Chapter 36 - 36

Chapter 36 Panda StampsYun Ting never gave Zhou Yulan too much stock; little by little, it adds up! A low profile is key to longevity."Sis, I'm leaving now. You need to be careful and find a reliable person.""Okay, I know!"Yun Ting went to the post office to find Wen Jing. She had previously sent her two jars of mushroom meat sauce, which her grandfather loved, so this time she specially brought her six jars."Xiaoyun, thank you so much! Ever since you made this meat sauce, my grandpa's appetite has improved, and he's been feeling much better lately!" Wen Jing was very happy to see her."Hehe, I'm glad I could help you. Do you have my letter?""Yes, there's a package too! I was planning to have the postman deliver it to your village, but then you came."Wen Jing went to get her the letter and package. She took them, glanced at them, and saw that the package was from home and the letter wasfrom Li Wanting."By the way, do you have any new stamps lately? Bring me some.""I have a panda set, do you want it?" Wen Jingtook it out for her."I want it…" Her eyes lit up, and she reached out to take it.The three pandas, some sitting and some lying down, are rendered with just the right amount of ink wash, their fluffy texture almost overflowing from the paper—it's the panda stamp set from 1957-1962! She had seen countless high-resolution images in auction catalogs of later generations, but at this moment she could truly smell the fresh scent of ink mixed with paper." Wen Jing, how much are these stamps?""Five cents a note, a set of six notes costs three yuan.""Are there any more? I'd like to get another set.""Let me see, there are only two sets in total, here you go."Yun Ting handed six yuan to Wen Jing, her heart pounding—she knew all too well that this palm-sized piece of paper could be worth a thousand times more in a few decades, a priceless treasure coveted by countless collectors. She was going to be rich! Haha…"This trip was worthwhile…" She carefully and secretly transferred the stamps to her spatial dimension; nowhere was as safe as this place.I went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperativeand bought two cans of malted milk extract and a steamed egg custard. She really likes the milky flavor, especially when she's too lazy to cook or doesn't want to eat meat buns. She just eats the steamed egg custard and a cup of malted milk extract. Her second brother sent her some before, and she finished it all during the autumn harvest.Thinking of her second brother, she wondered if he had gone on another mission. This time, he hadn't even written to her. She hoped he hadn't gotten hurt.Today, the village tractors were used to haul grain, so those without bicycles had to walk. She hitched a ride with Yang Qingqing when she came, but I haven't seen her here yet.After thinking about it, she realized it was still early, so she went to the black market to findUncle Chen.I prepared the same quantity of goods as last time, the transaction went smoothly, and my savings were deposited again." Uncle Chen, I have a wild ginseng here, would you like to buy it?""Let me see? How old is it?" Chen Jing asked excitedly.Yun Ting had no idea; he was worried about where to find Ginseng when an acquaintance asked him to help find her—it was for a lifesaver."It's been over fifty years." Yun Ting took it out and handed it to him.She simply cut a piece of cloth and wrapped it up; it looked very perfunctory."Oh dear! Couldn't you have put it in a box? What if it gets damaged?"" Uncle Chen, you're doing just fine, aren't you?""Alright, it's your stuff, you decide. Girl, this wild ginseng is rare, it's usually worth three hundred yuan, but the person needs it urgently right now, so I'll give you a fair price of four hundred yuan, how about that?""Uncle, I trust you, but you also need to get me some pork.""Okay, no problem." Chen Jing instructed his men to get the meat, while he handed four hundred yuan to Yun Ting."Girl, how do you manage to get your hands on all sorts of rare and unusual things?"Yun Ting's lowered eyes flickered, and she chuckled softly, " Uncle Chen, I just get lucky occasionally. For example, I can't get meat, so I have to ask you to help me get it, right?"She knew that Uncle Chen was testing her just now, so she just pretended to be clueless."Haha... If you need anything, just ask Uncle Chen, and he'll definitely help you arrange it!"A short while later, his underlings brought over the meat. Yun Ting accepted it, thanked them, and left the black market.It seems she can't trade too frequently. She can't let Chen Jing think that she has a constant supply of goods. She has to make it seem like they're hard to come by, or else she'll arouse suspicion." Yun Ting, stay calm, don't drift..."Arriving at State-run Restaurant again, Yang Qingqing finally appeared, but what surprised her was about to unfold...Yang Qingqing was having dinner with Lu Jiayan! Are they together? Should she go over now? Just as she was hesitating, Yang Qingqingsaw her." Yun Ting, what are you doing, sneaking around like that?""Huh? No!" Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, but apart from noticing Lu Jiayan's worthless appearance, she couldn't see anything different."Have you eaten?" Yang Qingqing interrupted her reverie."Um...I've already eaten. I was looking everywhere for you!""Oh, wait a little longer, I'll be right there.""Okay, I'll go get takeout and order." Yun Tingalways gets takeout when she comes to State-run Restaurant, so everyone is used to it. It would be strange if she didn't get takeout one day.On the way back, Yun Ting hesitated, wanting to ask several times but holding back."You want to ask what's going on between me and Lu Jiayan, right?" Yang Qingqing's voice drifted over."Do you have eyes in the back of your head?"Yun Ting asked instinctively."Heh~ With your gossipy nature, you must have been holding it in for so long, right? It must have been really tough for you to keep quiet for so long.""Sigh! Knowing full well, why did you deliberately keep quiet for so long? Hmph...""We're not together. He just helped me out, so I treated him to dinner.""Huh? It's that simple? A hero saving a damsel in distress?""Or else? You want to repay me with your body?""That's not impossible. Look at Lu Jiayan, his eyes have been glued to you ever since he came to the countryside. You can imagine how much he cares for you, tsk tsk..."" What benefits did Lu Jiayan give you?""Hey! Yang Qingqing, do you think I'm that kind of person? What benefits could he possibly offer me?""I hate dealing with trouble..."Yun Ting understood; this was because she disliked Lu Jiayan for having too many suitors. Indeed, if it were her, she would also keep her distance."So, you do have feelings for him, right?" Yun Ting asked excitedly, as if she had discovered something new. Her movements were so exaggerated that the bicycle wobbled."Hey, stop shaking me, I don't want to fall into the ditch.""Just tell me, isn't that right?"Why are you so excited? Can you stop looking so gossipy?"hey-hey…"We've stumbled upon the main character in this juicy gossip, how can we not be excited? What will the reactions be next, with the second and third rounds of gossip?To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next installment from the gossip-loving audience, haha…"Hey, there's a man in military uniform up ahead."" Yang Qingqing, how childish are you? You're trying to fool me?"I'm serious.Yun Ting peeked out and looked ahead. "It really is! Could it be Aunt Meihua's eldest son? He's the only one in the village who's in the army. Let's go ask him."