The village women had begun to board old Feng's ox cart when sun hwa and Guo Jinyi arrived both holding woven baskets in their arms
"The fifth is finally stepping out, doesn't interact with we common folks treating us all as air" Mrs Liu the village's trouble maker couldn't help snarling seeing the fair faced sun hwa
The little wench had built up some fat over the past few days
Wasn't as skinny as a twig
"There's no spot left to sit, the last seat is reserved for madam shen" lady Zhu sneered unwilling to have sun hwa sharing the ox cart
"Isn't it about first come first serve and who are you for our household's fifth wife to be concerned about" Guo Jinyi glared at this group of women
The first, second and fourth branch of the Wang household turned a blind eye to them which only made Guo Jinyi even more angered
"Is there no other means of transportation?" sun hwa asked softly
She wasn't about to interact with a bunch of illiterate women
"There's no other, I can walk but you can't" Guo Jinyi sighed softly, her brows creased in worry
If she hadn't had to take care of her fussing daughters she wouldn't be this late
And with the arrival of madam shen
An inmarried woman from the city, respected by all the village women
It was said that her parents were leaders in the textile and cotton factory respectively hence the cozying up
As each household wished their sons and daughter could secure a job, even if it was just as a temporary worker which was better than farming all year round
The ox cart started to move soon disappearing from sight
"Let's rent a bicycle" sun hwa suggested
She was pregnant
This body already felt foreign with the life growing inside her
Having to walk a 2 hour journey which made a 4 hour journey to and fro
Was practically impossible
"It's expensive" Guo Jinyi helplessly sighed
"You can decide to walk, I'm taking the bicycle" sun hwa wasn't one to inconvenience herself for other hence she begun to head back into the village
"How about we wait for the next market, it's in another five days" Guo Jinyi proposed
She was unwilling to spent a whole thirty fen on renting a bicycle
Plus if they got a lot, it would be difficult to carry so much and also pedal the bicycle
"Are you both heading to the market?" Dazhuang called waving both women over to the village tractor
He had a lot of goods on the tractor
Probably going to set sale at the county market
"Village head's son" Guo Jinyi smiled and happily boarded the tractor easily pulling sun hwa in to sit
"Thank you" sun hwa appreciated earning a grunt from Dazhuang who continued to drive the tractor forward
The journey from Qingshan village to the county took barely over thirty minutes and by the time they arrived, the whole market was bustling with vendors
Sun hwa's eyes curiously glanced around
The 80's market was indeed different from the markets in the future
Where she could easily order all her groceries online and call it a day
The market was filled with the shouts of vendors, the bustling crowd moving here and there trying to buy or sell
And the strong smell of chickens and ducks which made her dry heave
" let's help Dazhuang set up stall" Guo Jinyi whispered pulling sun hwa out of her thoughts as they both got busy helping Dazhuang set up stall
"The vegetables are so fresh" Guo Jinyi couldn't help speaking up already examining the fresh greens
Sun hwa was no different
She was already checking out the vegetables for what go buy and what not to already contemplating what to make with each one
"Big brother did you plant all this yourself?" Sun hwa couldn't help asking
The villagers mostly grew grains and sweet potatoes in field and the vegetables patch they had in their backyards were usually full of wild vegetables and mostly scallions
"I personally grew them, the wealthier households prefer this" Dazhuang replied unhurriedly his eyes darting towards the moving crowd
The big moutain though with a lot of wild vegetables were almost picked clean by the villagers that sun hwa knew
"I'll have 2 pounds of each scallions, bok Chou, lotus roots, Napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage, radish, water spinach, eggplants and leeks" sun hwa picked out the freshest vegetables for Dazhuang to weigh
He even added half a pound of mustard greens which he packed up for sun hwa
Who paid the sum of 3 yuan for everything
Guo Jinyi personally wrapped up her own items and with many other things to buy
They both left their things with Dazhuang promising to be back by the time he was ready to leave
Then they both ventured into the market
Sun hwa's eyes sparkled at the varieties of items on sale
She got a quilt and two sets of dresses for twenty yuan, then she got some kitchen wares such as two basic kitchen knife for 80 fen , two cooking spoons for 30 cents , a dozen ceramic bowls for 1 yuan 20 fen, 5 chop sticks for 25 fen, 3 wash basins 1 Yuan 80 fen and 3 smaller bowls for cooking for 90 fen, she also got 3 soup spoons for 30 fen, one cooking pot for 3 yuan and pan for 2 yuan 50 fen
All amounting to barely over 30 yuan which was a significant sum in this rural time compared to the future where it was a drop in the bucket
Guo Jinyi's heart ached but knowing how much this things were needed for the new house she said nothing but helped sun hwa haggle for the best deals even snagging extra's such as curtains made from defected fabric giving on freebie which made Guo Jinyi calm down significantly
But sun hwa wasn't done spending
She headed to the fruit section and splurged on fruits
Don't blame her
She was pregnant and loved fruits the most
Snagging the best deals on watermelons, banana's, apples, oranges and grapes
The other fruits didn't look as appealing hence she spent a total of five yuan fifty on fruits
While Guo Jinyi bought fatty pork to render lard sun hwa bought the beefy parts
Cows and Ox beef were hard to come by as they were rarely killed since they were used to aide farm work
Hence she could only settle for buying 3 pounds of beef pork and 2 pounds of fatty pork which cost her under 10 yuan
The butcher also added a few bones in for her on request as well as the innards which weren't loved by the masses
Once done with the butcher she bought 5 dozens of eggs for 2 yuan from an inconspicuous seller
Then proceeded to buy 250g soy sauce for 30 fen, 100g Chilli flakes for 10 fen, 200g Chilli paste for 30 fen ,1 Jin of soy bean paste for 40 fen, a pound of white sugar for 40 fen, 3 pounds of brown sugar for 60 fen, 500ml vinegar for 30 fen , 2 pounds of garlic for 40 fen , 2 pounds of ginger for 60 fen, 2 Jins of salt for 10 fen, 1 Jin of vermicelli for 15 cents, 1 Jin of fresh tofu 10 fen, 500ml rapeseed oil for 40 fen
laundry soap for 5 fen, thread and new sales for 2 fen, toothpaste for 15 fen, toothbrush for 10 fen, bath soap for 5 fen, dish soap brick for 5 fen, wash cloth 5 fen, face towel 20 fen, soap powder 30 fen, 3pcs set bath towel 1 yuan
All of which amounted to 6 yuan 15 fen
Then she proceeded to buy more stuffs
10 Jin of white flour for 1 yuan 50 fen, 10pm of wheat flour for 1 yuan 8 fen, 10 Jin of ground millet for 1 yuan 2 fen
Which totaled up to 3 yuan 60 fen
She also bought 10 bolts of defective fabrics from a factory worker, all in different shades and colors for 24 yuan
She could make a bunch of dresses with this fabrics and once the baby came she could even find someone to make dressses for the baby
By the time they arrived back at the spot where Dazhuang had set up stall, he had already packed up
"Couldn't sell this few, you can share it between you both" he handed them a small basket of peas
"This... we haven't even discussed the pay for the ride yet" Guo Jinyi was conflicted
"It's just a ride what's there to talk about, in the future, my Xin'er can chat with you both" Dazhuang replied as he helped them lift their things into the tractor
Guo Jinyi had bought a lot and sun hwa wasn't any better
Thinking of Zhao Xin, Dazhuang's wife who was amongst the sent down youths married into their Qingshan village
Guo Jinyi said nothing and merely climbed into the tractor carefully pulling sun hwa up.
Dazhuang started the tractor immediately
He had also bought alot of things for his own family and parents
"Brother Dazhuang can you sell a few seeds to me?" Sun hwa asked
She planned to plant a small garden at the backyard of the house and maybe raise a few hens
She hadn't bought any today as she had no plans for it for the time being
But she didn't skimp on buying a whole plucked chicken on her way back to the tractor
She didn't expect much from Dazhuang she was only trying her luck
Regardless Dazhuang's reply startled her
" it's just a few seeds, I can sell them to you for twenty fen" he alas said and though Guo Jinyi frowned seemingly not wanting sun hwa to spend so much she ultimately said nothing
And the journey progressed smoothly
~
Deep down in sun hwa's heart she couldn't help feeling grateful to the Wang family
In an era like this where people's pockets were cleaner than their faces
Having a substantial sum in savings
Showed the hardwork of the Wang family men
Though the wives were a total nuisance and Matriarch Deng valued sons over daughters
It wasn't excessively to the point where the Wang men like some other men in the village would lazy around waiting for the parents or wives to take care of them
Their sense of responsibility was deeply rooted making their situation better than most families in Qingshan village