Chapter 639 The Passing of Time 4
Around seven o'clock, more and more customers started arriving. Ning Yan helped serve porridge, pickled vegetables, and collect money. Listening to the customers chatting with their families, she quickly learned what year it was: spring of 1942.
Good, good, there are still three years until the Japanese devils are defeated and seven years until the founding of the nation. Good heavens, these days are really going to be tough.
In her previous life, well, she enjoyed too much happiness, so in this life, God deliberately made her suffer, right?
Unfortunately, she's not the type of person who can endure hardship; she always finds a way to make her life better.
Business was still slow today; we didn't sell out until almost noon.
"Let's go, it's time to pack up. We've sold out today." Zhou Xiuhua smiled, a rare sight, as she looked at the money in the money box.
In the past, there would always be some leftover porridge or noodles, but today everything was sold out.
Ning Yan helped pack the things, and when they were almost done, she said, "Mom, I haven't been out for several days. I want to wander around the town for a bit. I'll go back in a bit."
"Why are you turning around? Haven't you heard? Japanese soldiers have come to our town."
"Don't worry, I'll walk around them." After saying that, she reached out and touched the edge of the pot, then rubbed it on her face, then her arms and neck. In no time, the little beauty turned into a little black person. "Mom, do you think it's okay for me to go out now?"
Zhou Xiuhua: ...
"Pfft," "Hahaha, my goodness, you're really something. Alright, alright, go ahead. Mom will give you some money later. Buy whatever you want if you see something you like."
"I don't want any money, there's nothing to buy, I'll just wander around."
Ning Yan ran away as soon as she finished speaking, but she didn't see that not far away, someone had seen the whole process of her transforming into a black person, and his eyes were full of smiles.
The town is actually quite small and there's not much to do, but since she doesn't have any memories of this world, it's still quite necessary for her to take a look around.
She soon saw the silk shop that the diners had mentioned, and sure enough, the shop was closed.
Next to the silk shop was an embroidery shop, as well as a general store, but none of them seemed to be doing very well.
As I was browsing, an annoyed voice came from behind me, "Get out of the way, get out of the way, you poor bastard, can you even afford all this stuff? Get out of the way and stop blocking my way."
Ning Yan dodged to the side, just in time to avoid the hand that reached out from behind and tried to pull her away.
He turned around and saw a man dressed as a servant looking at him with some surprise.
Behind him was a rickshaw with a slightly overweight man sitting in it. He was about forty years old, had a small mustache, and small eyes. He looked like a pregnant mouse, which was quite comical.
"Get out of the way, don't block our boss's path."
The man got off the rickshaw, glanced at Ning Yan, and then walked towards the jewelry shop with his cane.
Ning Yan was too lazy to argue with such a petty person, and there was no need for it. She turned around and left. After the two people entered the shop, she asked around to find out who the fat boss was.
"You don't even know him? Huang Boren is the landlord in our town. He owns 30% of the shops in Fu'an Town and several thousand acres of land. And that's after the war; otherwise, his assets would be even greater."
Oh, that's settled then. It'll be something that gets purged in the future.
"Someone this rich lives in our small town?"
"His entire fortune is here; if he doesn't live here, where else would he live..."
This person knows quite a lot; he went on and on about it.
This wealthy landlord, Huang, was both rich and shrewd. He bribed the Japanese, making him the undisputed local tyrant of Fu'an Town.
After wandering around the town for a while, Ning Yan figured out her location: Fu'an Town in Xu County, Ji Province, less than 200 li from Beiping.
Having found out the information she wanted, Ning Yan strolled home, where dinner was already cooked.
"I thought you couldn't find your way home, and I was just about to go out and look for you."
Ning Yan: "Mother, I have amnesia, not an idiot. How could I not remember the way I walked it once? Besides, even if I couldn't remember, I could still ask."
"Okay, it has to be my daughter. She's still just as smart even with amnesia."
"Hurry up and wash your hands, dinner's ready."
At noon, I steamed two kinds of rice, and on the steamer, I also steamed a large bowl of steamed egg custard, stewed cabbage with pork skin that I had removed from the meat used to make steamed buns, and a plate of stir-fried pickled vegetables and soybeans.
This is really a very good meal. If it weren't for the large sum of unexpected income their family had, Zhou Xiuhua would never have been willing to eat like this.
Her cooking skills were excellent, and Ning Yan really enjoyed the meal.
After lunch, Zhou Xiuhua was about to leave when Ning Yan hurriedly asked, "Mom, where are you going?"
"Let's go dig some wild vegetables in the fields. We've almost run out of cabbages at home, so digging some wild vegetables will give us a change of pace."
Their family stores a cellar full of cabbages, radishes, and potatoes every winter, enough to last until the new vegetables are harvested the following year.
"Me too! Me too!"
"Hey, aren't you tired after working all this time?"
Ning Yan shook her head, "I'm not tired. I don't know if it's because I've been eating well these past few days, but I feel full of energy."
Zhou Xiuhua's eyes lit up. The food at home had been really good lately. She would never have dared to eat like this before. At most, she would just have some porridge and cornbread.
We only have some chicks at home; we sold all the old hens last winter, so we have to buy eggs fresh if we want to eat them.
It seems I still can't skimp on food in the future.
Their house in town is rented. They didn't get any land after the family split up, and they barely make ends meet by selling meager wages from their stall. But nowadays, very few people are willing to eat out. Selling just a few ounces or three trays of steamed buns and mantou a day is already their limit.
"Alright, go if you want."
Ningxia Sheng stayed at home alone to run a vegetable garden.
Spring has arrived and wild vegetables are edible, so it's time to plant vegetables.
The mother and daughter each grabbed a set of tools and went out. At this time, the most common plants to be seen in the fields are dandelions and shepherd's purse.
Ning Yan specifically chose to dig up shepherd's purse, mainly because dandelion was too bitter and she really didn't like to eat it.
Shepherd's purse is known as the freshest delicacy of spring, and it's delicious whether used as filling or in a cold salad.
There were quite a few people like them who came out with baskets and hoes to dig for wild vegetables. Zhou Xiuhua was wielding her hoe so fast it seemed like she was afraid someone else would snatch all the wild vegetables.
As they dug, the mother and daughter separated.
When Zhou Xiuhua's basket was full, she discovered that her daughter was missing.
She quickly called out at the top of her lungs, "Yanyan, Yanyan..."
"Mom, don't call out, I'm here, please come here."
Zhou Xiuhua glanced over and exclaimed, "Good heavens, my daughter's ears are sharp! She can hear people calling from this far away!" "What's wrong?"
"There are lots of wild vegetables here, hurry up."
Zhou Xiuhua walked over quickly and saw her daughter sitting on the ground, with no wild vegetables around.
"Where are the wild vegetables?"
Ning Yan winked at her mother, then quietly shifted her position, revealing the purplish-red box she was sitting on. She reached out and opened the lid, revealing what was inside. "Mom, don't shout, I just dug this up."
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