Chapter 16

At this time, the family courtyard was filled with elderly men and women who had no jobs, and some shift workers who had just come off their shifts, shivering from the cold, heads bowed as they hurried home.

Xu Di was fully equipped, with a basket slung over her arm. Inside, she had bundles of chives, half a jin per bundle, at the bottom. On top were eggs, arranged one by one. They were plump and rosy, a joy to behold.

Entering the family courtyard, Xu Di felt like a thief, too nervous to walk down the middle, so she stuck to the edge.

“What are you doing? I’m talking to you, the one with the basket.”

Xu Di froze, her hand grabbed.

“Sneaking around, what are you doing?”

“I’m looking for someone.”

Xu Di bit her cheek, calming herself.

“Looking for someone? Who?”

The one holding Xu Di was an old lady, looking quite old, but with a strong grip.

Xu Di took a glance at the old lady. She was neatly dressed, without any patches.  It seemed she was in good condition, maybe she could make a deal with her.

“Auntie, I’m looking for my cousin. My mother said she lives in this courtyard, and asked me to bring her some things.”

“What’s your cousin’s name, and which building does she live in?”

The old lady was quite vigilant, treating Xu Di like a spy.

“My cousin’s name is Dahua, she lives in this courtyard. I’ve been here before, I remember.”

Xu Di accidentally revealed the eggs and chives in the basket, quickly covering them up.

The old lady had sharp eyes, she saw the eggs in the basket and her expression turned thoughtful.

“Since you can’t find your cousin, why don’t you trade these eggs with me? We can talk about it here.”

Xu Di half-heartedly followed the old lady to the wall, her heart filled with joy. Her deal was about to be made.

“How do you want to trade these eggs? What else is in the basket?”

“The eggs are six cents each with tickets, seven cents without. And the chives, half a jin per bundle, fifty cents a bundle.”

The two had already reached an understanding, Xu Di didn’t bother pretending anymore.

She had inquired about the prices. There were no chives in the grocery store, but cabbage was seven or eight cents a jin.

Chives were a rare commodity, selling for fifty cents a bundle wasn’t too expensive. In Beijing during winter, there were no green leafy vegetables.

“The eggs are alright, but the chives are not cheap.”

“Auntie, these were grown on a heated kang, burning firewood every day, it’s a lot of effort. And there’s not much in each harvest, I’m just trying to earn some hard-earned money, don’t you think?”

Xu Di played the victim a bit, she had no other secret weapons, she was relying on these chives and eggs to make money.

“Alright, give me twenty eggs and two bundles of chives, what kind of tickets do you want?”

“Meat tickets, cloth tickets, industrial coupons, cigarette tickets, liquor tickets, we need all kinds of tickets in the countryside.”

Xu Di didn’t have any tickets, she couldn’t buy anything without them.

“Okay, I have industrial coupons and liquor tickets, I’ll give you two yuan and twenty cents.”

“Alright, thank you, Auntie.”

Xu Di rubbed her hands, took the money and tickets, counted them, just right.

She carefully picked out twenty eggs from the basket, and took two bundles of chives.

“These eggs are quite large, and the chives are fresh. If you have more in a few days, come back here, I’ll trade with you again.”

“No problem, it will take a few days for the next batch to grow.”

Xu Di put away her things, planning to change locations.

With this experience, Xu Di carried her basket and went back and forth through the family courtyards in the area, selling over three hundred eggs and more than fifty bundles of chives.

As it got late, Xu Di’s feet were numb from the cold, she had to return home.

She found a secluded alleyway where no one was paying attention, entered the space, changed her disguise, and warmed up.

On the ground in the space, there was a small pile of banknotes and coins, her day’s spoils.

“One yuan, fifty cents, twenty cents, ten cents, five cents…”

Xu Di sorted and counted them.

She had sold a total of forty-six yuan and eighty-four cents, plus some tickets. Workers these days only made how much a month, she had made a month’s wages in a day, she was secretly delighted.

At this rate, she could sell over a thousand yuan in a month or so!

“Hehe… there’s hope, there’s hope for a job!”

Xu Di couldn’t help but chuckle, she muttered to herself for a while, then put the money and tickets in a box in the space, her secret stash.

Leaving the space, Xu Di went to the bus stop to take the bus home.

Because of the long distance, everyone in the Xu family had already returned when she arrived.

“How are you, are you tired? You’re back so late, if you’re tired, don’t do it.”

Xu’s mother felt a little sorry for her daughter, the child had been away from her since she was young, she always felt like she owed her.

“Mom, I’m not tired, it’s just a bit far. Besides, it’s only for a month, if I don’t go to work for someone else, my classmates will ask me to join the movement, and I won’t have an excuse to refuse.”

“That’s true, you know, these young lads nowadays, they don’t do anything serious, they’re always criticizing this and that, when will it end?”

Xu’s mother really couldn’t stand it, what was wrong with those people? They didn’t kill or set fires, why were they being criticized?

“Mom, don’t say that outside, you’ll get into trouble!”

Xu’s eldest sister-in-law was startled, her mother-in-law dared to say anything!

“I know, I’m not stupid, would I say anything randomly outside? Alright, Xu Di is back, let’s eat.”

Xu’s mother was also angry. Today, some Red Guards came to their kitchen and said that the girl who washed vegetables had a bad background and was going to be criticized.

If the security department hadn’t arrived in time, the girl would have been taken away. Really, the girl’s ancestor was a landlord, but she didn’t enjoy any benefits, her father had squandered all the family wealth.

After dinner, Xu Di helped clean up the dishes, washed up, and went to bed.

At this time, there were no entertainment facilities, and besides, she had been running around all day, she was tired.

Xu Di bolted the door and entered the space.

All the chives had been cut and bundled, the next batch would take a few days.

She fed the chicks and gave them water, she didn’t have the energy to grind cornmeal today, so Xu Di ate a tomato to satisfy her craving.

She picked up all the eggs before leaving the space.

The next day, Xu Di ate breakfast and went out again.

This time she went to a different place, she couldn’t keep showing up in the same place. She was a hit-and-run, very cautious.

Today she didn’t wear the dog fur hat, instead, she wore a flower scarf that belonged to her grandmother, and her grandmother’s gray jacket, she was still wearing a mask.

Today was also quite smooth, she met a few big customers, each buying fifty to sixty eggs and four or five bundles of chives.

Xu Di finished work early, she was hungry, she hadn’t had lunch, she had only eaten a boiled egg from the space, not a proper meal.

She found an opportunity to enter the space, Xu Di ate an egg first, then picked a cucumber and ate a tomato.

Her stomach was full, she felt better, she had been starving.

Then came the most enjoyable part, counting the money.

Because she had met big customers, she had sold more today than yesterday, a total of eighty yuan and seven cents, plus some tickets.

Xu Di went out early and came back late for several days, her family had gotten used to it, and she had gotten used to it too.

Tomorrow was a day off, Xu Di couldn’t go out, it was a good time to rest at home, she had been working hard these past few days, her arms were sore.

A basket of chives and eggs was quite heavy.

Tomorrow, she also wanted to go see the Liang family, send them some chives and eggs, and maintain the relationship.

Next year, she would graduate, if there were any job openings at the supply and marketing cooperative or department store, maybe they would tell her, for the sake of their relationship.

Before going to bed, Xu Di had planned out her schedule for tomorrow, and soon fell asleep.

Xu’s mother passed by Xu Di’s door, hearing the snoring inside, her heart ached, she said she wasn’t tired, but she was snoring so loudly!

A perfect misunderstanding!