The timeline system has gone awry; they insist that steamed buns are a magic pill.

"Auntie, it's really gone, you see..."

"Young man, don't be in such a hurry. I wanted to ask if you're coming again tomorrow?"

Li Qingqiu breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Auntie, I might not be able to come tomorrow; my home is quite far away."

"Oh, I see. Then next time you come, you must let me know. I live in the county revolutionary committee compound. Just ask Aunt Liu and she'll know." This Aunt Liu really loves snow fungus.

"Okay, next time, I'll definitely go see Aunt Liu first."

The county revolutionary committee compound was a place this guy frequented on the black market, so he didn't dare go there casually. In the end, he made a deal with Aunt Liu, and she finally let him go. As soon as he got out of the alley, Li Qingqiu took off running.

Finding a secluded spot, Li Qingqiu put the basket back on the storage shelf and took out his canvas bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "Hey, why is this scale on the shelf? Isn't it the neighbor's?"

Li Qingqiu had some doubts but didn't intend to return it. He figured he'd probably just casually slipped the scale into the storage shelf while stealing it. "That guy isn't a good person. I only meant to scam him. Meijie Old Mountain Village is over forty miles from this county town. If he actually believed me, he'd be in deep trouble, if not worse. I didn't expect to get a scale from him too. Poor guy."

"Blame the system if you want, it actually created a skill for petty theft. Oh well, it's not good to go back and tell my brother that I just slipped the scale into my pocket." After changing his clothes, Li Qingqiu strolled over to the department store.

The three-story gray-white building is full of the characteristics of this era. There are many bicycles parked in front of the building. Bicycles are rarely seen in the countryside, but here there are so many that there is almost no room to park them.

"Sooner or later, we'll get a bicycle to ride. The first bicycle for the younger generation in Lijia'ao will either be the fourth brother or me, Li Qingqiu. It's definitely going to be our family. I have to say, the future of Lijia'ao will surely come from our family."

"To be honest, the price of bicycles is not bad, a little over a hundred yuan, but you need a bicycle ticket. In the past few years, no one in Lijia'ao has been allocated one, so you can only buy a second-hand one, which is much more expensive and harder to buy."

I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll go to the department store. Unfortunately, I don't have many tickets in my pocket, so I can only wander around aimlessly. There are quite a lot of people in the department store. Li Qingqiu strolled around for a while, but because he didn't have any tickets, he didn't buy anything.

However, after browsing around, I found quite a few things I wanted: pastries, shoes, pants, thermos flasks, porcelain basins, bed sheets, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't have a ticket, so I could only look on with envy.

I went back to the black market to exchange some tickets, but alas, most people lacked tickets these days, and only a minority of families had them available for exchange. Not to mention ordinary cadres, even the leaders of the Revolutionary Committee didn't have many tickets.

The fact that the county revolutionary committee director raised pigs himself just to eat meat shows how scarce resources were in those days. An average worker probably wouldn't even get two ounces of pastries a month, and each person only had two ounces of meat coupons. Who would have any extra to spare?

Most people at the department store are just browsing and looking around; not many actually buy anything.

"Let's go eat. We'll go to the department store. We don't have any coupons, but we can go to the state-run restaurant. We still have a few pounds of grain coupons left. We've made quite a bit of money today, enough to eat meat. That's the good thing about state-run restaurants; you don't need meat coupons to eat meat."

As Li Qingqiu walked along the familiar yet unfamiliar streets to the state-run restaurant, he was just about to order when a familiar voice rang in his ear.

"Caiju, Xiaoyue, don't be shy with me today, let's order more dishes. Oh, by the way, I specifically asked around at the restaurant this morning, they have fried meatballs today." Han Guodong said enthusiastically, gesturing wildly.

"Just a simple meal is fine. Besides, didn't we agree to pool our money? How can I let you treat us?" Treating someone to a meal these days is no joke. It's usually reserved for couples, business meetings, or when relatives rarely come to visit.

Han Caiju was unwilling to let Han Guodong treat her; things could get complicated later. A hint of disappointment flashed in Han Guodong's eyes, but he smiled and said, "Caiju, we're old classmates. It's rare for us to meet. You're being too polite."

"We can't be so stingy with classmates. Let's calculate it later and decide how much we owe, just like we would with food coupons." Han Caiju remained resolute. She knew Han Guodong's little schemes. If she hadn't happened to see him today, she wouldn't have wanted to eat with him at all.

"Alright, then I'll listen to Caiju." Han Guodong made a helpless gesture to Wu Xiaoyue. Wu Xiaoyue smiled and said that she knew a little about Han Guodong's thoughts, but Caiju didn't think much of it. In fact, although Han Guodong's job was a bit tiring and he had to go to the countryside from time to time, it was generally good, and he also had a lot of extra income.

Of course, Caiju's education and job are no worse than Han Guodong's, and may even be better.

Li Qingqiu thought to himself, "What a coincidence! We met in the car this morning, and now we're bumping into each other again at the state-run restaurant just a few hours later. Caiju, is that Han Caiju?" Li Qingqiu glanced at her.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with short hair instead of braids, which gave her a somewhat dashing appearance. She had an oval face, big eyes, and was about 1.6 meters tall.

She resembles Gong Xue somewhat, and is considered exceptionally beautiful. At least so far, she is the most beautiful woman Li Qingqiu has ever seen. Of course, Yin Yi is also very pretty, but she appears cuter, perhaps because she is younger.

"Caiju, are you alright?"

Wu Xiaoyue was a little confused. What was wrong with Caiju? Following Han Caiju's gaze, she saw a young country man who looked about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, quite tall, with dark skin and a rustic appearance.

"Li Qingqiu?"

Han Guodong noticed this too, and was somewhat surprised to see Li Qingqiu here.

"What a coincidence, Guodong. This must be Han Caiju. It's been a long time." Li Qingqiu smiled, thinking that Han Guodong probably didn't want to see him.

"Li Qingqiu, it's been a long time."

Han Caiju sized up Li Qingqiu, noticing he seemed somewhat different from the man she had in her heart. "Want to eat?"

"yes."

"Let's go together then."

Li Qingqiu didn't take Han Caiju's invitation seriously.

"Never mind, don't keep you any longer. I might have to wait a while."

Making fried meatballs takes a long time.

"It's alright, we have plenty of time at lunchtime."

"Qingqiu, it's rare to see classmates, let's have a meal together, you won't refuse, will you?" Han Guodong was so angry that Li Qingqiu would just disappear this time, but Han Caiju had already invited him, so he couldn't very well go against her.

Most importantly, Han Guodong felt that Li Qingqiu probably didn't have much money or food coupons in his pocket. When they went to exchange their money later, he was afraid he would lose face. If he stepped forward to help his old classmate pay for the food coupons and money, his image would immediately become much more impressive in front of Caiju. It would be good for Li Qingqiu to be a clown to highlight him.

"Oh well."

"Don't worry, if you're short on money or food coupons later, I'll cover it." Han Guodong was very generous; projectionists never lacked food coupons or small sums of money.

When going to the countryside, earning extra money or food coupons was not a big deal.

"Let me do it. I owe Li Qingqiu a favor, and I haven't had a chance to repay it yet." Han Caiju's expression was much calmer than when she first met Li Qingqiu. Although she still glanced at Li Qingqiu from time to time, she was not as flustered as before.

In the end, Li Qingqiu is just a rural farmer who will never be able to move to the city.

"Really, no need. I have enough money for food." Li Qingqiu wasn't trying to show off; it was just that it wasn't worth wasting such a small amount of money on favors.

Putting aside Han Caiju's looks and figure, Li Qingqiu didn't want to repay the favor with just a meal, considering only her work in the Revolutionary Committee.

"Alright then, if there's anything you need help with, feel free to ask me anytime. I'll definitely help if I can." Han Caiju's attitude was quite firm when she spoke.

"Actually, there is something I really need your help with, but I don't know if it's appropriate." Li Qingqiu originally wanted to maintain his relationship with Han Caiju, but seeing that this girl seemed to want to draw a line, he simply let her return the favor. It was better than being remembered from time to time. After all, although the relationship with the Revolutionary Committee was good, Li Qingqiu's private actions were not very honorable, and being noticed by Han Caiju was somewhat of a hindrance.

"You said that as long as I can help, I definitely won't refuse." Han Caiju breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt a little disappointed. The tall and mighty person she once admired was slowly being defeated by reality, just like Runtu in Lu Xun's story.

Li Runtu was unaware of Han Caiju's inner thoughts; he was simply trying to figure out how to bring it up without seeming too abrupt.

"Li Qingqiu, just say it. Even if Caiju can't help, she still needs me, right?" Han Guodong said, looking at Han Caiju. "Caiju, don't worry, I definitely won't refuse to help if I can."

Li Qingqiu looked at Han Guodong and had a general idea of ​​what was going on. He had found the source of the strange feeling Han Guodong had when they were on the bus that morning: this kid wanted to pursue Han Caiju.

He felt like he was being treated as a rival, but this guy looked down on him, so he didn't say it outright, as it would lower his status. This time, he stepped forward to do him a favor, which was a good opportunity.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. Here's the thing, I've been wanting to buy a bicycle recently, but I don't have any coupons. If you have any way to get coupons, I'm willing to exchange them, or industrial vouchers will also work." Li Qingqiu was no longer going to stand on ceremony.

"Bicycle tickets, Li Qingqiu, that's a bit outrageous. These aren't easy to get. I could save up one or two industrial coupons, though."

"I'll ask around for you. I'll write to you when I get news. Please leave your mailing address later," Han Caiju said, staring intently at Li Qingqiu.

Wu Xiaoyue pulled Han Caiju along, but even if Han Caiju wanted to get a bicycle voucher, it wouldn't be an easy task.

"Thank you then. Actually, I'm also short of industrial vouchers. I'd like to buy a thermos, a coal stove..." Li Qingqiu's words were somewhat greedy.

Wu Xiaoyue's expression changed as she tugged at Han Caiju, whose eyes were slightly red.

"Xiaoyue, lend me two industrial vouchers. I only have three on hand right now."

"Caiju, you... there's no need for that... he's like that..." Wu Xiaoyue didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear. Han Caiju shook her head slightly. "Consider it a debt I owe you, I'll pay it back all at once."

[Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't underestimate your poverty. You were once the white moonlight of the sect's prodigy, but now you've fallen into the dust. Young man, strive on! An achievement quest to astound the prodigies is now open. Completing the quest will reward you with +50 points.]