Bai Shibao nodded with a bitter face: "Dad, today I... Yan Xingmin ran into me at the black market and immediately called me out. The way he talked, it was like he wanted me to be in trouble. Do you think he'll report me?"

Bai Zhiman had never experienced anything like this before. He licked his lips and said, "Here's what you do. Today, you and your sister-in-law should hide everything in the house. Even if someone reports it, they'll need evidence. We'll just clean up the mess! Xiaomin, go to Jiaojiao's house today and tell her to stop working for a while. Shibo's exposure has implicated her, but just to be safe, she has to be careful no matter what."

Bai Zhiman immediately offered a solution, which reassured Bai Shibao somewhat.

In the kitchen, Deng Min, with a bitter face, put the bean flour and glutinous rice flour she bought yesterday into a pile of radishes in the cellar: "When will we be able to start again? If someone keeps an eye on us, it might be difficult to do business in the future."

"It's all my fault. After working for a few months, I thought I was very skilled and wasn't careful enough. Someone found out."

Bai Shibao was filled with remorse.

“I’m not blaming you. You could run into anyone on the black market. This kind of work is inherently risky. It’s okay. Even if you quit, the money you’ve saved over the past few months is more than enough to get you a wife. Didn’t we manage before we started doing this?”

Deng Min comforted her.

Human greed is insatiable, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; they didn't covet that much.

Bai Shibao still felt guilty: "When I return the car, I'll go and talk to the younger sister. I caused this, so I have to apologize to her."

"Okay, then go ahead."

Bai Shihai didn't stop him. Bai Shibao had grown up, and he should face this kind of thing on his own.

Bai Jiaojiao always gets up late, and she wasn't up when Bai Shibao knocked on the door.

Shen Heng opened the door for him, thinking he was just returning the bicycle like before, but unexpectedly Bai Shibao brought such news.

Shen Heng was at a loss for words.

If you want to succeed in the black market long-term, you need to be bold and have others know that you are bold.

That way, even if someone wants to report it, they'll have to think twice about the consequences. Just look at how Bai Shibao rushed back today; Yan Xingmin knows he's an easy target.

However, Shen Heng wouldn't say these things to Bai Shibao openly. If Bai Jiaojiao's family wanted to educate her, it would be Bai Jiaojiao who would go back and explain it to them.

"I understand. I'll tell Jiaojiao when she wakes up."

"I'm so sorry, if it weren't for me... sigh, I really kept you in the way."

"Have you run into Shunzi on the black market recently?" Shen Heng asked.

"Brother Shun hasn't been there these past two days. He doesn't sell his pork floss cakes on the black market."

Pork floss cakes are indeed more expensive than glutinous rice strips, so they can't be sold in large quantities on the black market. Wang Fushun always finds his own channels to deliver them to people's homes.

"knew."

Shen Heng nodded.

Seeing that Shen Heng seemed unconcerned, Bai Shibao knew that Shen Heng was always carefree and irresponsible, so he stopped talking to Shen Heng and just wanted to come back in the afternoon to have a proper talk with Bai Jiaojiao.

Bai Jiaojiao woke up around 10 a.m. and lingered, unwilling to get up.

"Heng-ge, pick me up."

Bai Jiaojiao opened her arms to Shen Heng on the kang (a heated brick bed). Shen Heng smiled and bent down to hug her. Bai Jiaojiao sat up with Shen Heng's help and lay in his arms for a while: "Brother Heng, the kang is too hot. I can smell the burning smell."

The mattress under Bai Jiaojiao's kang (heated brick bed) was made of genuine cotton, and the sheet was also made of pure cotton. When the kang got too hot, the mattress smelled burnt.

"I just added some fuel to the fire. It's fine. If it burns, we'll just buy a new one."

Shen Heng was worried that Bai Jiaojiao would get cold. Now that the kang (heated brick bed) was bigger, Bai Jiaojiao could roll around on the kang several times while sleeping, and she couldn't cover herself with the quilt at all.

Bai Jiaojiao dozed off in Shen Heng's arms for a while, then stretched and asked, "What's for breakfast?"

Who eats breakfast after 10 a.m.?

Their family.

"I cooked a pot of cabbage with pork."

Before Shen Heng married Bai Jiaojiao, he had never cooked for himself; he would just make do with whatever was available.

After getting married, he found a way to make a living.

His cooking skills were so-so; sometimes it was too salty, sometimes too bland. But Bai Jiaojiao always encouraged him. If it was too salty, he would eat more steamed buns; if it was too bland, he would eat more vegetables.

They have to study every day now, so Bai Jiaojiao requires that every meal be taken seriously and treated as a proper meal in order to improve their study efficiency.

While Bai Jiaojiao was washing up, Shen Heng scooped the rice out of the pot. The cabbage, which had been simmering in the pot for about half an hour, was exceptionally soft and tender. While eating, Shen Heng told her about Bai Shibao coming to see her.

Why didn't you wake me up?

Bai Jiaojiao frowned and glared at Shen Heng, who seemed so composed.

"What can you do if I wake you up? It's not a big deal."

"Do you have a solution?"

Bai Jiaojiao looked at Shen Heng's calm demeanor and asked.

"Find someone to give him a good beating in Gaomi. Once he knows he's scared, he'll behave himself."

It's only because Wang Fushun has been out and about every day lately, and there's no reliable person watching over the black market entrance, that this kind of thing happened.

"...Why do you solve everything with your fists?"

"You've really wronged me. I said I'd teach him a lesson, not that I'd find someone to beat him up."

Bai Jiaojiao thought for a moment: "It's not easy for everyone to have such a place now. If someone breaks this balance, there will be more than one or two people who want to deal with Yan Xingmin."

The principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" is very simple. If Yan Xingmin dares to report someone, everyone in the black market, whether they are middlemen or buyers, will feel that this person is dangerous.

"That's roughly the idea. We'll talk to Wang Fushun about it when he comes over tonight."

Shen Heng just wants to stay home with his wife and a warm bed; he's too lazy to show off outside.

Bai Jiaojiao felt relieved after hearing Shen Heng's words: "Did you tell my brother? He shouldn't worry now."

"Why should I bother talking to him? He's not as smart as you."

Bai Jiaojiao knew that Shen Heng wouldn't "lower himself" to bother explaining to Bai Shibo.

"Then I'll go talk to him after I finish eating."

Bai Jiaojiao sped up her meal, but before she could finish, Zheng Xu came looking for her.

"It can't be that fast, can it?"

Bai Jiaojiao's heart skipped a beat. They'd found their house in just a few hours?

"Jiaojiao, look what this is!"

Contrary to Bai Jiaojiao's expectations, Zheng Xu was overjoyed, holding a large red paper in his hand: "This is a certificate of merit issued to you by the commune. Our village's pig farming was highly praised by the commune. The commune leaders know that you also help other villages raise pigs, and they praised you so much in front of me that I'm embarrassed!"

Zheng Xu still had two certificates in his hand.

One photo shows a model worker, the other a progressive youth.

"Quickly find some paste and stick it on the wall!"

In those days, receiving a certificate of merit from a commune was considered a great honor, and Zheng Xu was happy for Bai Jiaojiao.

"Okay, we'll put it up in a bit."

Bai Jiaojiao wasn't very interested; the certificate was useless to her.