Chapter 99: My Lips Are Sealed

Chapter 99: My Lips Are Sealed

Huang Ying felt grateful to Jiang Yu and wanted to invite her to stay for a meal.

But Jiang Yu had agreed with He Tingyue to eat at home, so she declined politely.

Huang Ying smiled and said, “I can’t keep you here. I have some Sichuan-style cured meat and sausages, given by a friend. I’ll give you a few pieces to take back as a wedding gift from me.”

These Sichuan-style sausages were sent by a friend from Sichuan province—a whole big box, salty and spicy, perfect for rice.

Jiang Yu accepted with a smile and thanked her.

“Okay, Uncle, Auntie, Feifei, I’m heading home now. I’ll stop by the supply store next time to chat.”

Xie Feifei responded, “Next time, accompany me to the department store. Lin Chang’an is going to buy me a watch; help me pick a style.”

“Sure, I’ll remember that.”

As soon as Jiang Yu left, the neighbor next door to the Xie family came over.

“Hey, Huang! Hey, Huang!”

Huang Ying paused, her smile fading a little.

“Auntie Tang, what’s up?”

“I overheard that you can get cotton? Actually, it’s through an exchange!”

She had overheard by chance and didn’t expect there was such a capable person in the Xie family.

Huang Ying looked hesitant. “Auntie, you misheard.”

Auntie Tang hurriedly said, “The price isn’t a problem; I’ll pay whatever it costs. I want to make a cotton coat for my grandson, please help me! I absolutely won’t tell anyone!”

Huang Ying then relented. “It’s one yuan per jin (about 500 grams). That’s the price.”

Auntie Tang nodded repeatedly. “I know; I asked about it last time.”

What she didn’t say was that she heard the price had gone up now.

“How many jin do you need, Auntie?”

“Is five jin okay?”

Huang Ying didn’t agree immediately. “I’ll have to ask, but you can’t tell anyone.”

Auntie Tang agreed repeatedly, “You can count on me; I won’t say a word. My lips are sealed.”

Not long after Huang Ying closed the door, someone knocked again.

When the door opened, it was another neighbor from the same alley.

“Hey, Huang, we heard from Old Tang that you can get cotton here?”

Huang Ying cursed inwardly. When has Auntie Tang ever kept a secret!

……

After leaving the Xie family, Jiang Yu headed to the market with the ration card He Tingyue had given her. At this time, only a big cabbage and some potatoes were left.

Winter's coming, and veggies are getting scarce.

She figured she could fry up some potato shreds with two potatoes.

No need to buy meat; I still have the cured bacon and sausages Huang Ying gave me.

After buying the cabbage, she headed home and ran into Jiang Ye at the alleyway entrance.

"Why are you sitting out here? Why didn't you just wait inside?"

Jiang Ye stood up, "Sister, I went inside, but you weren't home."

He was waiting at the alley entrance to avoid any gossip.

Jiang Yu shrugged it off, "Let them talk. They've said plenty about me anyway. Come on, I was actually looking for you."

Jiang Ye was still holding a bag of peaches, which intrigued Jiang Yu.

"Such big peaches, how come there are still peaches at this time of year?"

Jiang Ye replied, "Sis Yunshan asked me to deliver them. Apparently, Hui's friend's family in Pinggu County has a village with many peach trees. These are from the late harvest."

The best time to pick these peaches was in July or August, and now it was already October, leaving only a small portion.

When Jiang Yu opened the bag, she found over a dozen plump, red peaches inside.

"That’s a heavy load! Did you carry all this by yourself? You must be exhausted!"

Jiang Ye felt warm inside, "It's nothing. I'm not tired at all."

As soon as Jiang Yu entered with Jiang Ye, the bag of peaches caught someone's attention.

These days, even veggie scraps are hard to find, let alone fresh fruit.

Peaches were practically a luxury now.

"Jiang Yu, these peaches look fresh. Can you spare two for me? My Liangzi hasn't had fruit in a long time," asked Mrs. Sun, boldly.

She didn't like apples but loved peaches, whether soft or crisp.

Jiang Yu outright refused, "I'm really sorry, Auntie, but I’ve got a bunch of kids at home. These peaches aren't even enough to go around."

If she gave away two peaches, others would ask for some too.

With only a dozen peaches, how could she share them with everyone?

Mrs. Sun pouted, clearly upset, and muttered, "So stingy."

Lin Hongxia narrowed her eyes, "Jiang Ting, those peaches were brought by your brother, right? He's your brother too, so why did he only give them to your elder sister and not you?"

Jiang Ting was, of course, aware of Jiang Hao and Jiang Ye's situation.

But she didn’t really care much. Who was her brother didn't affect her much.

However, seeing Jiang Ye give things only to Jiang Yu made her feel a little uncomfortable.

She walked out and called, "Jiang Ye!"

Jiang Ye turned around, "Sister Jiang Ting."

Noticing he was still being polite, Jiang Ting's expression softened a bit.

"Since you're here, why not visit your second sister's house? You don't think much of me, huh?"

Jiang Ye shook his head, "No, I have something to ask your elder sister."

Jiang Ting responded, "Then shouldn't you give me half of those peaches?"

Jiang Ye continued to shake his head, "These peaches weren't given to her by me. They're from her friend. I'm just delivering them on her behalf."

Jiang Ting's face stiffened in embarrassment and she awkwardly pulled her hand back.

Someone couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I've never seen someone so bold as to ask for food. What a nerve!"

The person who said this was Zhao Qing. She originally intended to mock Jiang Ting, but then saw the ugly expression on Mother Sun and remembered that she had also asked for the peaches earlier.

"Mom... I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Sister-in-law Jiang."

Mother Sun sneered, "Go mop the floor at home. Have you wiped the table clean yet? Hurry up and cook. When Liangzi comes back and there's no food, do you want to starve him to death?"

Zhao Qing felt like she was being picked on. Mother Sun was just finding ways to make her work harder.

She had to come back at noon to cook even though she was working.

The floors and furniture didn’t need daily cleaning—they weren’t that dirty.

Jiang Yu led Jiang Ye inside and closed the door behind them, shutting out the gazes.

Once they were inside, Jiang Ye asked, "Sis Yunshan asked me to ask you if you're still buying cotton."

The few households that sold cotton earlier had received fabric coupons from Sixie.

They hadn't kept it a secret, and the villagers were envious. They also wanted to sell cotton to save some fabric coupons for the winter.

"Yes, I'll go find Sixie today. You and Sis Yunshan can handle it yourselves. A few hundred pounds shouldn’t be a problem. Also, save twenty jin for me. I'll give them to my friend."

Jiang Ye nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I need to go back and tell Sis Yunshan. I'll be on my way then."

Jiang Yu said with some irritation, "It's mealtime. We happen to have some bacon and sausages. Stay for a meal. You're not an outsider, so why are you being so polite?"

Jiang Ye felt a bit uneasy, "Is it okay if I stay?"

"No problem, I'll wash a few peaches. We’ll share them when your husband gets back."

Jiang Yu picked out four peaches. These peaches were big, and they would be cut up to share later.

The first to return was He Feiyan. Her school was nearby, so the journey was short.

"Wow, there are peaches! Such big peaches!"

Jiang Yu smiled, "Sis Wang brought these for us. Go wash your hands, and I'll cut them up for everyone to share."

He Feiyan smiled and, after washing her hands, noticed Jiang Ye.

"Oh, the little bro is here too!"

Jiang Yu: "..."

Jiang Ye: "...?"