My Wife is the Vicious Supporting Character from an Era Novel - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

◎Not the Only One◎

The food station and the supply and marketing cooperative weren’t too far apart. After riding for a while, Ji Baiqing completely mastered the technique and soon arrived at the food station. Pushing the shiny bicycle inside, she felt a little sad watching the wheels roll through the sewage on the ground. However, when she saw the rows of pork on the butcher’s counter, her eyes immediately lit up.

The two of them started to line up, discussing what to buy. In the end, as Ji Baiqing watched the amount of meat on the counter get smaller and smaller, she gave up. “Let’s see what’s left later.” They should have bought the meat first and then eaten, but neither of them remembered. It wasn’t until they had walked through the whole supply and marketing cooperative that they remembered they needed to buy meat.

When it was their turn, there were only a few large bones, a pig’s head, and some offal left on the cutting board. The pig’s head and offal were a few cents cheaper than pork, at nine cents per pound. The bones were eleven cents. Ji Baiqing asked for a pair of pig ears, half of the offal, and all the bones. The butcher was a strong, burly woman with a high belly. It looked like she was in the late stages of her pregnancy.

Ji Baiqing asked a nosy question, “Comrade, how many months along are you?” The butcher laughed heartily. “Six months, but it’s twins!” Perhaps because she found Ji Baiqing and Wen Miao to be pretty and kind, she looked a little worried and said a few more words, “I want to go home and rest, but unfortunately, the higher-ups haven’t found a suitable person to take over my job.”

Ji Baiqing’s heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She asked another question, “Then, comrade, is your salary low? Otherwise, why can’t you find anyone?” The butcher nimbly helped her divide the meat and weigh it. “Our line of work definitely makes money, but not many people have the skill to butcher a pig!” “Here, take it. It’s twelve yuan, and there are twelve catties of meat coupons!”

Wen Miao gave her the money and pulled Ji Baiqing’s sleeve to signal for her to leave. After buying another basket of eggs, the two of them had already reached the entrance of the food station. Wen Miao saw that she was still in deep thought and asked her, “What’s wrong? You’re not thinking about butchering pigs, are you?” She just asked casually. Although she knew Ji Baiqing was strong, it was too bloody for a woman to butcher a pig. It took several men working together to butcher a pig.

To her surprise, Ji Baiqing seemed to have a burst of energy. She looked up and said resolutely, “I want that job!” “Hey…” Before Wen Miao could say anything, Ji Baiqing turned and ran back to the butcher’s counter. She had no choice but to push the bicycle and follow behind her.

Ji Baiqing ran to the counter, but the meat was already sold out. She looked at her watch. It was only ten o’clock. The butcher was wiping her knife and cleaning up the mess on the table. Ji Baiqing, as if they were old friends, helped her wipe the counter and asked, “Comrade, who should I talk to if I want this job?” The butcher didn’t think too much of it. “If you have a relative who wants to come, you can go to the food station director.” She pointed in a direction. “The director is usually in that office.” Ji Baiqing thanked her. “Thank you, comrade!”

On her way out, she ran into Wen Miao and took the bicycle from her. Wen Miao walked beside her and asked in a low voice, “Are you really going to butcher pigs?” Ji Baiqing could guess her worries. She listed the benefits for her on her fingers. “Yeah, this job is pretty good. I can make money, and maybe I can even eat meat without a coupon every day.” She looked at Wen Miao’s cheeks, her voice sinking. “I feel like you’ve gotten thinner.” Ji Baiqing had always wanted to fatten Wen Miao up, but she was getting thinner and thinner by her side. Her chin was pointy. What kind of a look was that!

What’s more, the dishes they usually ate were all vegetables. She could also sense that Wen Miao was craving meat, but she was too well-behaved to say it. Although she had meat coupons, they would eventually run out. She couldn’t just sit around and wait for them to be used up. She also wanted to improve her family’s life with her own ability so that He Xiangyue and the others could live better.

Wen Miao subconsciously touched her face and retorted, “No, it’s actually fine.” But under Ji Baiqing’s sympathetic gaze, her voice got softer and softer. Finally, she said, “It’s a good thing I bought the bicycle. It’ll be convenient for you to come to town later.” Ji Baiqing said to Wen Miao with a smile, “That’s right, Wen Miao is my lucky star.”

Wen Miao was not used to such scenes and asked in a very unromantic way, “Can you butcher a pig? What if they don’t want you?” Ji Baiqing: “Actually… I have some experience. Do you believe me?” Seeing the woman’s face full of questions, Ji Baiqing made a joke, “Last year, my dad was sick, and I went to butcher a pig for him. In the end, I got kicked by the pig.”

Wen Miao was stunned. “Then you definitely shouldn’t go.” Ji Baiqing held back a laugh. “I was just kidding, you idiot.” “I really did butcher a pig for my dad last year, but I did it all by myself. The pig was very fierce, but I’m strong. I raised my hand and the pig was gone.” Wen Miao realized she had been played again and pinched her again. “You’re so annoying.” Her tone was sweet, as if she was pouting.

Ji Baiqing’s heart melted. She pushed the bicycle to the side of the road. “Get on. Let’s go get our things.” Before they went back to the supply and marketing cooperative to get their things, they went to the post office. After giving their names, the staff member first gave Wen Miao a large package, a tightly bundled cloth bag. It was quite heavy to lift. She didn’t know what was inside.

Wen Miao mailed the letters she and Ji Baiqing had written. In addition, He Xiangyue and the others also found a full bag of mountain goods, such as red dates, dried mushrooms, and dried bamboo shoots, and mailed them to Beijing. After taking care of everything, it was almost twelve o’clock, so they went to the state-run restaurant for lunch. Today’s special braised pork tasted good. The lean and fat were mixed, and it left a pleasant taste in their mouths. Ji Baiqing simply rented a lunch box to pack some for He Xiangyue and the others to try.

The two of them bought so many things that the bicycle couldn’t carry them all. In the end, Ji Baiqing hired a person in town for twenty cents to follow them and help them bring the things back.

Today was a rest day for Yunshui Village. Under the big banyan tree at the village entrance, old women and men were sitting and basking in the sun, along with some aunts and uncles. When they saw Ji Baiqing and Educated Youth Wen riding back on a bicycle, they were stunned. “Good heavens, did Qing girl buy a bicycle?” “It must be Educated Youth Wen who bought it. Doesn’t Qing girl have a good relationship with her?” “My goodness, I wish I had told my daughter to stick to that educated youth too!” The stubble-faced man took a puff from his leaf cigarette, his tone full of regret.

“Aunties, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, how are you!” Ji Baiqing greeted them and then sped off under their watchful eyes. An ox cart also followed slowly behind them, leaving only a pile of cow dung on the ground.

Hearing the commotion outside, He Xiangyue came out of the living room and her eyes widened when she saw the things in the courtyard. She slapped Ji Baiqing. “You wasteful daughter, why did you buy so much stuff!” Then she saw that even her daughter’s clothes were brand new.

Ji Baiqing knew she would be misunderstood, but she didn’t explain. She just said, “It’s a rare trip out. We bought all the things we need.” He Xiangyue squatted down and looked through the things. Indeed, most of them were things they needed. But when she saw the clothes, fabric, bicycle, and large pieces of meat, she asked suspiciously, “Where did you get so many coupons?” Wen Miao, for some reason, also felt a little guilty. She explained, “Auntie, I actually bought this. I have the money and the coupons.” He Xiangyue looked at the beautiful girl and hesitated, but in the end, she advised her, “Miaomiao, money is not easy to come by. You should be more frugal.” Wen Miao nodded like a little chick pecking at rice.

Ji Baiqing found it a little funny to see the woman be so submissive in front of her mom. This person had two different faces when she was with her and when she was with her mom. After giving the delivery person twenty cents, she let her go. It was then that He Xiangyue saw the big black thing. Her eyes widened. “A bicycle!” Ji Baiqing spoke before her. “Mom, I have some good news to tell you.” He Xiangyue: “What?” “The food station in town is hiring a pig butcher. I can go. Wen Miao knew this and specially took me to buy a bicycle so it’ll be convenient to go back and forth.”

Hearing this, He Xiangyue’s mouth couldn’t stop smiling. “Really? Then you better work hard, my daughter!” She then looked at Wen Miao, her eyes full of gratitude. “Miaomiao, you’re such a good child. How much did the bicycle cost? Auntie will pay you back!” Wen Miao glanced at Ji Baiqing. “Auntie, it’s not needed. I’ll also be using this bicycle when I go to town later.”

Ji Baiqing agreed. “That’s right. Although we spent a lot of money, we also saved money. If I take the ox cart, it’s two cents back and forth every day. In one or two years, that’s more money. A bicycle is different. It can be used for ten or twenty years. One bicycle can be passed down for generations. The people may be gone, but the bicycle is still there!” After talking nonsense for a while, she patted the back of the bicycle. “Mom, get on. I’ll take you for a ride around the village so everyone will know that our Ji family has a car.” After saying this, she glanced at Wen Miao. Seeing that she had no objections, she became even more confident. She and Wen Miao were good friends. What was Wen Miao’s was hers!

He Xiangyue’s heart was indeed moved by these words. She pretended to be reserved for a while and finally got on the back seat. She had to show those gossips in the village who said she was a failure for only giving birth to a daughter!

Watching the mother and daughter ride out on the bicycle, Wen Miao moved all the things she had bought into the room and moved the rest of the things into the main hall. After she went back to the room, she looked at the tightly wrapped package, wondering what was inside. But she also wanted to wait for Ji Baiqing to come back and open it with her. She didn’t know when, but the first person she thought of was always Ji Baiqing.

She patted her cheeks to cool down her face. Suddenly, she heard a noise in the courtyard. Thinking it was Ji Baiqing and her mom coming back, Wen Miao left the room. But what she saw was a somewhat unfamiliar girl. Li Wenwen walked into the courtyard and felt it was strange to see Wen Miao. Who was this person? She had never seen her before, and she was so beautiful. Wen Miao also asked the same question, “Who are you?”

Li Wenwen smiled and introduced herself, “Hello, I’m Li Wenwen, the village chief’s daughter. I was in high school in town until today when I got a holiday.” “I’m Baiqing’s good friend. Is she not home?”

Good friend…

Wen Miao chewed on the word a few times in her mouth. Her heart inexplicably felt a pang. Ji Baiqing’s words from this morning were still in her ears. She said she was only friends with her. Then who was the person in front of her? In a place Wen Miao didn’t know about, Ji Baiqing had other good friends. Seeing the beautiful woman in front of her not saying anything, Li Wenwen was a little confused. Just as she was about to repeat herself, the beautiful woman suddenly ran into Ji Baiqing’s room. With a bang, she closed the door with a heavy thud.

Li Wenwen was confused. What just happened?