That evening, Sangshen pushed her bicycle, with a large burlap sack on the back and a bamboo basket on her back, ignoring curious stares, and headed straight for Buling's house. Seeing this, Aunt Lan muttered something under her breath.
Mulberry pretended not to hear.
Before he could even knock, Bling opened the door.
"What are you carrying? Such a big sack!" Buling asked curiously.
“Didn’t you want some mountain produce? Here, these are all.” Sangshen shifted his body, and only then did Buling notice the bamboo basket he was carrying on his back.
Seeing the envious look in Aunt Lan's eyes, Bu Ling was speechless. This old lady, all she ever does is envy others: "Come in and talk."
She stepped aside, and Sangshen entered the house. She put the box on the ground, then put down the basket she was carrying, wiped the sweat from her forehead—this stuff was really heavy.
Bling closed the door
"I thought you'd forgotten."
Sang Shen poured herself a glass of water: "How could I? It's all because of Xie Dong. He just got back. As soon as he arrived, I brought the things over to you." How could he have forgotten?
"He left a month and a half ago, and he's only coming back now? Where did he go? It's been so long!" Bu Ling asked in surprise.
Sangshen finished her water in one gulp and put the cup down: "It's not far, just Heilongjiang Province, but it snowed heavily there, making it difficult to drive and causing us to waste a lot of time."
As he spoke, he opened the burlap sack, revealing its contents: a series of small burlap sacks.
Sangshen pointed out: "These are hazelnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, walnuts, dried hawthorns, and other things, all in this box."
"What's in this bamboo basket?"
Sangshen opened the lid of the bamboo basket: "Inside are some wild game from Northeast China, and some rabbit skins. You can take them to a tailor shop to make a rabbit skin coat for you. There's also a sheepskin, which you can make into sheepskin boots. They're convenient and warm."
Under the dim light, the infatuated young man meticulously explained the use of each item, causing ripples to spread across the lake of Bu Ling's heart, and these ripples grew ever larger.
"...There's one last wild boar hide, which can be used to make wallets or handbags; it won't break easily." Sangshen took out a brown boar hide from the bottom of the bamboo basket.
"Okay, that's all. Is there anything else you're missing?"
Bling shook her head. "That's enough." Enough to let her feel the boy's sincerity.
"Oh, by the way, our restaurant is closed for the holidays. I'm going back to the military region tomorrow afternoon and won't be back until after the New Year. You...?" Is there anything you want to say?
Sangshen was a little surprised: "So early?" He thought that Little Blackie wouldn't get her holiday until at least the 28th of the twelfth lunar month.
"This year's harvest is bad, and the supply is getting less and less, so we simply closed the holiday."
"Do you really have to go back to the military region tomorrow? Can't you wait a couple more days?" Sangshen asked, somewhat reluctantly.
"It's not that it's impossible, it's just..."
"Then it's settled!"
Seeing the pitiful look in Sangshen Ruifeng's eyes, Buling felt a pang of sympathy: "Alright, I'll go back the day after tomorrow. I can go see Old Man Yu tomorrow to get his pulse checked and bring him some New Year's gifts." Any later and Bu Yi would get too sensitive.
Sangshen didn't mind; every day was a day better than nothing. He put everything that had been scattered on the ground back. "I'll put it in the cellar for you. What do you want to eat tonight?"
"Chestnut stewed chicken, with some mushrooms," Bu Ling blurted out.
"Okay, I'll make it for you in a bit."
This is one of the reasons why Bling can accept mulberries; he never criticizes Bling for eating extravagantly or spending money recklessly. In fact, most of the time, he will proactively buy delicious food for Bling.
To others, someone like Buling was simply not the type to manage a household, but Sangshen never bossed Buling around, always letting her have her way. Whatever Buling wanted to eat, Sangshen would make it for her; even if it wasn't available, she'd find a way to get it. This was what made Buling most comfortable.
The next day, Sangshen skipped work to accompany Buling to the scrap yard for a pulse check, ostensibly to deliver New Year's gifts to Old Man Yu. Old Man Yu rolled his eyes at this, but didn't expose him.
After taking each other's pulses, and taking the novel Old Man Yu had given them, the two went to the black market again, this time to the one next to the county hospital.
Sangshen said that the black market boss here has powerful connections, so if anything goes wrong, someone will warn him in advance, making it relatively safe and reducing the chances of trouble.
The black market near the machine factory has actually been raided many times. Every time a mission is assigned from above, the raid always goes to that black market, and they always manage to catch the culprits.
Normally, everyone turns a blind eye, since these days, who doesn't go to the black market? But every year, quotas are allocated from above, so everyone just goes through the motions, trying to squeeze every last drop of profit.
There are only three black markets in the county. The third one is near the train station, but it's smaller and caters mainly to people traveling by train. He told Buling that if she wanted to buy anything, it would be better to go to the county hospital.
Bling nodded, indicating that he had learned something.
The two bought a lot of eggs and some fresh vegetables at the black market. Bling was curious why they sold fresh vegetables there.
Sangshen explained to her, "The people who sell vegetables at the machinery factory all get their supplies from here."
"Oh, I see." Buling asked curiously, "Do you know where these fresh vegetables come from?" Actually, she had a pretty good idea, but she just wanted to confirm it.
Sangshen raised an eyebrow; he actually knew this: "It's the village where the bookworm was sent down to before."
To be honest, there are some capable people in that village, but right now, the village is in complete chaos over the profits from these fresh vegetables. People are practically fighting tooth and nail. Luckily, I listened to Little Black Girl's advice beforehand.
Sure enough, it was the female lead who came up with this idea. Greenhouse vegetables are common in modern times. To be fair, this female lead is quite resourceful; at least she can eat fresh vegetables even in the dead of winter.
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