Su Yun quickly called back, "Just a moment, I'll be right out!"
She washed her hands briskly and went out to handle the scrap purchase.
The ones selling scrap were an elderly couple. Their small handcart was piled high with old, broken furniture.
Su Yun touched each item in turn but heard no notification from the system. So, following the recycling station's rules, she weighed the items and calculated the price accordingly.
The entire cart of furniture sold for twenty-eight cents.
The old couple looked very satisfied. They counted the money several times before leaving slowly.
Su Yun stacked the furniture with the other scrap items and then returned to digging through her "mountain of gold."
By the end of the morning, she had turned over the small hill of junk in the yard and earned a total of 279 yuan. Her system balance rose to 6,957 yuan.
Humming the national anthem cheerfully, she only hoped that more people would come to sell scrap!
At noon, Su Yun opened the lunch Chen Xiue had prepared for her. Inside were mixed-flour steamed buns and a boiled egg. She peeled the egg and ate leisurely while opening the system supermarket. Without hesitation, she spent one yuan on a purple-skinned sugarcane stalk.
The sugarcane was more than half a head taller than she was. She found a knife and deftly chopped it into sections, planning to bring them home for her family to enjoy that evening.
She had just finished cutting and placed the pieces beneath the counter when she heard footsteps outside.
Then came that familiar fawning female voice from last time: "Auntie, have you eaten yet? I didn't come empty-handed today—I brought some homemade dishes…"
The voice abruptly stopped when she saw Su Yun standing up from behind the counter.
Immediately, the woman demanded sharply, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Where's my aunt?"
Su Yun raised her eyebrows and gave her a brief look.
The woman appeared to be in her early forties, with average looks and calculation evident in her eyes. She wore the common double-breasted blue jacket and matching trousers popular at the time, her hair tied casually at the back. In her hand was an ordinary aluminum lunchbox.
This was Aunt Xu's distant relative.
Subconsciously, Su Yun glanced at where the broom stood by the door, debating whether to drive her out immediately or follow proper procedure.
While Su Yun hesitated, the woman grew impatient and ordered, "Young comrade, don't just stand there. Hurry and call my aunt out. Don't delay my business!"
Only then did Su Yun reply, "Your aunt has retired. She completed the paperwork yesterday. I'm taking over her job from now on…"
"That's impossible!" the woman cut in anxiously, looking at Su Yun as if she were a fraud. "My aunt said she would leave the recycling station job to my son. She would never go back on her word. You must have bribed her to avoid being sent to the countryside!"
"Tell me—how much did you give her? If you don't tell the truth, I'll report you to the neighborhood office!"
If Su Yun hadn't known the truth, she might have been intimidated.
What thick skin. No wonder Aunt Xu disliked her!
Keeping a straight face, Su Yun said seriously, "I'm Aunt Xu's goddaughter. She voluntarily gave the job to me and didn't take a single cent."
"Impossible! That old woman refused to budge before and insisted on five—"
The woman stopped herself abruptly, looking wary in case Su Yun had caught her slip.
Then she put on a generous expression and said as if bestowing a favor, "Fine, young comrade, I'll temporarily believe you. But you should know that I'm her proper blood relative from the same ancestry. You're just a goddaughter. Occupying her job isn't rightful, and people will scorn you if they find out."
Adopting a tone as though she were helping Su Yun, she added, "How about this—I'll give you five yuan. Transfer the job to my son. What do you say?"
"You'd better think carefully. Five yuan isn't a small amount. In the countryside, a young woman's dowry is only two yuan… Hey, why are you picking up the broom?"
Su Yun smiled sweetly, grabbed the broom, and began driving her out. "Get lost!"
Five yuan? She actually had the nerve to say that!
Caught off guard, the woman was chased to the doorway. Furious, she shouted, "You ungrateful brat! If you dare to occupy my aunt's job, you're making an enemy of me. I won't let you get away with this!"
Her son had to stay in the city. She had to get that job!
Su Yun showed no fear of her threats. Wielding the broom, she looked righteous and unyielding.
The woman fled almost in panic, vowing before she left that she would make Su Yun transfer the job to her son.
Su Yun snorted coldly at her retreating figure.
After driving the nuisance away, she put the broom back, washed her hands, finished her lunch, and chewed on a piece of sugarcane. The sweet taste filled her mouth before she finally calmed down and opened her books.
In the afternoon, several more people came to sell scrap, mostly cardboard boxes and glass bottles. Su Yun gained little from them.
After work, she wrapped the bundle of sugarcane in old newspapers as usual and carried it home.
As soon as she entered the alley, she saw her younger brother, Su Baoguo, walking toward her with a group of classmates.
The primary school students had clearly just finished class. Each carried a crossbody schoolbag and wore similar navy-striped long-sleeved shirts, chattering nonstop.
When Su Yun saw her brother, she was about to call out to him. But Su Baoguo suddenly lowered his head and dashed home like a rocket.
He was clearly avoiding her!
Su Yun froze for a moment, then looked at the group of students and asked, "Tianci, what's wrong with Xiao Wu?"
The boy she addressed was Gao Tianci, the youngest son of Aunt Gao from the side wing room in their courtyard.
Being called out by name, Gao Tianci's eyes flickered. He stammered before tossing out, "I don't know. Ask Baoguo yourself!" Then he ran off.
Su Yun's brows knitted together.
When she returned to the courtyard, Aunt Gao was tending the stove at the doorway of her side room.
Seeing Su Yun, Aunt Gao quickly called out, "Su Yun, the Women's Federation distributed a batch of coal briquettes. I can't use them all. Do you want to take a few home?"
She said "take," but she meant to sell them.
In the past, Aunt Gao would have discussed such matters with Chen Xiue. But now that Su Yun had a job, she was considered an adult in Aunt Gao's eyes and could handle transactions herself.
Su Yun felt pleased and nodded immediately. "Sure, thank you, Aunt Gao. We happen to be short on coal briquettes."
With the deal settled, Aunt Gao smiled knowingly and efficiently clipped out about a dozen briquettes for Su Yun, quietly collecting fifty cents from her.
At this time, each urban resident could receive fifteen briquettes per month. Buying them with a household registration booklet cost three cents each, but coal tickets were required, and the supply was never enough.
Since the briquettes Aunt Gao sold required no tickets, charging four cents each was considered reasonable.
Su Yun placed the briquettes in their simple kitchen and was about to step out when she heard her mother Chen Xiue raise her voice outside:
"He Hua, it's almost dinner time. Why aren't you hurrying home to cook? Why are you hanging around at my kitchen door?"
Su Yun walked out and immediately saw He Hua standing not far from the doorway.
Faced with Chen Xiue's questioning, He Hua looked visibly uncomfortable, even a little guilty.