After taking the medicine for over a month, her complexion improved significantly. During this month, she frequently visited the scrap yard, bringing Grandpa Yu a meat dish from a state-run restaurant each time to express her gratitude.
Although Old Man Yu always refused, he ate the food more thoroughly than anyone else.
It's worth mentioning that for the past month, Wu Yuanyuan has been walking to and from get off work, seemingly having a falling out with Buling. When Aunt Wu asked her about it, Buling just shook her head with a wry smile and wouldn't say anything.
What is she saying? She doesn't know anything.
Now Wu Yuanyuan is completely elusive; aside from work hours, Bu Ling can hardly find her, which makes it impossible for her to coordinate her statements.
August, the hottest month of the year, arrived. Buling had been working there for three months, and she was becoming increasingly adept. The regulars at the state-run restaurant were also familiar with her, and sometimes they could even crack a few jokes—of course, only with the women. The men wouldn't be so tactless, nor would they dare to challenge the current...
It was another busy day. Bling dragged her tired body home, put her bicycle back inside, washed her face, cooked herself some noodles, stir-fried some diced meat, and served it with cucumber strips and a fried egg. She happily finished her hearty dinner and then started brewing her day's dose of traditional Chinese medicine.
She moved a stool and sat outside.
Seeing Aunt Tian just return from outside, he asked in surprise, "Aunt Tian, why are you so late today?"
Aunt Tian works in the kitchen of a machinery factory, doing odd jobs. Her salary isn't very high, just enough for her and her grandson to live on.
Aunt Tian's expression was a little unpleasant, but when she saw Bu Ling, she still managed a forced smile: "The factory leaders were entertaining guests today, so we're a little late."
Aunt Tian put her bag back in the room, said a few words to her grandson, and then went into the kitchen, her face grim, to prepare dinner.
Looking at her face, Bu Ling asked with concern, "Aunt Tian, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
Aunt Tian is an optimistic old lady. Despite the hardships of life, she still smiles every day.
Sitting by the stove, the firelight reflecting off her flickering eyes, Aunt Tian said with difficulty, "Let's buy more grain recently. I heard from the workers at the factory that the villages down below are likely to have no harvest this year."
"What?" Bling sat up straight.
"It hasn't rained for over three months. The village's water sources are almost dried up. Without enough water, how can the crops have a good harvest?" Aunt Tian said. She had heard this from a young man from a nearby village who worked in their kitchen.
People of Aunt Tian's generation have experienced everything from natural disasters and man-made calamities to war. Upon hearing of a poor harvest, their instinct is to hoard grain.
Reminded by this, Bu Ling remembered. Yes, yes, she remembered the novel she had read, which mentioned that the female protagonist encountered a drought shortly after transmigrating, which was one of the reasons that led to her contractual marriage with the male protagonist.
She pounded her head in frustration. She had completely overlooked something so important; it seemed she had been living a comfortable life for too long and had lost her vigilance.
Seeing her like this, Aunt Tian comforted her, saying, "It's alright. We found out early, so we bought more food and stored it up. We'll definitely be able to get through this."
Even as she said this, Aunt Tian wasn't entirely sure herself, but that was the only way she could comfort herself now.
Bling gave a soft "Mmm": "I'll go check out the black market tomorrow."
In fact, the food in her storage space was enough for her to eat alone for two or three years without any problem, but she couldn't explain the source of the food, which was a very dangerous thing.
Also, everyone around her was starving and emaciated, while she herself was getting fatter and fatter, which was clearly a problem. Therefore, she needed to have food on the surface.
At this point, Aunt Tian didn't care about safety anymore and said, "Be careful. I'll go to the grain station tomorrow and see if they have any grain. No matter the price, we'll buy some."
Bling nodded, indicating that she understood.
The next day, after work, she rode her bicycle straight to the black market, found the entrance, gave the password, and was led inside.
Once inside, the black market was indeed much quieter, a far cry from the bustling scene she had witnessed last time. From one end to the other, there was only one stall selling grain, specifically sweet potatoes. Bling didn't mind and bought them all.
Sweet potatoes that cost 10 cents a pound last month are now 40 cents a pound, almost the price of refined grains. Buling had no choice but to buy all the sweet potatoes on the stall—20 pounds in total—for 8 yuan. After looking around again and not finding any more food vendors, she left the black market.
After thinking for a moment, she smuggled ten kilograms of cornmeal from her spatial storage, rode her bicycle, and went to the recycling station.
After telling Old Man Yu about the situation outside, Ignoring his refusal, I threw down the cornmeal and ran off, saying, "I'll bring you food again next month."
Old Man Yu was a sent-down youth, and he was being watched all the time. She didn't dare give him too much at once, fearing it would bring him trouble. Besides, she had no reason to give him so much grain.
Although her actions might seem a bit too saintly and contradict her initial vow, Old Man Yu had saved her life, refused payment, and treated her with utmost care. She couldn't just watch him starve to death.
To put it bluntly, what will happen to her body when Old Man Yu dies?
When she returned to the courtyard house, she happened to run into Jiang Hua leaving. The two brushed past each other without acknowledging each other. The Shen family had been busy battling with Widow Liu lately, and this time, Jiang Hua couldn't stay out of it either. Widow Liu practically blocked her path, hurling insults.
Jiang Hua's push earlier caused Liu's eldest son to suffer a concussion and develop migraines. This really hit Liu's sore spot. She would almost always be sarcastic and veiledly insulting Jiang Hua whenever she saw him, and she completely rejected his attempts to appear innocent and virtuous.
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