The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Lin Xiaoquan promised to pay back the money by the end of the year, and Bao Ya reluctantly agreed to give him a few more days' grace.

As I left Lin Xiaoquan's house, Sister Qi was still cooking outside. Many people in the corridor were using the excuse of cooking to peek over.

Bao Ya shook her head inwardly. Was this supposed to be a state banquet? It had been almost two hours and it still wasn't ready.

"Sister Qi, are you cooking?"

"Oh, you're going back already? Why don't you finish your meal before you leave?"

Sister Qi's words reminded her that Lin Xiaoquan and his wife were too stingy. She was hungry, but they didn't even offer to invite her to stay for dinner.

She pulled back the step she had taken, and then Bao Ya stared at Sister Qi's pot, swallowed hard, and finally said shyly:

"I'm not hungry..."

After saying that, he gave an awkward laugh, glanced unnaturally at the food in the pot, then looked away with difficulty, as if he had made a great decision, and turned to walk downstairs.

As Sister Qi watched Bao Ya's departing figure, she turned her head and spat at the door of Lin Xiaoquan's house. This couple usually acted all high and mighty, but I didn't expect them to be so stingy, not even bothering to save face.

It was completely dark outside. Luckily, there were people on their way home from get off work, otherwise it would have been quite scary.

Bao Ya walked back along the path she had come from, and after walking for more than ten minutes, she met Jiang Yuan, who had come out to look for her. The two went home together.

The next morning, Bao Ya was making clothes when she heard someone knocking on the door.

Upon opening the door, I saw Lin Chuxue standing there, with a full basket and a large basket next to her, the basket covered with some straw.

"You brought quite a lot of things; you've had another haul today." Bao Ya pretended not to recognize the other person and asked:

"Who are you?"

The agricultural machinery station wasn't far from here, but carrying so much stuff was still tiring; even in the cold weather, I broke out in a light sweat. These days, nothing is easy, thankfully the original owner of this body has plenty of strength.

As Lin Chuxue was thinking, she saw the door open and immediately put on a smiling face.

"Bao Ya, it's me, Chu Xue."

"First snow? Which first snow?"

Bao Ya knew who she was, but she pretended to be stupid. She felt that the other woman seemed to dislike the name Peach Blossom and that she would have to call her name several times.

"It's Peach Blossom. I changed my name to First Snow. It was you who wrote me the letter of introduction."

Lin Chuxue's expression faltered for a moment, and she gritted her teeth as she uttered the word "peach blossom."

"Oh, it's you. Come in quickly. Look at you, you came all this way, bringing so much stuff."

As Bao Ya spoke, she reached out and picked up the basket at her feet, beckoning her to come inside.

Lin Chuxue listened to her words without thinking too much, picked up the big basket and followed Bao Ya into the yard.

Bao Ya secretly reached into the basket and found eggs inside. She happily took the eggs to the storeroom behind the kitchen and picked them out one by one from a basket.

She's come to me for free, so I might as well give her a good thrashing and see if she dares to come looking for me again.

Think about the plot in the book. The original owner got nothing, and the family he harmed was destroyed.

Being cast as a villainous supporting character and constantly getting slapped in the face is a huge loss for her. No matter what happens in the future, she has to get her money back first.

Lin Chuxue, who was behind, was carrying a rather heavy basket. She moved in little by little, taking the opportunity to look around the courtyard, and paying particular attention to the two empty west wing rooms.

The two rooms were only filled with some miscellaneous items, nothing else, which made them suitable for her to store some goods.

Bao Ya took out the basket, rummaged through the straw inside, and placed it in the corner of the main room. She cheerfully added hot water to the teapot on the table and poured a cup for Lin Chuxue.

"Put your things there. Come and have a cup of hot tea to warm up. It's so cold outside, and it's kind of you to make this trip."

Seeing Bao Ya's enthusiasm, Lin Chuxue didn't stand on ceremony. She placed the basket at the entrance of the main room, closed the door, and sat down at the table to drink tea.

Bao Ya didn't say anything, just smiled and looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

Lin Chuxue drank a few sips of hot tea and felt much warmer. When she looked up, she saw Bao Ya staring at her without saying a word, and feeling a bit awkward, she decided to speak first:

"Bao Ya, are you home alone?"

"Yes, my husband went to work and will be back for lunch."

"So you just stay at home all the time without doing anything?"

"How can I stay here? There are jobs both inside and outside the house. I also take odd jobs on the street pasting matchboxes to supplement the family income."

Knowing that she wanted to talk about making money, Bao Ya steered the conversation in that direction to save her from rambling on and on without getting to the point.

"Don't you want to find some other ways to make money?"

Seeing that the conversation had already gone this far, Lin Chuxue quickly continued. She felt that Lin Baoya, with a rural household registration, must be short of money living in the city. Finding her a way to make money would surely earn her a lot of gratitude.

"What kind of way can you make money? There's only so much work on the streets, and everyone has to take turns. At most, you can earn a little money for vegetables."

Bao Ya continued to play dumb. Everyone knows that being a middleman can make money, but the policy doesn't allow it. If the policy allowed it, would she even get a chance? There are plenty of smart people in the world.

"That's not what I meant. I meant we could bring some things from the village to the city. Anyway, the city is short of everything..."

Lin Chuxue patiently coaxed Lin Baoya, thinking she would be moved, but to her surprise, Lin Baoya suddenly widened her eyes and looked at her with a serious expression:

"Peach Blossom, speculation is illegal. You must not do anything foolish, or you'll be in big trouble if you get caught."

That's enough for now. I'll pretend I didn't hear it. Just don't tell anyone else.

Bao Ya looked startled and craned her neck to look outside, as if afraid that someone would hear something.

Lin Chuxue was cornered and looked down on Lin Baoya even more. Wasn't she supposed to be the local bully of Nanshan Brigade? How come she's become so timid in the city? A peasant is a peasant, she doesn't know anything.

Lin Chuxue had only been in this world for a short time, and her mindset was still decades in the future. Moreover, she had indeed made some money from trading things these days, so it was inevitable that she would become a little arrogant.

People in this era weren't stupid. Everyone knew that buying and selling was forbidden, so they exchanged goods in private. In fact, everyone knew this, but they just didn't say it out loud.

Seeing that the conversation was stalled, Lin Chuxue decided to change her approach. Since Lin Baoya wasn't destined to make money, she might as well let her save some things for herself and reward her later.

"Bao Ya, could I leave my things at your house? I'll come back to pick them up later."

Here she comes, here she comes. I knew she hadn't given up. Bao Ya felt it didn't matter what she wanted to do, as long as she wasn't involved.

"What is it? Are you going out to run errands? Then go ahead, just come back for it later."

Seeing that Bao Ya misunderstood her meaning, Lin Chuxue simply stopped beating around the bush.

"No, I brought some things over for someone and wanted to leave them at your place for a few days. Don't worry, I won't leave them for nothing. He'll definitely thank you when he comes to pick them up."

Are there other people involved? How big a deal is the female lead making? Does she even have contacts?

I originally thought she was just dabbling in this, but it seems she's aiming to expand and become more powerful. No wonder she's being targeted.

"Carrying things for someone? Who is it? Is it a relative of yours? Do I know them? Do you often go to the city?"

"You wouldn't actually go and do something like speculation, would you, Peach Blossom? Don't do anything foolish. If you get caught, the whole brigade will be implicated. No, I'll go back and talk to my uncle tomorrow."