The food supply was enough for two months' worth of subsidies, which I exchanged for two months' worth of food. I found the public restroom; did you see it?

The man quickly changed his clothes in the space, put the food in the space, and came out with an empty basket on his back, arriving at the black market he had discovered when he went to the city last time.

There were two guards ahead. One of the men asked, "Buying or selling?"

"Sell"

Two cents

"Oh," he said, taking two cents out of his backpack and handing it to the person.

Once inside, I found the place small, but it sold everything imaginable—it was practically a mini-market. The only difference was that everyone spoke very softly. I first wandered around, secretly taking 50 eggs from my storage space. Then I found a secluded spot and put down my basket. I lifted a cloth covering the basket, took out the folded nylon bag that had been inside, placed it on the ground, put an egg on top, and waited for someone to buy it.

Before long, someone came to ask the price. An old lady squatted down and asked in a low voice, "Young lady, how much is one of your eggs?"

"Five cents each, any ticket will do, no bargaining,"

"This is too expensive. The supply and marketing cooperative only sells them for three cents each."

But the supply and marketing cooperative has no stock.

Okay! How much do you have?

How much do you want?

"I'll take as many as you have. My daughter-in-law just gave birth to a big, healthy grandson. She needs to be well-nourished, otherwise she won't have enough milk and will suffer."

"Auntie, here are 50 eggs."

"Alright, I'll take the old woman."

"OK"

"But we need to see if your eggs are good. We don't want the bad ones, and they have to be big."

"Okay, don't worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied." He then lifted the cloth covering the basket, revealing the eggs inside to the old woman.

“That’s really good, I’ll take them all.” He started filling the basket he had brought with eggs. After counting them, he found there were indeed 50 eggs in total. He said, “Here’s 2.5 yuan, a grain coupon for one jin, a meat coupon for half a jin, and an industrial coupon. Is that alright?”

"Anything is fine"

"That's good, here you go," the old lady said, handing me the prepared money and tickets.

After the old lady left, I got up and turned to leave as well. I didn't plan to sell anything inside anymore; I had only come in to check out the market. As for what was inside, I didn't intend to buy anything. I already had everything in my own space, so there was no need to waste money.

The county town wasn't big; its most famous pillar industry was the pharmaceutical factory. I wandered around the factory's residential area a few times, and whenever I saw someone who looked nice, I'd approach them and ask if they needed eggs. That's how I sold two hundred eggs in the factory's residential area, earning a total of 10 yuan and some receipts.

Meanwhile, the Chen brothers, carrying sacks, had just returned to their residential compound and hadn't even had a chance to rest when they ran into their mother, who immediately asked, "Did you two see Mianmian?"

I saw it.

"Then tell me everything in detail about how Mianmian is living in the countryside."

"Mom, your youngest son is hungry," Shen Bei said.

"Eat, eat! All you do is eat. You won't starve if you skip a meal!" Zhou Tao was worried about whether Mianmian was suffering in the countryside when he heard his youngest son say he was hungry. He angrily said...

Just then, Shen Wenbo returned and overheard the mother and son's conversation. He said, "Alright, third son, you and your mother talk about Mianmian's situation in the countryside. Fourth son, come with me to the canteen to get some food to eat."

"Coming right away!"

At home, Shen Xi recounted everything that had happened since getting off the train, leaving nothing out. Meanwhile, Shen Bei, who had gone to the canteen with Shen Bowen, also got rear-ended by the women of the residential compound. Everyone was complaining that Shen Bowen, who was standing nearby, was in pain, so he said, "It's getting late, ladies. You should go back and eat first. After dinner, we'll go to the auditorium and have Lao Si explain things in detail. Is that alright?"

"Yes, yes, you should all go to the auditorium after dinner. Mianmian even brought back some local specialties for you; she picked them herself from the mountains."

"Okay, okay, why did you bring things back again? This child is really something."

Who can argue with that?

And so, at home, Zhou Tao listened to his third son talk about Mianmian, while constantly opening the burlap sacks they had brought back, taking out the marked items, as well as the small package, and putting the rest in the burlap sacks.

When Shen Bowen returned, he told them that after dinner they would go to the auditorium together, as many families in the family compound had a close relationship with Mianmian and wanted to know about her situation.

"It's not just that, is it? Now the higher-ups are advocating that each household must have one person sent to the countryside to work as an 'educated youth' (or 'sent-down youth' to rural areas). They're probably trying to learn more about the situation in the countryside."

"Isn't this just human nature?"

"That's true. If it weren't for our children being so smart and eager to learn, one of them would be going to the countryside now."

"I'm afraid there's more than one."

"What do you mean, Lao Shen?"

"I've heard there are more and more thugs in the city lately, and some people are stirring up trouble among them. These thugs are getting quite arrogant."

"Then what should we do?"

"There's no other way, but I'm worried about your commute every day. How about transferring you to the military region?"

"Is it even possible? There are already very few jobs available in the military family compound."

"Too"

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just take early retirement due to illness."

"How old are you? You're already retiring due to illness. Maybe you should consider staying in the military region later."

After the family of four finished their meal, they carried their sacks to the auditorium.

Shen Bei took care of getting them to the countryside and briefly explained everything he could, omitting details like visiting Director Zhou or hunting a wild boar in the mountains. Shen Xi, on the other hand, meticulously checked the list and handed out the items to each family. The families who received the items were moved by Mianmian's hard work and even prepared mountain produce for them.

Those who didn't receive anything were both angry and embarrassed, since they had blocked one of the men from donating when the army was preparing to do so. In such matters, everyone acted voluntarily; those who donated were usually on good terms with Li Zilong, as well as the highest-ranking officers in the army. Even if they were envious, there was nothing they could do. Mianmian had prepared the donations based on the list; it was impossible for her to prepare a return gift for someone who hadn't donated—that would be like putting on a brave face.

Even so, after the children of soldiers were sent to the countryside, some parents would ask their children in advance or by letter to send them local specialties. Little did they expect that their own children wouldn't integrate into rural life as quickly as Mianmian, working tirelessly every day to earn work points. Instead, their own children, after arriving in the countryside, would complain about this and that, saying they hadn't actually worked a single day and were even asking for specialties, and that they weren't even getting enough to eat.