

As for the eggplants, they had plenty at home—some were given by Yu Xiuyou, and others by the military wives who came for dinner last night.

Luckily, eggplants are quite durable in this kind of weather.

The staple food would be rice and sweet potatoes.

In this era, rice was precious, and having it for every meal was quite extravagant.

Fortunately, Lin Qingqing liked mixing sweet potatoes with rice, as it was both frugal and satisfying.

As the rice cooked in the clay pot with a steamer for the egg custard on top, she used the iron wok to stir-fry the dishes.

She first stir-fried the Di San Xian and winter melon while asking Lu Cheng to cut off a pound from the cleaned pig intestines.

The braised pig intestines would include green peppers and onions, as she feared the smell would be too enticing.