Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 365: Strong Connections

"Auntie, where are we going now?"

After leaving the post office, Qin Jiu held Yi Chichi’s hand, his face full of curiosity as he turned his head to look around.

Actually, there wasn’t much to see. It’s a weekday today, and there weren’t many people on the street; those who passed by were rushing.

Yi Chichi patted his head, "Are you hungry?"

"Not hungry."

They had left the house after a good breakfast. Throughout the journey, it was Auntie who rode the bike while he sat firmly as a passenger at the back. His legs weren’t tired, and he wasn’t hungry.

Thinking about how Yi Chichi had ridden the bike all the way, Qin Jiu said, "Auntie, if you’re hungry, I can accompany you to eat."

Before the words were finished, he pulled out some money from his pocket and offered it to her, "I have money, I can treat Auntie."

Yi Chichi looked at the money he handed over, reached out, and counted it: two yuan, three mao, and six fen; no notes.

But that’s not the point. The point is, "Did Great-grandpa give this to you?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, "Great-grandpa said a man must have money in hand."

That made sense.

It’s just that this man was too young.

"Alright, young man, there’s no food to eat in the state-run restaurant now, so we’ll go to the supply and marketing cooperative first."

"Okay."

So, the aunt and nephew went to the supply and marketing cooperative, where similarly, there weren’t many customers, and the employees outnumbered the patrons.

Yi Chichi came today for a big purchase; her granny’s bitter tea seed oil bottle broke and needed replacing.

Hers wasn’t broken, still good as new.

But having gotten used to changing it once a month, being able to hold on for three months was her limit. If she didn’t change it soon, she’d feel uneasy.

So, she planned to buy some cotton cloth and handle it herself—a self-reliant clothing solution.

Qin Jiu’s autumn clothes and trousers also needed replacing. Yi Chichi didn’t plan on sewing them herself but bought ready-made ones instead.

Seeing her buy one item after another, Qin Jiu’s palms began to sweat.

When she finished paying and headed toward the tobacco and alcohol counter, the child couldn’t hold back, "Auntie, do you still have money?"

"Yes."

Knowing what he was worried about, Yi Chichi said softly, "Don’t worry, Auntie brought enough money and tickets."

On the way back, she exchanged a hundred yuan of national tickets with Ning Jiandong, so spending it all would require some purchasing power.

"Can we still buy meat after buying all this?"

Qin Jiu was worried. Clothes weren’t important to him anyway. As long as he had something to wear and didn’t leave the house half-naked, new or old didn’t matter to him.

Yi Chichi’s answer was to reassure him, "As long as there’s meat left to sell at the meat stall, we can buy it."

Qin Jiu wasn’t hopeful. Even though he hadn’t been to the commune, he knew how hard it was to buy meat here.

When they reached the meat stall, they found out there was no meat left. Even the odd bones had been sold out, leaving only some pig liver and a set of intestines.

The intestines weren’t processed yet, and the way they were lying in the basket was really a sore sight.

Yi Chichi wasn’t picky and directly bought up all the intestines and pig liver.

But not being able to buy meat was always a regret, especially since the fall harvest was hard labor. Without considering Wen’s mother and Qin Jiu, she had to consider Auntie’s and great-uncle’s needs.

Without some fat, they truly wouldn’t last.

The one watching the meat stall was a bulky middle-aged woman with a round face that looked like she was smiling even when she wasn’t. She had a friendly demeanor.

Her voice was loud and full of energy. It must be the person Aunt Mu mentioned.

Seeing that Yi Chichi didn’t leave after buying her stuff, the woman said curiously, "Young lady, do you need something?"

Yi Chichi didn’t immediately answer but moved closer to her and confidentially revealed her identity, then stated her purpose.

The woman paused, looking her up and down, "Are you really Doctor Mu’s niece?"

"As real as it gets. If you don’t believe it, I can accompany you to the hospital and have my aunt confirm it."

Hearing this, the woman smiled, "Since you’re Doctor Mu’s niece, I can’t help but open some convenient doors for you. But dear, you know."

She rubbed her fingers together.

Yi Chichi, catching her drift, pulled out a yuan to give her, "Thank you, Auntie. I’d appreciate your trouble."

"No problem, no problem."

She smiled, pocketing the money. "Young lady, I won’t deceive you. This money won’t end up in my pocket. If you want meat from the meat factory at this time, I’ll have to ask my man to find someone to swap it, so this money is for them."

"Don’t worry, Auntie. I understand."

Saying this, she pulled out another fifty cents and handed it over, "This is for you."

"No need."

The woman pushed her hand away, "Keep it yourself. I have a good relationship with Doctor Mu. Taking money from you would be inappropriate."

Without waiting for her to reply, "You wait for me by the telephone pole at the street corner. I’ll come find you in a bit."

Yi Chichi, "..."

Yi Chichi reluctantly put the money back in her pocket and agreed. Under her gaze, she led Qin Jiu away from the meat stall towards the street corner.

On the way, Qin Jiu was full of questions, "Auntie, why did you give that granny money?"

"Because the granny agreed to help Auntie, that’s the fee for getting a favor."

Qin Jiu was a smart child and immediately understood what she meant.

"Then how much meat can we buy back this time?"

"I don’t know."

The meat at the meat factory was quite scarce, but as an insider, four to five jin shouldn’t be a problem.

Whether they’d give it to her all at once depended on how solid Aunt Mu’s connections were.

As it turned out, Mu Da’s connections were indeed solid.

The woman’s husband worked at the meat factory as a professional butcher and was one of the top master butchers there.

It’s said that a butcher and a doctor wouldn’t normally have a relationship, but reality finds various reasons to allow two people living on parallel lines to intersect at some point, thus forming a friendship.

The woman’s husband was in this situation; his appendicitis surgery was performed by Mu Da, and his postoperative care followed Mu Da’s instructions step by step.

He recovered well.

He also treated the woman, Lou Hongyan’s, difficult gynecological problem.

The couple was incredibly grateful to Mu Da. Even when they brought gifts to thank her, they were refused, but they always wanted to show appreciation. Over time, Mu Da gained a channel to buy meat.

This way, Yi Chichi also had the opportunity to bend the rules a bit.

As everyone knows, bypassing the rules is neither good nor ethical, but as a beneficiary, Yi Chichi wished for more such opportunities.

So, when Lou Hongyan led her and Qin Jiu to the meat factory to ask her husband, Lian Yong, how much meat she wanted, Yi Chichi’s answer was—

"If possible, as much as possible."

Lian Yong’s mouth twitched, "Do you want fatty meat or...?"

"Anything will do, I’m not picky."

"Wait, I’ll go check."

This was also a straightforward guy, tossing out a sentence before turning to leave.

After about twenty minutes, he returned with a basket.

Inside were two jin of streaky pork, four jin of rump meat, two ribs, and a front hoof.

"This is all I can spare."

"It’s more than enough."

Yi Chichi was overjoyed. Aunt Mu’s connections were truly impressive. She initially thought she’d be lucky to get three to four jin of meat, but Lian Yong and his wife had generously gathered this much for her.

The rest was simple—pay, and say goodbye.

Before leaving, Yi Chichi gave the couple some packaged sweets as a token of gratitude, in exchange for their words of "come again next time."

Qin Jiu asked her, "Auntie, will you come again next time?"