Starting a new chapter in life

Jingyan was naturally willing to do so. The hazel mushrooms here were really delicious. In her previous life, she had heard that the mushrooms in Yunnan were very famous, but unfortunately she never had the chance to try them. Now that she was finally about to leave the three northeastern provinces, she thought that with so many years to go, she might have the opportunity to go there and try some fresh mushrooms.

Afterwards, she went to say goodbye to Sister Gao. Sister Gao was also very reluctant to part with him, holding the braised meat. "Your rented house is valid until October this year. If you leave now, you should be able to get back eight months' rent. Although it was agreed that you need to give three months' notice to terminate the lease, your situation is special and it's an exception. When you have time, come find me and I'll take you to Aunt Chen so she can refund your money."

Jingyan naturally wouldn't refuse her kindness. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Gao. I'm waiting for news from my hometown. You know I've bought quite a lot of things over the past two years, and I can't bear to leave them all behind. My mother-in-law can help me find connections. If we can arrange for them to be shipped by train, I can bring them all back. If not, I'll have to let them go. Once I've decided on the final decision, I'll come to you to help me talk to Aunt Chen."

Gao Mei nodded: "Okay, I can handle everything on my end. You decide on your departure time first."

After leaving Gao Mei's house, she went to the meat processing plant and gave a portion of braised meat to the gatekeeper and Zhou Xuyang. The two were happy to hear that she was leaving. Zhou Xuyang also shared some news:

"Zhang Meizi, I heard rumors that the higher-ups are planning to implement commercial reforms. Our monthly market might be changed to once every two weeks or even once a week after spring. I don't know what the policies are in Yangzhou, but I'm thinking that if they really loosen up, your food business might have a lot of potential."

Your man's family should have some connections. Ask them to help you find out if you can open a small shop. With your skills, the business is sure to be successful.

Jingyan's eyes lit up: "I quickly thanked them and said a few more words to express my gratitude for their help over the past two years. Then, seeing that it was getting late, I said goodbye and went home."

He then delivered the last portion of braised meat to Chen Xinyue, thus acknowledging that he had done all the favors owed. He took a large bag of dried mushrooms from the warehouse, which he had originally intended to keep for his family until August of next year. He set aside half of them and carried the rest on his shoulder to the army canteen.

He Zhijun accompanied her, and on the way he took half a bag of dried mushrooms: "Are you going to see Chef Lin and Sister Liu?"

Jing Yan nodded: "Chef Lin is practically my mentor, and Sister Liu has helped me a lot. It's only right that we come to visit before we leave. You didn't actually need to come with me; it's not like I can't find my way."

"You go see Chef Lin, I'm going to visit Battalion Commander Gao. After all, he's my old leader, he's been with me for over five years, and I'm a little reluctant to leave him all of a sudden," He Zhijun replied with a smile.

Jingyan didn't say anything more. When they arrived at the gate of the military base, the two parted ways. Sister Liu led Jingyan to the canteen. When she arrived, the food preparation had just been completed, and there was still some time before the food was cooked. When Chef Lin saw Jingyan, he teased her: "Aren't you going back to the city? What, you're still reluctant to leave here?"

Jingyan smiled in response: "I only come back to visit when I'm about to leave, especially to see my mentor. Here, I brought dried mushrooms for my mentor and everyone. I picked them in the mountains this year. Um, some were picked by others, but I dried them myself. There aren't many vegetables in winter, so this counts as a vegetable." After she finished speaking, she opened the bag, revealing the dried hazel mushrooms inside, and the unique aroma of the mushrooms wafted out.

Chef Lin stepped forward, grabbed a handful, looked at them, and smelled them. He nodded in satisfaction: "The mushrooms you selected are of very good quality and very fresh. The weather must have been good when you were drying them. It didn't rain during the process, so they were dried all at once and evenly. Hmm, I've noticed that as long as you don't add any seasoning, your dishes are really quite good."

"I'm glad the master is satisfied." Jingyan was very happy to receive affirmation.

Chef Lin smiled: "You're going to Yangzhou?"

Jing Yan nodded and then shook her head: "I will go to Yangzhou first, which is Zhijun's home. After that, I will probably settle down in Shanghai with him. He was admitted to Shanghai Jiaotong University. From what I heard, there is a high probability that he will be assigned to a local university after graduation, so I should be there."

"The tastes of people over there are different from those in the north. People here prefer strong flavors and like to drink, so the dishes we make are generally quite salty. People in Haishi like sweet food. If you're going to use the braised meat recipe I gave you there, remember to reduce the amount of salt and increase the amount of sugar a bit. For the specific adjustments, it's best to have your in-laws taste it for you. Different places have different tastes, so you can't generalize." Chef Lin didn't forget to give her another piece of advice at this point.

Jingyan knew what was good for her and was very grateful to Chef Lin. Of course, she also kept Chef Lin's advice in mind. "Once I've settled down over there, I'll write to you. If you have the chance to visit in the future, remember to look me up. That way, I can show you my hospitality."

After chatting for a while, when it was time to start cooking, Jingyan said goodbye and left. Before leaving, she left Chef Lin two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes. These cigarettes required coupons, and even He Zhijun couldn't get them. It was Gong Haibo, who was a government official, who managed to get them for her through internal channels.

Chef Lin didn't care about anything else, but the cigarettes were a thoughtful gift, so he accepted them without hesitation. Everyone went into the kitchen, and Jingyan secretly left two bottles of Friendship Snow Cream for Sister Liu. Sister Liu hugged her reluctantly: "You're going to be so far away over there. I don't know where Lao Zeng will end up. I don't know when we'll meet again. Take care of yourself. Don't wrong yourself for others. If you ever suffer any injustice, just come to me. My family won't starve you."

Jingyan hugged her back: "Thank you, Sister Liu. I'll be fine. You should be fine too. I'll write to you and my master once I'm settled. We can't lose touch with each other."

Sister Liu nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I've remembered your promise. Your man is here to pick you up. Go back now, goodbye." She looked up and saw He Zhijun standing at the cafeteria entrance, patted Jing Yan on the back, and let go of her.

Jingyan waved goodbye to her again, and the couple went home together. On the way home, He Zhijun said, "Have we not told the landlord about terminating the lease yet?"

Jingyan nodded: "I haven't said yet. Yesterday, Sister Gao said that once we confirm when we're leaving, we should let her know, and she'll take me to see Aunt Chen so she can refund the remaining eight months' rent to me. What's up?"

“Then let’s tell Sister Gao that we won’t cancel the lease. After we leave, if Battalion Commander Gao’s family wants to move in, he will pay me the remaining rent. In October of this year, he will continue to calculate the rent with Aunt Chen. However, we should inform Aunt Chen about the change of tenants. We’ll have to trouble Sister Gao to accompany us to do that.” He Zhijun said.

"Based on our usual amount, the coal in our barn should last until May or June of next year. There are also about twenty cabbages and two sacks of potatoes in the cellar. Originally, I was thinking of sharing them with the neighbors if we couldn't take them all, but since Battalion Commander Gao's family has moved in, we'll leave them here. Let's not take those jars and cans; they're easy to break even if we ship them."

We need to take with us the pickles we made from the immature cucumbers, eggplants, green beans, peppers, and other vegetables we harvested in the fall. They were so hard to make, so let's pack them up and mail them back from the post office later. Don't carry them around on your back; it's too far to go back to Jinshi and then back to Yangshi, and it's inconvenient to carry them all." Jingyan was also counting the places where all the household items would go.

He Zhijun listened to Jing Yan's advice: "After we get our stuff back, I'll have Battalion Commander Gao's family come over to inspect the house. As for what they want to add later, that's none of our business."

A few days later, the postman delivered the registered letter. The couple opened it and looked at it: "Great, we'll ship it by mail. We still have time today, why don't you take the permit and go schedule an appointment? We're all packed anyway, so let's go ahead if we can." Jingyan glanced at her watch and urged him on.

He Zhijun took the approval slip, thought for a moment, and then asked Jingyan for a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes before going to do his business. When he returned that evening, he said, "Jingyan, we'll go out to find a vehicle tomorrow morning, preferably a large truck, so we can take everything to the train station in one trip. The train they've arranged for us departs in the evening, and we need to deliver the goods before 4 p.m. The stationmaster has reserved half a train car for us, which is more than enough to hold all our belongings."

"How much will the shipping cost be? If it's too expensive, we can cut some of the price. Also, where are you planning to find a truck? We'll need to find people to help with the moving, otherwise it's a bit risky for just the two of us." Jingyan wasn't very confident in her abilities.

“If we only need trucks, I can rent one from the military logistics department, but they won’t have any people to move things. They’d be doing us a favor by even giving us a driver. As for the cost, they said it’s based on weight, two cents per kilometer per ton. Our equipment definitely won’t exceed one ton, so based on the distance, it should be around fifty yuan.” He Zhijun frowned.

Jingyan rolled her eyes: "The transportation price is acceptable. Let's get up early tomorrow morning and take the bus to a secondhand store. We found the furniture we bought there last time, right? They have trucks and people who can help with moving things. Let's see if we can negotiate a lower price. If they're willing to do it, then it'll be simple."

“Okay, let’s go try it tomorrow. If it doesn’t work, I’ll talk to the logistics department.” He Zhijun also thought it was a feasible idea.

The next morning, He Zhijun and Jing Yan went to the secondhand store. With the end of the year approaching, the store was bustling, not because there were many customers, but because they were taking stock. When they saw an acquaintance, the man immediately came over to greet her: "Sister, it's almost the New Year, is there anything you need to buy?"

Jing Yan smiled and said, "Brother, I remember you said when I bought something from your store before that you could find trucks to help deliver furniture? I need a truck to help me make a trip here. Of course, I'll need two people to help me load the things onto the truck and unload them when we get there. Do you want to take this job?"

The man frowned, stepped closer, and lowered his voice: "Miss, what are you transporting? Where are you going? We don't go to other places; the risk is too high."

"Oh, it's just that we've been transporting all the stuff we've bought over the past two years to the train station. We're going back to the city, and my in-laws used their connections to help with the shipping. We wanted to bring the stuff back with us. You know, not to mention anything else, I just can't bear to throw away that dressing table and the mahogany bed, as well as the wardrobe and the wooden crates. Since we've already shipped it, we'll take it all. We really can't do it without a big truck," Jingyan explained with a smile.

"That would require a truck, preferably with an additional carriage. It's too tiring for just two people to carry it, especially since it's cold now. We should do it as quickly as possible. How about we assign you four people? Do you like that?" The man wanted to get two more people to make some quick money.

"Let's name a price first. If I think it's too expensive, I'd rather just rent a truck. My husband and I can just do the moving ourselves, even if it's a bit more tiring." Jingyan knew exactly what he was thinking, but as long as the price was right, it would be best if she didn't have to do it herself.

"The car rental is five yuan, and the labor is five yuan. I'll assign you four people so you can finish early and come back early, so you don't get cold. That's ten yuan in total. All you have to do is tell them what to move and what not to move. You don't have to lift a finger. How about that? It's a great deal."

"Eight yuan," He Zhijun began to negotiate.

The man shook his head: "Brother, if it weren't for the fact that this young lady is a regular customer of mine, I would have asked for ten yuan just for the fare. It's freezing cold, so how about you buy two bottles of wine for my brothers? Don't try to bargain with me."

Jing Yan pursed her lips, about to add something, when He Zhijun pulled her back and shook his head: "Ten yuan is fine. Besides the four people carrying things, you should also come with the truck. Your people will be more motivated to work if you're there."

The man thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, anyway, I don't have much business at the end of the year, so I can go with you. Shall we leave now?"

He Zhijun nodded: "The train station requires us to arrive before 4 p.m. It's better to be early than late. It's almost 10 p.m. If it's convenient, let's go now."

The man didn't hesitate any longer. He clapped his hands and said, "Brothers, I've got you a quick job. Help someone move furniture. You'll get a dollar each. Be quick and gentle. They're paying you, so don't let them get hurt, understand?"

Four men came out of the store: "Thank you, brother, we understand."

"Junzi, go to the backyard and drive that truck out, and add another trailer, just in case," the man instructed.

Upon hearing this, one of the men immediately ran to the backyard, while the others helped him close and lock the shop door. Their movements were swift and efficient, showing they were skilled workers.

"Why didn't you continue bargaining? If you're too embarrassed, I can do it myself," Jing Yan asked He Zhijun, leaning closer.

“It’s not easy for anyone to work in the dead of winter. Our family isn’t short of a couple of dollars. As long as they take good care of our fragile things, we can save that money. They move furniture all the time, so they have more experience than us in how to put things away properly and securely. This is a way to save a lot of money with a little investment.” He Zhijun tapped her nose.