On the day of going to the county town, the educated youth got up earlier than usual to go to work, and dressed themselves neatly and respectably.

Lin Zhiheng and Zhang Kangmei did not go, but just listed a few things and asked people to help take them back.

The county town is neither big nor small, with only one tram line. Most people in the city travel by foot, and a few ride bicycles. People from the countryside come to the city by horse-drawn carriages, mule-drawn carriages, and occasionally a tractor.

Niu Erdan drove a tractor and took the educated youth directly to the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The supply and marketing cooperative looked quite large, with two floors, but the variety and quantity of goods supplied were quite scarce.

Not to mention anything else, even when Qin Hanshu wanted to buy vinegar, the salesperson told him that it was sold out and would not be restocked until early next month. The only thing left was something called vinegar essence.

This is pure industrial food and tastes terrible.

Qin Hanshu didn't buy it.

She had all the oil, salt, sauce and vinegar in her space, she just wanted to buy some for cover, but since she didn't have any, she gave up for the time being.

After looking around, there wasn't much to buy in the supply and marketing cooperative.

When they were at the Youth League Office in the county, the educated youth all received subsidies - five industrial coupons and some non-staple food coupons.

Finally, Qin Hanshu bought a pound of fine salt, a bottle of soy sauce, a pound of egg cakes, two aluminum basins for kitchen use, and three large enamel bowls.

There was no need to buy an iron pot. The branch secretary had specifically instructed us when we came that those who needed an iron pot would go to the commune blacksmith shop to make one. All they had to do was pay two industrial coupons and three yuan. Qin Hanshu had already paid the money and the coupons.

The others were scattered around the supply and marketing cooperative making purchases. Qin Hanshu took a look and went out first, carrying the things.

"Comrade Erdan, where can we buy food?" Qin Hanshu asked.

Niu Erdan smiled and said, "Let's go to the grain station to buy food. When they come out, I'll take you with me."

Every time new educated youth arrived, they would carry food coupons with them and go to the county town to buy fine grains. Niu Erdan was used to it.

He also knew that it would not be long before the food coupons were all used up, and these educated youth would have no choice but to earn work points honestly.

Seeing that the other educated youth showed no signs of coming out, Qin Hanshu looked around bored.

Suddenly, she remembered that she had just seen a scrap recycling station on the tractor, just down the street.

Qin Hanshu said something to Niu Erdan and walked towards the scrap yard.

There was a long queue in front of the recycling station, and everyone was busy with their hands full.

At this time, people's income is fixed. If they want to make more money, they can either save money or find the "junk" in their home and send them to the recycling station.

How could an average family have so many “junks” that could be sold for money? Most of the people in the queue were holding some strange and bizarre items. Qin Hanshu even saw someone holding a pair of worn-out slippers and trying to sell them, but he was scolded and sent away by the staff.

Qin Hanshu walked around the line and asked the old man at the window: "Uncle, where is the place to sell things?"

All recycling stations have both buying and selling.

The old man looked up at Qin Hanshu and pointed back.

Qin Hanshu thanked him and went to the backyard.

The woman guarding the backyard was an old lady. When she saw Qin Hanshu coming over, she pointed at the things in the yard and said, "That pile is 20 cents each, that pile is 50 cents each, that pile is 2 yuan each, and the books are 5 cents each."

At first glance, it was all junk, divided into three piles according to the size of the objects, and the books were placed separately.

Apart from Qin Hanshu, there was only one middle-aged man rummaging through the pile of books.

I've heard before that some people go to the recycling station to buy old items. But Qin Hanshu didn't come here to buy things, he came to see if there were any tools that could be used.

She wanted to open up a vegetable plot in the yard and plant some trees.

The only tools collected in the space are hammers and shovels, so I have to find something that can dig the ground.

But her attention was first drawn to a pile of broken wood.

Probably because it was left in the yard for a long time without shelter, and after being exposed to the sun and rain, the surface of the wood was somewhat rotten.

Qin Hanshu looked at the pile of broken wood and an idea came to his mind.

She took in her surroundings.

There is a door in the backyard, and leading out of the door is a long and narrow alley. Out of the alley is the street where the main entrance of the scrap station faces.

The alley was a dead end and there was no one there.

Qin Hanshu asked the aunt: "How much is this pile of wood?"

The broken wood was not included in the three piles of items that were priced.

"You want it?" The old lady glanced at Qin Hanshu, "5 yuan, take it all."

After saying that, the aunt seemed to be afraid that Qin Hanshu would think it was not worth it, and added: "The wood is only rotten on the outside. If you remove the outside, it can be used to make furniture."

Qin Hanshu nodded, but didn't say whether he wanted it or not.

She searched through the junk again for the tool she wanted, but unfortunately she only found a broken saw with a rusty blade.

I did find a pottery tripod stove, but it was missing a leg. It should be usable if it is flattened. It can burn coal, firewood, and charcoal.

The stove is not expensive, only 5 cents.

The middle-aged man who was picking books had left at some point, and the aunt on duty said impatiently, "How long will you take? I'm waiting to go home for lunch."

There are few employees at the scrap yard, and there is only an old lady in the backyard. She has to lock the door when she goes home to eat.

Qin Hanshu said hurriedly, "That's good. Auntie, I want both the wood and the stove. It's 5.5 yuan in total, right?"

The aunt's expression improved a little, "Yes."

Qin Hanshu handed the old lady 6 yuan and said with a smile, "Can you help me move the pile of wood to the alley at the back door? I'll wait there for my friend to pick me up."

There were too many pieces of wood for Qin Hanshu to move by himself.

The old lady counted the money and became happy as she counted. She said hurriedly, "Okay! I'll help you move it."

The aunt only earned a dozen yuan a month, and the extra 50 cents was almost her daily salary. She was happy to help Qin Hanshu.

The old lady was very dedicated. She asked Qin Han to rest and not move. She ran three times to move all the wood.

"Little comrade, on the eighth day of next month, our scrap yard will have new goods. They are not the junk sold by those people in front, but..." The aunt leaned close to Qin Hanshu's ear and said, "They are things obtained from house searches. You can come and pick them out then."

The best of those things are sealed in the warehouse. Those taken to the scrap yard are not treasures, but ordinary people who are not short of money can also come and look around to see if there is anything useful.

Qin Hanshu didn’t know if it was the busy farming season at that time. If it was, she would not have the chance to come to the county town.

"Okay, I'll come and take a look when I have time."

The aunt was busy going home to eat, and locked the backyard door without saying a few words.

Broken wood blocked the entrance of the alley, turning it into a closed space.

Qin Hanshu looked up at the sky and made sure that no one would notice her before she entered the space and quickly took out two pieces of furniture she used before.

She didn't dare take too much, there was only a desk and a cabinet, both of which were not big.

If we take out the women's bicycle that Yang Aizheng rode, it would be almost complete.

There are bicycles for sale at the purchase station, but they are bicycle parts, either wheels, seats, or frames. If someone is capable and accumulates them for a period of time, he may be able to assemble a complete bicycle.

After getting everything ready, Qin Hanshu stood on the street.

If the educated youth had finished shopping and she hadn't gone home yet, Niu Erdan would definitely come to find her.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, the tractor drove towards her.