Chapter 9: One Leading Two

An Yinan found it inconvenient to have An Xiangbei with her, so she cleared out a room for herself.

"Yeah, I'm settled, though there's nothing much to settle. By the way, could you help me keep these things? I don't feel at ease leaving them in that room." Xie Yuanyuan curled her lip; after interacting with her these past few days, she realized Sun Xiaoqin was just short-sighted, and who knew what kind of mischief she might stir up.

An Yinan widened her eyes...

You really trust me.

A full twenty "Great Unity" banknotes, a bundle of ration coupons, and even a small bag of white flour.

"Help me, please." One had to admit, the little girl was truly a master of acting spoiled.

An Yinan helplessly rubbed her brow; even Beibei didn't act spoiled like that...

"Write a note listing everything, we'll both sign it, and each keep a copy. Later, when your room is settled, we'll retrieve the items according to the note." An Yinan sighed; it was a good thing she had her space, otherwise, this would have been really difficult to handle.

People's hearts are hidden behind their skin; not to mention others, Sun Xiaoqin alone was enough to make everyone wary.

"Okay." Xie Yuanyuan agreed immediately. The two of them took inventory, then wrote the note; although they didn't know the exact weight of the white flour, they just estimated an approximate amount.

After Xie Yuanyuan left, An Yinan tossed the items directly into a corner of her space to prevent them from getting mixed up with her own things.

The siblings did not cook with the others that night, just eating some hard baked flatbreads.

Tomorrow they were going to the County to buy some things not available in the village and to send a letter of safety to their godmother.

That night, smelling the earthy scent in the room, An Yinan felt expectant about the future instead.

"Sister, I asked the Captain; I can also gather pig feed and go to the fields to glean grain to earn Work Points." An Xiangbei looked at his sister with wide eyes.

He would grow up in the future and take care of his sister.

No one would ever be able to hit his sister again, no one.

"Good, Beibei is truly capable." An Yinan smiled until her eyes narrowed.

Receiving his sister's praise, An Xiangbei quietly blushed.

Early the next morning, An Yinan took An Xiangbei to the Captain's house and settled him there.

She hadn't interacted with anyone at the Educated Youth Station yet and didn't dare leave Beibei alone there.

After settling An Xiangbei, she returned to the Educated Youth Station to call for Xie Yuanyuan and Zhang Qian to go catch the ox cart together.

Seeing An Yinan carrying a large basket that reached half her height, both of them were startled.

"Nan Nan, aren't you adapting to life a bit too quickly?" Xie Yuanyuan widened her eyes, looking at the person who didn't seem out of place at all with the village girls.

An Yinan rolled her eyes ungracefully and looked at the two of them, speechless.

"What are you two going to the County for?"

The two of them scratched their heads; they were purely following along because they saw An Yinan going.

Both of them came from very well-off families.

Xie Yuanyuan had secretly signed up to go to the countryside; after being discovered, she was scolded, but her parents couldn't bear to see their youngest daughter suffer, so they did their best to prepare good things for her.

As for Zhang Qian, he hid his past and background well, but from his manners, clothing, and etiquette, one could tell his circumstances were not poor.

They really were a young lady and young master who had never known hardship.

"Thermos, are you buying one?" An Yinan felt a bit of a headache.

The two were stunned, "Buy."

"The autumn harvest is coming soon, so you need to prepare shoes and gloves. It's also best to prepare some oil and fat; a month of autumn harvest will wear a person down to the bone."

Don't ask how An Yinan knew; because of the appearance of her space and the stories of the girl in her dreams, she had looked up a great deal of information about this era.

Besides, there was Auntie Li in the village, and she had inquired a little from her as well.

"Oh, I'll buy whatever Nan Nan buys." The little girl had only arrived for a day, and her accent was already drifting.

Zhang Qian nodded vaguely; he spoke very little and rarely made decisions, appearing more like the type who observed.

An Yinan always concealed much when in front of Zhang Qian.

The ox cart moved slowly and leisurely, taking a full hour and a half to reach the County.

"We'll return to the village at four in the afternoon. If you want to ride the cart, come here to gather early." Uncle Niu didn't even lift his eyes as he reminded them.

"Uncle Niu, we understand." An Yinan replied.

Uncle Niu looked up at An Yinan, then lowered his head again to pack his Tobacco Pouch.

An Yinan first went to the Post Office to write a letter of safety to her godmother, then bought some stamps; regardless of whether they were valuable, they would have commemorative value later, representing the traces of history.

After leaving the Post Office, An Yinan suggested they split up.

She needed to take this opportunity to take out supplies from her space to use, and everything needed to have a source.

After the three of them separated, An Yinan went straight to the scrap station, partly to hunt for treasures, but mostly to buy old newspapers.

Arriving at the scrap station, an old man was sitting in the courtyard, lying on a rocking chair basking in the sun.

Hearing the sound of the door being pushed, the old man opened his eyes, "What do you want to buy?"

An Yinan looked at the courtyard, where things were piled up in a mess.

"I want to buy some old newspapers and some ceramic pots."

The old man pointed to a pile of paper, "Pick from the newspapers here, there's also a pile by the door of that room, take a look and choose."

"The pots and such are over there; just bring them over after you've chosen."

After speaking, he didn't watch her anymore and closed his eyes to bask in the sun again.

An Yinan first went to the newspaper pile, picked out a large stack of newspapers, and then selected some primers.

Although she had many books in her space, neither the paper quality nor the printing could be taken out for the time being.

Beibei was already ten; when their parents were alive, he had learned to read and had attended primary school.

After their parents' accident, the two siblings had no way to attend school.

During the winter in the Northeast, there was plenty of time to study, which was just right for Beibei's enlightenment.

She picked out a full dozen books, all of which were primers and children's books.

She placed them next to the old man's rocking chair, then went over to the ceramic jars, picking out quite a few ceramic and pottery jars, and even a set of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum vases.

"Old man, I'll take these for now, see how much they cost."

The old man flipped through the books, and finding no particularly prohibited books, he used a large scale to weigh them.

"This stack of books is seven mao."

"This stack of newspapers is six mao."

He then counted the jars, "Give me two yuan for the jars."

Three yuan and three mao for a whole pile of things; whether it was a bargain or not didn't matter.

The main thing was that these items were practical.

Jars for storing grain could prevent rats from gnawing on it, and could also keep it moisture-proof and insect-proof, killing several birds with one stone.

"All right."

An Yinan handed the money to the old man, then put all those jars into her large back basket, held the pile of newspapers in her arms, and only then walked out of the waste station.

She found a deserted spot and put the various jars into her space; as for the books she had chosen for little Beibei, she would have to wait until later to take them out slowly.

She only put the old newspapers into the back basket, then took out flour and rice, as well as Steamed Bun and steamed stuffed buns.

From the clothing section, she managed to dig out an earth-colored gauze scarf and two pairs of gloves.

Finally, she took two thermos flasks and carried them in her hands.

Only then did she slowly walk toward the State-run Restaurant; the three of them had agreed to meet at the State-run Restaurant.