As expected, the two oxcarts carrying the goods were questioned at the village entrance.

"Wow, with all this stuff, Old Zhang, your family's going to make a fortune!"

Aunt Zhang, sitting on her bicycle, rolled her eyes. "Get lost! These jobs were all introduced by the brigade leader. What do we get paid? We just earn work points."

"real?"

The aunt who was speaking stood up and walked around the oxcart. "This young man didn't order any of these things when he came to our house, did he?"

What she was pointing to was none other than the rack that Shen Fenghua had just asked for, used for drying things.

Aunt Zhang rolled her eyes and spat, "So stingy! All you do is stare at other people's little things over and over again. What, you're upset because I didn't give them to you?"

"Pah! Don't try to fool me. You're exaggerating... " Before she could even finish saying the words "speculation and profiteering," Aunt Zhang jumped off her bicycle, put her hands on her hips, and started yelling and cursing.

"Pah, you're talking nonsense! This is my niece from my mother's side. She's getting married, and I didn't have much to give her. You can't even accept a bean drying rack and a winnowing basket?"

Aunt Zhang stood guard, impenetrable to all. "Why don't you take on this brigade leader position? You want to manage everything? Bah! Don't you even know your own worth? With your two ounces of shameless bones, you think you're qualified?"

Aunt Zhang pointed her finger at her and scolded her. The aunt's face turned pale, then white, then red.

But he couldn't utter a single word.

The two had been at odds for so many years, and she knew Aunt Zhang's temperament well—she was incredibly unforgiving when she was in the right. This time, she showed no remorse whatsoever, jumping up and down and cursing at her. She guessed that it was definitely a relative from her maternal side.

Damn it, I walked right into their trap and got yelled at for no reason.

"Hmph!" But showing weakness was out of the question. She snorted coldly, "So what if you have a relative in the city? Bah!" Barely managing to regain some face, the aunt turned and ran away.

Aunt Zhang stood there, cursed twice more at the other woman's retreating figure, then jumped onto Shen Fenghua's bicycle and said loudly, "Let's go, niece!"

Shen Fenghua was amazed and felt inferior, so he rode his bicycle and took Aunt Zhang out of the village.

Behind them, the villagers were still gossiping, "You know what, she might really be a niece from her mother's side or something. If it were an outsider, would they let an old woman from the countryside ride on their bicycle?"

Upon hearing this, a chorus of agreement arose, "Indeed!"

Thinking about it that way, it actually makes sense.

Shen Fenghua was unaware of the gossip behind her, and Aunt Zhang wasn't embarrassed at all. "Little Shen, you flatter me. That's just how the old women in our village are. They're always talking nonsense. If I don't manage to control her once and for all, it'll be difficult later."

Indeed, rumors can spread like wildfire. With so many people watching, if she were to actually utter the words "speculation and profiteering," not only would Aunt Zhang be in trouble, but she wouldn't gain anything either, and she would also be implicated.

"That's good," Shen Fenghua thought. No matter who it is, if they want to avoid being bullied, they have to stand up for themselves. Otherwise, they'll be like a soft persimmon that everyone wants to take advantage of.

After riding the bicycle for a while and having her fill, Aunt Zhang got on the oxcart.

The chicks chirped incessantly in the coop, and although it was a bit hot, she felt incredibly at ease.

These days are so wonderful!

The oxcart was slow, and it took more than forty minutes to reach the county town. The tinkling of the ox bells carried far, and when the group arrived at Wutong Street, some people who had come out because of the noise craned their necks to look.

Grandma had already opened the door. Nianping and Nian'an looked at Shen Fenghua expectantly. As if by magic, Shen Fenghua produced two candies out of thin air from behind her back, gave one to each of them, and let the children go play.

"I'm back."

"Oh my, Grandma, you're in great health!" Grandma was a little confused by Aunt Zhang's friendly manner, but she still greeted her warmly, "In good health, very good. Come on in, let's go inside."

Qi Ye pushed his cart into the house first, then opened both doors. The oxcart entered the yard, and Zhang the carpenter called his son to help unload the goods. Zhang's aunt talked to Shen Fenghua and her grandmother.

During the conversation, Grandma understood that this little rascal was really clever; she had managed to bring back a relative from the countryside on her next trip.

The relatives were somewhat distant, but after chatting for a while, Grandma realized that the exceptionally cheerful and capable woman in front of her was indeed from the same village.

Aunt Zhang called out to Grandma and Auntie, and they chatted for a while. Both of them were a little sad. Shen Fenghua saw that there was nothing wrong and went inside to rummage for things.

After all, you can't go back on your word after making a promise.

There weren't many cloth coupons left; after rummaging through boxes and cabinets, I only found five and a half feet. I had quite a few before, but I used them all to buy clothes for my family.

However, a newborn baby, at five and a half feet tall, can be made into a small set of clothes and a swaddle.

She also had brown sugar coupons, but Shen Fenghua didn't plan to take them out. There was still more than a pound left at home, and she packed more than half of them into an oil paper bag. The rest was money.

Looking at the industrial vouchers Qi Ye had given her earlier, Shen Fenghua seemed to be deep in thought, and then pulled out five of them.

When we arrived, Grandma was wiping away tears. Aunt Zhang patted Grandma's hand and said with a sigh, "Grandma, don't cry. Your good fortune is yet to come. With such a granddaughter and grandson-in-law, what are you afraid of having no one to rely on in your old age?"

"I'm not afraid. Of all the children I've raised, Fenghua is the most filial and the one who pleases me the most."

Shen Fenghua heard this, paused, and waited until everyone inside had calmed down before going over. "Auntie, look, these are the things I prepared. See, is it enough to replace the things in the yard?"

A packet of brown sugar and five and a half feet of cloth.

Aunt Zhang was surprised that Shen Fenghua had brought out so much at once, and she was quite excited. "That's enough, that's more than enough, we still have more than we can use!"

"What about cotton? How do we calculate that?"

Aunt Zhang held the brown sugar, then looked at the cloth coupons, and said with great delight, "This is enough. Don't worry, I will definitely save all the cotton for you. There will be enough. I will fluff it and send it over to you when the time comes."

Shen Fenghua never expected that brown sugar and cloth coupons could be exchanged for so many things. Even if bamboo weaving is worthless, cotton must be valuable.

Shen Fenghua no longer intends to use the industrial vouchers. In that case, a little more subsidy would be enough.

"How could I? I can't let my aunt suffer a loss. Here's what I'll do: I'll add three yuan. When the cotton comes out, please don't forget me, Aunt."

"No need, this is enough!" Aunt Zhang insisted repeatedly, and in the end she only took one pound of brown sugar, five and a half feet of cloth ration coupons, and one yuan from Shen Fenghua.

Carpenter Zhang and his son were very efficient at their work. They put everything away in half an hour, and then the family rode in an oxcart, swaying and happily returning to the village.

* (Qi Ye already paid for the furniture~)