Daily Life in the 70s
Chapter 87 Encounter

Chapter 87: Chapter 87 Encounter

Yang PeiMin didn’t expect Shen Yiguang to come to the door to pick her up personally.

Even Gong Chenglan was taken aback for a moment before she burst into laughter, "It seems I overstayed a little, making him anxious."

After speaking, she took another careful look at her and said with some envy, "Sister, you look so lovely, your husband must be really fond of you!"

Then she seemed even more determined, "Come visit me more often in the future, teach me a few things, and if you need anything, feel free to ask me."

In the end, she even took out a red envelope to give to her, "No other meaning, just sharing some good fortune."

Yang PeiMin didn’t want to accept it, but Gong Chenglan wasn’t saying it was a payment for helping out. Instead, she said it was customary for sharing joy since PeiMin was about to be wed.

"My elder sister-in-law has given some too, hurry and take it, don’t keep your husband waiting."

Yang PeiMin accepted it after all.

When she left the room, Shen Yiguang was already waiting for her in the yard.

He told the hosts, "I thought she might have been delayed by something because of the time we agreed on, so I came in to see if perhaps I could be of some help."

Listen to that.

He also knew how to speak well.

Pan Shuiqin wanted to buy some things, so when they passed through the town, Shen Yiguang stopped the car.

He wanted to get down to buy some meat.

"How about we make braised pork for lunch?" Shen Yiguang asked Yang PeiMin.

Yang PeiMin didn’t mind.

At the meat vendor, she insisted on buying meat with a moderate fat-to-lean ratio, worrying that he might choose a fattier cut if she didn’t watch. Shen Yiguang let her stand by his side to offer suggestions, and he couldn’t help but smile.

Then Yang PeiMin saw pig bones and asked Shen Yiguang to get some too—she hadn’t had pig bone soup in a long time.

Over on the other side, Pan Shuiqin hurried over to pull her, "PeiMin, there’s fresh date paste cake over there, no tickets needed, limited to two pounds per person. Come on, accompany sister to buy two pounds. The old lady from the Zhao family has bad teeth; ever since she had a taste, she’s been craving it."

There was a purchase limit due to the shortage of supplies before the New Year, and they couldn’t buy any, but today, unexpectedly, there were more available, and Pan Shuiqin felt pleasantly surprised.

This kind of rice cake dessert is rarely made by people here, and not everyone knows how to make it. It’s more common in the south, with a flavor that’s soft, chewy, sweet, and rich—loved by both the elderly and children. It’s easier to purchase in the county town.

Outside of holidays, where could you find such fine pastries for sale in their own town?

She quickly snagged a spot and started to queue up with everyone.

Pan Shuiqin was standing in front of Yang PeiMin. She turned her head and chatted with her cousin, "Since it doesn’t need food tickets, it’s three mao per pound. Let’s both get two pounds each. The weather’s fine to keep it for a few days, and we’ve got relatives to visit—bringing this along will give us such face."

"In a while, I have to save a couple of pieces for my mom to try too; she might not have tasted it before... You have no idea, last time my sister-in-law brought some bean paste cakes from her parents’ home, the triumphant look on her face. She only let each person take a tiny nibble to sample the taste before they were all gone..."

"Ah, I forgot to call brother-in-law over, an extra person means extra quota, watch me." Pan Shuiqin said and then tiptoed to peer through the crowd, searching for Shen Yiguang.

Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but look in the direction they had just come from. Due to the crowd, even though there was a queue, people were almost squeezed together, afraid they wouldn’t be able to buy what they wanted. She struggled to part the human wall but couldn’t see Shen Yiguang’s figure.

"Just now, I was so focused on pulling you that I forgot to ask, did he need to buy anything else?"

"I didn’t hear him say anything. If we can’t find him, let’s just forget about it, elder sister-in-law. We can buy it next time."

"But since we’re already here, I heard there’s only about fifty or sixty jin of that cake available. Once it’s gone, who knows when we’ll get another chance. How about I go look for him?" Pan Shuiqin was still somewhat reluctant to give up.

Yang PeiMin glanced at their own line; they had only been standing for a moment, and a long queue had already formed behind them. She couldn’t help but worry, "If you leave now, you’d have to line up again, and you might not even get a spot. Then you’d lose the chance to buy your own share as well. That would be a loss indeed."

Pan Shuiqin also looked back and whispered, "How about this? I make an excuse to step away and tell the people behind me to hold my spot, and I’ll come back later."

Yang PeiMin didn’t know if that would work but could only say, "You can try."

So, Pan Shuiqin swapped places with her and said to a middle-aged man behind her, "Excuse me, big brother, I need to go to the restroom. Could you please hold my spot for me?"

She raised her voice slightly so that the people behind the man could hear clearly.

Although there were murmurs of dissent, several people voiced their willingness to do so.

Pan Shuiqin breathed a sigh of relief and thanked everyone.

But before she could walk away, someone objected.

"How does that make any sense? If everyone did that, there’d be no fairness. You can’t take advantage like that, elder sister-in-law. If you leave, you leave; there’s no coming back to cut in line. This is a limited purchase, and if you can’t handle it, you should let everyone else have a chance. Your business is your own, not ours. Why should we hold your spot?"

Pan Shuiqin glanced back at the line and saw it was the second person behind her. When she looked over, she immediately recognized a familiar face.

Sun Xiajuan.

They were relatives, and she was momentarily stunned. Didn’t Sun Xiajuan recognize her?

She called out, "Xiaojuan, you came to buy things too?"

Sun Xiajuan lifted her chin, looking disdainful, "Who are you? I don’t know you. Don’t go about claiming relatives here. There’s no room for discussion in this matter."

Pan Shuiqin opened her mouth, at a loss for words.

Some of the people who had been muttering joined in now that someone had taken the lead, also saying they were not willing.

Yang PeiMin said to her, "Let’s just drop it. We’ll just buy ours. You can have my share too. We’ve made lots of snacks at home these days, so we’re not craving this cake so much."

Pan Shuiqin reluctantly agreed not to look for Shen Yiguang but didn’t agree to let Yang PeiMin give up her share. "It would be nice to buy some to please the two elders of the Shen family. It wouldn’t look good to go home empty-handed after coming out like this."

As they were talking, Sun Xiajuan was still not willing to let it go, raising her voice to gossip to those nearby, "The ones who love taking advantage will do so wherever they go. I remember those two sisters; I’ve seen them around at family gatherings. Not only do they love taking advantage, but they also have jealousy issues, can’t stand to see what others have, and even though they don’t have the means, they love putting on a front. Look at them now, making up excuses for this tiny bit of cake, probably thinking of borrowing money when they get back."

Everyone loves hearing gossip that’s none of their business.

Someone asked, "Is that really true? Which village are they from?"

"Can’t be, right? They don’t seem like it."

Pan Shuiqin was furious, "Sun Xiajuan, what are you talking about? When have we ever taken advantage of you? Jealous? Did we steal from you or something? A girl speaking nonsense like this, aren’t you afraid of people pointing fingers at your spine? You’re just my elder sister-in-law’s younger sister-in-law, and you don’t recognize us? Now, who’s putting on a front?"