Chapter 21: You've Gone Mad for Money

"Si-ran, do you think the village head's nephew is trying to pursue the educated youth Jian?" Wen Lin asked, her face full of gossip.

"I don't know." Ye Si-ran replied with little interest, rolling up her sleeves to begin cleaning the cave dwelling.

"Oh, I forgot that Si-ran is still just a little girl, not yet awakened to the ways of romance," Wen Lin said, blinking her eyes.

"I'm already eighteen. How old are you?" Ye Si-ran asked casually.

"Oh my! I'm eighteen too, but why do I feel like I'm much older than you? If you hadn't said anything, I would have thought you were only fifteen!"

"You are indeed 'much' older, but that doesn't mean your age is greater than mine." Ye Si-ran looked at Wen Lin's chest and gave a playful, knowing wink.

"My goodness, I never realized you could be so mischievous!" Wen Lin was so shocked she could have fit an egg in her mouth. A moment later, she leaned in closer to Ye Si-ran and added, "Tsk, tsk... I can't be blamed for thinking you were younger than me; you’re just too thin!"

"I'll be plump soon enough," Ye Si-ran said earnestly. She knew she was frail now, but having just been reborn, she hadn't yet had the chance to nourish herself. Although she had secretly eaten a few slices of meat in the kitchen, she was still wary of the malice of others and hadn't dared to eat much. Lack of nutrition was one reason, but the main factor was her mother, who scolded her daily in creative ways, leaving her feeling melancholic and inferior.

In her previous life, she only began to fill out after marrying into the He family, and she grew half a head taller a year later. Now, she stood only 1.6 meters tall and was painfully thin. She had even intentionally smeared dark soil on her face, making her look entirely unremarkable. It was no wonder Wen Lin thought she was a minor.

"Si-ran, *sob*... I don't think you'll ever get plump; we'll be lucky if we don't work ourselves to death here!" Wen Lin feigned a cry, pressing her palms together and bowing piously toward the outside of the cave. She then added firmly, "Si-ran, I will definitely not let you starve. I'll go borrow a bucket from the veteran educated youths next door so we can get water and clean up." Seeing how frail Ye Si-ran was, she felt she should take on the heavy task of fetching water.

"Wen Lin, the door next door is locked. The veteran educated youths must have gone out to work. I brought a bucket and a basin." As she spoke, Ye Si-ran pulled a mud-red plastic bucket, a ceramic basin, and a thermos from her snakeskin bag.

Wen Lin’s eyes darted back and forth with every move Ye Si-ran made. Seeing the mountain of supplies, she sighed with envy once again: "Si-ran, your parents are so good to you! I didn't bring anything—only money and food coupons."

Ye Si-ran saw the envy on Wen Lin's face but didn't tell her that her own mother was more vicious than a wicked stepmother.

"It's good to have money! I have two ceramic basins, two sets of bed sheets and covers, and two cotton quilts..."

"Si-ran, Ran-ran, would you be willing to sell me your spare set? You can charge a bit more; I'm not short on money." Wen Lin lunged forward, her large, round eyes gazing expectantly at her.

"Wen Lin, I think you're a good person, so I'll sell some daily necessities to you. See what you need and set your own price." Ye Si-ran said nonchalantly. She had plenty of good things in her space, and turning them into money was naturally a good thing. The more money, the better; no one ever complained about having too much. Having lived a life before, she wouldn't give things away for free to anyone; in this life, she refused to be anyone's doormat. Her grandmother was the only exception, as the space had been her grandmother's gift, and that debt of gratitude had to be repaid.

"Ran-ran, a basin usually costs one yuan and fifty cents. Since you carried it so far, I'll pay you two yuan. I'll take a thermos, too. Oh! You even have Tiger Balm; I'll buy a tin of that, and the Fan brand soap..."

Wen Lin calculated the prices for all the items Ye Si-ran had pulled out, opting for half of the rice and rapeseed oil. She had money and didn't want to take advantage of Ran-ran—she was just too thin! With food coupons, rice cost 0.15 per jin, but considering the distance Ye Si-ran had traveled, she offered two jiao per jin plus the coupons.

"Ran-ran, that's 101.23 yuan and thirty jin of food coupons in total. I'll take everything you've offered. Do you really have more?"

"I... my mother prepared double for everything. You only bought half of the rice and oil. Once we finish these, we can go to town and buy more together."

"Ran-ran, you're the best! My parents and five brothers, along with my three sisters-in-law, promised to mail me money and coupons every month. When I get the chance, I'll take you to the state-run restaurant for a meal."

"That sounds great. Wen Lin, you need to be sure about this now. You've overpaid for every item. If you feel short-changed tomorrow, I won't be giving any refunds."

"Heh, I'm already grateful to you, how could I regret it? My word is my bond; I will never regret this."

With her daily necessities and food sorted, Wen Lin grabbed a plastic bucket in each hand and headed out to find a well. Just as she stepped out of the cave, she heard Xia Tiantian's sharp voice: "Comrade Qu, you're just handing us trash—is this an insult to us?"

"Educated Youth Xia, don't be ungrateful. The things my brother Gangzi brought are all things my aunt usually couldn't bear to use because they were too precious," Qu Chenggang's follower said indignantly.

"Precious? The quilt cover has three patches, the ceramic basin has lost its enamel at the bottom, and look at these ugly black stains."

"Educated Youth Xia, these are the best things in my house. If you don't like them, I'll just take them back," Qu Chenggang said, annoyed. As he spoke, he actually began to pack the items up. "My parents usually use wooden basins; this ceramic one was a gift from the government the year I joined the army."

Seeing him not even leave a wooden bucket for her, Xia Tiantian said, "Comrade Qu, it was you who wanted to curry favor with my Shishi, and with this attitude..."

"What's wrong with my brother Gangzi's attitude? You were the ones who didn't want them. Such a nice basin—I'll keep it for my aunt to use."

"Comrade Qu, would you be willing to sell these things to me?" Xiao Zhiyu asked, catching up as he saw Qu Chenggang with his hands full of daily necessities.

"This educated youth wants to buy daily necessities? It's still early; I can take you to the department store in town," Qu Chenggang’s follower said enthusiastically. He usually disliked working in the fields, but he loved running errands for the educated youths. When he encountered someone generous, he could get a reward, or at the very least, a piece of candy.

"This comrade is truly helpful. Let's go now. Sister Tiantian, do you want to come along?" Xiao Zhiyu asked.

"How far is it from here to town?" Xia Tiantian hesitated. She had just spent over an hour on an ox cart, and she was already aching all over.

"About sixteen or seventeen li. Do you want to take the ox cart or a bicycle? Although the bicycle is a bit more expensive than the ox cart," the helpful young man suggested.

"You charge to take a bicycle to town? Have you gone mad for money?"

"Then don't take it! It's only a two-hour walk," the young man said, unhappy. He usually charged fifteen cents to take other educated youths to town, and because he helped them carry their things, even the stingiest people would give him an extra piece of candy.

"This female comrade has a crooked way of thinking!"

"What are you muttering about?"