This was the first time Lin Jianguo had ever carried so much money. He looked around nervously, afraid that someone would come and steal it. He felt that nowhere was safe enough to put it.

Seeing Lin Jianguo's demeanor, Er Ya said, "Dad, just walk away like that. The more careful you are, the more people will think you have something good on you."

When Lin Jianguo heard that this was indeed the case, he felt relieved and swaggered off to the farmers' market with Er Ya to sell eggs.

When we arrived at the market, it was even more lively. They sold all sorts of things: mushrooms, cornmeal, wheat flour, eggs, chicks, piglets—you name it.

Lin Jianguo found an open space, put the eggs from the basket on it, and waited for people to come and buy them.

Eggs were still a hot commodity in town, especially domesticated ones. Before long, an old lady came over and asked, "Your eggs are very good, how much are they?"

Lin Jianguo remembered what Old Lady Shen had said before she left, "These eggs are one cent each, fifty in total. If you want them all, it's five yuan, just give me four yuan and ninety cents. You can have this little basket too." It was a basket they had woven themselves; it wouldn't be worth much money anyway.

When the old lady heard that the price was reasonable, and since she had a large family, it wouldn't hurt to buy more, especially since her grandson loved scrambled eggs with persimmons, she pulled out her money and bought it all.

With four yuan and ninety cents in his pocket, Lin Jianguo took Er Ya to the general store to buy the things that Grandma Shen needed.

I bought some coarse salt and matches for 50 cents. We didn't have much grain left at home, so I bought 20 jin of cornmeal for 2 yuan. It would have been more expensive at the supply and marketing cooperative. I also asked about the price of rice, but it was too expensive, so I didn't buy any.

Then, he took Er Ya's hand and led her to the meat stall, asking the butcher to cut off three catties of lard, which cost two yuan, leaving him with only forty cents.

Er Ya had been thinking of buying half a pound of meat to take home for a treat, but she was worried about how she would explain it to Old Lady Shen. Just then, Er Ya saw a pile of pig offal next to the meat stall.

She called out sweetly, "Uncle, are you selling this? How much?"

The butcher turned around and saw a little girl. He said, "Little girl, this stuff smells terrible. I usually give it to my big customers. You bought so little, I can't give it away. How about you give me two cents and take it?"

When Er Ya heard that it was such a good deal, it was practically free, so she quickly tugged at Lin Jianguo's clothes and said, "Dad, I want this."

When Lin Jianguo saw the smelly thing, he hesitated. Would he get scolded for buying it?

Seeing her daughter's pitiful eyes again, her heart softened, and she decided to buy it. At worst, she would get a scolding from Grandma Shen!

He separated the pork fat and offal into a basket, picked up Er Ya, and said, "Come on, daughter, we have money today. Dad will take you to eat wontons. I saw you looking at me longingly earlier."

Er Ya exclaimed, "Yay! That's great! I love Daddy the most!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jianguo teased her, "So you don't like your mother anymore? She'll be heartbroken to hear that."

"I like Daddy and Mommy the most, and I also love the little baby in Mommy's belly," Er Ya said, waving her hands.

Upon hearing what his daughter said, Lin Jianguo picked up Er Ya and started running, shouting, "Let's go, let's take my daughter to eat wontons!"

When they arrived at the wonton stall, they asked the price and found it was three cents a bowl. So expensive! Lin Jianguo hesitated, "Give me a bowl!"

Upon hearing this, Er Ya immediately said, "Dad, we have money now. People need food to survive. If we don't eat, we'll get hungry. You should have a bowl too. Let's eat together. If you don't eat, then I won't eat either."

Looking at his daughter, Lin Jianguo made a tough decision and said to the woman selling wontons, "Give us two bowls."

Er Ya stopped crying and started laughing, then sat down on the stool to eat her wontons.

The wontons are all made to order. Place the seasoned meat filling on the wonton wrapper, pinch it closed, and place it on a plate. When the water boils, put the wontons into the pot, boil them over high heat for a few minutes, then take them out and put them in a bowl. Drizzle some sesame oil and add some chopped green onions, and a bowl of fragrant wontons is ready.

The wontons were ready. Er Ya scooped one up with a spoon and put it in her mouth: "So delicious!"

People back then wouldn't think about cutting corners; the wontons were packed with meat. One bite and your mouth was filled with the taste of meat—it was so blissful! Those three cents were definitely worth it.

Although Lin Jianguo didn't say anything, he took a bite and quietly sped up his pace.

After filling their stomachs, Lin Jianguo prepared to take Er Ya to buy some things for Jiang's mother. Now that they had money, they couldn't let their wife suffer.

When I arrived at the fabric store, I saw it was filled with all kinds of fabrics. I was overwhelmed by the choices and didn't know which one to buy.

The woman selling fabric came over and asked, "Who are you buying these for?" Er Ya replied, "For my mother. She's about to have a baby brother. Auntie, could you recommend some fabrics suitable for children?"

Upon hearing this, the woman selling fabric, who had initially only been tentatively asking questions, immediately became enthusiastic. "Take a look at the fine fabric we just received today. This kind of fabric is best for children; it's soft and won't hurt them."

“Your mother’s baby hasn’t been born yet, so don’t rush to buy him anything. Let’s buy you a set of clothes instead,” Lin Jianguo said. He felt so guilty towards Er Ya. She was the one who found the ginseng, but she didn’t buy anything for herself after selling it.

"Dad, have you forgotten? Grandma doesn't know about our ginseng sale. If I go home wearing new clothes, how am I going to explain it to her?"

Lin Jianguo then realized that Old Lady Shen didn't know about the ginseng.

"Otherwise, tell your grandma that this money was from your mother making and selling handkerchiefs, and that your grandma didn't take it away; she kept it for them to keep."

When the women in the village have nothing to do, they do some handicrafts, which is also a source of income.

When Er Ya heard this, she thought it was fine. Anyway, her family was rich, and she was really tired of wearing these tattered clothes.

I chose a pink fabric with small floral patterns, measured Er Ya's size, and spent one yuan.

Fabric is really expensive these days. This is just coarse cloth. I also bought some cotton so that my mother can make me a beautiful floral cotton-padded jacket. There are ready-made clothes in the store, but they are more expensive. I'd rather buy these semi-finished products and make them at home!

Having bought everything, and seeing that it was getting late, Lin Jianguo, carrying the full basket on his back, took Er Ya and prepared to go home. If they waited any longer, it would get dark, and the roads at night would be difficult to walk on.

As I was walking down the street, a delighted voice suddenly called out, "Hey, it's you! Do you remember me? I told you to come visit me, why didn't you come?"

Er Ya stared blankly at the boy in front of her who was talking non-stop. Who was this? Had she ever seen him before?