Chapter 125: I Thank You on Behalf of the Folks

"Uncle, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Xu Lin stood across from Wang Facai, wearing an adorable, harmless smile. Anyone who caught sight of that expression would find their mood instantly brightened, and Wang Facai was no exception.

"What is it?" Wang Facai asked, his face beaming. He was still riding high from his earlier good mood, thinking to himself that as long as it wasn't anything too difficult, he would agree to it.

"It's like this: I have quite a few ration coupons, and I realized there are some I won't be using. I thought, why not leave them with the brigade? If any of the villagers need them for an emergency, they can exchange for them. What do you think?"

"Of course! That's a great idea. But how would the exchange work?" Wang Facai rubbed his hands together in excitement. He had already heard whispers about these coupons; they were all practical, highly sought-after items.

"Just exchange them at the official market price. I wouldn't dream of profiting off the villagers," Xu Lin said with a cheerful laugh. Her words went straight to Wang Facai’s heart—look at what a wonderful child she was.

Wang Facai knew full well that some of these coupons were worth a small fortune on the black market, and even then, they were hard to come by. By offering them to the villagers, this young educated youth was losing out on a significant profit.

"Good, good, good! On behalf of the villagers, I thank you." Wang Facai suppressed his excitement and asked Xu Lin which coupons she didn't need.

Xu Lin ran through a mental list. She didn't need fabric coupons—she still had plenty of cloth in her space. She didn't need sugar coupons either. As for grain and oil coupons, she decided to hold onto the grain ones; at the very least, she needed to keep some on hand to avoid drawing attention to her ability to secure food. She also had cotton coupons, but she didn't lack those either; she had half an acre of cotton growing in her space, which was more than she could ever use. Come the colder months, she could sell the excess cotton for a good price.

As Xu Lin listed the items, Wang Facai’s joy grew. What Xu Lin didn't need, they desperately did. Especially the sugar coupons; in the village, a woman only received one catty of sugar coupons when she gave birth—hardly enough for anything. If word got out, the villagers would surely fight tooth and nail for them. Xu Lin checked the coupons in her hand; she actually had five catties worth. Three had been given to her by the authorities in the capital, and two were a reward from the railway bureau. She suspected they had coordinated, as the railway reward was a tier lower than the capital's.

Auntie Chunhua, who had been eavesdropping nearby, was thrilled. Her daughter-in-law was due to give birth in just over two months. She knew her family had to snag at least one catty. No, she had to talk to her mother-in-law immediately to make sure they were first in line.

Before Xu Lin and Wang Facai had even finished their discussion, the news had already spread. By the time Xu Lin returned to her assigned field, Qian Li and Han Hong were already waiting to crowd around her, asking if the rumors were true.

Qian Li rubbed her hands in excitement. "Linlin, if you have any extra meat coupons, can you trade some with me?" She craved meat.

"Sure. I haven't released the meat coupons yet. How many do you want?" Xu Lin asked. Meat was scarce everywhere.

"Me! I want some too!" Han Hong chimed in, leaning over eagerly. "How many meat coupons do you have left?"

"Ten catties," Xu Lin said softly. The two of them looked at her with hungry eyes. In truth, she wasn't short on coupons at all; after raiding so many places, she had accumulated quite a stash of cash and coupons. But these ten catties were obtained openly and could stand up to scrutiny.

The two swallowed hard. Han Hong spoke first: "I want one catty. If there's more, give me another."

"Me too, I want one catty," Qian Li added, raising her hand. A catty of meat was enough for several meals; this was truly wonderful.

Wu Siyu heard the commotion and hurried over, but seeing Han Hong already making a deal, she stayed quiet, thinking she would ask about other coupons later.

Fu Yaqin rushed over from Qin Fang’s field, pushing her way to Xu Lin’s side, which left Qin Fang grumbling under her breath.

Knowing that Xu Lin was putting coupons up for exchange at the brigade, the villagers were worried the educated youths would snatch them all up, so they rushed over to help with the work. They wanted Xu Lin to finish early so she could head to the brigade office, and they even sent family members to accompany her.

Within half an hour, Xu Lin’s work was done. She followed Wang Facai toward the brigade office, trailed by a group of village women, all of them buzzing with excitement as they discussed what their families lacked and what they wanted to trade for.

Someone sidled up to Xu Lin and asked, "Educated Youth Xu, do you have any sewing machine coupons?"

"I have one," Xu Lin replied quietly. This one had also been a reward from the capital, but since she rarely did needlework and had no plans to buy a sewing machine, she didn't need it.

The woman who asked spun around in delight and hurried off. Wang Facai watched her go and whispered, "That’s Yangdan’s wife. Her daughter married into the commune. It seems the younger sister-in-law is getting married this year to someone from the county seat."

Though he didn't elaborate, Xu Lin understood. The mother wanted to save face for her daughter, so she wanted a generous dowry. In these times, being able to provide a sewing machine as part of a dowry was a major status symbol. If the groom’s family was sensible and provided other big-ticket items like a bicycle, the wedding would be a grand, enviable affair.

After clarifying this, Xu Lin asked with some confusion, "Brigade Leader, if someone from outside the village wants to trade, will the others have an opinion?"

"Helping outsiders is an unspoken rule. Take sugar or industrial coupons—how much can our villagers really use? If they aren't trading for their daughters, they're doing it for their natal families. As long as the person showing their face is a villager, it’s fine." Wang Facai was accustomed to such things. There were no laws written down for these matters, but a tacit understanding had long since formed among the villagers.

Just like the pheasants and hares on the mountain—whoever caught them kept them, and no one would cause trouble out of jealousy, at most just making a few snide remarks. But if they caught something large like a wild boar, it had to be shared with the brigade. These were all quiet agreements, never spoken of openly, and certainly never reported.

Wang Facai had a good impression of Xu Lin, so he shared some of these unspoken rules. "If you find something good in the mountains, like ginseng, as long as you don't broadcast it and the villagers don't know, it's yours. Understand?"

"I understand." Xu Lin listened like a dutiful student. Looking at the乖巧 (well-behaved/docile) girl, Wang Facai slapped his forehead. "Right, about your schooling—I’ve asked around. You can commute to the commune middle school. If you pay the tuition and pass the midterms and finals, you can get a diploma. But the brigade needs to issue a certificate."

As they walked, Wang Facai explained his plan. "I was thinking you could register for the next semester. When the time comes, take the exams, and if your grades are good, you could start from the third year of middle school. What do you think?"

"Will the principal agree?" Xu Lin asked.