Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

As Song Xianglan emerged from the Weigang Wharf, she stood by the roadside.

Before long, a tractor belching black smoke came chugging along.

She waved, and the car stopped in front of her.

"Master, are you going to the county town?"

The man driving the tractor grinned.

"Come on up!"

Song Xianglan nimbly climbed onto the truck bed and found a corner to sit down.

The tractor started again, and it bounced violently.

They jumped off the bus when they arrived in the county town.

He took out 50 cents from his pocket and handed it to the driver. After thinking for a moment, he took out two pieces of milk candy and stuffed them into the driver's pocket as well.

"Master, thank you for your hard work. Give this to the child."

Song Xianglan pulled a blue headscarf from her bag and quickly tied it around her head, covering most of her face except for a pair of bright, piercing eyes.

Afterwards, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative store.

I bought a red bean popsicle for two cents.

The coolness of the popsicle slid down my throat, dispelling the summer heat.

She ate slowly as she walked toward a low, dilapidated slum.

The alleys here are winding and twisting, like a spider web; anyone unfamiliar with the area is bound to get lost.

Song Xianglan, however, walked on as if she were in her own backyard, never stopping, and finally stopped in front of a mottled wooden door.

"Knock knock knock." She reached out and knocked on the door.

The door creaked open a crack, and a shrewd-looking young man, who looked to be in his early twenties, poked his head out and eyed her warily.

"Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger," the young man whispered, uttering the code.

Song Xianglan swallowed the last bite of her popsicle, tossed the stick aside, and replied indifferently:

"The little monkey is 1.5 meters tall."

The code was matched.

The young man, however, still looked suspicious.

"Auntie, you look unfamiliar."

Song Xianglan was too lazy to waste words with him, so she raised her hand and flicked him on the head with a crisp, loud thud.

"Hongshan, you've really gotten bold. In your eyes, everyone looks like a bad guy?"

Hongshan clutched his forehead, wincing in pain.

He chuckled foolishly:

"They do look unfamiliar."

Song Xianglan deliberately raised her voice.

"If it were an eighteen-year-old girl, you would definitely say something different: 'Oh, little sister, you look so familiar, haven't we met somewhere before?'"

"Pfft!" Someone in the courtyard couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Haha, Hongshan, this auntie is right!"

"You bet! Last time, he kept asking that girl selling buttons for ages!"

Hong Shan's face immediately turned a deep liver color.

Scratching his head.

Feeling both embarrassed and convinced that the aunt was absolutely right, he was momentarily speechless and unable to refute her.

Song Xianglan found an open space and squatted down.

He picked up a twig and started drawing on the muddy ground.

A square shape with two knobs on the side—that's a television set.

It's a rectangular object with a handle; it's a tape recorder.

Finally, a circle and two hands represent a watch.

Although the drawing was simple, everyone present could understand it.

An elderly man wearing a gray cloth jacket and with gray hair approached, pointed to the television screen on the ground, and asked cautiously:

"How much does one of these cost?"

"Six hundred," Song Xianglan said succinctly.

"Six hundred?"

The old man was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, "Too expensive, too expensive..."

Song Xianglan didn't even lift her eyelids, and slowly asked:

"Brother, you look so anxious, is there some good news at home?"

"It's not exactly a happy occasion."

The old man sighed:

"My son drives a truck for a steel mill, and he finally manages to come home on his way. He wanted to buy some things for the house."

He paused, his tone tinged with pride.

"The major steel mills in central Taiwan are doing very well!"

Central Steel Plant?

Song Xianglan instantly understood.

That place is profitable and pays high wages, but it's also short of resources, so there's nowhere to spend money.

She rolled up her sleeves without making a sound.

He deliberately let the shiny imported watch on his wrist be seen.

"Your son works long hours driving a truck, it must be tough for him. It's not unreasonable for him to bring back some in-demand goods for his colleagues at the factory and charge a small delivery fee, is it?"

Song Xianglan's voice wasn't loud, but it hooked the old man's heart like a hook.

"The money you've earned on this trip is enough for you two to have a prosperous New Year."

Once he's saved up some more money, he'll bring you to the big city for a few days. Wouldn't that be so comfortable?

A light suddenly shone in the old man's cloudy eyes.

Heart moved.

He slapped his thigh, turned around, and ran back.

"You just wait!"

A short while later, he came out with a dark-skinned, muscular young man.

The young man, Zhou Bing, was squatting on the ground bargaining with Song Xianglan.

I reduced the price of the imported watch from 260 to 220.

Song Xianglan calculated the costs and readily agreed. These days, there's no such thing as "small profits but quick turnover" when it comes to buying goods.

Seeing how readily she agreed...

The young man was taken aback for a moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Song Xianglan pointed to the pattern on the ground and enthusiastically promoted it:

"Young man, a watch alone isn't enough. Look at this TV and radio; these are the real hard currency."

Don't you still have empty seats in your car?

Take it back with you, I guarantee everyone in your factory will be fighting over it!

The young man's eyes lit up.

He returned this time on the behalf of many colleagues, and he brought plenty of money with him.

Do you have any other goods?

"Scarves, imported cigarettes—whatever you want, I can get it for you," Song Xianglan offered an even bigger lure.

The young man's breathing became heavier.

He stared at Song Xianglan and began haggling over the price of the television: "Television, five hundred and eighty yuan apiece, how about it?"

"Five hundred and ninety." Song Xianglan held up one finger. "That's the lowest I can go. But you have to take ten at once."

Ten units!

The young man gasped; this was no small sum.

But then he thought about it again. With thousands of employees in the factory, selling ten television sets wouldn't be a problem at all, and the price difference would make him a fortune.

"Okay! Deal!"

He gritted his teeth and said:

"I'll pay for the watch first, and I'll pay the deposit for the TV and radio. Deliver them to the address I gave you this afternoon!"

"Okay." Song Xianglan nodded.

The young man immediately took out a thick envelope from his inner pocket, counted out two thousand two hundred yuan, and handed it to Song Xianglan.

Song Xianglan took the money, counted it, and put it in her pocket.

Then I handed him the ten watches.

Zhou Bing then handed over another 500 yuan as a deposit, and the two agreed on the location and time for delivery in the afternoon.

After the business deal was finalized, Song Xianglan did not leave immediately.

She strolled leisurely around the courtyard, her eyes scanning the various stalls.

Finally, she spent a dozen yuan to buy a few old books with yellowed covers.

I picked out two more unremarkable-looking terracotta vases.

There is also a blue and white porcelain bowl with a chipped rim.

After doing all this, she went to one of Hongshan's accomplices.

I paid a "venue fee" of ten yuan.

Then, carrying a worn-out bamboo basket, he slowly went out the door.

The contents of the basket were completely covered with a patched blue floral cloth.

Song Xianglan turned a corner and went directly to the Overseas Chinese Farm not far away.

She ordered a bowl of steaming hot turmeric rice.

Served with a plate of glistening, juicy poached chicken, it was a truly satisfying meal.

Before leaving.

She also packed a serving of sweet and soft pandan cake to take back to Shen Huijun and Song Tingting.