"What class are you in?"

The one being questioned, An Ning, looked left and right before pointing a finger at herself and asking matter-of-factly, "Me?"

"Not your ma! I’m asking you, what class are you in?"

His single sentence nearly made everyone in the otherwise serious room break out laughing.

"Director, this is my sister. She doesn’t go to school."

After An Guoping spoke, he felt the director shoot him a glare. He flinched and lowered his head.

Finally, at the principal’s urging, the director got a handle on the situation.

"A bunch of little bastards, causing nothing but trouble."

SMACK, SMACK, SMACK, SMACK, SMACK.

The director slapped each of the five boys on the head, not missing a single one.

"An Guoping’s sister, what is your name?"

The rather refined principal finally turned his gaze to An Ning.

"I’m An Ning."

An Ning met the principal’s gaze, her eyes bright and her demeanor neither servile nor overbearing. "I just want them to explain the entire situation clearly. I don’t want my little brother to get a bad reputation."

"Of course. I’ll have them write self-criticism letters. We will definitely clear student An Guoping’s name."

An Ning thought for a moment, then loosened her grip on her bag strap. She turned to An Guoping and said, "Listen carefully to their apologies. If they’re not good enough, come home and tell me."

"Got it, Sis."

The siblings’ blatant and public distrust made the director on the side grimace as if he had a toothache, though he didn’t say anything.

After speaking, An Ning nodded, politely said goodbye to the principal, the director, and the teacher, then turned and left.

The crowd at the school gate dispersed. The five students did indeed write their self-criticisms and cleared An Guoping’s name, and the incident caused no further stir.

After leaving the school, An Ning followed the route from her memory to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The cooperative was a two-story building with a few steps leading up to the entrance.

An Ning walked up the steps, sidestepped someone coming out, and finally entered the co-op.

Counters lined three walls. On the left were many large vats and various sacks. A few people were in line there, holding bottles or bags.

An Ning sniffed lightly. She could smell soy sauce and Thirteen-Spices powder.

Directly in front of An Ning was a row of glass counters. Many people were bent over, picking out items. A few young children were squatting on the floor, their faces practically pressed against the glass.

But the sales clerk behind the counter had an arrogant tone as she slapped the countertop.

"Move aside, move aside! Are you buying or not? If not, get out of the way."

The people outside the counter moved away, some reluctantly, others with a touch of indignation. The sales clerk inside scoffed and flicked her freshly permed bangs.

An Ning withdrew her gaze and looked to the right.

Just then, above the right-hand counter, something zipped along a wire. A clerk’s loud voice echoed in An Ning’s ears.

"One pair of rubber shoes, two yuan."

"Cash received, take the goods."

An Ning’s eyes followed the object on the wire. At the end of the line, someone took the item from its clip while another person ran over to pay.

Finally, the customer left the co-op with a pair of rubber shoes.

An Ning found everything here incredibly novel.

She first walked a full circle. The right side had various daily necessities, the front had food, and the left had grains, oils, and the like.

As for the second floor, she hadn’t gone up yet.

An Ning stood before the counter, truly at a loss for what to buy. She barely recognized any of the products here.

She needed to buy a thank-you gift for Jiang Xia, planned to buy a dictionary, and also had to get a thank-you gift for Yin Xuemei.

As An Ning was hesitating and thinking, the sales clerk at the opposite counter grew impatient.

She expertly tapped the glass counter with two fingers.

"Are you buying or not? If not, don’t block the way."

Though it was dialect, An Ning understood. She spread her hands and said, "There’s no one around me."

It wasn’t the first time the sales clerk behind the counter had met someone who talked back, but it was the first time she’d met someone who did so with such sound logic.

Because there really wasn’t a single person near An Ning.

"Well, I’ll be damned. Not a soul in sight."

The clerk flicked her hair with one hand and looked down at An Ning condescendingly. "But there is one poor ghost here."

"You can see ghosts?"

An Ning asked with utmost sincerity, even shifting her body slightly as if to make way for the ghost.

"What’s wrong with you? How can you say that?"

The sales clerk was the first to get upset. She scowled and shouted, causing many of the people who had just entered to look their way.

"You were the one who said you could see a ’poor ghost.’ I was just expressing my admiration, since I can’t see them."

"What’s going on here?"

The sales clerk wanted to argue some more, but a middle-aged man came down from the second floor and shot her an unfriendly look. She immediately fell silent, but there wasn’t a trace of respect in her eyes. She stood up straight and gave another cold scoff.

The middle-aged man walked over to An Ning’s side, his smile warm and his attitude sincere.

"What can I help you buy today?"

"I’m not sure. I’d like to buy two thank-you gifts."

The middle-aged man was exceptionally helpful, asking about her needs, who the gifts were for, and her budget.

However, when it came time to buy, An Ning didn’t have any ration coupons.

It was only then that An Ning realized money alone wasn’t enough.

"No problem, we have things that don’t require coupons."

In the end, An Ning left the co-op carrying two bags of pastries and a fountain pen.

An Ning didn’t know that shortly after she left, that sales clerk was transferred from her post at the counter to the warehouse.

The middle-aged man was a manager at the co-op, and he’d long since grown tired of this employee who had gotten her job through connections and had the audacity to give him attitude.

An Ning was oblivious to this, and wouldn’t have cared even if she knew. After leaving the co-op, she went to the bookstore.

Once inside, she bought a dictionary directly. Luckily, it didn’t require a coupon. After her purchase, she headed straight home.

The journey back was very smooth; nothing happened.

By the time she reached the village, everyone was already out working in the fields. She took her things and went home first.

Just as An Ning entered the courtyard, she heard Lin Cuihua’s voice.

"Why are you only back now? I thought you’d be back by noon." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"I went to town and ran into Little Brother."

An Ning held up a bag of pastries. "I bought some snacks."

"Always spending money carelessly. It’s like the money burns a hole in your pocket; you can’t hold on to a single cent."

Lin Cuihua casually took the pastries from her.

"I didn’t spend it all. I still have several yuan left."

An Ning, who was getting better at understanding the local dialect, kept up with Lin Cuihua’s train of thought. But when Lin Cuihua reached for the other bag of pastries in her hand, she dodged away.

"Mom, this one isn’t for you all. It’s the thank-you gift I got for Yin Xuemei."

After saying that, she held up the other small box in her hand. "And this is the thank-you gift for Jiang Xia."

Lin Cuihua paid no mind to the pastries in An Ning’s hand; instead, she was very interested in the small box.

"What kind of thank-you gift for Jiang Xia?"

"It’s a gift for him jumping in the river to save someone and for being a witness for me."

Only then did Lin Cuihua understand. She waved her hand dismissively. "By the time you get around to it, it’ll be too late."

"Huh? Do I need to bring vegetables too?"

An Ning was lost again.