The peanuts came with their shells, so back home it might not weigh two catties once shelled, but my yard isn't big, so it should be enough.
I asked the staff here for the location of the seed station. Since I'm here, can I buy some vegetable seeds to take back?
But when I got there, I found out that the seeds weren't sold to individuals. I came out disappointed, feeling lost on the street. Once again, I deeply realized I was in this era of scarcity.
I might as well wait at the station, but what's the use of wandering around? Even if I have money, I can't buy anything without tickets.
Passing by the waste site, I remembered how the heroines in time-travel novels always found treasures in waste sites.
So she went in too. She saw the gatekeeper, remembered what novels said, and told him she wanted to buy books, only to be looked at with disdain, "Tell the truth."
"Sir, I'm just looking to see if there's anything I need. My family is poor, and it's not easy to come to the city. City folks have money; maybe I can use what they don't want."
The old man glanced at this frail little girl and nodded in agreement. She was right. There's really no supply in the countryside; there's nothing that can be done about it.
He promised to watch Jiang Xinyu's basket, thinking this girl was quite bold to leave her belongings with a stranger.
Jiang Xinyu entered the waste site, dumbfounded by how dirty and messy it was. With her slight germaphobia, she felt quite uncomfortable.
She headed into the paper storage first; all she saw were old newspapers and books. There were no rare ancient books or calligraphy as described in novels. But she did find a few interesting novels, which were good enough. In winter, staying home and reading would be nice.
She gathered over ten books and found a bundle of letters. They had stamps, which was interesting, but there wasn't enough time. It would be better to buy new stamps at the post office rather than collecting these old ones here.
Next door was plastic sheeting, but it was really too filthy. Jiang Xinyu didn't have the courage to rummage through it. She had already seen it in the building, but without industrial coupons, it wasn't for sale.
Jiang Xinyu thought about buying it to patch the windows. The straw paper windows couldn't hold up in winter.
But they were all used by others, and back then, nothing was wasted. It wasn't feasible to bring them back from so far and repurpose them.
Disappointed, she left, ultimately choosing only the ten-plus books.
"Two cents per book."
Jiang Xinyu took out twenty-six cents and handed it to the gatekeeper.
"What's wrong, little girl?"
"It's about to get cold, but the windows at home are still made of straw paper."
"You want to buy plastic sheeting?"
"Yes, but that needs industrial coupons. Where could I get one? My family doesn't have any workers."
"I have one here; you can have it for fifty cents."
"Sir, how much plastic sheeting can one industrial coupon buy?"
"At most ten meters."
"Thank you, sir. You're truly a good person." Jiang Xinyu excitedly took out fifty cents and handed it to the gatekeeper.
The old man gave Jiang Xinyu an industrial coupon, "Go buy it quickly."
"Sir, I'll come to visit you next time."
Wang Delin didn't take Jiang Xinyu's words seriously and just nodded with a smile.
Jiang Xinyu jogged back to the building. She bought ten meters of thick plastic sheeting with the coupon. It was 1.2 meters wide, more than enough for windows. She planned to give a couple of pieces to Wang Ailing and a neighboring family. She wouldn't forget their kindness.
She waited at the station for the last bus. This made Jiang Xinyu experience a familiar feeling from her previous life. People crammed together; it was winter, so there wasn't much odor. Otherwise, Jiang Xinyu wouldn't be sure if she'd have the courage to get on the bus. She couldn't wear the basket, though she had already put away the milk powder and malted milk essence. There were still other things in the back, so she held it in front, which irritated many people, and the conductor glared at her several times.
Jiang Xinyu pretended not to see, using her past life's experience of bus riding. She didn't feel too uncomfortable despite the jostling.
She finally arrived in the county at 5:30. There were too many people getting on and off along the way, so it took a long time.
After getting off, Jiang Xinyu took a deep breath; she was dizzy from the bus ride. The gasoline smell was too strong, but even feeling dizzy, she couldn't rest. She still had to hurry home.
The further she walked, the quieter it became. She couldn't see anyone, which made Jiang Xinyu's heart uneasy, but she couldn't stop.
Gripping a fruit knife in her hand, it was to give herself some courage.
Only after entering the village did she relax. In this era, people couldn't even feed themselves, so there were no cats or dogs in the village. It was quiet.
Feeling invigorated now, she jogged home. She lit the kerosene lamp and checked the time. It was now 9:15. It took three hours and forty-five minutes to get from the city to home. That's really far.
Only after getting home did she feel like she couldn't even lift her legs anymore, but she couldn't sleep on a cold bed. If she got sick, it would be troublesome.
She resigned to her fate, sat down to boil water. She was really tired, but she was reluctant to use firewood and had to burn branches instead. However, sitting in front of the stove, watching the orange flames leap, she felt much warmer.
She scooped out hot water to wash her hands, put some milk powder in a bowl, and found a packet of pickled vegetables. Such small packets of pickles were wholesaled at less than two cents a packet, so she had five boxes, five hundred packets in her space.
Took out a sausage labeled as noodle accompaniment.
Suddenly, she really wanted to eat instant noodles, so she indulged once, made a bowl, and added a sausage.
After the instant noodles were ready, she took out a piece of mantou, tore half, and stored it in her space.
This meal was the most satisfying Jiang Xinyu ate. Even decades later, she could still recall the taste of this night's meal.
After eating, she took a bath. She knew this habit wasn't good, but it was too late, leaving no time to digest dinner.
Today, she didn't wash her hair, she was too tired. Her eyelids were about to stick together, she couldn't keep her eyes open.
After bathing, due to her little OCD, she still poured out the water before locking the door to sleep.
Maybe she was too exhausted, as she didn't dream at all during the night. When she heard knocking the next morning, she looked at her watch; it was already 7:30.
Honestly, she really didn't want to get up, but the knocking outside was relentless. She had to climb out of bed, roll up her bedding, and store it in her space. Then she put the watch on her wrist, which she had been planning throughout her journey yesterday.
You could say the money was spent, making others less interested while also being convenient for herself.
Wang Ailing was already anxious outside, finally hearing Jiang Xinyu's response. She knew this girl would still take a while.
Last night, her brother and she came over at eight o'clock, and the door to Jiang Xinyu's house was still locked. They didn't know what time she got back.