Chapter 29: Crochet Dolls for Fifty Each!

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Crochet Dolls for Fifty Each!

The next day, while having breakfast in the cafeteria, Yun Zhen saw a new type of grain. It looked like a chubby cylinder covered in little kernel-like fruits, gleaming with a warm hue like yellow jade and giving off an inviting fragrance.

"I want this!" Seeing the older children each holding one and eating with satisfaction, Yun Zhen thought, "This bright yellow, chubby fruit must be delicious."

The cafeteria auntie fished one out for her and said, "This is authentic Northeast sticky corn. The kids all love it."

So it wasn’t a fruit; it was a type of grain. Besides the corn, she also grabbed two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk.

Days like this were truly leisurely and prosperous. Yun Zhen couldn’t be more satisfied. She thought about how wonderful it would be if all the villagers of Taoyuan Village were born in this world!

She observed how the others ate the corn. They only ate the kernels and left the cob inside. She couldn’t bear to throw it away. As the plump, soft, and sweet kernels burst between her teeth, a rich and overwhelming aroma spread through her mouth. She was thoroughly amazed.

It was delicious!

After finishing the kernels, she tried to eat the cob, but it was too hard to bite into. Now she understood why everyone only ate the kernels.

She didn’t know how much the corn cost, but she decided that once she earned enough money, she would definitely buy lots of it to take back to the village. Corn was not only filling but also sweeter than fruit, and its aroma was even more potent than meat. She hadn’t gotten to taste yesterday’s sweet potatoes. She had only heard the vendor say they were sweet, so she wondered if they were as fragrant and soft as this corn.

The people in this world were simply too wealthy. Not only did they never go hungry, but they also had so many delicious types of food. She was so envious!

After breakfast, she went to her literacy class. She had already mastered the few characters Mr. Gao taught yesterday.

"Today, we will officially begin our language classes," Mr. Gao said loudly after clearing his throat. "We’ll start with the first-grade textbook. As long as you put your hearts into it, by the time you finish the third-year middle school curriculum, you’ll have mastered most of the vocabulary needed for daily life.

"Besides character recognition, I’ll also assign extracurricular reading and check your progress every day. I hope you study seriously. If you learn well, you can find lighter work outside. Otherwise, you’ll only be able to do grueling, manual labor."

What shocked Yun Zhen was that Mr. Gao was teaching them everything he knew without holding back, unlike the scholars back in her world who would selfishly guard their knowledge. Unless one constantly gifted them meat and wine, the only ones who could learn a scholar’s full body of knowledge were their close younger relatives or final disciples.

It was truly a blessing from the heavens that she was able to come to this world full of abundant resources and good people!

At ten o’clock, Yun Zhen left on time. She returned to the dormitory and grabbed two mesh bags. It was time to collect cardboard boxes and colored cans to exchange for money! She hoped Granny Qin was also here today so she could tag along to sell the scraps.

Perhaps the heavens heard her plea, because Granny Qin really did show up.

Seeing her hurry over with two mesh bags, her face flushed red, Granny Qin said, "You’re quite hardworking, but there aren’t many cardboard boxes or aluminum cans today."

Yun Zhen scanned the area. There were only a scattered few colored cans, and far fewer cardboard boxes than yesterday. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, as this was her other source of income. Earning forty-five yuan and fifty cents from selling scraps yesterday had given her a taste of the benefits. Besides rice, she had also bought new food like sweet potatoes and precious eggs.

Regaining her confidence, Yun Zhen said, "A little is better than nothing!"

Seeing her go from disappointed to brimming with confidence in a flash, Granny Qin smiled. "I was waiting specifically for you. Come on, I’ll take you to a good spot. There are way more cardboard boxes and aluminum cans over there.

"It’s the Red Sun District just up ahead. Several buildings inside are rented out to young people. Unlike us older folks who like to save cardboard and cans, young people just throw them directly into the neighborhood trash bins.

"The security guard there is from my hometown. I’ll put in a word later so you can go inside and collect scraps from now on."

Overjoyed, Yun Zhen asked, "Really?"

If there were more cardboard boxes and cans over there, wouldn’t she be able to earn even more money?

"Thank you, Granny!" The favor she owed was getting even bigger.

"No need to thank me," Granny Qin said. "I like doing good deeds and have donated a fair bit of money to various charities. I’m just taking you into a residential area to collect some scraps. Don’t go kneeling and kowtowing to me like you did yesterday, especially not when there’s a crowd."

Clearly, Yun Zhen’s actions yesterday had given her quite a fright. Yun Zhen’s face flushed even redder, realizing she had put pressure on Granny Qin.

Last night, she had experienced the exact same feeling when a group of highly respected village elders and seniors bowed to her. She had been terrified at the time, which finally made her understand Granny Qin’s discomfort at receiving her kneeling gratitude.

Nodding, Yun Zhen promised, "Don’t worry, Granny. I won’t do it again."

Granny Qin explained, "I’m not blaming you. Just remember from now on, unless it’s a monumental life-saving grace, don’t just drop to your knees and kowtow to people."

Yun Zhen understood.

"Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Red Sun District."

Yun Zhen got onto her little electric scooter. After turning a corner, they arrived at the neighborhood. Granny Qin exchanged a few words with the security guard, and they were let inside.

It was visibly more luxurious than the neighborhood she lived in. The tallest building in her area was only six stories high, but looking up at the rooftops here strained her eyes.

Over a dozen green trash bins were lined up neatly.

Granny Qin took out a bag and reached into a bin to rummage around. "I told you there’d be more boxes and cans here. Your hands are nimbler than mine; you’ll definitely earn ten or twenty yuan more than yesterday."

"If it weren’t for you, Granny, I wouldn’t even know about this way to make money." Yun Zhen was truly grateful.

Her hands didn’t stop moving as she picked out item after item. By the end, she had filled two bags with scrap cardboard and collected fifty aluminum cans—far more than she had gathered the previous day.

Dragging bags big and small, Yun Zhen left the district in satisfaction and went with Granny Qin to sell the scraps. There were still a few bins left unsearched, but Yun Zhen had to go to work, meaning she had to sell her collected scraps beforehand.

The dark-skinned young boss weighed everything with practiced efficiency.

"Twenty-five pounds of cardboard, fifty aluminum cans... That’s sixty-two yuan and fifty cents in total." He grabbed a stack of cash and counted out her payment.

Yun Zhen accepted the money with a beaming smile.

The young boss then counted out more cash for Granny Qin. "Granny, here’s your thirty-five yuan."

"You’re as quick as ever, kid."

The young boss chuckled and asked, "Granny, who’s this little lady? How come I haven’t seen her around before?"

Granny Qin introduced her, "This is Yun Zhen, a new young friend of mine. She’ll be coming to sell scraps on her own from now on, so look out for her."

"No problem!"

After selling the scraps, Yun Zhen and Granny Qin parted ways. She headed to the restaurant for her shift. Two hours of sweating buckets later, she earned fifty yuan.

Buy rice!

This was her top priority. Any uneaten rice could be stored as rations. However, she didn’t plan on buying it at the vegetable market. Buying it near her living quarters meant she wouldn’t have to carry it all over the place.

While strolling along, Yun Zhen noticed a small stall. A woman was threading yarn back and forth with a stick, doing something very similar to what Yun Zhen had done last night. Several young people were browsing at her stall. Once they picked out a doll they liked, they simply tapped a flat rectangular block against a piece of paper, triggering a voice that announced the payment.

Seeing Yun Zhen looking her way, the woman grabbed a palm-sized bunny. "Miss, want to take a look at these crochet dolls? They’re not expensive—fifty yuan each."

Fifty yuan!

Yun Zhen’s eyes widened. A tiny doll, no bigger than the palm of a hand, was selling for fifty yuan? That was equivalent to fifty pounds of polished rice! She had worked herself to the bone at the restaurant just to earn fifty yuan!

Yun Zhen’s breathing quickened as a money-making idea slowly surfaced in her mind, gradually coming into sharp focus.