Chapter 112: Chapter 103: Finding Some Money to Use

The bus departed Wancheng at seven in the morning for its route to the final stop and back. Xiao Man and Wang Guihua boarded around one in the afternoon. Despite having only a few passengers, the journey still took an astonishing five hours. By the time they got off at the Wancheng bus station and saw the large clock on the waiting room wall, it was already six o’clock!

Xiao Man sighed. ’Thinking about the speed of an oxcart... well, I guess the bus is still better!’

But this made her plan to get some spending money difficult. Wang Guihua had snatched the twenty yuan, and after buying the tickets, she hadn’t given any change back to Xiao Man, instead stuffing the money into her own hidden inner pocket. Could Xiao Man really force her to give it back?

’This woman isn’t much, but her kids are actually quite well-behaved and cute. I’ll just let it go and think of another way.’

In those days, nearly every business and shop on the street was state-run. Except for places like hospitals that had a night staff and factories where workers were on three rotating shifts, all the other stores closed up shop right on time.

The herbs purchasing station was definitely closed for the day. She didn’t know about private places like the Sun Family’s, but she wouldn’t go to the Sun Family anyway. Grandpa had just sold them the Purple Ganoderma; if she went again, it would arouse suspicion.

But besides herbs, what else could she possibly produce to get some money?

’Fruit?’ The grove of peach and pear trees had already borne fruit, but Xiao Man hadn’t even tried them herself. How could she dare take them out to sell?

What kind of peaches were they? Each one was as big as a bowl, pink and succulent. Even the giant honey peaches Xiao Man loved most in her past life couldn’t compare to their beauty. And the pears, just as large as bowls, weren’t Snow Pears but a local variety, yet they were a bright, glistening golden-yellow... With such unnaturally perfect fruit, unless she was making juice or preserves, Xiao Man would never take them out whole!

Then there were the wild grapes and strawberries in the mountain range behind Feilai Peak. The wild strawberries were out of season, but the wild grapes were a possibility. They grew in clusters like shimmering black onyx, with a uniquely clear, sweet flavor. They were delicious and juicy, and the berries were about the same size as the ones picked on the mountainside. Plus, at this time of year, the wild grapes in the deep mountains hadn’t all fallen yet. Half a month ago, Xiao Man and her friends had picked some when they went into the mountains!

As she wandered the streets with Wang Guihua, watching the various pedestrians, an idea began to form in Xiao Man’s mind.

The saying goes that all you have to do is ask for directions, but Wang Guihua, a grown adult, just followed Xiao Man in silence. It never occurred to her that she should be the one to approach someone and ask the way. Xiao Man couldn’t bring herself to look down on her. ’When I think about myself in my past life,’ she thought, ’I was just as foolish!’

Xiao Man pulled Wang Guihua along and stopped a middle-aged woman carrying a vegetable basket to ask for directions to Wancheng Hospital. The woman was very enthusiastic. She told them to turn a corner, cross a concrete bridge, then turn left and follow the highway out of town. It would be about a twenty-minute walk. The hospital was right by the road, she said, with a sign, so it would be easy to spot.

Xiao Man thanked her and tugged on Wang Guihua’s sleeve, prompting her to say thank you as well. They hurried along, but it still took them nearly half an hour to reach Wancheng Hospital. Once inside, they had to ask several more people before they finally found the inpatient department and saw Second Granny Qiu and Uncle Qiu.

The moment Wang Guihua saw her youngest son lying on the snow-white hospital bed with his eyes closed, she lunged forward and started wailing loudly. The ward housed eight patients. Some were awake, while others had just fallen asleep only to be startled awake again. Being sick already put them in a bad mood, and some couldn’t help but pound on their beds in frustration. Their family members were also displeased, casting hostile glares in their direction. Uncle Qiu was both angry and embarrassed, but there was nothing he could do. She was his sister-in-law, not his wife; he couldn’t control her.

Second Granny Qiu slapped her daughter-in-law on the back and cursed, "Are you wailing at a funeral? Don’t you love running back to your parents’ house? Go wail over there! This is a hospital. Hospitals are supposed to be quiet, don’t you understand?"

Wang Guihua: "WAAAH, I’ll never abandon my kids again... I’ll take my children with me... *sob sob sob*!"

Second Granny Qiu: "You wretched woman! You’ve got some nerve!"

Little Sister Qiu, who had been sleeping at the foot of Qiu Xiaobao’s bed, was startled awake. Seeing her mother, she immediately stretched out her arms and joined in, wailing loudly!

Everyone: ...

Wang Guihua picked up her young daughter, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law continued their squabble. Xiao Man saw Uncle Qiu’s face flush red as he walked out of the room, and she followed him.

All eight beds in the hospital room were occupied; there wasn’t a single empty one. They couldn’t go home now, which meant finding a place to stay for the night would be a problem. They couldn’t just sit up and tough it out until morning.

Xiao Man asked about Qiu Xiaobao’s condition. Uncle Qiu said the doctor had already examined him. He had hit his head on a rock, causing a bruise and a slight concussion. His life wasn’t in danger, but he needed to be hospitalized for observation and treatment. It would probably be a week before he could go home.

Little Ni’er had also been given a full check-up. She was just badly frightened; there were no major issues.

Xiao Man let out a breath of relief. It was good that they were okay.

When he heard Xiao Man say she was going to walk around the city to find a relative of Teacher Yu and would be back later, Uncle Qiu was shocked. "You? A child walking around the city streets alone? Don’t do that! It’ll be a huge problem if you get lost!"

Xiao Man said, "It’s okay, Uncle Qiu. Grandpa brought me here last time. He took me around the main streets and taught me the way. I won’t get lost!"

Uncle Qiu breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. "Ah, Xiao Man, it really is better for you to live with your Grandpa and Grandma. It’s much better than being with Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying! Well then, be careful. The city has streetlights, so it’s bright everywhere. You don’t have to be afraid after dark. But whether you find the person or not, you have to come back and let us know!"

Xiao Man agreed and ran down the stairs with light steps. Uncle Qiu hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but stopping himself. He was probably worried and wanted to follow her, but Xiao Man didn’t need that. ’If someone’s following me, how can I cheat?’

Stepping out of the hospital’s main entrance, Xiao Man glanced back, a hundred emotions swirling within her. ’I was born right here. One moment of carelessness changed my entire life!’

At this time, Wancheng didn’t have any public buses. Xiao Man strode forward along the highway in the twilight. A gray-haired old woman carrying a pair of empty baskets on a shoulder pole was walking toward her from the direction of the city. Xiao Man called out, "Grandma," and asked, "Where are you coming from, Grandma? Are these empty baskets for sale?"

The old woman paused for a moment, then replied, "Little girl, you want these baskets?"

Xiao Man nodded. "I’d like to buy one to put some things in up ahead."

The old woman said, "If you’re buying, you might as well buy the pair. I’ll sell them to you cheap, eighty cents each!"

Xiao Man looked at the bamboo baskets, which were almost new. "What was in them before? I’m planning to use them for vegetables."

The old woman quickly replied, "These baskets are very clean. I just had wrinkled-skin citrus in them. Do you know wrinkled-skin citrus? It’s bigger than a regular tangerine but smaller than a pomelo. Even the peel is fragrant, and they’re so sweet! I carried a full load into the city and sold out in less than half a day! I’m about to visit my eldest daughter’s house now, and it’s not convenient to carry these things. If you want them, I’ll sell them to you cheap. I’ve got plenty of bamboo baskets at home anyway!"

Xiao Man nodded. "Alright, I’ll buy them. I’ve never even seen what a wrinkled-skin citrus looks like. It’s a shame you sold them all."

"Hee hee, a lot of people say they’ve never seen them. This wrinkled-skin citrus, it’s a rare variety. My father-in-law brought it back from out of town to plant when he was young. Every year I take them out to sell, and everyone scrambles to buy them. Years ago, you could sell them freely. Then they stopped allowing random street vending, but even when I took them out secretly, people still rushed to buy them! It’s gotten better again this year. I can just carry them into the city and walk through the streets and alleys, and no one says a thing. I don’t even have to call out or shout; people just come up with money to buy from me. My old man isn’t home. If he were, he could bring another load over at night and wander around near the movie theater. The people who go to the movies are mostly young folks, and they’ll snatch them up for thirty cents a piece, no haggling. They’d be sold out in no time!"

The old woman chattered on as she took the two yuan Xiao Man handed her—that was the pocket money her Grandpa had given her. She gave back forty cents in change, which Xiao Man put into her pocket.

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