Xia Qingqing went to the county the next day, hoping to find an excuse to bring back some meat. Of course, she had to eat something good during the New Year.

Another thing I want to do is go to the bookstore and buy a Xinhua Dictionary so that Gou Dan and Zhang Hongyan can use it when they study.

Zhang Hongyan knew that her daughter's classmate had the ability to get meat without tickets, so she gave her the money directly without saying a word of objection.

People in the countryside look forward to the New Year to eat something good all year round, so even if Zhang Hongyan is frugal on ordinary days, she will not be frugal during the New Year.

After arriving in the county, Xia Qingqing first went to the bookstore to buy a dictionary, and then went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

When she left, Zhang Hongyan gave her extra money and coupons, asking her to buy the New Year's goods together.

In previous years, Zhang Hongyan would buy these things herself, but this year, with her daughter's help, she was too lazy to make the trip herself.

Before the Lunar New Year, the supply and marketing cooperative was packed with people, and there wasn't even a place to stand. Xia Qingqing waited at the entrance of the cooperative for a while, but the number of people didn't decrease; instead, it increased.

She closed her eyes briefly, gritted her teeth, and charged into the crowd, carving a bloody path through the aunties and older women with her slender figure.

"Please don't push, everyone! Auntie, please speak louder, I can't hear you! We're out of White Rabbit candy... and brown sugar too..." the saleswoman shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Make way, I got in first... don't push me."

"Comrade, could you please give me two pounds of sunflower seeds...?"

After Xia Qingqing finally managed to squeeze to the counter, before she could even speak, she was immediately shoved aside from behind.

She tried to turn her head to see which bastard had shoved her, but there was no room to turn her head, and she was quickly pushed out of the crowd again.

"Huff~", Xia Qingqing stood at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, panting heavily. She had underestimated the fighting power of these aunties and grandmas. Her braids were all messed up from being squeezed by the crowd, and she didn't buy a single penny.

It was unlikely that she could squeeze in again, and she still needed to buy the things she would need for the New Year, so Xia Qingqing decided to go back to the courtyard where she had bought things last time.

She doesn't know if they still sell things there. If they do, she doesn't plan to come to the county again during the Spring Festival. She'll stock up on more things in the system warehouse in advance.

Xia Qingqing knocked on the courtyard gate in the same rhythm that Hei Zi had used last time, but after waiting for a long time without hearing any response, she thought no one was inside.

Just as she was about to leave, a man opened the door.

"Oh, it's you, little girl?" Xiao Hui's lips curled up slightly when he saw the person at the door, exuding an air of unruliness.

His hair was slightly disheveled, and he was wearing a green military overcoat, as if he had just woken up.

"I'm here to buy some things, do you still have any in stock?" Xia Qingqing asked.

Xiao Hui ushered Xia Qingqing in: "Yes, come in."

"What do you want today? Never mind, I'll just take you to the storeroom to pick something out."

Zhu Ming and Yu Dong weren't here today, and Xiao Hui was too lazy to move things around.

Xia Qingqing followed Xiao Hui into a room filled with supplies, which made her quite envious.

"It's all here. This is the last batch of goods before the New Year. You're lucky to have come at the right time. If you had come a day or two later, there might have been no more stock," Xiao Hui said lazily, leaning against the door and gesturing for Xia Qingqing to pick out the items herself.

He bought a large quantity of goods because of the upcoming Chinese New Year and the high demand, but even that is not enough to meet the demand.

Xia Qingqing was like a mouse in a rice jar, wanting this and that.

I need to keep some of the New Year's goods I'm taking home in the system warehouse, and also send some to Gu Shuyun.

She didn't know if they would still celebrate the New Year in their post-apocalyptic world, but regardless, she had to arrange New Year's gifts for her sisters.

Xiao Hui was secretly amazed as he watched Xia Qingqing's posture as if she were about to empty his warehouse.

Although he was happy to have such a big client, he was really worried about who would marry this young girl in the future. She was spending too much money; he wouldn't be able to support her without some ability.

"That's all. Can you help me calculate how much it costs?" Xia Qingqing said, pointing to the large pile of things on the ground.

Xiao Hui resignedly squatted down to count and settle the items on the ground, saying, "Little girl, you bought so much stuff, can you take it all back?"

He figured if Xia Qingqing couldn't take it back, he'd reluctantly help her send it back. After all, she was a big client, and it was always good to maintain the relationship. He wanted to continue making money off Xia Qingqing in the future.

"Don't worry, I can carry it," Xia Qingqing replied calmly.

She understood why Xiao Hui asked that question, because the things on the ground weighed nearly 200 pounds in total. Even a man might not be able to lift them, let alone a seemingly frail little girl like her.

Hearing this, Xiao Hui did not force her, but looked at Xia Qingqing with a hint of surprise. He knew that the little girl was strong last time, but he did not expect her to be this strong.

You really can't judge a book by its cover. Poor girl, her future husband will not only have to be good at making money, but he might also have to be able to take a beating.

Cruel, absolutely cruel.

Several minutes later, Xiao Hui finally calculated the price: "It's 142.5 in total. I'll round it down to 140 for you."

"Thanks," Xia Qingqing said with a smile, secretly surprised by Xiao Hui's generosity. Two yuan and fifty cents was a lot of money back then, and he just wiped it off like that.

Xia Qingqing pretended to take out a small stack of 100-yuan bills from her pocket, but actually from her system space. She counted out 14 bills and handed them to Xiao Hui, then put the rest back into her pocket.

Xiao Hui smiled, took the money, and put it in his pocket without counting it again. This wasn't because he trusted Xia Qingqing, but because he had counted the money along with her when she was counting it.

"You can come to me again if you need anything next time. I can get watches, radios, and bicycles, but you need to let me know in advance," Xiao Hui said, trying to sell.

Most other food and daily necessities can be stockpiled, but stockpiling large items like bicycles is too risky, so Xiao Hui usually only tries to get them if a customer places an order.

When Xia Qingqing heard that he could get bicycles, her eyes flickered. She wanted to get a bicycle so she wouldn't have to drive an oxcart every time.

As for the difficulty of explaining getting a bicycle to her family, she bought it but didn't take it home; she simply stored it in the system's warehouse and took it out when she needed it.

After thinking it through, Xia Qingqing asked, "Brother Hui, how much is a Phoenix brand bicycle here?"

Xiao Hui had only mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect Xia Qingqing to actually be interested. He smiled and said, "You're a regular customer, so if you really want it, just give me 200 yuan."