Jiang An’an felt uneasy because of the figure she had just seen, and she quickened her pace. By the time she reached the city, it was just past one o’clock.  

The city was mostly filled with courtyards and tube-shaped apartment buildings, so there were plenty of narrow alleys.  

Finding a suitable alley, Jiang An’an made sure no one was around before entering her space.  

She had already prepared the items she wanted to sell the night before, so now she just needed to take them all out.  

A bag of rice, a bag of flour, ten pairs of socks, and the medicine for the original host’s sister-in-law—she grabbed them all and placed them in the basket she had brought with her.  

This was her first time selling things here, and she wasn’t sure how it would go, so she didn’t dare bring too much. Even if she were caught with these few items, she could talk her way out of it.  

After leaving the space, Jiang An’an headed toward the west side of the city.  

Fortunately, the original host had been to the city before and had even visited the west side. Otherwise, in 1979, without navigation, she wouldn’t have known how to get there.  

Before she reached the west side, she heard an argument behind her.  

“Hey, watch where you’re going! You crashed right into my bike—you got a death wish or something?”  

Jiang An’an turned around and saw a Flying Pigeon bicycle (a classic Chinese bicycle model) that had collided with a middle-aged woman.  

At first, she wasn’t interested in watching, but at a glance, the woman looked familiar.  

If she wasn’t mistaken, wasn’t that Zhao Chunmei?  

Why was she here?  

People from Sihe Village rarely came to the city. If they did, it was mostly to barter with city folks or exchange goods for money—just like her.  

But exchanging for money was rare because it could easily be labeled as profiteering.  

However, Zhao Chunmei was the village chief’s wife. Based on the original host’s memories, her family didn’t lack food or clothing, so there was no need for her to come to the city to trade.  

Strange.  

When Jiang An’an looked at Zhao Chunmei again, she saw the woman abruptly turn and walk away, while the young man riding the bicycle chased after her, demanding an explanation.  

Was she… avoiding her?  

Jiang An’an frowned.  

Zhao Chunmei was no good. If she saw the things Jiang An’an was planning to sell, it could spell trouble.  

Meanwhile, after shaking off the man on the bicycle, Zhao Chunmei quickly turned back to follow Jiang An’an.  

She had almost thought she lost her, but luckily, Jiang An’an hadn’t gone far.  

Sneaking after her, Zhao Chunmei soon saw Jiang An’an follow a bearded man into a courtyard.  

Zhao Chunmei’s eyes widened.  

Well, well! So this was why Jiang An’an had come to the city—to meet a secret lover!  

She always knew Jiang An’an was no good!  

If she caught them in the act, let’s see how Jiang An’an would dare to oppose her anymore!  

By then, Jiang An’an would have no choice but to marry Zhao Eryan!  

Otherwise, engaging in illicit relationships was a crime punishable by execution!  

The more Zhao Chunmei thought about it, the more excited she became, her chest heaving with anticipation. She strode into the courtyard.  

It was a shared courtyard with two households. She had clearly seen Jiang An’an follow a man into the left-side room.  

Without hesitation, she rushed to the door of the left-side room and began pounding on it.  

“Who is it?”  

A man’s annoyed voice came from inside.  

Zhao Chunmei’s slanted eyes gleamed with triumph as she kept banging on the door.  

Soon, the door opened, revealing the bearded man.  

“Where’s Jiang An’an? I saw her follow you in here. Tell her to stop hiding!”  

Zhao Chunmei shouted.  

By now, neighbors from the same courtyard had come out, curious about the commotion.  

Seeing the audience, Zhao Chunmei grew even more confident. “Jiang An’an, you’ve got the guts to seduce a man but not the guts to come out, huh? I saw you go in there—stop hiding!”  

“What the hell are you talking about? Who’s seducing men? Who’s Jiang An’an?”  

The bearded man roared in anger.

Zhao Chunmei was startled, her legs trembling slightly, but she still pointed inside the house and said, “Where’s the woman who just went in with you? I saw her! Don’t think you can scare me just by raising your voice—tell her to come out!”  

“You’re really looking for troub—”  

Before the bearded man could finish his sentence, a woman walked out from inside.  

Zhao Chunmei caught a glimpse of a blue floral-patterned hem and immediately shouted, “Jiang An’an, finally decided to show yourself, huh? I—”  

But her words choked off as soon as she clearly saw the woman’s face.  

This face… wasn’t Jiang An’an’s!  

How was that possible?!  

She had just seen—  

Her memory flashed back—had she actually seen the woman’s face clearly? She had only noticed someone wearing clothes similar to Jiang An’an’s.  

“You’re accusing me of seducing men? Who the hell are you?”  

The woman planted her hands on her hips.  

“Wrong person…”  

Zhao Chunmei muttered awkwardly and turned to leave.  

But after making such a scene, there was no way they’d just let her walk away…  

Meanwhile, Jiang An’an had already arrived at the west side of the city. After selling the bags of rice and flour, she suddenly sneezed.  

Zhao Chunmei must be having a rough time right now. It was worth spending two pairs of socks to swap clothes with that woman—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to shake her off so easily.  

“Miss, is that floral fabric in your basket? The pattern looks lovely!”  

Just as Jiang An’an was lost in thought, a slightly hoarse voice suddenly spoke beside her.  

Turning her head, she saw an elderly woman with half-gray hair.  

A potential customer!  

“No, ma’am, these are socks—just with more patterns than usual.”  

Jiang An’an quickly pulled out a pair to show her.  

“Look at the design, the quality—I dare say you won’t find anything like this in all of Hecheng!”  

The old woman took the socks and examined them, her eyes gleaming with unmistakable satisfaction.  

“Where did these patterns come from?”  

Seeing her interest, Jiang An’an quickly made up a story. “A distant relative of mine made them. She’s down south—you know how many factories they have there. They’ve got socks in all kinds of designs!”  

The old woman didn’t doubt her. Though she was elderly, she’d heard her son talk about the new policies being implemented in the south these past couple of years.  

“These must be expensive?”  

She couldn’t put them down, but she still hesitated.  

Jiang An’an waved her hand dismissively.  

“Not at all! You can buy them for one yuan a pair, or trade with grain—two pounds of rice for one pair.”  

The rules of her space’s storage were that items inside could only be exchanged, not used for herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have needed to trade for food.  

After all, the Jiang family’s meals weren’t just poor—they barely had enough to eat.  

“One yuan a pair? And you’ll take grain too?”  

The old woman looked pleasantly surprised. At the supply and marketing cooperative, a pair of plain socks cost two yuan and required a coupon.  

She did the math—trading rice was even more cost-effective than paying cash.  

“Wait here, I’ll go get the grain right now.”  

With that, the old woman hurried off and soon returned with the rice.  

Discreetly, she bought three pairs of socks.  

Jiang An’an was delighted to receive six pounds of rice.  

She was just about to continue selling when a stern voice suddenly came from behind—