The oxcart creaked and groaned as it trundled forward, with Huo Tiantian sitting next to Lin Anning, not daring to make eye contact with Zhang Fenglan.
She had been in Hongqigou for two years and had personally witnessed this auntie wielding a pig-slaughtering knife, sweeping through the entire Hongqigou.
Whether it was an old matron, an older sister-in-law, or a younger sister-in-law, none had ever gained an advantage from her.
Especially her mouth, once it opened, it was even more heart-piercing than the pig-slaughtering knife.
Whenever she saw Zhang Fenglan from far away, she would take a detour, fearing that one day, in a bad mood, Zhang would catch her and scold her mercilessly.
Lin Anning, on the other hand, didn't feel anything, as she leaned on her hands, looking at the scenery along the road, occasionally chatting with Zhang Fenglan.
However, most of the time, Zhang Fenglan simply ignored her.
As the sun rose, it began to feel hot.
Lin Anning was sweating all over and wiped it off with her hand.
Huo Tiantian touched herself, feeling somewhat worried.
"Little Anning, are you feeling unwell again? Do you have any sugar on you? I should have brought a bun with me."
"You, please don't faint, I would be scared."
Lin Anning smiled, "It's alright, once we get to town..."
In the next instant, Zhang Fenglan pulled an egg from her trouser pocket and held it out.
Lin Anning was startled, and Huo Tiantian was even more afraid to make a move.
Zhang Fenglan furrowed her thick brows, losing patience as she peeled the egg, handing a smooth, white egg to Lin Anning.
"Eat!"
Lin Anning took the egg with a smile in her eyes.
"Thank you!"
Huo Tiantian hadn't snapped back to reality yet and stared dumbfounded at Zhang Fenglan, wondering if the auntie had hit her head that day.
That was an egg! The last time a village woman picked one of her chili peppers, she ended up chasing and cursing the woman halfway through the village!
Zhang Fenglan gave Huo Tiantian a sidelong glance, her thick brows furrowing tighter.
Huo Tiantian was startled and quickly waved her hands.
"No, no, no, I don't want it..."
"It's gone!"
Huo Tiantian: "..." Fine! She didn't deserve it.
Zhang Fenglan got off the cart before reaching the town, allowing Huo Tiantian to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Whew, Little Anning, aren't you scared of that aunt at all?"
Lin Anning shared half of the egg with Huo Tiantian and, looking at Zhang Fenglan's retreating figure, wore a blissfully happy expression.
"Why would I be scared? She's pretty nice."
"She? Nice?"
Huo Tiantian nearly choked on the egg, prompting Lin Anning to quickly pat her on the back.
Once she could breathe easily again, Huo Tiantian looked at Lin Anning again, reminded of something.
"That's right, I've always felt that you have a strange way of seeing people."
"My big brother, that fierce god, we were all scared of him when we were young, but you were always clinging to him, following him around like a shadow."
When Huo Shen was mentioned, the smile at the corner of Lin Anning's mouth faded a bit.
"Your big brother, he is actually a very gentle... comrade!"
She had wanted to say "brother" but somehow it didn't seem quite right.
"Huh?"
Huo Tiantian was shocked, squeezing Lin Anning's face as she pressed for answers.
"Tell me, apart from the word 'man' having some connection to my big brother, what does the rest have to do with him?"
"Right, you liked my big brother so much when you were little, why didn't you marry him instead of marrying Huo Wenchang?"
Lin Anning's face was stretched thin, her smile turning somewhat forced.
"When I was young, I didn't know any better, but growing up, I can't be that ignorant, can I?"
"Besides, I never planned to marry Huo Wenchang..."
By the time they reached the town, it was midday. Li Youbao dropped them off, reminding them to meet at the usual place in the afternoon.
Lin Anning took Huo Tiantian to the state-run restaurant and spent one yuan and eighty cents on two bowls of beef noodles, extravagantly adding another yuan's worth of beef.
Huo Tiantian hadn't been to town in a long time, and the alluring scent of the beef noodles made her mouth water.
"Little Anning, I've spent all my money recently, I'll treat you next time."
Lin Anning didn't mind, and took another two slices of beef for Huo Tiantian.
"No problem, I still have money on me. Inviting you for a beef noodle is still easily affordable!"
After finishing the beef noodles, Huo Tiantian felt embarrassed to ask Lin Anning to lend her two yuan.
Lin Anning gave her the money without asking too many questions, intending to buy some bedding or something.
Huo Tiantian pointed her to a place and said softly,
"Without cotton coupons, you can only go to the black market. Although the prices are higher, they don't ask for coupons."
"How about this, you wait a bit for me, I'll go with you. Just by looking at your face, you're easily fooled!"
Lin Anning smiled and pulled her straw hat brim lower.
"Don't worry, I've got this. You go do your thing, we'll meet back here later."
The black market wasn't difficult to find. Although the market hadn't opened up yet, the control over the black market wasn't that strict either. As long as no one reported, the authorities would usually turn a blind eye.
Lin Anning first followed others around to get a feel for the place.
She bought some rice and flour, oil, towels, basins, and other daily necessities.
But the most important item, the cotton quilt, was nowhere to be found.
She wandered back and forth, and suddenly, someone grabbed her pocket from behind.
Turning around, she saw a man in his twenties looking at her with a mischievous grin.
"Comrade, looking for something in particular? Tell your brother here?"
Although Lin Anning wore a hat that covered most of her face, the part that was exposed was so white that it dazzled, clearly indicating she was from the city.
Seeing this, Jia San itched to take a closer look and reached out to lift her hat.
"Such delicate and tender skin, what's there to hide? You're from the city? Let me have a good look..."
There were quite a few people in the alley, but nobody dared to help.
Jia San was a scoundrel from the black market, and getting involved with him meant no good.
Lin Anning swiftly took out a silver needle and jabbed it towards his Neiguan and Hegu points.
Jia San couldn't see clearly what had happened before he felt his wrist go numb, as if the bones had been removed from it, sapping all of its strength.
"You bitch, giving you face, eh? I'll show you, I'll beat you to death."
Lin Anning clenched the silver needle tightly, ready to give Jia San a couple more jabs.
"If you're not afraid of being paralyzed, try touching me. I don't believe you're all-powerful. Let's go, to the police station!"
"Go to hell, I'll beat you into submission first," Jia San retorted.
"Jia San!"
Before Jia San could make more trouble, a middle-aged man in a patchwork undershirt emerged from the back of the alley.
He was burly with a scar above his eyebrow, looking quite menacing.
Clearly, Jia San was afraid of him.
His bravado faded away as he sheepishly withdrew his hand.
"Uncle Fugui, it was this damned woman who attacked me first. I don't know what trick she used, but my hand is as good as disabled, can't muster any strength."
Jia San was just a small-time hood in the black market, whereas Shi Fugui was the boss of the whole place.
Shi Fugui glared at Jia San and kicked him without a shred of sympathy.
"You think I don't know what kind of person you are? Picking on those who seem easy to bully, trying to take advantage?"
"Jia San, I'm telling you, this place is where everyone earns their living. If you mess it up, I'll see you dead!"
Jia San gritted his teeth and rubbed the sore spot on his buttocks where he'd been kicked.
"Got it! Uncle Fugui!"
After scolding Jia San, Shi Fugui turned his gaze to Lin Anning.
His tone mellowed and he apologized proactively.
"Comrade, I'm sorry, don't take it to heart."
"Clothing, fabric, frost cream, watches, fans, sewing machines, I can get you whatever you need."
"Just let's not make a big deal out of this, ok? It can cut off everyone's livelihood," Shi Fugui suggested.
Shi Fugui bent over to pick up Lin Anning's things from the ground, dusted them off, and handed them back to her.
His right hand, having taken some force, let out a few 'clicks,' causing him to wince in pain as his eyebrows furrowed together.
Lin Anning took her things and glanced at Shi Fugui's right hand with a nod of her chin.
"An old injury?"