But now that she's been discovered, she has to change her plans.

Xu Bibin frowned when she saw that she didn't say anything, "You're not looking for me? Then I'll leave first."

"Wait a minute." Pei Manning said hoarsely, looking around to make sure no one on the street was paying attention to them.

She lowered her voice and said, "I want to buy some meat tickets from you."

Xu Bin narrowed his eyes and looked at her. Although the clothes she wore were bulky and tacky, they were 90% new, without any patches, and the material was still fine cotton.

His family should be well off.

"No, I haven't done this for a long time. You can go find someone else." He would not easily trust anyone who came to him.

"I'll exchange this for it." Pei Manning opened a corner of the black bag she was holding, revealing the pearl rice inside. Each grain was plump, round, and translucent, emitting a burst of fragrance.

It's not that Pei Man Ning wants to show off, but this is already the worst rice in the Xumi world. Here, food is the hard currency, and she can only use food to impress people.

Xu Bin was stunned, his eyes flickered slightly, such high-quality rice is rare, white and crystal clear, especially the rice fragrance is very tempting, probably this is the special rice that only cadres can eat.

It's just bartering, not buying or selling, so even if you get caught, it's no big deal.

"Come with me." He turned and walked away.

Pei Manning: …

She clutched the bag tightly, curled her fingers, and thinking of the lime powder, sleeping pills, poison powder, and dagger that Xumijie had prepared, she mustered up the courage to follow.

The two found a deserted bluestone alley, and Xu Bibin asked, "How much do you want? How do you want to exchange it?"

Pei Manning already had a general understanding of the prices here. Pork was 70 cents per pound, and rice and flour were both 1.4 cents per pound. However, her rice was different from the coarse japonica rice here, so it should be more valuable.

"I only have this much rice, how much can you give me?" She opened the black bag and showed it to Xu Bin.

Xu Bin thought about it for a moment. Seeing that she was well-dressed and could get rice that was better than first-class rice, she must have some connections. He decided to sell her a good deal. "How about giving you a kilogram of meat ticket for two kilograms of rice?"

Although grains are precious, meat is even more difficult to eat in this era.

Pei Manning calculated it and accepted it. "Okay."

In this way, she exchanged four kilograms of rice for two kilograms of meat coupons.

This elder sister is quite straightforward. Xu Bin thought for a moment and then said, "If you want to exchange your ticket later, come here. Draw a circle on the wall. I saw you coming here at 7 or 8 o'clock the next night."

The reason why I chose the evening is because this is when the red sleeves go home from get off work.

Pei Manning was alone and didn't plan to go out so late, but she nodded anyway, "Okay, I'll come back if you need me."

Looking for you. By the way, do you know where I can buy chicken and ducklings? "

"You want to buy these things?" Xu Bin looked at her in surprise. Although this woman looked pale, she was very graceful and had a bookish air. You wouldn't have thought she could raise poultry.

"Can you get it?" Pei Manning asked again. What he asked was whether you wanted these things, instead of directly saying no.

"I can get you some chicks and ducklings. Are you going to exchange them for rice?"

"Um."

For fear of being discovered, the two did not say much and directly agreed on the time and place for the next meeting, three days later, next to the abandoned stone bridge in the east of the city.

Holding the meat ticket, Pei Manning went to buy meat the next day, "Hello, comrade, I want a pound of meat!"

The butcher was startled by the smile on her pale face and paused, "70 cents a pound, do you have the meat ticket ready?"

"Okay, okay." Pei Manning hurriedly handed over the money and the receipt.

"Where do you want it from?" the salesperson asked. There was still some meat left today. Of course, it was all lean meat; the fat had been picked out long ago.

"This pig's trotter." Before, Pei Manning couldn't eat these things. As a lady from a noble family, every move had to be elegant, as standard as if measured with a ruler. How could she chew on pig's trotters?

But now, she can eat a big meal!

"Pig's trotters?" The salesperson looked surprised. Not many people like the head, trotters and offal. "Pig's trotters don't require a ticket. They're 1 cent per pound. Are you sure you want this?"

Pei Manning was stunned and quickly said, "Buy the one pound of lean meat and these two pig trotters together."

"Three pounds of pig's trotters, and one pound of lean meat for seventy cents, a total of one dollar."

After buying the things, Pei Manning prepared a good dinner that night.

The stewed pig's trotters with kidney beans are soft and tender, and the addition of stream water from Xumijie makes them particularly delicious. The stir-fried cabbage is crispy and tender with a hint of sweetness, and it is delicious enough without too much seasoning.

Pei Manning made the remaining lean meat into jerky, and if she couldn't finish it, she could store it for a few more days.

…

Pei Manning led a fulfilling life. She practiced calligraphy, transplanted flowers, grew vegetables, went to department stores to inquire about prices, and then went to Xinhua Bookstore to read books.

"Comrade Pei, you're here?" Yuan Weicheng was absent-mindedly arranging the bookshelf early in the morning. When he saw Pei Manning come in, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Pei Manning smiled and nodded politely in response.

"What book do you want to read today? I'll help you find it." Yuan Weicheng was originally tidying up the bookshelf, so he climbed down the ladder and dusted off his hands.

Pei Manning looked at him

I wanted to say no, but seeing his enthusiastic face, I thought about it and slowly wrote on the notebook I carried with me, "I want to buy a book as a gift, but I don't know what to give."

"Give it to someone? That depends on who you're giving it to, an elder? Or a friend?" He searched for a while and picked up an unopened red book. "What do you think of this one? It's the latest hardcover edition. Many people will buy it for collection. It can be given to anyone."

If we talk about books nowadays, of course the most popular one is □□. Every time a new edition comes out, there are people who buy it to collect or give as a gift. Even a book of quotations is a must-have as a wedding gift.

Pei Manning wrote on the notebook: "Give it to the person."

I heard the word "partner" from Pei Manning. It probably refers to fiancé or fiancée?

“Bang!”

The book in her hand fell to the ground. Yuan Weicheng stared at her blankly, his expression a little bit unbelievable. Liang Ru came back to her senses and quickly squatted down to pick it up, "Oh, oh, the object? The object... can also be sent □□."

Pei Manning nodded, placed her slender and soft fingers on the book, then looked at Yuan Weicheng and said, "Let's take this one."

She pulled lightly, but nothing happened, and looked at him in surprise.

Meeting her puzzled gaze, Yuan Weicheng immediately loosened his fingers that had been unconsciously clenched, and then he didn't know where to put his hands, "Okay, okay, this one is good."

Pei Manning pursed her lips and wrote in the notebook: "Comrade Yuan, if there is nothing else, I will go upstairs first, and we will pay together later."

Pei Manning said this on purpose.

Yuan Weicheng was too enthusiastic about her, and she often came here to read books, which caused unnecessary trouble and misunderstanding. She needed a "partner", and she was often alone and felt very insecure, so it would be good for people to know that she had a partner.

Pei Manning went upstairs, and Yuan Weicheng looked at her back in dismay.

"Weicheng? What are you doing here?" Colleague Cheng Hao came over and nudged him.

Yuan Weicheng looked back at him, still a little confused, and whispered: "It's nothing."

"Nothing? Nothing, why do you look so lost? Did Comrade Pei tell you something? I've already told you that a rich and beautiful lady like me, who is so delicate, would never fall for an ordinary person. You'd better not..."

Yuan Weicheng didn't want to say more, so he changed the subject and asked, "What do you want from me?"

"Oh, well, my radio is broken again. If you are free this afternoon, could you help me fix it?"

Yuan Weicheng finally perked up a little bit.

What to do, "Okay, I'll come to your house and take a look then."

…

Pei Manning went upstairs and found a book on planting and breeding, and a recent newspaper, and bought them together with the magazine.

After buying all these, she spent almost all of the little money she had left.

When she left the bookstore, she didn't know if it was her illusion, but she felt like someone was following her.

Because she possessed a rare treasure, she was very alert in this regard, fearing that someone would target her, so whenever she walked, she would always observe the people around her.

She remained calm and "accidentally" dropped the book on the ground. As she picked up the book, she glanced behind her and saw a figure flash into the alley, with the corner of a dark grey garment passing by.

Pei Manning's heart sank.