They walked the mountain path for over an hour. After coming down the mountain, it was another half-hour walk to Phoebe Thorne's house. Along the way, they saw an old woman selling breakfast. She was furtive and clearly running her stall in secret.
"Sticky rice balls? Ten cents each, no grain coupons needed," an old woman pushing a small cart asked them in a low voice. She kept glancing around, looking for all the world like a spy on a secret mission.
"Will we get arrested for buying this? I'm scared to," Adrian Hawthorne said, deliberately pretending to be afraid.
'For this woman to dare sell breakfast in broad daylight, things really did seem more relaxed than before.'
"Don't worry, they don't arrest the customers. I got caught once last month, but they just fined me a little and let me go. Things are more relaxed now. I heard that soon, the government will start allowing stalls. Good times are just around the corner!"
