Chapter 19: The Fat and Thin Youth

Her own large parcel could hold twice as much as Nan Nan's; how could she have the face to let Nan Nan pay the fare?

"That works, but I won't be going back with you. I'm going to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to use up some tickets that are about to expire, then I'll wait for Zhang Qian. Otherwise, if he arrives and doesn't see us, it won't be good if something happens." An Yinan planned carefully. She also wanted to check out the Black Market. Truth becomes fiction and fiction becomes truth; she realized the flour she brought was too white and needed to be mixed with something else...

As for selling things at the Black Market, she didn't have that thought for now. First, she had supplies; second, she wasn't short on money. Besides, if there were any problems, she could hide in her space and live a lifetime, but what about An Xiangbei? Where could he hide?

Having lived two lives, he was her only relative; how could she bear it?

Safety is the most important thing!

If the Black Market can avoid attracting attention, then it should avoid attracting attention.

"Fine, leave it to me. I'll put everything in my room, and you can come get it from me after you return," Xie Yuanyuan promised.

The two parted ways there. An Yinan first found a grove of trees, and after checking that no one was around, she entered her space. Wigs, clothes, makeup—she changed every single thing. To alter her figure, she put on seven layers of clothing inside, and only then did she look a bit bloated.

After finishing her disguise, she walked out of the grove, put the items from the original large basket into her space, and carrying an empty basket, she went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative first.

She bought a catty of White Rabbit creamy candies, two catties of sponge cakes, and some notebooks and pens. Only then did she walk out of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, using the large basket as cover to toss the items into her space.

Where is the Black Market? The Railway Station.

Although she didn't know the specific location, the Railway Station was a hub for information exchange.

An Yinan carried the large basket, watching the people coming and going. Her gaze suddenly met someone's. That person was dressed in black, short in stature—looking about 1.5 meters tall—with short hair and a large basket on his back. He was a boy of fifteen or sixteen.

"What do you want?" the black-clad boy leaned in and asked secretly, his eyes still darting around.

"White flour, rice—do you have them?" An Yinan didn't waste words. To think she had so much white flour and rice in her space, yet still had to go outside to buy some...

The black-clad boy looked at An Yinan, who appeared to be an honest middle-aged woman. "Rice is 30 cents a catty, white flour is 28 cents a catty. No tickets needed."

An Yinan frowned. It was more than twice as expensive as the Food Station, but she remembered that place required tickets, and this was, after all, a Black Market price.

"Ten catties of rice, ten catties of white flour. Do you have that?" An Yinan asked, which meant she accepted the price.

The black-clad boy nodded and pointed in a direction ahead. An Yinan kept a distance from him, observing her surroundings carefully. It was her first time at the Black Market; she shouldn't let anyone scam her.

But she wasn't too nervous. If it really came down to it, she could hide in her space, and in this current guise, even if her parents were resurrected, they wouldn't recognize her.

The two walked for over ten minutes and arrived at an alley. The black-clad boy whistled to someone inside, and a plump, fair-skinned person walked out of the alley.

"Pangzi, this auntie wants ten catties of rice and ten catties of white flour."

An "Auntie" Yinan rubbed the corner of her mouth in silence, then looked at the fat man.

"Wait," Pangzi nodded without asking any more questions.

In less than three minutes, Pangzi walked out from the alley again, opened two white cloth bags to let An Yinan see the contents clearly, and then held out his hand.

An Yinan handed over the money she had prepared in advance. After Pangzi confirmed there were no issues, he handed the rice and flour to An Yinan.

The entire transaction didn't involve many words.

After An Yinan walked out of the winding alley, she saw the black-clad boy from before standing under a large tree. Their eyes met for a split second before looking away, as if they had never met.

An Yinan didn't linger. She returned to the previous grove, checked the surroundings, and went back into her space. She spent over ten minutes removing her makeup, washing up, and tidying up before walking out of the grove.

This trip back and forth, including the time for applying and removing makeup, took nearly an hour. When she arrived at the usual meeting spot by the Shi Zhu Zi, Uncle Niu hadn't returned yet, but Zhang Qian was already there.

The two exchanged a glance and said nothing. A group of aunties and older women followed behind them; if they made any move, it would spread throughout the entire village.

"Educated Youth An, who do you have in your family?" An auntie squeezed out from behind, looking at An Yinan with a loving expression. Although the other aunties didn't say anything, they pricked up their ears to listen.

An Yinan smiled. "My parents have passed away..."

Seeing the smiles on those people's faces—with both parents gone and just the two siblings, wouldn't it be easy to bully her if she married into their family? Having a younger brother wasn't a worry either; a bowl of rice would be enough to keep him alive. But Educated Youth An's Work Points would all belong to their family; she earned over eighty Work Points a day, which could support so many people.

Seeing the calculations in the hearts of this group, An Yinan added another sentence, "But my two older brothers are in the Military."

"And I must eat five bowls of white rice every meal. If I don't get to eat it, I'll hit people!" An Yinan's smile looked too gentle—gentle to the point of being somewhat eerie.

Huh! The group widened their eyes. There were two older brothers? And they were soldiers? They couldn't afford to provoke them...

Besides, five bowls of white rice—what kind of wealthy family could afford that! They only ate rice two or three times a month, and it was even mixed with other grains. Even with eighty Work Points a day, it wouldn't be enough to eat white rice.

"Heh, well, the auntie was just asking," the auntie who asked the question laughed it off, clearly having come to take advantage.

"Auntie Lu, if this is for your Er Gouzi, stop asking. Who doesn't know that your Er Gouzi spends all day chasing cats and teasing dogs? He hasn't even worked a few days during the busy farming season. Don't ruin the girl," an older woman who couldn't stand it said, carrying a basket with a piece of blue cloth spread over it.

Upon hearing this, the auntie surnamed Lu glared. "Old Lady Liu, I was just asking Educated Youth An; did I offend you? You want to find a daughter-in-law, but do you have one? You're childless and heirless, what are you nagging about here?"

Old Lady Liu set her large basket on the ground and smoothed her somewhat graying hair. "My son was a soldier. Please show some moral decency. Even though my son died, he was a martyr. I don't mind going to the county to talk about this."

Old Lady Liu rarely spoke usually. She had only one son, who sacrificed his life while participating in a mission last year. Three days after the news arrived, Old Man Liu, who had been bedridden, also passed away. She usually kept to herself and didn't interact with anyone. The County Revolutionary Committee specifically went to Quanshui Village to commend her, telling Old Lady Liu to go to the county if she had any issues. In the village, besides farm work, Old Lady Liu never left her courtyard, and others wouldn't provoke her either.

Today, it was because An Yinan said her brothers were soldiers that she stood up. She couldn't stand seeing this group target the family of a soldier.

Auntie Lu was pulled back a few times, her mouth moving for a long time, but she didn't say anything.

An Yinan sized up Old Lady Liu for a moment and helped her lift her basket. "Old Lady Liu, let me help you carry it."

Old Lady Liu waved her hand and took the basket back. "No need."

Afterward, she walked alone to a corner in the back, as if she had never appeared just now.

"Time to go back to the village," Uncle Niu had arrived.

The ox cart, which used to be lively, was exceptionally quiet because of this interlude.