B5SB -Chapter 34 The Market

After school was out for the holidays, Gu Yihan devoted all her energy to her house.

She cleared the weeds from the backyard and took a large quilt out of her space to lay on the bed in the bedroom.

She also tidied up the kitchen, took out some rice, flour, oil, and salt, and found a bit of firewood at home, preparing to cook by herself.

Gu Yihan took two eggs and went out. After locking the door, she knocked on her neighbor’s door: “Bang, bang, bang!”

“Who is it?” came a voice from inside—a middle-aged woman.

Gu Yihan called out: “Auntie, I’m your neighbor on the right. I just moved in yesterday!”

The door opened, revealing a fair-skinned, slightly chubby but pretty young girl.

Inside, Aunt Wu—a woman in her fifties wearing a mechanic factory uniform—looked at her. Gu Yihan handed her the eggs.

“Auntie, my name is Gu Yihan. I want to buy some chicks and vegetable seeds. Do you know where I can get them?”

Holding the eggs the girl had given her, Aunt Wu spoke warmly: “Oh, little girl, I’ve lived here all my life; I know every corner of this place.”

Gu Yihan listened as Aunt Wu went on about her son, a level-7 worker at the machinery factory, her grandson’s excellent studies, and her daughter-in-law, a worker at the textile factory.

She kept talking and talking but never mentioned where to actually buy chicks or seeds.

Feeling she had encountered an extrovert who wouldn’t stop, Gu Yihan awkwardly interrupted: “Auntie Wu, could you tell me where to buy chicks and seeds?”

Aunt Wu wasn’t fazed and continued: “What luck! Tomorrow, take the trolley to Qingyun Town. There’s a farmers’ market there every fifth day, with goods from the locals, approved by the government.”

Relieved to have the location, Gu Yihan quickly said: “Thank you, Auntie Wu. I just moved in and haven’t had time to settle yet. I’ll come chat with you another time!”

She turned and walked away at an unexpectedly fast pace, truly afraid Auntie Wu would keep talking.

Watching her leave, Auntie Wu muttered: “Youth is nice—legs still nimble.”

The next morning, Gu Yihan woke up early, cooked extra rice porridge, and stored the leftovers in her space.

After eating porridge and meat buns—almost finishing all the buns from her space—she planned to make more herself when she had time.

She carried a basket to the bus stop, checked the schedule, and after about 30 minutes on the trolley, arrived at Qingyun Town.

Getting off, she didn’t immediately see the market—only children playing.

She pulled a hard candy from her pocket and gave it to a child: “Little friend, do you know where the nearby market is?”

The child looked at the candy, then at the pretty girl, and took it, saying: “Go down this alley, turn left at the intersection, and you’ll see it.”

Gu Yihan patted his head happily: “Thank you, little brother.”

Following the direction, she soon saw many people. As she walked, she browsed the market and found a wide variety of goods.

She approached an elderly man selling seeds and asked: “Grandpa, how’s the germination rate of these seeds?”

He cheerfully replied: “Little girl, these are all seeds we kept ourselves, hand-picked for the best quality. They’ll definitely sprout.”

Gu Yihan squatted and picked a few easy-to-grow seeds—she hadn’t farmed before, so she wanted something that would grow reliably—then handed him the money.

Seeing someone selling chicks, she asked: “Auntie, how much for each chick?”

The woman said: “One chick is 0.1 yuan. How many would you like?”

Gu Yihan considered how many to buy, unsure if the neighborhood committee allowed raising them. She wanted to test it first.

The woman, seeing no answer, thought she was balking at the price: “It’s a good deal! One egg costs 0.07 yuan, and these will hatch from them.”

Gu Yihan handed over 0.5 yuan: “I’ll take five.” She carefully placed the chicks in her basket, afraid of accidentally hurting them.

She walked around the market but didn’t see anything else she needed; she was alone and wouldn’t consume much anyway.

At the end of the market, she saw an old man selling dogs in baskets.

One fluffy white dog immediately caught her eye. She walked over and held the puppy: “How much is this one?”

“No money. Two industrial coupons,” said the old man, reluctantly watching Gu Yihan hold the dog.

She handed over two industrial coupons without bargaining.

Gu Yihan was ecstatic—she loved dogs but had never raised one due to lack of conditions. Now, with her own house and yard, she could raise one freely.

Back home, she made a bed for the puppy and gently stroked its soft fur: “You’ll be called Maomao from now on.”

In the backyard, she built a simple coop for the chicks. They were still small, so they didn’t need much space.

She cooked egg noodles, ate, and lay in bed thinking about her savings. She still needed to send 5 yuan to Grandma Gu every month. Looks like she’d need to earn by submitting work!

She also needed to wake up early tomorrow. Her home stove used firewood, which she didn’t have, so cooking would be a problem. She needed to see where to get a coal stove to replace it.

Early the next morning, she ate buns from her space and drank some of the porridge she had stored the previous morning.

After feeding Maomao and the chicks, she headed to the scrap collection station.

Inside, a woman sat on the right side sorting scrap. Without looking up, she simply gestured for customers to bring their items.

Gu Yihan went straight to a pile of old metal, looking for a stove that burned coal briquettes.

She rummaged for a long time but found nothing, exhausted by the effort.

Even the woman selling scrap spoke up: “You’ve been at it a while—what are you looking for?”

Gu Yihan, feeling aggrieved, said: “I’m looking for an old coal briquette stove.”

The woman looked at her as if she were crazy: “Are you nuts? That stuff’s rare. Everyone keeps theirs. You think you can find one here?”

Gu Yihan asked: “Do you know anywhere I could find one?”

The woman didn’t answer directly but asked why she was out looking by herself.

Gu Yihan explained: “My dad took my mom and brother to visit my grandfather. It’s too far, and they won’t be back before the New Year. The stove at home broke, so I have to handle things myself.”

Hearing this, the woman partially believed her and whispered: “I have a relative at the coal factory. They have an old one.”

Gu Yihan’s heart leapt. She whispered: “Does your relative have extra coal briquettes? I want to get more; my relatives also need coal.”

The woman smiled knowingly: “Yes, you can exchange them, but not for money—just food.”

Money was tight, but she had food. Gu Yihan asked: “Would corn cobs work?”

The woman agreed: “Sure. Where will you make the exchange?”

Gu Yihan thought a moment: “At 10 pm, near the big willow tree in Liushu Alley, straight ahead to a dilapidated house. That’s where we’ll trade. I’ll give 200 jin of corn cobs for one old coal stove, and exchange the rest for coal briquettes.”

The woman froze at the amount: “200 jin? Really?”

Gu Yihan thought, it’s just this once. This has to last until work starts.

She asked: “You don’t have enough coal?”

The woman waved her hand: “Yes, little girl. I won’t cheat you. Corn cobs sell at 0.09 yuan per jin at the store and require coupons. Your stove exchange offsets that. Coal briquettes are 2.4 yuan per dan (100 jin). You’ll get six dans and the rest will be used to exchange the stove.”

Gu Yihan was satisfied: “Perfect.” After confirming the time, she took the bus back home.