Chapter 16: Shopping

Yang Hui awkwardly withdrew her hand, noticing Su Yao laughing. She snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Su Yao felt utterly baffled.

After finishing the steamed bun in her hand, just as she felt her mouth dry, Mu Xingjue handed her the water bottle. Su Yao took a couple of sips before naturally passing it back to him.

Seeing how comfortably Su Yao and Mu Xingjue interacted, Mu Xingjue couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Yang Hui followed at a distance—not too close, not too far. Watching Su Yao and Mu Xingjue get along so well, a seed of jealousy took root and began to grow. She resolved to find Jiang Guo as soon as she returned.

Jiang Guo was like a toad lusting after swan flesh, foolishly coveting her. He didn’t even consider his own family background or appearance. Honestly, Su Yao was a perfect match for him.

Giving Su Yao to Jiang Guo would surely make him even happier.

Having made up her mind, Yang Hui went to find Zeng Yue, who had been persistently bothered by Tian Zhixue. This Zeng was not bad; whenever there was food, she always shared some with them. If Tian Zhixue managed to win her over, they would lose all their benefits.

“Tian Zhixue, stop pestering Zeng Yue. You promised to share the food with us before. Why are you bothering her now?” Yang Hui pulled Zeng Yue close without giving her a chance to respond.

Zeng Yue breathed a sigh of relief. Although Yang Hui didn’t seem like a good person, she had helped her get rid of Tian Zhixue’s harassment. If she shared more food with them in the future, it wouldn’t be a bad deal.

“Yang, please help me. They’re so annoying, always saying I waste food when I share it with everyone. I just want to give everyone a little treat to ease their fatigue from work and lift their spirits. Every time he says that, I feel so upset and irritated,” Zeng Yue said softly.

Yang Hui was older and more experienced and immediately saw that Zeng Yue was using her. But that didn’t matter; as long as there was food to eat, she didn’t mind being used a little.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Tian Zhixue stops bothering you,” Yang Hui said with a calculating gleam in her eyes. Zeng Yue felt a bit scared but became more determined to move out. Still, she knew the time wasn’t right to part ways with Yang Hui. First, they had to deal with Tian Zhixue and Yu Lu.

After walking for about an hour and a half, they finally reached the town.

Their main purpose was to buy rice, flour, and some meat. They also needed to get some eggs.

The four headed straight to the farmers’ market. It wasn’t very large, and the variety of vegetables was limited, but having something was better than nothing.

“Buy whatever you want to eat. When we come again, the spring planting season will be over,” someone said.

Suddenly, images of ration coupons and meat tickets appeared before Su Yao’s eyes.

“What does that mean?” Su Yao asked Mu Xingjue.

“You’re in charge of the food. Whatever you cook, we’ll eat. All the money and coupons are given to you. Buy whatever you need, and when you run out, just tell me,” Mu Xingjue explained.

“Right, right. I’ll also give you the money and coupons. You handle the shopping. Just give the stuff to me and Xingyu,” Xu Xingyu said, pulling money and ration coupons from his pocket and handing them to Su Yao.

Ye Simin also took out her money and coupons and placed them in Su Yao’s hands.

Su Yao thought it wasn’t a bad idea. She was the one cooking anyway, so she’d eat whatever she made. Ordering dishes was out of the question; she would keep the accounts when they got back, making things easier to manage later.

With the money in hand, Su Yao began to browse the market. She first went to the pork stall, but there wasn’t much left. She bought ten pounds each of front and hind leg pork, five pork ribs, and four pork leg bones. There wasn’t much else of good quality.

After that, she bought vegetables—several heads of napa cabbage for making kimchi; there were still some white radishes at home, so she skipped those. She also bought some garlic sprouts, potatoes, sweet potato noodles, and dried green beans.

Next, the four went to the grain and oil shop. Using their grain booklets, purchase certificates, and ration coupons, they bought rice, flour, cooking oil, soy sauce, and other seasonings.

Then they stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some favorite snacks and vegetable seeds.

By the time they finished shopping, it was mealtime. They went straight into the state-run restaurant, where the other young intellectuals from the commune were already eating.

“Su, is there anything you’d like to eat?” Mu Xingjue asked.

“I’m fine with anything. No preferences,” Su Yao replied, glancing at the menu board and noticing nothing she disliked.

“Alright. You and Simin find a seat, and Xingyu and I will order food,” Mu Xingjue said.

Su Yao and Ye Simin looked around and found an empty table by the window to sit.

After a while, Mu Xingjue and Xu Xingyu returned with the dishes. “I ordered a few random dishes. Let’s see if you like them.”

“That’s good. By the way, do you have plans after eating?” Su Yao asked while eating.

“No. Wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you,” Mu Xingjue replied.

“I want to visit the scrap yard to see if they have any high school textbooks,” Su Yao said. “The novels say there are treasures there. I wonder if I’ll be lucky enough to find some.”

“But there’s no college entrance exam now. Why do you need high school books?” Xu Xingyu asked curiously.

“Just because it’s not happening now doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. When I have free time, I can study a bit. If the college entrance exam is reinstated someday, it’s better to be prepared than not,” Su Yao said.

If she could endure a couple more years, once the college entrance exam was restored, she could take it, attend university, and then leave this place to study and run a shop. After that, she could live a life surrounded by admirers—just the thought made her excited.

“Su has a point. In a few days, I’ll have my family send over two sets of textbooks. I’ll give you one. The scrap yard’s books might not be complete or clean,” Mu Xingjue said.

Su Yao looked at Mu Xingjue, surprised at how suddenly eager he was. Could it be that he really liked her?

Her goal, however, was to be adored by many. Mu Xingjue was handsome and well-built, certainly alluring.

But she didn’t want to marry. Not just in the future—right now, women who worked the fields or held jobs still had to do the housework, care for children, and serve their in-laws. Meanwhile, men acted like masters, doing nothing but sitting at home after work waiting for food.

What good was such a marriage? She preferred to enjoy her own company.

“Alright, send the money when the time comes,” Su Yao said, feeling it was best to keep things clear.

Mu Xingjue felt a bit wronged. Had he not shown his interest clearly enough? Why did she want to keep things so separate? No matter; he could show more affection in the future to make it obvious.

Mu Xingjue picked up a piece of braised pork for Su Yao. “We’ll talk about money later. For now, eat.”

He watched Su Yao intently. She didn’t think much of it, planning to pay once the books arrived. Even if something developed later, that would be another matter. For now, it was best to keep their affairs clear.

As Su Yao ate the braised pork, the grievance in Mu Xingjue’s eyes softened into a smile. It seemed Su Yao wasn’t trying to cut ties completely. He still had a chance.