032, Village Commune, Shopping

“Jing, is it because my family didn’t do a good job?” Li Xiaomei asked anxiously.

She was worried they might think poorly of the meals her family prepared, or suspect them of keeping some of the rations for themselves, which would be a serious issue. When the army delivered the grain, her family had carefully portioned it out, and they’d received a small bag of fine rice, allowing them to have white rice occasionally. But her family had never been stingy with Gaoshen’s rations.

It was just that their circumstances were meager—many ingredients were lacking, and they used cooking oil sparingly. If the food hadn’t tasted good, it was only because of their limited resources!

Seeing her anxious expression, Jing Qingxin immediately understood. Previously, the army had assigned the Li family to handle Gaoshen’s meals, providing them with a certain amount of grain as compensation. Now, with the sudden decision to reorganize the kitchen, the Lis could easily misunderstand.

“No, that’s not it—don’t get the wrong idea. I just want to make some extra nutritious dishes for Gaoshen. While I’m here, I’ll take care of it. Sometimes I might leave for a few days, and then we’ll need your family to handle his meals again. The rations will still be kept at your house; I’ll just add a few things myself. Do you understand?” Jing Qingxin explained gently.

“Oh, I see! I’ll tell my mother tonight. Jing, do you need to buy anything? I can take you!” Li Xiaomei breathed a sigh of relief, smiling brightly.

As long as they weren’t dissatisfied with her family, that was all that mattered. After all, her family had eaten half of the fine rice the army provided—the rest was saved for New Year’s. If they weren’t needed to help anymore, there would be no way to explain things.

“Let’s go to the commune this afternoon, and then to the market in town tomorrow,” Jing Qingxin suggested after thinking for a moment.

“All right, just wait a moment!” Li Xiaomei dashed back into the house.

A few minutes later, she reappeared in a set of blue homespun clothes and oversized black trousers, with cloth shoes made from layers of fabric. The clothes were obviously adult-sized, slightly altered to fit her, but compared to the patched outfit she’d worn before, this was much tidier.

As she walked, Li Xiaomei adjusted her clothes, blushing slightly. She seldom wore this set, her only unpatched outfit, saving it for visits or special occasions. Stealing a glance at Jing Qingxin’s elegant attire, she straightened her two thick braids and smiled shyly. She would never usually change just to go to the commune, but seeing Jing’s beautiful clothes, she couldn’t bear to appear in patched garments beside her—how could she embarrass Jing like that?

“Let’s go!” Li Xiaomei said, beaming.

And so, the two of them set off cheerfully toward the commune at the village entrance.

As they walked, Jing Qingxin took in her surroundings. The village paths were still yellow mud, uneven and riddled with puddles from the rain. If you didn’t watch your step, you might well end up ankle-deep in mud.

Along the way, she saw mud-brick walls, houses with roofs shaped like an inverted “V,” most tiled, a few still thatched, but all single-story dwellings—not a two-story house in sight.

The two chatted as they walked, not dawdling, and reached the commune at the village entrance in about half an hour. According to Li Xiaomei, this little shop was the only one for several villages around.

Jing Qingxin looked at the building ahead—a single-story house, but more solidly built than the villagers’ homes, with more space, and a coat of white paint on the walls. A bright red slogan stretched across the wall: “The vast world holds great promise!”

Truly a testament to the era, Jing Qingxin reflected inwardly.

She entered, glancing around. Several wooden cabinets lined the room, their fronts covered in glass, and wall cupboards held all sorts of goods.

At the moment, only two people browsed inside. Behind the wooden counter sat a woman, head bent, absorbed in her own business, paying no mind to the customers and not greeting anyone.

Jing Qingxin led Li Xiaomei to start shopping. They stopped first at the household goods cabinet, but found only some daily necessities and kitchen condiments—no iron woks for sale.

This was nothing like the supermarkets of her own time, where you chose what you wanted and paid all at once. Scanning the selection, Jing Qingxin quickly decided what to buy. Everything here was basic—just the essentials each household might need, not much variety.

At the counter, the woman finally raised her head for a brief glance, then suddenly fixed her gaze on Jing Qingxin.

“Hello, comrade, I’d like to buy a few things,” Jing Qingxin said politely, ignoring the scrutiny.

“Oh? What do you need?” The shop assistant responded after a moment, openly sizing her up, eyes full of doubt. She’d never seen this young woman before, and dressed so stylishly—how was she out in this poor countryside?

Jing Qingxin had no intention of engaging with her. She recited a long list of items—kitchen seasonings, cooking oil, bowls, chopsticks, towels, and the like.

“Do you have any spatulas?” she asked.

“We don’t have iron spatulas, but there are a few clay pots. Do you want one?” the woman replied bluntly. Out here, almost no one bought iron cookware; every family just used a big iron wok. But there were some unused clay pots in the storeroom.

“Yes, I’d like one!” Jing Qingxin answered happily. Clay pots were even better; for soup or porridge, they worked far better than iron woks. She hadn’t expected the commune shop to have any—she thought everyone here still used iron woks.

The shop assistant briskly gathered everything Jing had listed and tallied up the price. A few minutes later, she announced, “That’ll be six yuan, eighty-two cents.”

Such low prices—so many things, and only a few yuan! Jing Qingxin couldn’t help smiling as she handed over the money.

The woman took it happily and made change. It was rare to see someone in the countryside make such a large purchase; the more people bought, the more she benefited.

Li Xiaomei had been stunned as Jing read out the list. Her family had only two or three condiments—just enough for basic flavor. Who would be so extravagant? Nowadays, condiments weren’t cheap, but Jing had spent over six yuan just on kitchen supplies.

To her, it was heart-wrenching! In the village, anyone who shopped like that would be called a “wasteful woman.”

——Author’s Note——

Dear readers, this story will be up for recommendation and PK tomorrow, with a bonus chapter tomorrow night. Your comments, votes, and flowers really matter for the novel’s future—please support Jing with all you can! Thank you!

First published by Xiaoxiang Book House. Please do not redistribute.