Chapter 12: Old-fashioned Paper-Wrapped Candy

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“Dad, I can’t finish it. If you don’t mind, you can eat the rest of my noodles!” Bai Xue could not eat anymore after eating half of it. The original owner of the body had a small appetite and it was a generous serving of noodles, so she could not finish it.

“I don’t mind at all. Just pour it into my bowl!” Bai Daliang was still eating his own noodles. Actually, he could sit up, but the doctor said not to sit up first or move around since he had a concussion. He could only lie on his side and eat with difficulty. However, it did not make the noodles any less scrumptious.

However, it made sense. In this era, no one would despise it. As long as the soil did not get into the food until it was unfit for consumption, it made no sense to have a problem eating some leftover white noodles.

Bai Xue poured half a lunch box of noodles into Bai Daliang’s bowl. After waiting for a while, An Quanzi and Bai Daliang finished their noodles. She took the lunch boxes and washed them.

On the way back, she took out a handful of old-fashioned paper candy from the interspatial supermarket.

“Uncle Quanzi, when you get back, can you give this candy to Liangliang and the kids?” She returned to the ward and handed the candy to An Quanzi.

There were not many. There were only six pieces of candy, and each of the kids could get two. At this time, each piece of candy cost roughly $0.01. She did not dare to take out more, but she really wanted to thank Uncle Quanzi for helping to send her father to the hospital. It was reasonable to give him a few pieces of candy.

“No, don’t. I can’t take it. When we get back, just give them to Yun, Chuan, and the others! I can’t accept it!” An Quanzi waved his hand and refused to take the candy.

After eating a large lunch box of white noodles, it was too much to take other people’s candy. He touched his bulging stomach and could not accept it.

Bai Xue looked at him and sighed in her heart. Most people in this era were still simple and honest.

“Uncle Quanzi, I’ve bought my younger brother and sister’s candy as well. These are intended for your kids. You can bring them back for the kids to eat. Since we are in hard times, I only managed to get a few pieces. I hope you don’t mind!” Bai Xue forced the candies into An Quanzi’s hand.

Since she had already said so much, An Quanzi could not refuse. Hence, he took the candy and carefully placed it in his pocket.

“Alright then. I’ll bring it to them! Take good care of your father! I’ll go back and return the ox cart first! Your second uncle should be coming over later. Get him to send a word. When your father is discharged, I’ll come and pick you up!”

“Okay! Uncle, take care on the road! I’ll keep an eye on Dad, so don’t worry! Help me go home and tell my mother that my father is fine. He’ll be back in two days!” Bai Xue spoke like an adult.

“Quanzi, can you get your wife to check on mine? She just gave birth to two children, but I got into this accident. She can’t even do her confinement in peace… Sigh…” Bai Daliang lay on the bed and sighed.

“Don’t worry, Daliang. Rest well and don’t worry about your family! I’ll be leaving then!” An Quanzi put on his thick winter hat with ear flaps and walked out.

Bai Daliang was still looking at the door and sighing.

“Dad, sleep for a while! The more you sleep, the faster your wound will heal. When your concussion is not so serious, we can go home and recuperate. You brought back food supplies this morning, as well as the white sugar and two eggs I hid. Mom and my siblings will be fine!” Bai Xue comforted him.

“I’m fine. Xue, you should rest for a while too!” Bai Daliang had a lot to say, but he could not say anything. He was a dumb person to begin with.

“Alright then. Dad, go to sleep. Don’t worry about me!”

When Bai Xue looked out the window, it was already dark since it was winter and the sun set early. It was probably past 3 o’clock. Second Uncle should be here soon. She had to find an opportunity to prepare 50 catties of yellow millet for Uncle Wang. She had made plans to meet him after dark and it was almost time.

The black market price of fine grain was $1.50. She needed money now, so she could only take out fine grain to trade with him. In any case, yellow millet was not really considered fine grain to her.

Bai Xue accompanied Bai Daliang for a while. Seeing that he had fallen asleep, she gently got up and walked out.

She still had to go to the hospital canteen to order food. It was fine if they did not eat at night, but Second Uncle had walked over from so far away. He would be cold and hungry by the time he got here, and it was almost dark. He would definitely have to spend the night here, so she had to prepare food for him.

To be honest, after seeing Third Uncle’s behavior and looking at Second Uncle, she made up her mind to treat him well.

When Bai Xue arrived at the canteen, there were a few people ordering food.

“Comrade, I need to reserve a meal for three!” Bai Xue walked forward and said to the younger man working in the canteen.

“That’s $2.20 food stamps each!” The young man said calmly.

Bai Xue was stunned when she heard that. She did not realize she had to use food stamps here as well. She only had $2.50 in her hand and did not have any food stamps.

“Comrade, can’t we order food without a food stamp?” Bai Xue asked cautiously.

“That’s fine, but you have to bring your own food supplies. This way we won’t charge you for the ingredients, but you have to pay $0.50 each for preparing them.”

Bai Xue looked at the large bowl used for the food. It was indeed quite big, enough for three people.

“Then what are the dishes?” Bai Xue wanted to order.

“Tonight’s dishes are cabbage stewed with potatoes!” The canteen staff became impatient.

Bai Xue was stunned again. Only one dish was available. She was still thinking about what to order.

Seeing that the other party did not look too good, she did not ask further and quietly left.

Bai Xue had to take out some more food and send it to the canteen for preparation. She had to buy some food for the three of them to eat at night. She could not go to the state-run restaurant. The moment she took out the white flour at lunchtime, the chef promptly noticed it. She had to keep a low profile and not draw attention.

According to the canteen staff, an adult ate roughly 3.5 ounces of rice. She used to cook, but she had never seriously weighed the rice before cooking, so she simply did as she was told. If each adult usually ate 3.5 ounces of rice, she probably could not finish it. She simply weighed half a catty of rice from the interspatial supermarket and took out another cloth bag intended for down jackets.

Bai Xue looked at the half a catty worth of sorghum rice in her hand. She did not dare to take out fine grains and could only make do with this.

In the future, if she had the chance, she had to make some cloth bags. They would surely come in handy for her. The down jacket’s fabric bag certainly did not look like something that existed in this era.

Bai Xue turned around and went back. “Comrade, here’s half a catty of sorghum rice. I’ll buy another bowl of vegetables!” Bai Xue handed half a catty of sorghum rice to the waiter and gave him $0.50.

“Alright. Come and collect the food in an hour!” After saying that, the young waiter turned around and went back to work.

After delivering the food to the canteen, Bai Xue returned to the ward. Other than Bai Daliang, there was no one else in the ward, so she went to lie on another bed and closed her eyes. Her consciousness entered the interspatial supermarket. After weighing out 50 catties of yellow millet, she realized that she could not carry so much food.

“What’s going on? What should I do?” Bai Xue muttered subconsciously.

The next second, she realized that her body was physically standing in the interspatial supermarket. She was so startled that she hurriedly shouted and immediately returned to her lying position in the ward.

Only then did she understand that she could not do much after entering the interspatial supermarket using her consciousness, nor could she stay for long. If she wanted to move heavy things, she had to enter physically.

Just as she was about to stand up and go back into the supermarket, her second uncle appeared at the door covered in frost.

“Hi, Second Uncle…” Bai Xue hurriedly stood up to welcome him.

“Is your father alright?” Bai Dajiang asked before he could take off his hat to warm himself up.

“My dad’s fine now. He had a few stitches on the back of his head. He just fell asleep after getting an IV drip.”

“That’s good, that’s good!” Bai Dajiang said as he walked in.