Yang Shulan was taken aback. Although she didn’t understand why her sister-in-law suddenly said this, she still nodded and replied, “Yes…”

“Why do you suddenly want to go to the city?” Jiang Dazhuang asked, puzzled.

His wife had never been one to go out much. Aside from working in the fields every day, she hardly ever left the house, let alone went to the city. He had already been curious why she had joined them to gather firewood today—something that would have been unthinkable before.

“I…” Yang Shulan opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words.

“Sis-in-law has never been to the city,” Jiang Anan said without batting an eye. “I told her how interesting it is, so she wanted to go see for herself.”

Jiang Dazhuang didn’t suspect a thing after hearing this. “Alright then, since we have nothing else to do today, let’s go into the city for a stroll. We can come back later to gather some firewood.”

And so, the three of them set off for the city.

Once in the city, Jiang Anan, already familiar with the area, had Yang Shulan help divert Jiang Dazhuang’s attention. She then slipped into a small alley and took ten more pairs of socks out of her space.

“Where did these come from?” Jiang Dazhuang asked, puzzled, when Jiang Anan rejoined them.

Moreover, these socks looked very similar to the ones his sister had given them the day before.

“They belong to a friend of mine. He asked me to help trade them for some things.”

“Trade for things?” Jiang Dazhuang was still confused.

But Yang Shulan caught on quickly. So, her sister-in-law had come to the city to engage in buying and selling—no wonder she had brought back six pounds of rice yesterday!

“Anan, why don’t you give a few pairs to me and Dazhuang? We’ll help you sell—I mean, trade them for things?”

“Wait, both of us?!” Jiang Dazhuang was stunned.

But Yang Shulan ignored him, keeping her eyes fixed on Jiang Anan.

“Sure, Sis-in-law. I’d appreciate your and Brother’s help. Two pounds of rice can be exchanged for one pair of socks,” Jiang Anan said, delighted.

However, she didn’t mention selling for cash. If they were caught trading goods, they might still talk their way out of it, but if they were caught selling for money, the consequences would be far more serious.

She gave four pairs to Yang Shulan and kept six for herself. They agreed to meet back at the same spot before 3 p.m., then split up.

After her encounter with the man in the Zhongshan suit last time, Jiang Anan was still wary and decided to avoid that area, choosing a different direction instead.

But while she changed locations, Jiang Dazhuang and his wife ended up exactly where she had been before.

“These socks…” The old woman immediately recognized them as the same style the young girl had sold the day before.

“Aren’t they stylish? You won’t find anything like them in Hecheng!” Yang Shulan quickly began promoting them.

Jiang Dazhuang stood by, dumbfounded. Was this really his introverted wife?

“Are you with the young girl from yesterday?” the old woman asked curiously.

Yang Shulan paused. Unsure whether the old woman meant well or not, she cautiously replied, “Which young girl?”

“The one with braided hair, quite a pretty girl. I traded a few pairs of socks with her yesterday.”

With this description, Jiang Dazhuang and Yang Shulan were certain she was talking about Jiang Anan.

“Yes…” Jiang Dazhuang began to answer, but Yang Shulan cut in, “Did you want some socks today?”

She deftly avoided the topic, uncertain of the old woman’s intentions and not wanting to cause trouble for Anan.

“Oh, yes, yes!” the old woman exclaimed, remembering her purpose. “But it’s not for me. It’s for…”

…

Jiang Anan sneezed.

Was someone talking about her?

She had already traded the socks she had on hand for several pounds of rice. She was a bit worried about Yang Shulan and the others—after all, neither of them had any experience doing business, and in these times, it was especially risky.

After some thought, she decided to head to the meeting spot early to make sure they could find her if they ran into trouble.

As luck would have it, Yang Shulan and the others were already there.

“Sold out already?” Jiang Anan asked in surprise.

“Yes, Anan. Someone bought all our socks at once. Look!” Yang Shulan said, pointing to the several bags of rice Jiang Dazhuang was carrying.

Sold out all at once?

Jiang Anan frowned.

Each pair of socks was worth two pounds of rice. Could it be…

“What did the person look like?”

Yang Shulan began describing them.

After just the first sentence, Jiang Anan knew exactly who it was.

That old woman again?

“But it wasn’t the old woman who gave us the rice. It was…” Before Yang Shulan could finish, Jiang Anan spotted the figure in the Zhongshan suit!

Oh no, wasn’t that the same person from yesterday…

Just as she was about to grab Yang Shulan and Jiang Dazhuang to make a run for it, the man quickly approached.

“I heard from my mother that these socks were made by your relatives?” the man in the Zhongshan suit asked.

Jiang Anan remained silent.

Running now would seem suspicious, but staying put felt risky too.

So the old woman had been setting a trap all along!

She stayed quiet.

A flicker of confusion passed through the man’s eyes, but he quickly understood. “Don’t worry, little girl. I mean no harm. It’s just that the designs of your socks are quite unique, and I’d like to purchase a batch.”

“Purchase?!” Jiang Anan was stunned.

Was she dreaming?

Just yesterday, she had been worrying about how risky it was to sell goods under the radar, secretly wishing someone would come along and buy everything in one go.

She had only been joking, but now someone actually wanted to buy her socks in bulk?!

“May I ask which unit you’re from?” Jiang Anan asked, trying to contain her excitement while staying cautious.

In modern times, private purchases wouldn’t be an issue, but this was 1979. Reform policies hadn’t fully taken effect yet, and large-scale private transactions could land someone in jail if authorities decided to crack down.

“I’m from the supply and marketing cooperative!” the middle-aged man said, taking out his work ID and handing it to her.

Jiang Anan took it and examined it. He really was a procurement officer from the supply and marketing cooperative!

Meanwhile, in Sihe Village.

The sun was blazing, and Zhao Chunmei found a shady spot to sit, drink water, and cool off while keeping an eye on the villagers working.

“Sister Chunmei.” Accountant Li walked over.

“What is it?” Zhao Chunmei didn’t bother looking at him.

“The village chief and the brigade secretary must have assigned tasks to the Jiang family, right?” Accountant Li crouched down and asked in a low voice.

Hearing this, Zhao Chunmei turned to glare at him. “Accountant Li, what are you implying? Are you saying you deliberately didn’t assign tasks to the Jiang family?”

“No…” Accountant Li was taken aback. “Sister Chunmei, why are you turning this around on me? I saw the Jiang family’s name on the list this morning, but after you returned it, a page was missing…”

“Accountant Li!” Zhao Chunmei hissed through gritted teeth. “You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you want! If it weren’t for my husband, would you even be the village accountant? You should learn to be grateful!”

Accountant Li opened his mouth to respond but ultimately fell silent.

Sigh!

Why did the Jiang family have to offend Zhao Chunmei? They were already the poorest household in the village. With things like this, how much grain would they even get by the end of the year?

Would they starve to death next year?

How pitiful!

Zhao Chunmei glanced at Accountant Li’s dejected expression and smirked coldly.

Jiang Anan, how much longer can you keep strutting around? No one can help you now!