Chapter 33: All Crochet Dolls Sold Out

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: All Crochet Dolls Sold Out

Yun Zhen left the house quite early today. She first did a round of scavenging at her usual spot, then carried her bulging mesh bags over to the Red Sun District.

Not seeing Granny Qin anywhere, she walked over to the security booth to ask about her.

Before she could even speak, the security guard beat her to it. "You must be Yun Zhen. Teacher Qin had something come up today and couldn’t make it. She said you could go in and collect on your own."

So Granny Qin really hadn’t come.

The security guard opened the gate. "Go on ahead."

Left to her own devices, Yun Zhen went inside to scavenge for recyclables. The garbage in the dozen or so bins was already overflowing, so she went through them one by one.

There was even more cardboard than yesterday. However, most of it consisted of square boxes that required quite a bit of effort to break down and organize. She found sixty-five colorful cans, which brought her total to exactly eighty when combined with her earlier haul. As for the cardboard, she had collected around sixteen or seventeen pounds. She had struck it rich! Yun Zhen was overjoyed.

Wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead, she lugged the two large bags of recyclables out of the complex.

On her way out, the security guard asked with concern, "Can you manage all that? If it’s too heavy, I can drive you to the recycling station in the electric tricycle."

Yun Zhen didn’t want to trouble him. "Thank you for the offer, but I can carry it. The recycling station isn’t far from here."

The security guard nodded. "Are you going to come here for recyclables every day? My shift changes once a week. I’m on the day shift right now, and there’s another guy on the night shift. In a few days, I’ll be working nights and won’t be here during the day. If you’re coming daily, I’ll let my coworker know; otherwise, he won’t let you inside."

"Yes, I’ll be coming every day," Yun Zhen replied hastily. "Please do let him know! I’d really appreciate it!" She certainly didn’t want to lose such a lucrative source of income.

The guard waved his hand. "Got it. Off you go, then."

Reassured, Yun Zhen hauled her bags, big and small, toward the recycling station. She was a fast walker and arrived in no time.

"Just you today, little lady?" The young owner had clearly recognized her.

"Granny Qin had something to do and couldn’t make it," Yun Zhen answered.

The young owner effortlessly lifted her mesh bag full of cardboard with one hand. "The cardboard is a bit heavier than yesterday." He tossed the bag onto the scale. "Eighteen pounds! Impressive! Where did you find so much scrap cardboard?"

He truly couldn’t help but admire the young girl standing in front of him. Despite her young age, she was out scavenging for recyclables to make money. Most young people were too caught up in keeping up appearances to be this open-minded, yet she didn’t seem to care about losing face at all.

"Eighty aluminum cans!" he tallied. "Grand total is eighty-nine yuan!" He counted the money out for Yun Zhen. "Eighty-eight, eighty-nine... that eight is a lucky number for fortune. You’re going to strike it rich, little lady!"

Yun Zhen accepted the cash, feeling happier than words could describe. "Thank you."

By now, she had largely figured out the value of the different paper bills. Red was one hundred yuan, the highest value. Green was fifty yuan, blue was ten, and purple was five. There was also a smaller green bill that was worth one yuan. She carefully counted the cash in her hands. It was the exact amount.

She stuffed all the money into a plastic bag, wrapped it around tight several times, and shoved it deep into her pocket, terrified of losing it. Added to the fifty cents she had left over from buying rice and pork fat yesterday, she now had exactly eighty-nine yuan and fifty cents to her name.

With a pocket full of cash, she left the recycling station feeling refreshed and energized, heading straight to the restaurant for work.

The owner, Brother Yang, was busy prepping ingredients with his wife, Sister-in-law Yang. "You’re in a good mood today, kiddo!"

Sister-in-law Yang teased, "She sure is. Even her walk has a bounce to it. Did you find money on your way here?"

Yun Zhen felt a sweet thrill of joy. She had scavenged for recyclables and sold them for cash, which was basically the same thing as finding money. She tried her best to suppress her smile, doing everything she could to keep her expression neutral.

The moment noon arrived, the lunchtime rush flooded the restaurant until it was bursting at the seams. The owners and the two chefs made an endless CLANG and CLATTER in the kitchen. Yun Zhen and the two waitresses ran back and forth tirelessly, and the dishwashing lady didn’t even have a moment to take her hands out of the soapy water. Soon, everyone was panting with exhaustion.

Two hours passed.

Yun Zhen received her fifty yuan in wages. She carefully placed it inside her plastic bag and tucked it securely back into her pocket.

"Come on, today we’re having chicken leg rice bowls!" Brother Yang arranged lunch for the staff as soon as he caught a break.

Normally, Yun Zhen wouldn’t be entitled to staff meals since she was a part-time worker, not a full-time employee. But the kind-hearted owner, taking into consideration that she came from a welfare institution, made an exception and included her when preparing the food.

Today’s lunch was chicken leg over rice.

In the center of a white porcelain plate larger than a person’s face sat a massive mound of rice, drenched in a golden-red sauce. The sides included Mapo tofu and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Next to all this rested a chicken leg bigger than Yun Zhen’s fist, glistening with oil and emitting a mouthwatering, meaty aroma.

Yun Zhen took a bite of the tomato and egg with some rice, and she was instantly blown away. She decided right then and there that once she made enough money, she was going to plant tomatoes across her entire village! To think that such a sweet and sour fruit could be stir-fried with eggs to create such a spectacularly delicious flavor!

This world never failed to astonish her on a daily basis!

The chicken leg was tender, falling off the bone and deeply flavorful, leaving her mouth coated in savory goodness. Yun Zhen devoured every last grain of rice on her plate.

After finishing her meal, she remembered she had one more important task—she needed to sell her crocheted dolls.

She took a stroll down the street. The other vendors had massive piles of crocheted dolls for people to choose from and were actively crocheting with needle and yarn as they sat there. She only had six identical dolls, and she had no idea if they would sell.

Whatever, trying didn’t cost a thing!

She spread the mustard-yellow cloth she had scavenged onto the ground and arranged her few dolls on top. The setup looked incredibly simple, yet surprisingly, it drew a crowd of curious onlookers.

"Other stalls have their tables packed so full they can barely fit everything. How come you only have six Lazy Sheep dolls here? You haven’t even listed a price," someone asked curiously.

Yun Zhen thought back to the other crochet stalls she had seen along the way and the sales pitches those vendors had used. "I just made them casually," she said. "Sixty a piece. Completely handmade. They’re far more intricate than the ones you buy online."

Could you really buy crocheted dolls "online"? "Online" was probably the name of a store. Yun Zhen wasn’t entirely sure, but the other vendors all claimed theirs were more intricate than the ones bought online, so she just copied their words verbatim.

The customers were amused by her crude little stall.

The other vendors had clean tables draped in colorful fabrics, displaying a wide variety of beautifully crafted dolls. Her stall, on the other hand, was just a plain yellow cloth laid directly on the ground, with six identical Lazy Sheep standing in a neat row like she was playing house.

"They do look more intricate than the ones online. Those are all professionally lit, but yours look this good under natural light. They’re definitely worth sixty bucks. You should make more styles in the future, maybe some potted flowers or other dolls. They’ll sell better once you have more variety." A young woman snapped a few photos with her phone.

A moment later, she added, "Since there are exactly six Lazy Sheep, I’ll take them all. I’m graduating soon, so I’ll give these to my roommates as a commemorative gift."

Yun Zhen didn’t understand the rest of it, but she understood one thing loud and clear: this woman was buying all six dolls! Her eyes lit up. "I’ll pack them up for you."

She fished a plastic bag out of her pocket, stuffed all six dolls inside, and handed it to the woman.

The young woman’s mouth twitched, utterly rendered speechless. Three hundred and sixty yuan worth of goods, and she was packing it this casually?

Exasperated, the woman rubbed her forehead. "Where is your code?"

Yun Zhen froze. She looked down at the Lazy Sheep in the bag and said, "Goat? There are no goats! This is a sheep. Lazy Sheep!"

The young woman burst out laughing. To think that this girl, who looked even younger than her, didn’t know about scanning QR codes. But when she noticed the frostbite scars on Yun Zhen’s face, her laughter abruptly faded. This little girl’s family situation must be truly difficult.

"Good thing I always make it a habit to keep a few hundred bucks in cash in my purse." She pulled out the money and counted out three hundred and sixty yuan.

Yun Zhen joyfully accepted the cash.

They sold! They had all sold in one go!

Three hundred and sixty yuan... Such a massive sum of money could buy over three hundred pounds of rice. This path to wealth was absolutely going to work!