The old woman sighed sympathetically: "You, my daughter, have suffered a great crime. You must be hungry. I'll fry some oil, salt and rice for you."
Lin Mai hurriedly said: "Mother-in-law, I have already had dinner."
The old woman glanced at her sideways: "Your father doesn't love your mother, and he was kicked out by your father-in-law and mother-in-law. Where can you eat? You are polite to me when you come to my house!"
I insisted on going to the kitchen and fried a large bowl of oil-salt rice with green onions and pickled beans. There was a lot of oil in it, and every piece of rice was shiny.
In her previous life, after Lin Mai became rich, she would not be able to eat such oily rice because it was too greasy.
But now there is no oil or water in my stomach, and it smells delicious.
Although she had eaten Yangchun noodles just now, she still finished the big bowl of oil and salt rice, mainly because the sour beans in the rice were so appetizing.
The grandfather and the old lady watched her finish eating, and they all showed kind smiles.
The old woman said angrily: "You also said you had eaten it, that's a lie!"
Lin Mai smiled sheepishly. She didn't expect that she could eat so much after being reborn.
After the meal, both parties had gotten to know each other a little bit.
The couple's surname is Fang. Their son and daughter both work in the city, leaving him and his wife to guard their ancestral home in the countryside.
After eating, Lin Mai cleaned up the dishes, boiled water for the bath, washed himself from head to toe, and washed his clothes.
Grandma Fang saw that the cotton-padded jacket she was wearing was torn, small and wooden, so she brought a new cotton-padded jacket of her own for Lin Mai to wear.
Lin Mai didn't want it dead or alive.
This was the early 1980s, when no one's life was well-off, but a new cotton-padded jacket was still very valuable.
Even if Grandma Fang's condition is good because her son and daughter all work in the city, she can't ask for her cotton-padded jacket.
They had already taken her in and given her supper, so she couldn't push her further.
After his hair was dry, Lin Mai went to bed.
Grandma Fang's house was spacious, and she arranged a large room for Lin Mai. There was a large bed in the large room.
Although the bed is made of straw, the quilt is thick and it is quite comfortable to sleep on.
Lin Mai fell asleep as soon as he went to bed.
The weather was okay the next day, it was sunny, but the sun was not strong and it was soft and not warm.
After breakfast in the morning, Lin Mai wanted to leave for the provincial capital.
Before leaving, Lin Mai secretly put fifty cents under the teapot at Grandma Fang's house.
Although she doesn't have much money, this is not a reason to take advantage of others.
Besides, she still had a few dollars on her, which was enough for her to buy a train ticket to the provincial capital and live on for a few days.
Grandma Fang said with a smile: "Maizi, wait a minute, I have a few kilograms of chestnuts that I would like you to bring to the city for my eldest grandson to eat. My eldest grandson likes chestnuts."
Lin Mai smiled and said hello.
Grandma Fang took out a small basket from the room, which was filled with local wild chestnuts.
This kind of chestnut is only as big as an adult man's thumb. Although it is small, it is especially soft, waxy and sweet.
Lin Mai had an idea. There were many wild chestnut trees in this rural area. In autumn, local adults and children loved to hunt wild chestnuts and put them as snacks for guests during the New Year.
If I buy them for a dime a pound, and then take them to the provincial capital to roast chestnuts and sell them, I should be able to sell them.
She remembered that she went to the provincial capital in 1984 in her previous life and saw that no matter what kind of snacks she sold, it was very profitable, so she started with snacks, and finally established a restaurant chain, becoming a big boss in the catering industry in Hu Province.
Although I am going to the provincial capital three years ahead of schedule, I can still give it a try.
But here's the problem, she doesn't have much money.
After hesitating for a while, Lin Mai shamelessly asked Grandma Fang to borrow money, saying that she wanted to buy chestnuts and sell them in the provincial capital.
Afraid that Grandma Fang wouldn't borrow it, she offered to deposit her household registration book with her.
Grandma Fang was a very nice person. She waved her hand and said, "The clothes you washed yesterday are still hanging at my house. It's enough to have those clothes as collateral. You don't need a household registration book."
Then he went into the room and gave her ten dollars and asked her if it was enough.
How much are those old clothes worth?
Lin Mai knew that Grandma Fang wanted to help her, and she was so moved that she kept saying: "That's enough, that's enough!"
I really didn’t expect that just by chance, I would get so much help from Grandma Fang.
After borrowing ten yuan, Lin Mai asked Grandma Fang to borrow a pole and sack.
Grandpa Fang, who had been unable to help, rushed to the backyard to get a pole and sacks.
When Grandma Fang handed these things to Lin Mai, she said: "Mai Zi, you are coming back, right? If you are coming back, just leave the things at home. How can you go into the city to sell chestnuts with a snakeskin bag on your back?"
Lin Mai left the snakeskin bag containing all his belongings at Grandma Fang's house and said shyly: "I was thinking about how to say this, and Grandma spoke first."
Grandma Fang smiled and said: "What's not easy to say? Our door will always be open for you."
Lin Mai took the money and the sacks given by Grandma Fang and went to the villages near the town to buy chestnuts.
The country road that had snowed yesterday was still a bit muddy, so Lin Mai arrived at the nearest village gliding step by step.
I saw a group of villagers gathering together to chat and bask in the sun, so I walked over and asked, "Do you have any chestnuts at home?"
"Yes, what's wrong?" The villagers looked her up and down and asked.
Lin Mai put on the cowardly and naive look that a farm girl should have, rubbed her hands and said, "I want to buy..."
Many villagers didn't take it seriously. Chestnuts were very common and wild. Even if she bought them, she would only pay a few cents.
Although farmers were still very poor in the early 1980s, they were still unwilling to sell chestnuts for a few cents because the price was too low.
Only one villager asked casually: "What price do you charge?"
"Eight cents a pound."
Although Lin Mai’s expectation was to pay 10 cents per catty, he could not reveal his trump card when he opened his mouth. The villagers had to be given room to bargain.
The villager curled his lips: "Eight points? It's too low! It's better to keep the children to eat."
Another villager said: "I won't sell it without a cent."
Lin Mai pretended to be a fool: "One dime...the price is a bit high..."
When the villagers heard this, no one paid any attention to her and continued to go about their daily routine.
Lin Mai stood there for a while, then reluctantly said, "Then just a dime."
Immediately, a villager asked: "How much do you want?"
Although Lin Mai is hardworking and hard-working, he is really not good at carrying burdens. It's not because he doesn't have enough strength, but because his shoulders can't bear it.
The burden was so heavy that my shoulders hurt.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Eighty pounds."
Several villagers said: "I'll sell it to you!" As they spoke, they ran home.
The villagers who were a little slow to respond quickly asked Lin whether he would collect wheat again in the future.
If the chestnuts sold well in the city, she would be able to collect them. If the chestnuts sold poorly, she would definitely not collect them.
Lin Mai smiled and said: "Well... I don't know. I bought it for someone else. I don't know if they want it or not."
A villager inquired: "Why does that man want chestnuts?"
How could Lin Mai tell her the truth: "They didn't tell me..."
This family bought a dozen kilograms, and that family bought a few dozen kilograms, and soon they collected eighty kilograms of chestnuts.
Lin Mai carried a heavy load of chestnuts and boarded a green train bound for Hankou Railway Station.