Chapter 56: An Extra Benefit

But the pastries were nothing compared to the sight of rice among the purchases—Li Kai could almost feel his mouth watering uncontrollably. Tang Xin, well aware of her own strength, simply piled all the goods to one side, planning to let Li Kai pack everything into the basket after he arrived.

When Li Kai saw the sheer amount of things, his nerves grew taut. If the bike tipped over and the goods were damaged or lost, would his sister-in-law spare his life? Though he had learned to ride a bicycle from his elder brother, he’d had few opportunities to practice; his skills were still quite mediocre.

He looked at Tang Xin and cautiously suggested, “Sister-in-law, maybe I should carry the basket instead.”

Tang Xin refused. “If you carry that, how will you ride the bike?”

She had no confidence in Li Kai’s cycling abilities either—the ride to town had been with an empty basket, which meant her younger brother-in-law was only carrying her as a passenger. The bicycle had wobbled all the way; if he had to ride with both her and a load of goods, she seriously doubted their safety.

Truthfully, Li Kai was already fretting. So many good things—if his elder brother had bought them with hard-earned money from working away, he’d be delighted. But these were all purchased by his sister-in-law, using her own private savings. Li Kai could hardly imagine what fate awaited him once they returned home.

Tang Xin soon realized she’d been a bit foolish; after all, they still needed to go into the county, and she intended to visit the cinema to find Chen Liguo. Hauling so many things into town... the picture was hardly idyllic.

But then inspiration struck her, much like earlier when she’d visited the post office. Tang Xin decided to temporarily store the goods at the post office. Of course, at that time in the country, such a service wasn’t officially available. No matter—Tang Xin went straight into the post office and found the friendly young woman who had helped her with a parcel a few days before. The young woman warmly agreed to help.

People were generally honest and simple then, and Tang Xin wasn’t worried about her goods being pilfered. Besides, if the young woman were to be reported, she could lose her iron rice bowl—a risk not worth taking for a few small items. The first time Tang Xin had visited the post office, she had given the young woman a red silk scarf as a token of friendship.

Now, she only needed to leave the goods there for a few hours. She promised to return before five o’clock, the young woman’s finishing time, and the woman saw no reason to refuse. Still, she reminded Tang Xin not to be late. Tang Xin, always thoughtful, didn’t let their previous rapport excuse her from showing gratitude; she handed over five candies in thanks.

The young woman was delighted, thinking Tang Xin was truly a considerate girl, and insisted that they were friends now—if Tang Xin ever needed anything, she should come straight to her.

“No need for gifts. Are you trying to make me feel like a stranger?” she joked.

Li Kai watched all this in astonishment. Unaware that Tang Xin had already been to the post office before, he genuinely thought his sister-in-law had a relative working there. He was increasingly impressed by her social skills and regretted his earlier narrow-mindedness. From now on, he resolved, he ought to listen to her at home.

Once the large package was safely left at the post office, both felt much lighter. Li Kai resumed his role as Tang Xin’s driver, and the pair set off for the county town. Apart from broadening his horizons, Li Kai sincerely hoped to learn something from his sister-in-law.

He was nearly sixteen. At his age, his elder brother had already started learning to drive and was working hard to support the family. But what about him? He had no real skills and could only stay in the countryside farming. Even if he managed to earn the maximum of ten work points in a day, the whole year’s total wouldn’t bring that much to the family; besides, he wasn’t strong enough—seven or eight work points was his limit.

Li Kai wasn’t much of a student either, and the family couldn’t afford school fees. Besides, studying didn’t seem to lead anywhere. To be honest, he had felt quite lost before—what could he do in the future? Was he doomed to spend his whole life in poverty, toiling in the fields?

It could be said that Tang Xin had opened a new door for Li Kai, showing him that as long as one was resourceful, there were countless ways to make a living in this world.

By the time they reached the county town, it was well past noon. Tang Xin took Li Kai straight to a small restaurant. She didn’t bother ordering much—she didn’t have high hopes for the skills of the cooks at such places. If she wanted a good meal, she’d rather bring the ingredients home and have her mother-in-law cook. But when she saw the noodle dishes, she bought three large fried dough sticks, two meat buns, and two bowls of egg drop soup. None of these required meal tickets and the total was just thirty cents.

Tang Xin thought it was a bargain, while Li Kai, still numb from watching his sister-in-law spend so freely on meat that morning, no longer reacted to her casual spending.

After all, it was her money, and he had no say in how she spent it. Even so, it was Li Kai’s first time eating in a restaurant, and he couldn’t help but swallow hungrily at the sight of the steaming food.

Tang Xin didn’t hesitate—she picked up a golden, crispy dough stick. “Eat! Are you really going to stand on ceremony with me?”

Li Kai had planned to save one dough stick, splitting the rest with his sister-in-law, but in the end, he couldn’t resist and finished them all. He felt a little embarrassed—he had wanted to take some home for his parents to try.

Tang Xin saw right through him and just smiled. “When you’re capable, you’ll be able to buy plenty of good things for your family.”

Teen boys could eat a family out of house and home, which was why she’d bought an extra dough stick in the first place. She hadn’t expected to eat so much herself, but the food of this era, though not fancy, was hearty and filling. The dough sticks were thick, the meat buns huge—the ingredients were simple but delicious, so even an average cook could make them taste good.

They both left with full stomachs, and then, with no need for subterfuge, Tang Xin took Li Kai to find Chen Liguo.

In those days, most people rarely had days off, so Tang Xin easily found Chen Liguo at the ticket window of the county’s only cinema. He recognized her, and knowing Li Kai too, he swapped shifts with a colleague and came out to talk with them.

He led them to his break room, then took a waxed paper package from a box under the table. “Try this,” he offered.

Tang Xin unwrapped it and found spiced peanuts and edamame. She’d only mentioned the idea to him in passing last time. She hadn’t expected him to make them so quickly—they were simply boiled and dried, with a bit of pickled vegetable for seasoning, but they were chewy and flavorful.

The more Tang Xin ate, the more she enjoyed them. “Mmm, wonderful! Imagine watching a movie with a little packet of these in hand—what a treat.”

Chen Liguo replied, “I’ve already reported it to the management. We’ll offer these as an extra treat at the cinema—one packet for ten cents.”