This Is Forcing Her to Make a Mistake

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Was this Section 27: Forcing Him to Make a Mistake?

They were the handsome young man and the fat thief from the Black Market.

Lin Yuzhu's eyelid twitched. She immediately reined in her emotions, glanced expressionlessly at the two of them, and lowered her head.

She suspected these two had been following her. She absolutely couldn't show any weakness here and let them notice.

She had faith in her makeup skills.

Mm, faith?

Maybe. If her conviction was strong enough, she really would believe in herself.

Lin Yuzhu sat across from them with utter calm, as if they had never crossed paths before.

Shen Bojun merely glanced at Lin Yuzhu. Seeing that she was a girl, he didn't look any closer.

Fatty Li, sitting beside him, stared at Lin Yuzhu. His eyes lit up, and his gaze became a little blank.

Lin Yuzhu's gaze immediately shot toward him like knives.

What are you looking at? Trying to act like a hooligan?

Fatty Li was so cowed that he didn't dare look anymore. He thought to himself that the little girl across from him was pretty, but a bit fierce.

At that moment, Lin Yuzhu felt that being a girl had its advantages too. People were too embarrassed to keep staring at her.

Bored of waiting for food, Fatty Li quietly chatted with Shen Bojun. "Brother, this doesn't make sense. That guy's a stranger, and his accent isn't right either. He definitely isn't local. How does he know our terrain so well? He even managed to shake the two of us off."

Lin Yuzhu's hand on her lap stiffened. With her sharp ears, she had heard every word Fatty Li said. So it really was them.

After speaking, Fatty Li was still puzzled.

Shen Bojun sat there calmly and said coldly, "I told you to lose weight, but you wouldn't listen. Now even a kid can spot you."

Fatty Li looked embarrassed. "I-I-I can't be the only one at fault here."

Shen Bojun looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Could it possibly be my fault?"

Fatty Li felt a little guilty, then immediately grinned ingratiatingly. "Heh heh, Brother, how about I ask around at some other spots later? That guy was unfamiliar. Maybe someone remembers him."

"Forget it. No need to keep wasting energy. That stuff was good, but not much different from what was already on the market. It wasn't what we were looking for."

Listening to their vague conversation, Lin Yuzhu understood the general situation. Although she had caught their attention, they weren't particularly focused on her. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't have many chances to come to town anyway. Once this storm passed, she could change her appearance and come again.

Once she relaxed, the food tasted even better.

Lin Yuzhu had been craving pork desperately. As she ate the braised pork, piece after piece went into her mouth. She finished an entire plate of braised pork with a huge bowl of rice.

The State-Run Restaurant's servings of rice really were generous.

Although the chef's skills were mediocre, the pork was genuinely fragrant. Pork in later generations truly couldn't compare. Even with few cooking ingredients, this braised pork was no worse than what restaurants in later generations served.

After eating and drinking her fill, she slipped away. Looking at the completely empty plate across from him, Fatty Li smacked his lips. "Brother, that girl across from us can really eat. She finished an entire plate of braised pork by herself."

Shen Bojun turned around and only caught a glimpse of her back. After sizing her up, he said, "She doesn't look like she's from the countryside based on what she's wearing. Her shoes are a little dirty, and the soles are worn. She's probably an Educated Youth sent to the countryside."

Fatty Li looked back. No wonder. Better not ask how he could tell, or he'd get called stupid again.

When Lin Yuzhu reached the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, she saw Wang Xiaomei standing at the entrance, looking extremely bored as she waited for her.

Who knew how long she had been waiting? Had she eaten yet?

The moment Wang Xiaomei saw Lin Yuzhu, her unfocused eyes brightened. Then she pouted unhappily. "Why did you take so long? I was afraid you'd be waiting anxiously, so I came over early."

Lin Yuzhu rolled her eyes. "Then next time, come out from Qingqing's place later. Who leaves right after eating at someone else's house? That's so rude!"

"I'm telling you, next time you should at least have some tea and chat for a while before leaving."

Whether she had gone to a relative's house or not, they both knew perfectly well.

Wang Xiaomei felt choked up. Lin Yuzhu was far too earnest. She really thought Wang Xiaomei had gone to a relative's house and even been kept for a meal. Wang Xiaomei was afraid of being found out, so she hadn't even dared go to the State-Run Restaurant. She was still hungry.

The two didn't dwell on the subject. It wasn't a big deal and didn't affect their continued shopping together.

With money in hand, how could they not take a look around the Supply and Marketing Cooperative?

Lin Yuzhu had quite a few things she wanted to buy. She wasn't short on industrial coupons right now, so naturally she had to shop.

A flashlight and matching batteries, as well as a kerosene lamp and a wooden bucket—she definitely had to buy those.

Luckily, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative had stock. There weren't many vegetables to eat in northern winters. Once winter came, people ate cabbage and carrots over and over, so every household pickled vegetables in autumn.

She put on a show and bought a pickling crock as well. Then she used sugar coupons to buy a pound of hard candy. She could give people two pieces when asking for favors, and if she wanted some herself, she could buy it from the system.

After her system leveled up again, the grocery store unlocked sweets. It had all kinds of fruit candies, soft candies, milk candies, and crisp candies. Unfortunately, their quality was too outstanding, so she couldn't take them out to sell. She could only satisfy her cravings in private.

Wang Xiaomei bought quite a few things too. At a glance, Lin Yuzhu saw that most were daily necessities: soap, toothpaste, cold cream, and the only food item, a cake.

She had really opened up!

Lin Yuzhu was a little surprised. When they had lived in the front courtyard, when had she ever seen Wang Xiaomei with these things?

Wang Xiaomei snorted and said smugly, "Hmph, now that I live alone, I don't have to worry about others taking advantage of me."

Lin Yuzhu was utterly speechless.

So you only take advantage of others.

Wang Xiaomei felt guilty under Lin Yuzhu's gaze and hurriedly pulled her along. "Let's go up to the second floor and look at clothes. We don't need cloth coupons just to look."

Lin Yuzhu didn't really want to go. It was painful to look at things she could see but not buy.

"Oh, come on, looking doesn't require coupons." Lin Yuzhu was forcibly dragged to the second floor.

The second floor sold ready-made clothing. There weren't many styles that looked acceptable. There were mostly synthetic shirts, with ordinary designs—not especially ugly, but not fashionable either.

As for the price, they were fifty-six yuan apiece, plus cloth coupons.

Lin Yuzhu had enough clothes and didn't plan to buy any. What was the point of dressing so nicely in the countryside?

As they continued browsing, Lin Yuzhu took a liking to a pair of earthy brown suede leather shoes.

The leather shoes looked a little clunky and had nothing to do with being pretty, but one look was enough to tell they were good quality. They should last three or four years without any problem.

They were much cheaper than other leather shoes, only seven yuan plus industrial coupons. She thought they would be perfect for autumn.

Lin Yuzhu gritted her teeth and bought them.

After buying them, she remembered she would need rain boots for rainy days, so she bought a pair of those too. Her feet couldn't suffer. Thinking about how she had spent over a thousand yuan on a pair of shoes in her previous life, she had never felt this pained over money.

Lin Yuzhu couldn't help sighing inwardly. She really was literally living more and more backward.

Perhaps Wang Xiaomei had let herself go ever since building her house. She actually followed suit and bought a pair of leather shoes too.

She already had rain boots, so naturally she wouldn't waste money buying another pair.

Lin Yuzhu was extremely curious how much money Wang Xiaomei had.

How could Wang Xiaomei possibly tell the truth? After buying the shoes, she immediately cried poverty. Before leaving the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, she even bought a bag of White Rabbit Milk Candy.

Lin Yuzhu smiled without saying anything. "Poor? I've watched other people eat it since I was little and always wanted to try it. Today, even if I have to empty out my savings, I'm going to taste it."

Wang Xiaomei's eyes darted around as she muttered.

"Then just buy less. You're even digging into your wages? Who would believe that?"

Wang Xiaomei protested with silence.

They weren't so lucky on the way back. They didn't come across a single Ox Cart.

Lin Yuzhu put the wooden bucket into the basket and placed the smaller items inside too.

The pickling crock wouldn't fit, so she could only carry it in her arms.

It really was heavy, and carrying it was exhausting.

So Lin Yuzhu had to rest after walking for twenty minutes.

Wang Xiaomei said irritably that she would never go to town with Lin Yuzhu again.

Lin Yuzhu couldn't have asked for more. She told Wang Xiaomei not to follow her next time.

When Lin Yuzhu truly couldn't carry it anymore, Wang Xiaomei suddenly took it from her out of kindness, but demanded ten hard candies in return.

Lin Yuzhu refused and lectured Wang Xiaomei that this was wrong. If she gave her candy, the nature of it would change. Wouldn't that be equivalent to hiring her to work?

This was forcing her to make a mistake.

Wang Xiaomei thought that was nonsense.

The two bickered all the way back to Kindwater Village. The moment they entered the village, they drew the attention of a group of older women.

They had not gone far into the village when they ran into a group of older women chatting beneath a tree.

The women could tell at a glance that the two had gone to the county seat to buy things, and they couldn't help feeling sour.

These two young Educated Youths had built houses and bought all sorts of things. They really had money.

City people really were lucky. The villagers had toiled for half their lives and might not earn as much as they did in ten years.

Among them was the wife of the village's notorious layabout. Everyone called her Auntie Li Si because Scabby Li was fourth among his brothers.

As the saying went, birds of a feather flock together. Scabby Li had poor character himself. He was lazy and greedy in the village, and he was unreasonable and overbearing. When he was young, what decent family would have been willing to marry their daughter to him? So he had married the daughter of a family with an equally poor reputation. She was now Auntie Li Si.

Auntie Li Si certainly lived up to expectations. Like her husband, she was lazy and greedy, thick-skinned, and worst of all, light-fingered. She had taken things from nearly every neighbor. Over time, she became extremely unpopular in the village.

But she was thick-skinned and didn't care in the slightest. Wherever there was excitement, she squeezed in. Seeing Lin Yuzhu and Wang Xiaomei returning with their things, she immediately rushed over.

"Oh my, you young Educated Youths really are rich. You bought quite a lot of things."

Auntie Li Si spoke with greed in her eyes, while her hands had already begun to wander.

Seeing the sour look on her face, Wang Xiaomei frowned deeply. She had been in Kindwater Village for years; how could she not know that Auntie Li Si was a notorious leech? Once she set her sights on someone, she wouldn't stop until she had pried something from them.

Auntie Li Si was terribly unreasonable, and Wang Xiaomei didn't want to deal with her. But the woman was blocking their way, so they had no choice but to go around her.

Wang Xiaomei secretly cursed her bad luck as she prepared to go around Auntie Li Si.