Yiyi watched as Liu Xinyu put the keyring on her index finger and started spinning it carelessly. She looked at ease as if she was just going for a walk in the park. She didn't seem stressed or in a hurry. She looked like she had a solid plan and a fixed destination but Yiyi obviously knew that Liu Xinyu was a person with no plans at all.
But still, the way she looked so relieved and confident made one question how her brain was wired. Since they had no means of transportation, Liu Xinyu had thought of just walking around to see what this era was like. People said there was gold on the streets in the 90s, but you can't swallow a hot meal or you'll get burned was the principle of life that Liu Xinyu was very much familiar with too. And it also meant that no matter what work she did, she would have to patiently wait to earn money.
For big money, one needed to take bigger risks too.
As Liu Xinyu looked at the sycamore trees that lined the streets, she really felt like she was out for a peaceful walk.
"Hey! Little lady! Oh, beautiful little lady!"
"Someone's calling you," reminded Yiyi to Liu Xinyu who seemed to be having too much fun all on her own.
Liu Xinyu stopped to turn around and faced the middle-aged lady she met at the small mart last night. She put on her formal but polite smile to greet her, "Good morning, auntie! You're looking especially pretty this morning."
The middle-aged woman smiled from ear to ear when she heard Liu Xinyu's comment and said, "Only you have a sweet mouth."
"How is that possible? I only speak the truth," said Liu Xinyu so solemnly that even Yiyi wondered if she was speaking the truth or just being polite.
"I tried the face mask you told me about, I feel like my skin is glowing today," said the middle-aged woman happily. "Look at my memory! I almost forgot." She took a paper bag and extended it towards Liu Xinyu saying, "I made these sesame pancakes this morning. I brought some for you."
"That's very sweet of you but I already had breakfast," answered Liu Xinyu.
"Just walk a round around the block and you'll soon have space for the pancakes. This is my mother-in-law's exclusive recipe. She earned her first pot of gold from selling these at a stall after the policy changed. If it wasn't for that, how would our family manage to buy a house in the city?"
Liu Xinyu looked at the woman who excitedly and so candidly shared her personal matters with her but Liu Xinyu did not find her annoying. There was not a single sign of impatience on her face. In fact, she looked like she was very interested in listening to her story.
Her reaction only pleased the middle-aged woman named Ying Lihua, who liked her even more. She already had a very good impression of Liu Xinyu since last night but she felt even better now. Good-looking people already made people look at them with a filter but even without this filter, the middle-aged woman found Liu Xinyu very likable, polite, well-behaved, and educated.
"I took so much of your time," said Ying Lihua. "I lost track of time talking to you. You must be busy."
"Not really," replied Liu Xinyu.
"Don't mind that auntie talks too much."
"I don't mind at all."
Ying Lihua smiled kindly at her and pushed the paper bag into her hands saying, "Then eat these pancakes. Auntie really likes you. Sigh. If only, Auntie had a daughter like you. Sadly, I only have a stinky boy at home who deserves a beating. Indeed, my mother was right that I should insist on having a cotton-padded jacket like you."
Liu Xinyu laughed at her words as she took the paper bag from her and said, "Then I believe Auntie's daughter would have inherited Auntie's looks. She'd look so pretty. You really deprived this world of beauty."
Ying Lihua laughed even harder and patted her hand saying, "You really know how to speak. Go now or I won't be able to stop talking."
"Then Auntie wish me luck for the day and I'll enjoy the pancakes," Liu Xinyu waved her hand at her.
"You are also quite good at socializing," commented Yiyi.
"Why would you say that? I just think she is pretty cute."
Seeing how Liu Xinyu took out the sesame pancake from the paper bag and took a bite, Yiyi narrowed her eyes at her for a while before saying, "You are nicer than I thought you were."
"Are you giving me the nice person card? Why?"
"Because despite your dislike for sweet things, you not only accepted the sesame pancakes from her but are also willing to eat them to reciprocate her kindness."
"Kindness from strangers is a very precious things. Since I accepted her kindness, I can't turn my face and throw the pancakes that she gave me. Besides, it's food. It's not nice to waste it."
Yiyi hummed in response as she said, "That's why I said that you are a nice person." She looked at different stalls on the side of the roads and suggested, "How about setting a stall for money?"
"You think it's that simple? You need a solid recipe. You need culinary talent. You need pots and pans and ingredients and so much more. All of it takes money. We are penniless. No investment money here. So, we need to find a plan with zero investments but high returns."
"There is such a thing where you'd need zero investment?"
Liu Xinyu nodded seriously as she told him, "If it was 2023, it'd be simple. I could even earn money by eating in front of the camera. But it's different here. No livestreaming, no smartphones, no internet. Wait! The internet is here but it has nothing at the moment. Not only is internet boring at this stage, it is also super slow like a snail." She walked by a shop and stopped, she looked through her pocket and found some change so she easily managed to buy a newspaper.
She obviously knew about the job listings on the newspaper, even if she couldn't apply for most jobs because of her identity issues, she still thought there must be something worth her attention.
"Why don't you work there?" suggested Yiyi as she pointed at a shop.
Liu Xinyu looked up at the home appliances repair shop and glared at Yiyi.
"What? You have the necessary skills."
"But I don't have the necessary passion for being a repairman!"
"Oh."
Then she sat down with Liu Xinyu and read the newspaper with her. Liu Xinyu looked at different job listings.
-General help needed
-Sales Assistant
-English Classes
-Farm Helpers
"Huh?" Liu Xinyu read the details of this one and raised her brows, "Wow! People really give ads for whatever."
"Can you do farming?"
"No, I am only good at killing plants," answered Liu Xinyu. "Once I was left home for a week to take care of my mother's precious plants and by the time they came back, all the plants were dead. Mind you, all those plants were very low-maintenance and yet I managed to kill them. So, Ma said my only talent with plants is that I can kill anything."
"Are you very proud of this accomplishment?"
"Not bad." Liu Xinyu shrugged. "Let's see what else is here. Oh, this publishing house is looking for translators. Hmm... They need someone who can translate English books into Chinese. And Russion, French, and German are also accepted. Now, this seems good."
"Right, you are good at this English."
"You're looking down on me. I'm also very good at Russian and German. But French is a little weak. Never got interested in this language of love, so I kept my appropriate distance from it."
"Then why did you learn Russian and German?" inquired Yiyi as she felt more and more that she was truly underestimating this girl from the future.
"I learned Russian to not feel left out. My parents would always talk in Russian around me when I was younger. I felt like they were hiding something from me. So, to know their secrets, I went behind their back to sign up for Russian classes. Needless to say, they had no secrets worthy of my attention, they just liked flirting in Russian. Such weird hobby, I must say."
"Do they know that you can understand them?"
Liu Xinyu gave her a cunning smile, "Nope. They still think I can't understand what they are saying because I never told them. This is one of my biggest secret."