With the television, everyone was quite intrigued, and they left later than usual, not leaving until about six o’clock.
On the way back, Xiaocui was also curious about what was in Shen Mianmian’s black bag.
"Mianmian, what’s in this bag of yours?"
Through the black bag, she could only see that the contents looked like bricks, block by block, yet they didn’t seem very heavy. She also noticed that every time Shen Mianmian went to the toilet, she’d take something from the black bag.
"You better not ask or look, that stuff is precious, and she won’t tell you what it is," Lu Siyuan spoke with a mocking tone, clearly still remembering the city incident.
Shen Mianmian rolled her eyes, "We’re in our village now, you better get going!"
Lu Siyuan huffed and walked away without any hint of reluctance.
As the two often bickered, Xiaocui was used to it. Still, considering Lu Siyuan’s words, she added, "Mianmian, I was just asking casually, it’s okay if it’s inconvenient for you to say."
She was genuinely just curious and didn’t insist on knowing.
"It’s no secret." Shen Mianmian smiled and opened the bag to show her, "Look, it’s this."
Both being girls and with no strangers around, Shen Mianmian didn’t avoid showing Xiaocui.
"What are these for?"
Xiaocui picked one up and examined it for a while but couldn’t figure out what it was.
"I’m used to calling it a ’sanitary pad,’ it’s for the menstrual period." Being girls and in the absence of others, Shen Mianmian spoke openly, "These are quite expensive and haven’t started selling in our rural areas yet, it’s mostly used by people in the city."
Xiaocui’s face turned red, "I just use cotton cloth."
Her mother and sister also used cotton cloth. After washing and drying them, they’d reuse them. Some people used toilet paper, but that was more wasteful.
She had assumed that people in the city used toilet paper too and was surprised to find they were using these, which clearly weren’t cheap.
"You bought so much, how long will this last?"
"Not too long, just over a pack a month, and it’ll all be gone in two or three months."
"Gone in just two or three months?" Xiaocui looked shocked, "Can’t these be reused?"
Shen Mianmian chuckled at her, "These are disposable."
If these hadn’t been bought by Brother He, she would have given a pack to Xiaocui.
"That’s such a waste!" Xiaocui exclaimed.
Looking at her expression like that of a little old man, Shen Mianmian couldn’t help but laugh and changed the subject, "Xiaocui, would you want to work in the city in a while?"
With the shop in the city opening, Lu Siyuan didn’t have much energy to spare for home. The bamboo baskets Grandpa Lu wove could be sold there without needing to hire anyone.
She needed someone literate, good with numbers, and trustworthy to run the shop. Xiaocui seemed perfect for the job.
"Work in the city?" Xiaocui’s eyes lit up, then dimmed again, "I have no skills; I don’t know what I could do in the city."
These days, jobs were hard to come by. Generally, city jobs relied on connections to get in, and her family had no relatives in the city. With no skills, she was unsure what she could do there.
"Just taking payments and doing some calculations, it’s quite simple. If you’re willing, I’ll figure out a way to arrange it for you. You don’t need to worry about the rest. I’ll also be going to the city to study later this year. We can keep each other company, so you won’t feel too lonely." Googlᴇ search 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵