Chapter 12

Of course, she did not encounter such a predicament as the young lady in front of her. If she did, she might have made such a decision. After all, filling your stomach was the most important thing. Watches could not be eaten.

“Yes.” Song Xi raised her hand to wipe her tears and nodded gently. “Please keep it a secret for me. Don’t let my husband know because this is the watch he gave me. If he finds out that I’m going to sell the watch he gave me, he’ll definitely be very sad.”

Song Xi’s teary eyes were filled with reluctance and helplessness, making Li Qingqing’s heart ache. “Young lady, I like your watch very much. Coincidentally, I’ve been using my watch for a few years. It’s old and I want a new watch. Are you willing to sell it to me? How about a hundred yuan? In addition, I’ll give you two cloth tickets, okay? I only have cloth tickets. I’ve used up all the other tickets.”

“Pretty Sister, are you really willing to buy my watch?” Song Xi wiped her tears and looked at Li Qingqing in disbelief.

What a good person. She was such a good person. It seemed like she had to come over and give her something next time. Otherwise, she would feel a little bad.

Afraid that Song Xi would go back on her word, Li Qingqing quickly took out her money. After counting, she placed a stack of money and cloth tickets into Song Xi’s hand. Then, she took the watch and checked the time. She put the watch on her wrist and admired it in satisfaction.

“Pretty Sister, thank you for helping me resolve my urgent need. I’ll come back to give you mountain goods when I’m better.” Song Xi held a thick stack of money and was extremely satisfied. It seemed that handicrafts were quite valuable in this era. An ordinary watch worth dozens of yuan could be sold for hundreds of yuan in this era. Perhaps she could become rich just by selling watches.

“Young lady, you have to keep your word. I’ll wait for your mountain goods.” Li Qingqing drew a simple route map of the night market on paper and the time and exact address of the nearby market. She handed it to Song Xi. “You can buy food that doesn’t need tickets if you go here. It’s just that the price is a little more expensive than the supplementary food shop. Also, there are only people there before dawn and after dark. Don’t go there during the day. There’s no one even if you go.”

“Thank you, Pretty Sister.” After successfully obtaining the route map of the night market, Song Xi was almost overjoyed. She wished she could hug Li Qingqing and kiss her fiercely. With Li Qingqing’s help, she would not have to run around like a headless fly.

In order to express her gratitude, Song Xi pretended to take out a hair clip and a hair tie from her pocket and stuffed them into Li Qingqing’s hand. She had chosen a simpler style. It was not out of line and would not cause unnecessary trouble.

“Don’t call me Pretty Sister anymore. My name is Li Qingqing. I can tell at a glance that you’re younger than me. If you don’t mind, call me Sister Qingqing in the future. When you come to the commune in the future, just remember to come to the guest house to see me. I probably won’t change jobs.” Li Qingqing was very happy to be called Pretty Sister by the young lady, but she was also very shy.

“Alright, thank you, Sister Qingqing. I’ll go back to my room first. I won’t disturb Sister Qingqing’s work.” Song Xi folded the route map and carefully stored it. She waved at Li Qingqing and turned to leave slowly. She wanted to cheer and jump, but her body didn’t allow it, so she could only walk back slowly.

Back in the room, Song Xi avoided the wound on the back of her head and lay down on the bed gently. She was thinking about how to avoid Zhou Yi and go to the night market to sell things.

She would not tell Zhou Yi about the supermarket. She did not dare to probe people’s hearts.

When she earned money, she would bring Zhou Yi along to use it. She would also bring Zhou Yi along to eat the delicious food inside. There was no need to tell Zhou Yi.

Song Xi took out two simple watches from the supermarket. One for men and one for women. She hid them at the right time and planned to give them to Zhou Yi when the time was right.

Hearing footsteps outside the door and knowing that Zhou Yi was back, Song Xi quickly stood up and pulled open the curtains, making the room brighter. Zhou Yi pushed open the door and walked in. He was a little surprised to see Song Xi standing by the window. “Wife, aren’t you resting?”

“I rested for a while.” Song Xi turned around and looked at him. Her watery eyes met Zhou Yi’s. This man seemed to be quite good in all aspects except for his tough face which made people nervous.

“I’m sorry, wife. I was late and didn’t buy anything delicious. I only bought a few steamed buns. After that, I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a can of malt powder. You can eat the steamed buns with the malt powder first. We’ll go early tonight and see if we can buy broth or noodles.” After Zhou Yi apologized, he walked to the table and placed the things on the table. He made a cup of malt milk for Song Xi and handed her a steamed bun.

Although Song Xi had never drunk malt powder, this did not stop her from knowing that malt powder was a luxury item in this era. Ordinary people could not bear to buy it. The fact that Zhou Yi was willing to buy it for her meant that he really cared about her.

Song Xi’s heart was in a mess. She did not know how to face Zhou Yi. She was not that good. She would let him down and disappoint him.

Song Xi suppressed the inexplicable feeling in her heart and lowered her head to take a sip of the malt milk. It had a milky fragrance and was very sweet. There was also an indescribable fragrance. It was more like a modern milk tea sachet, she could drink it occasionally. She could not accept drinking it every day. It was not that she was pretentious, but she really could not accept anything too sweet.

Hence, Song Xi pushed the tea jar in front of Zhou Yi. “Brother Yi, this malt milk is too sweet. I can’t drink it now. Drink it. I’ll just drink warm water.”

“Wife, are you concerned about me?” Zhou Yi looked at Song Xi with a smile in his eyes, as if he was very happy.

Song Xi avoided his gaze, not daring to meet Zhou Yi’s eyes. Her concern might not be the same as the kind of concern he wanted. What he wanted was the sweet concern between lovers, and she only cared about him normally.

Seeing his wife’s embarrassed expression, Zhou Yi stopped teasing her. After pouring her a glass of warm water, he drank the malt milk that his wife had given him. He had never drunk such an expensive thing!

Song Xi drank a mouth of warm water and a bite of steamed bun. The steamed buns in the state-owned restaurant were made with pure white flour. There was no coarse-grain flour mixed in. They were soft and fluffy, and they were very chewy. They were quite delicious.

Thinking about it, Zhou Yi must have specially bought it for her. After all, the cheap cornbread was very hard and pricked throats. Although she had never eaten it herself, she had searched Little ‘Song Xi’s’ memories for that feeling. In short, it was not a good feeling.

“Brother Yi, why aren’t you eating?” Song Xi asked in confusion when she saw Zhou Yi drinking the malt milk and not taking the steamed buns. It was already afternoon and they ate at the same time in the morning. She did not believe that he was not hungry.

Unless he couldn’t bear to eat it.