Chapter 74: Buying a Bicycle

Ershu Liu walked out quickly, holding an aluminum lunch box, "Here, I heard what you told me last time, about that milk tea you brew, want to try it?"

An Yinan's eyes lit up. That's right, milk tea. She had only mentioned it in passing last time; she hadn't expected Ershu Liu to actually make it.

She took a sip with a "slurp." The black tea was rich, the milky flavor was mellow, and it was only missing a few pearls. Everything else was perfect—the taste was far better than the milk tea made with artificial flavoring in later generations.

An Yinan gave a thumbs up, "Delicious."

Ershu Liu laughed, "It's just a waste of that good tea."

"I'll bring you more next time, it won't be a waste." An Yinan smiled and took another sip. Honestly, no matter the time, drinking a cup of milk tea always puts one in a good mood.

After finishing the milk tea and taking the steamed buns, An Yinan hurried to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative; she wanted to buy a bicycle.

She had originally been hesitant about whether to use the bicycle coupon Chen Xun gave her, but after asking Liu Meijie, she heard that bicycle coupons were extremely hard to buy unless one went to the Black Market at a high price, so she made up her mind: use it! She would just pay him back with something else later.

When she arrived at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, she happened to run into the young woman who sold the discounted fabric. That young woman also had a deep impression of An Yinan, after all, she was the powerhouse who had bought two bolts of fabric at once.

"Here to buy fabric again?" the young woman asked with a chuckle.

This was the benefactor who had helped her solve her problem. If it hadn't been for this young girl last time, those two bolts of fabric might have been stuck in her hands.

"I want to look at bicycles." An Yinan didn't hide it; this was her goal. Bicycles were big-ticket items now; no matter who pushed a bicycle out, everyone would see it, so there was no need to be secretive.

In truth, it wasn't that she didn't have a bicycle in her space, but her bicycle was a bit too advanced and not suitable to take out now.

"I'll tell you secretly, two new 26-inch bicycles have arrived. You can ask about them; just say you're a relative of Xiao Wang who sells fabric." The young girl winked at An Yinan.

An Yinan accepted the favor, "Thank you."

"It's nothing, I can't afford one anyway, hehe." The young girl waved her hand and continued knitting a sweater with yarn.

An Yinan walked to the bicycle section and saw two large 28-inch ones; she didn't see a shadow of a 26-inch one at all, and felt a bit puzzled.

"Young girl, buying a bike? They're super expensive. If you're just looking, don't reach out and touch them." The older woman selling the bikes was also sitting there knitting. After all, everyone just came to look at a rarity; few people could afford one, and even fewer had bicycle coupons.

She had seen plenty of these people. Now that someone had come, she just told them with a smile to prevent them from getting the bikes dirty by touching them.

"I'm a relative of Xiao Wang who sells fabric. I heard there are 26-inch bicycles?" An Yinan really didn't want to ride a large 28-inch one; her legs simply weren't long enough! Thinking of the awkward scene of trying to swing her leg over the top bar, she quickly shook her head. The image was too beautiful; she dared not look at it.

It would be perfect if there were a 26-inch one.

"So you're a relative of Xiao Wang's family. There are 26-inch ones, but you have to pay before you can push one out. These are rare goods; without inside information, don't even think about buying one." When the older woman heard she was a relative of Xiao Wang, she put down her half-finished sweater, stood up, walked to An Yinan's side, and whispered.

The rare goods at their Supply and Marketing Cooperative basically all had inside information; they would be consumed internally before being put out for the public.

Just like this internally processed fabric, which one of them hadn't bought some?

"How much?" An Yinan asked.

"You need a bicycle coupon and 160 yuan." The older woman didn't beat around the bush and told An Yinan directly.

The price was within her expectations.

"Big sister, please write up the receipt." An Yinan took out the bicycle coupon and 160 yuan from her bag, handing them both to the older woman.

After the older woman checked that everything was in order, she clipped the receipt and the money/coupon together, hung them on a wire, and pulled a line, sending the clip to the place where payments were verified.

"Alright, wait for them to stamp it over there, and I'll go to the warehouse to push the bike out for you." The older woman was all smiles.

An Yinan thought for a moment. Square Scarves should be quite common now; she had given two away, so it should be fine.

She took out a Square Scarf and handed it to the older woman, "Big sister, thanks."

She hadn't been blocked from buying the bike, partly because of the "Xiao Wang's relative" connection, and partly because of the older woman's style of doing things.

The current Supply and Marketing Cooperative was not a modern store; the idea that the customer is God meant nothing here. Here, the salesperson was God...

If they didn't want to work, they really wouldn't sell! Even if they had to sell, their attitude wouldn't be very good.

Being able to talk with a smile like this was already the best performance.

"This young girl has such a sweet mouth. Seeing you makes me feel good." The older woman accepted it with a smile. Honestly, this young girl looked pretty, her eyes were sparkling, her little mouth was sweet, and she even handled things gracefully. Why wasn't such a young girl from her own family?

"How old are you?" the older woman asked curiously.

An Yinan was a bit stunned. Hadn't this topic changed a bit too fast?

"Seventeen." She told the older woman honestly.

"Only seventeen, a bit young." The older woman thought of her own nephew and felt he probably wasn't a match for this young girl. A family that could afford a bicycle definitely wasn't short on money, and the girl was pretty and had a good personality. Her nephew wouldn't do, and he was older, already twenty.

At this moment, at the Border Military Region in the far north, after Chen Xun finished training, he let out a loud sneeze and rubbed his nose. He didn't know what was going on lately; he kept sneezing. Was his mother missing him?

Calculating the time, the young girl should have received the letter. Thinking of the money and coupons in the letter, he felt slightly anxious. Please don't send them back!!!

The money collection process was fast; in the time it took to say two sentences, the document had been stamped.

The older woman took the stamped document to the warehouse and brought out the light blue 26-inch bicycle.

Before leaving, An Yinan went to the fabric counter and slipped a Square Scarf to Xiao Wang to express her gratitude.

More than half of the road back to the village was uphill, so she pedaled the bicycle for half the way and then quickly pushed it the rest of the time. It was still early when she returned to the village, and she didn't go back to the Educated Youth Courtyard; she rode the bicycle straight to the Daduibu.

Judging by the time, the Captain shouldn't have gone home yet.

"Educated Youth An is here? This bicycle is really nice." There were only three people at the Daduibu now: the Captain, the village Accountant, and the village Scorekeeper. The three were verifying the village's grain; they had to turn in the public grain the day after tomorrow. The village had been very lively these past two days. Even people who usually had grudges weren't looking for trouble these days, and everyone had a smile on their face when they saw anyone.

"Yeah, it's a bit smaller than the Captain's bicycle, suitable for a girl to ride." The Accountant was also surnamed Li, a member of the Captain's clan, and was getting on in years.

The Captain looked at An Yinan. She usually went to his home if she had something to say. Except for the time she bought land to build a house, this was her first time coming to the Daduibu.