Volume One, Chapter 12: A Life-Saving Favor, When…

There were so many things to buy, but for now, she could only pick out the most urgently needed items.

Since Gu Shen asked like this, there must be a way to solve the problem, right?

Yu Nian’an blinked her eyes.

All three of them focused their gaze on him.

Gu Shen took out a box wrapped carefully in a handkerchief from his pocket. “Here, for you.”

Looking at his face, Yu Nian’an didn’t hesitate and took it directly.

The handkerchief was wrapped with particular care, clearly protecting something precious. Yu Nian’an unwrapped it and found various industrial and grain coupons inside, along with several other types—just what she currently lacked.

Surprised, Yu Nian’an asked, "Is this… for me?"

“Mm,” he replied.

Seeing his serious expression, Yu Nian’an felt the items in her hand were almost too hot to hold. She quickly shook her head, “I can’t accept these.”

“Consider it a thank-you for saving my life.”

If it was a life-saving favor, then it wasn’t something she couldn’t use. Yu Nian’an, without hesitation, thanked him and took the coupons to the supply and marketing cooperative.

His words piqued the curiosity of the other two nearby.

What life-saving favor? What life was saved?

Once Yu Nian’an’s figure disappeared from sight, Ye Xiao grabbed Gu Shen’s shoulder firmly and asked in a low voice, “Come on, what’s really going on?”

Gu Shen stood tall, clenched his fists quietly, then slowly exhaled and recounted the incident of falling into the river that day.

Inside the shop, Yu Nian’an first went to buy oil.

“Comrade, how much is the oil?”

“Eight mao per jin, coupons and container.”

The clerk quoted prices skillfully and held out his left hand, clearly expecting the container.

Yu Nian’an was puzzled—why was a container necessary? Then she realized the oil was still sold in bulk at this time and had to leave to buy something else first.

Besides salt and flour, considering the dwindling reserves at home, she bit her lip and bought ten more jin of rice.

Finally, she chose a bar of soap from the daily necessities display.

All this shopping cost over two yuan, and when she came out of the cooperative again, both her arms were full.

Gu Shen had already told the other two about her act of bravery. Ye Xiao, who had already been impressed by her earlier that morning, felt their friendship deepen and stepped forward to help carry some of her burden.

At first, Yu Nian’an resisted, holding firm to her belief in staying away from the protagonists, but eventually, persuaded by Gu Shen, she quietly let go.

“Comrade Yu, anything else you need to buy?” Lin Zhi came over and asked.

Remembering the oil situation, Yu Nian’an glanced at the butcher’s shop across the street.

Since no container was allowed, she thought of buying some fatty pork instead. Lard was still oil, and the rendered residue could serve as a meat dish. Her stomach had been suffering lately, so why not indulge a little?

“I need to buy some meat.”

“Meat?”

Lin Zhi was surprised but quickly looked at Yu Nian’an’s thin frame and thought she should eat something nourishing. She didn’t ask further and went along.

Fatty pork was relatively cheap and required fewer coupons. Yu Nian’an calculated the cost for rendering the oil and finally asked the butcher to cut her five jin.

She nearly bought all the remaining fatty pork at the stall.

After wrapping up the remaining coupons and returning them to Gu Shen, Yu Nian’an, who had been saved from an urgent plight, began pondering how to repay the favor properly.

She wrapped the pork in the butcher’s rough oil paper. The other three saw it but didn’t comment.

After all, buying so many things at once would surely attract attention.

They all understood the principle of not flaunting wealth.

The four of them then headed back to the place where they had gotten off earlier. Along the way, Ye Xiao took the chance to buy several large fried dough cakes and handed one to Yu Nian’an.

“Eat it while it’s hot. That way, you won’t have to cook when we get home.”

Yu Nian’an didn’t refuse. Admiring his generosity, she took small bites.

Upon arriving, the tractor was already filling up with people. Ye Xiao had experienced the rough treatment near the railing before and was glad they had arrived early this time.

After finding seats and setting down the goods at their feet, someone with sharp eyes noticed the two large baskets Yu Nian’an had brought back and couldn’t help but ask, “Annie, what did you buy all this for?”

“Wasn’t Aunt Chunxing asking me to bring some vegetables for her son this morning? Now that he got some welfare from the factory, he’s asked me to bring some back.”

Yu Nian’an knew these people would be curious about what she had bought. Thanks to Aunt Chunxing’s cover story, which everyone had seen that morning, no one doubted her.

The other three, knowing the truth, listened to her serious nonsense and tacitly kept silent.

More people arrived gradually, and once everyone was there, the tractor rumbled noisily, starting the journey home.

On the way back, Yu Nian’an was still thinking about how to return the favor. Judging by how easily Gu Shen had produced so many coupons, he must come from a well-off family and lacked nothing, which made the matter trickier.

Lin Zhi, being talkative, sat beside her and occasionally struck up a conversation.

The return trip seemed faster than the way there, and before long, they reached the village entrance.

The sent-down youth group was headed in the same direction as Yu Nian’an. Since she had many things, the other three voluntarily helped carry some.

Having experienced the scene at the supply cooperative earlier, Yu Nian’an had quietly consented to their assistance. After walking a while, she noticed Gu Shen seemed to be carrying nothing. Wondering if he had given her the coupons because he didn’t have enough for himself, she asked cautiously.

Not wanting her to overthink, Gu Shen shook his head immediately. “I don’t need anything. I brought everything with me when I came down.”

Yu Nian’an looked at him skeptically. “So you’re just tagging along for the fun?”

Gu Shen remained silent. Ye Xiao, who had been eavesdropping nearby, stepped over and answered for him.

“He’s going to send a letter home to let them know he’s safe.”

Relieved by this explanation, Yu Nian’an dismissed her various conjectures.

They were almost home now, and her gaze was drawn to the newly built courtyard wall, overlooking the gloom on Gu Shen’s face nearby.

She hurried to the doorstep and measured the wall. It was now taller than her head. If she hadn’t asked for it to be built higher, it would have been considered complete.

Lin Zhi walked over, looked around the courtyard, and spoke enviously, “Comrade Yu, your little courtyard is really quite something.”

The words made Yu Nian’an’s heart skip a beat.

Could the plot really be so inescapable?

She had said walking with the main characters never brought anything good!

Even though she had avoided the original owner’s fatal predicament, the heroine still had her eye on this house.

Just as she was thinking of saying something to dispel this notion, Lin Zhi leaned close and whispered, “Comrade Yu, how are the wages and material costs calculated over here?”

Yu Nian’an glanced at her, puzzled by the question.

“There’s only one toilet at the sent-down youth site, which isn’t very convenient. I was thinking of building another, separated by gender, to avoid some trouble,” Lin Zhi said tactfully. Yu Nian’an understood the implication.

As long as they weren’t after her house, she was fine.

She pointed toward Uncle Jianping working nearby.

“If it’s just building a toilet, Uncle Jianping can handle it alone. As for materials, I honestly don’t know how much is needed. Maybe you can ask him later?”

Uncle Jianping was busy mixing a fresh batch of yellow clay. Seeing her return, he nodded in greeting.

Yu Nian’an still had to deliver the items she brought back to Aunt Chunxing’s house, so she told Lin Zhi to wait a moment. She would be back soon.