Chapter Fourteen: Procuring Supplies in the County Town, Part Two

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After hearing Yun Shu’s words, Lin Jingshu placed the packages on the ground, clenched her teeth, and turned to run toward the post office. While running, she reminded Yun Shu, “I’ll be right back. Yun Yun, wait for me here, okay?”

“Okay! I got it, don’t rush!” Yun Shu answered.

Though she said not to rush, Lin Jingshu was inside for less than ten minutes. After hurriedly reading the letter, what she wrote in reply was unknown, but when she came out again, she looked refreshed and at ease.

Yun Shu kept watching her best friend’s expression and, seeing that she truly seemed relieved, felt a slight weight lift from her heart.

Not wanting to pry into personal matters, Yun Shu simply said to her friend, “It’s good we happened to run into this. Next time, if anything comes up, I’ll come with you. That way, we’ll have some company.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Yun Yun. But I think... there probably won’t be any more trouble,” Lin Jingshu replied.

“Let’s go, let’s go. We should hurry to deliver these to Old Zhang first, then head to the supply and marketing cooperative. It’s almost eight o’clock, and since it’s Monday when they restock, there’ll definitely be a crowd. We need to be quick!”

When given a choice, people often want to maintain some dignity in front of those close to them. Yun Shu sensed Lin Jingshu’s reluctance to talk too much about her grandparents’ family situation and wisely changed the subject.

Besides, what she said made sense—there would definitely be many people at the cooperative today, all lining up to grab supplies. Yun Shu nodded earnestly.

“Yeah, let’s hurry.”

…

They handed the goods over to Old Zhang, who carefully loaded several large packages onto the ox cart and repeatedly assured them he would keep everything safe.

After confirming the schedules for the afternoon cart’s arrival and departure, Yun Shu and the others hurriedly made their way to the supply and marketing cooperative.

As expected, there was a large crowd. Since it was Monday, the cooperative was restocking and bringing in new items, and a long line had already formed before the doors opened. Not daring to waste time, the group quickly joined the queue.

In times like these, no one was in the mood for chatter. The tense atmosphere infected everyone. Yun Shu silently reviewed her shopping list as she noticed several older women eyeing them as competitors, realizing it would be a fierce battle soon enough.

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Yun Shu’s intuition was correct. In this era of scarce resources, everything was in high demand; nothing went unsought.

Especially since employees of the cooperative often reserved a portion for themselves beforehand.

So, when the doors opened promptly at eight, the young people, relying on their agility, pushed their way through the throng without hesitation.

Queueing? That was a joke.

In big cities, the cooperative might enforce orderly lines, refusing to sell to those who didn’t queue, and the sales staff held considerable authority. But in this small county town, showing deference meant being swallowed up by the older men and women.

At this critical moment, none of them entertained any notions of respecting elders. Their eyes quickly scanned the counters as they instinctively split up.

…

Lin Jingshu grabbed Yun Shu’s hand and dashed to the fabric counter. Both pulled out their fabric coupons and cash, determined to spend every last penny and use every ticket. They bought every kind of wool yarn, dacron, scraps of cloth, and white curtains patterned with blue bamboo flowers—anything they could get their hands on.

The two girls carried large bundles of goods, roughly wrapped in a big scrap of cloth. Despite the grumbles behind them from several elderly women complaining that their bulk buying left less for others, they turned and headed toward the daily necessities section without a glance back.

The daily necessities were well stocked. Neither Lin Jingshu nor Yun Shu dared to delay. They pulled out their money and coupons and loudly placed their orders with the sales clerk.

Peony toothpaste, Vitality brand 28 laundry powder, Cold Fragrance shampoo, as well as sun hats, gloves, soap, washboards, hot water bottles, matches, pots, and pans.

As for large iron kettles, iron pots, and insulated lunch boxes, these required some industrial coupons. Fortunately, Yun Shu actually had some. Since she was going to the countryside, her family had saved nearly all their industrial coupons for her use to buy necessities where she would be assigned. Lin Jingshu’s Pinduoduo system could also source those items.

After buying all this, the two could barely carry it anymore, but they had to buy these essentials.

Struggling to squeeze through the crowd, Yun Shu and Lin Jingshu backed against each other, hands on hips, catching their breath. Yun Shu kept watch over the goods while Lin Jingshu, clutching their coupons, bit her lip and pushed into the crowd in front of the meat counter.

Fifteen minutes later, exhausted, Lin Jingshu emerged with the meat. Yun Shu quickly took over, clutching money and coupons as she jostled into the candy and pastry counter. Seeing the daily necessities section had fewer people now, Yun Shu dashed back to buy two mosquito nets for both of them.

After a grueling hour and a half, the two had nearly spent every last coupon and penny they had.

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To be honest, these items could have been easily obtained through Yun Shu’s sign-in system or Lin Jingshu’s Pinduoduo, but—as always—with a new start, you have to establish your own reputation.

If you don’t spend money, do things just appear out of thin air?

After all this hardship and exhaustion, it was just two RMB players laying the groundwork for legitimately enjoying a good life later.

…

They carefully organized the scattered supplies and relayed the goods out of the cooperative’s doors, then found a spot to rest. Soon, Pei Wenyuan arrived to join them. After ten more minutes, the male lead Jiang Xiucheng and Chen Ming appeared, each carrying a heavy load.

The two girls, utterly unaffected, sat on the stone steps by the wall, looking as if they’d just survived a brawl, while the three guys leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

One thing was clear—never underestimate the fighting spirit of the elderly men and women.

Feeling drained, Yun Shu pulled two pieces of nougat from her bag and stuffed them into her and her friend’s mouths, then leaned weakly on her friend’s shoulder, sighing,

“Never coming on a Monday again. I almost got crushed…”

The reliable big sister, Lin Jingshu, gently patted her best friend’s head in comfort.

“Too bad we didn’t get a bicycle. There were only three, and they were all sold out!”

“I hesitated just a moment and didn’t know when they’d be available again.”

Chen Ming looked deeply regretful, while Jiang Xiucheng, looking a bit bedraggled, patted his friend’s shoulder—they hadn’t gotten any either.

The group took a while to catch their breath and recover their strength. Near midday, Yun Shu displayed her expert packing skills, nesting everything to minimize bulk—for example, stuffing toothpaste, shampoo, and soap into a large iron kettle.

After earning some approving glances from their companions, they carried their now much smaller but still substantial bundles and headed to the state-run restaurant to eat.