Refusing to marry a widower, I went on a crazy spree of sending my children to the army.

Qiao Manman took a deep breath: "Okay!"

She turned to look at Zhou Guoping: "Uncle Zhou, thank you!"

Zhou Guoping said somewhat embarrassedly, "I was in such a hurry when I left that I didn't take any money with me, otherwise..."

"It's alright, Uncle Zhou. I have relatives in the city; I'll go borrow the money from them right away. It's getting late; let me take you to the guesthouse to rest first!"

Zhou Guoping waved his hand: "No need, I'll just rest at my brother's place for the night. His name is Zhou Guoan. If you need anything, just go to the Municipal Public Security Bureau to find him."

Qiao Manman nodded and saw him to the door. Seeing that Zhou Guoping seemed hesitant to speak, she took the initiative to say, "Thank you for your help, Uncle Zhou. I will definitely spread the word about your spirit!"

Zhou Guoping was satisfied and shook his head, saying, "Why bring that up? I'm a Party member, this is what I should do!"

Qiao Manman chuckled, thinking that people in this era really value honor. Yes, it's an era full of spirit and energy.

After watching Zhou Guoping walk away, Qiao Manman left the hospital, asked around about the nearby family compound, and then went to earn money.

How do you make money? By selling things, of course! Is there anything that brings in money faster than selling goods right now?

Qiao Manman hurried to the glass factory's residential compound and saw two aunties chatting under the big locust tree.

The two men looked kind and their clothes were brand new.

Qiao Manman rolled her eyes, walked over, blew the dust off the stone, and plopped down on it.

He pulled a large peach from his pocket, wiped it on his clothes, and then started taking a big, exaggerated bite.

He was munching on it and smacking his lips, which immediately caught the attention of his two aunts.

Qiao Manman even made a "Mmm, so sweet" sound, making the aunties' mouths water.

"Hey, what are we eating?"

"Peaches, my uncle brought these back from the south, they're so delicious!"

As Qiao Manman spoke, she handed the peach forward so that the two aunts could clearly see the juice and smell the aroma of the peach.

"We still have a few at home, but my mother said she wants to keep them to exchange for other things. Sigh!"

Qiao Manman took the peaches back and sighed deeply, "I really have never eaten such delicious peaches before. Auntie, tell me, how could my mother bear to exchange the peaches for them!"

He took two quick bites, practically devouring Fu Xianling's soul.

Fu Xianling shifted her position, moving closer to Qiao Manman, and asked in a low voice, "Hey, what's wrong at home? Judging from your situation, you don't seem like someone who needs to barter peaches for something!"

Mentioning this, Qiao Manman had something to say, and she started rambling on angrily: "A while ago, my mother found a wife for my brother, and they clearly agreed that the bride price would be 66, but the family went back on their word."

They said raising a daughter wasn't easy, and asked for an extra hundred yuan, plus the cost of a three-turn radio and a watch.

Auntie, tell me, these days, who spends hundreds of yuan to get a wife? What's the difference between that and buying a wife?

But my brother, that blockhead, is really set on that girl. He absolutely refuses to break off the engagement!

My mother couldn't refuse, and since we didn't have much money, she had no choice but to offer some of our goods in exchange...

Qiao Manman suppressed the word "money" that was about to come out of her mouth and instead said with a smile, "It's wedding supplies!"

Fu Xianling understood and patted Qiao Manman's arm, saying, "Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry; your mother has had a tough time too!"

Qiao Manman nodded frantically, not forgetting to eat the peach. In just a few seconds, only the pit remained.

She couldn't bear to throw it away, so she put it in her pocket. When she saw Fu Xianling looking at her, she smiled shyly and said, "I was thinking, these peaches are so delicious, I wish we could grow them!"

Seeing that Qiao Manman was about to leave, Fu Xianling quickly grabbed her hand: "Hey, come on, let's go to Auntie's house for a while?"

Qiao Manman looked puzzled, but she didn't stop walking.

After taking a couple of steps and glancing behind her, Fu Xianling reassured her, "That's my own sister, don't worry!"

Qiao Manman hummed in agreement and walked with Fu Xianling for two minutes before arriving at their destination—a cozy and comfortable little courtyard of about sixty square meters.

Once on her own turf, Fu Xianling was clearly not as cautious as before.

She grabbed a stool from the corner and gave it to Qiao Manman, getting straight to the point: "Hey, to be honest, I've never seen such beautiful peaches before."

Your mother needs to exchange money anyway, how about we exchange it for your aunt? Your aunt will give you three cents for each peach, what do you say?

Qiao Manman thought for a moment, then said with some difficulty, "Auntie, my peaches are a new variety. Peaches the size of eggs at the supply and marketing cooperative cost 50 cents a pound, but my peaches weigh seven or eight ounces each!"

Fu Xianling gave an awkward laugh: "Well, it was my fault, I didn't consider that. How about this, I'll give you 50 cents each, is that alright?"

Qiao Manman nodded: "I only have two. If Auntie wants them, I'll go home and get them! But one or two pieces won't solve my family's problem."

"I still have some polished rice at home, snow-white and pure. Are you interested, Auntie?"

As she spoke, she took out a dozen or so grains of rice from her pocket. The snow-white, even grains of rice made Fu Xianling's eyes deepen.

Fu Xianling immediately realized that Qiao Manman's previous claims were all excuses. Her real purpose was to sell things. She was just screening buyers.

Since that's the case, there's no need for further back and forth. Fu Xianling smiled and said, "Sure, how many do you have? How much do you want?"

Qiao Manman readily agreed: "Auntie, my rice is guaranteed to be just as good as peaches. Six cents a pound, no coupons required."

There's also crystal-clear soybean oil, 1.5 yuan per jin (500g), sold in packs of ten jin or more.

Fu Xianling thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I need twenty catties of rice and ten catties of soybean oil. What time can you deliver it? It will be inconvenient when everyone gets off work soon."

Qiao Manman didn't mind: "I'm your niece. It's not inconvenient for me to deliver something to my aunt. But don't worry, I'll come over when no one's around."

By the way, Auntie, could you take more rice? I have 100 jin (50 kg) at home, but I really don't want to keep looking for buyers like this. Acting is exhausting.

If you can take it all, I'll give you a discount of 55 cents per pound. You'll make four dollars just by reselling it.

Besides, this rice is really good; it's fragrant and soft when cooked, and it would be very presentable to give it as a gift.

Fu Xianling was somewhat tempted.

After considering her savings and thinking about the women in the residential compound who often complained to her about not being able to buy fine grains, she nodded: "Okay, I'll take care of it all!"

Qiao Manman smiled and said, "Thank you, Auntie. I'll head back now and come back when it's completely dark."

"By the way, Auntie, where are your oil drum and rice sack? I had my family put them in there directly, to save us the trouble of moving them around. It's not only a hassle, but it also makes it easy for people to notice!"

Fu Xianling was impressed by the girl's thoughtfulness and readily went back to the kitchen to get the oil drum and rice bag.

Oh my god, that big cloth bag could easily fit Qiao Manman in it. And that white oil drum, it's so thick and heavy, it's quite substantial.

Fu Xianling gave her two five-pound oil drums, one in each hand, and Qiao Manman carried them away. She turned a corner and stored the drums in her storage space.

After working for so long, it was already getting dark. Qiao Manman's stomach was churning with discomfort, but she still calmly left the family compound and found a corner to squat down.