Chen Lishu had not expected that sunflower seeds could be sold for more than one jiao per jin at the station.
Her aunt turned the corner past the main entrance of the train station. Behind a pillar on the side stood an old man with a wooden box resembling one for selling ice pops at his feet. The aunt went over and opened the lid. Inside, hawthorn, twisted doughnuts, and sunflower seeds were neatly separated by dividers. The old man took out a small tray scale from his shoulder bag and weighed a jin of hawthorn for Chen Lishu.
Seeing that she was about to leave, the aunt asked unwillingly, "Miss, won't you have some more twisted doughnuts and sunflower seeds?"
"No, I get carsick easily. Eating some hawthorn is enough," Chen Lishu replied with a smile, then took the hawthorn to buy a ticket inside the train station.
The ticket she bought was for the afternoon. For lunch, she found a state-run restaurant and had a simple bowl of noodles with sauce, and also packed two steamed buns to go.
The train was delayed again. By the time Chen Lishu arrived at the town, it was already past four in the afternoon. With the weather turning colder and it being cloudy, it was already dark by four o'clock.
She arrived at the small courtyard. As soon as she pushed open the courtyard gate, she saw Gu Xingye chopping firewood in the yard. Smoke was rising from the kitchen chimney.
"Third Sister-in-law, why didn't you tell me in advance that you were coming back? I could have picked you up at the station," Gu Xingye said, stopping his work when he saw her return.
Chen Lishu smiled and said, "It's not far from town, and I wasn't carrying much, so I didn't want to trouble you."
Gu Xingping, who was stir-frying in the kitchen, ran out immediately upon hearing Chen Lishu's voice. She was very happy to see her back. "Third Sister-in-law, I'm cooking. Go put your things down quickly, and I'll stir-fry another dish, then we can eat."
"Third Sister-in-law, you get extra dishes when you come back. Why don't I get that treatment?" Gu Xingye said somewhat enviously, recalling that he had to cook for himself when he first arrived.
"Fourth Brother, how can you compare yourself to Third Sister-in-law? Hurry up and finish chopping your firewood." Gu Xingping snorted at him and turned back into the kitchen.
Chen Lishu first went into the house to put down her bag, then washed her hands and face, finally feeling a bit more refreshed. Outside, Gu Xingping called her to eat.
Chen Lishu responded and went out. As soon as she sat down at the table, she saw that there was dried sausage in the bowl of rice in front of her and curiously asked, "Where did this dried sausage come from?"
Gu Xingping looked up. "Ding Chen sent it. Aunt Sun's dried sausage is particularly delicious. Third Sister-in-law, try it quickly."
Chen Lishu picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. "It's indeed quite fragrant."
"As soon as I saw that 'beer bottle bottom,' I knew he wasn't a good person. Why would he send you such expensive dried sausage for no reason? He must have bad intentions," Gu Xingye said, finding the smile on Gu Xingping's face somewhat irritating. Thinking about how that kid looked at his younger sister, he knew something was up, being a man himself.
"What bad intentions could he have? I think you're eating happier than anyone else," Gu Xingping retorted immediately. "Also, he has a name. Don't keep calling him 'beer bottle bottom.' Don't you know how to respect people?"
"I don't know how to respect people? He!" Gu Xingye almost blurted out that his pig was going to ruin their cabbage patch, but then he thought that his younger sister was still young and didn't have those thoughts. If he reminded her, she might develop them. He immediately stopped himself.
Gu Xingping pressed, "What about him?"
"Nothing, I just don't like him. You should contact him less in the future."
Gu Xingping's temper flared upon hearing this. "He's my friend. Besides, what has he done to you that you don't like him? I'll tell Mom when we get back that you're bullying me."
Hearing that she was going to complain, Gu Xingye's face darkened. "You're such a tattletale. What else can you do besides tattle?"
Chen Lishu had been listening for a while and had a general idea of what was happening. Seeing the awkward atmosphere between them, she quickly intervened, "Your Fourth Brother is probably just worried that you'll get distracted from your studies. He's just too concerned, which is why his attitude isn't very good."
"Yes, yes, Third Sister-in-law, she's like a dog biting Lu Dongbin, unappreciative of good intentions."
"I'm going to tell Mom that you're calling me a dog!"
Gu Xingye: "..."
After dinner, Gu Xingping didn't let Chen Lishu clean the kitchen. Instead, she sent her back to rest properly, while she stayed to tidy up.
Chen Lishu was indeed a bit tired and didn't argue with her. She got up and went back to her room. She lay on the bed and fell asleep shortly thereafter.
After a good night's sleep, she woke up the next day to find that Gu Xingping had already eaten breakfast and gone to school. Gu Xingye saw her come out and smiled, saying, "Third Sister-in-law, the food is all in the pot, still warm."
"Mm," Chen Lishu nodded. She went to wash up and then went to the kitchen to eat a simple meal. After eating, Chen Lishu remembered to check the batch of fabric she had mailed back. Gu Xingye had already picked it up two days ago.
Looking at the four large bags placed on the ground, she thought about how long it would take to make something with so much fabric using only one sewing machine. Chen Lishu decided to go to the department store again to buy another sewing machine, but getting a sewing machine ticket was not easy.
"Third Sister-in-law, are you going out?" Gu Xingye asked, looking up as she slung her bag over her shoulder. He was listening to a storytelling program on the radio.
"Mm, I'm going to the department store," Chen Lishu said. She suddenly thought that if she bought a sewing machine, she would need someone to bring it back. She definitely couldn't carry something weighing fifty or sixty jin herself. So, she enlisted Gu Xingye as labor. "Fourth Brother, if you have nothing to do, why don't you come with me? I want to buy another sewing machine, and you can help me carry it back."
"Okay," Gu Xingye readily agreed, turned off the radio, and went out with Chen Lishu.
The sky outside was gloomy, seeming to be brewing a snowstorm. The two went to the department store. Chen Lishu directly asked a staff member for the manager's office and then walked towards the manager's office with Gu Xingye.
"Who are you?" Nan Haitao asked, pushing up the metal glasses on his nose as Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye entered.
Chen Lishu saw Nan Haitao, who was fair-skinned and looked refined and young. She instinctively touched the pack of "Da Qianmen" cigarettes she had prepared in her pocket. After hesitating, she ultimately did not take them out.
"Hello, Manager Nan. It's like this, I want to buy a sewing machine, but..." Chen Lishu gave him a slightly embarrassed smile.
Nan Haitao understood. "You don't have a ticket, do you?"
Chen Lishu nodded and took two steps closer to Nan Haitao, quickly tucking a roll of money she had prepared into his shirt pocket. "Do you think you could help me find a way?"
Chen Lishu had actually considered going to the black market, as she had bought her previous sewing machine ticket from Zhou Bin there. The reason she didn't go to the black market was that she didn't have anything to exchange at the moment. Besides, rather than spending a high price to buy a sewing machine ticket from someone else, it was better to directly approach the responsible manager, saving the middleman's profit and getting it done in one step. If all else failed, she would think of other solutions.
Nan Haitao looked at Chen Lishu approaching. Before he could figure out what was happening, something was stuffed into his pocket. When he took it out, he saw it was money. His brows immediately furrowed, and he threw the money onto the table in front of him. Then, he looked up at Chen Lishu with a stern face. "You're quite proficient at this. Have you done this often?"