Twenty jin of sweet potatoes wouldn’t sustain two people for long.

This year’s new grain hadn’t arrived yet. When Xia Dajun returned, he would surely seek Liu Fen’s return, but would the Xia family forgive Xiaolan? Liu Fen was thinking of visiting her family tomorrow to find a solution. Though the Liu family was also poor, Xiaolan’s uncle was generous despite his poverty and wouldn’t stand by watching his niece starve.

While pondering this, Xiaolan returned with a bundle of dry branches, eyes bright, asking to roast sweet potatoes. Seeing her good spirits, Liu Fen was willing to endure any hardship:

“Alright, Mother will roast sweet potatoes for you.”

Then Xiaolan moved aside the firewood, revealing wild duck eggs.

Liu Fen was delighted – the wild duck eggs were about the size of chicken eggs, clearly found in the reed marsh. With these eggs, Xiaolan could regain some strength; she had become so thin that a breeze could knock her over, which pained Liu Fen deeply.

“I’ll boil an egg for you too.”

The old shack had no cookware, but village folk weren’t particular – an enamel mug would do fine for boiling an egg. But Xiaolan stopped her mother: “We can’t eat the eggs now. These wild duck eggs are our ticket to better days. The villagers are focused on their crops now and haven’t time to cut reeds. I want to find more wild duck eggs to sell in town… Tonight we can check the reed marsh – catching two wild ducks would be good too.”

Liu Fen had never done such things.

The Xia family hadn’t divided their household, and usually, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law took their collected chicken eggs to sell in town. Dahe Village was two hours from the county town, and people rarely went there without reason. But Xiaolan was persuasive, and Liu Fen, used to compliance, couldn’t find words to object.

Mother and daughter each ate a sweet potato. Thinking about selling duck eggs in town, Liu Fen realized they needed at least two baskets. She gathered some reed stalks and wove two small baskets:

“Without proper tools or soaking, they won’t last a month.”

Liu Fen weighted the reed baskets with stones and soaked them in the river, dissatisfied with her craftsmanship. But Xiaolan saw them as artworks – neither version of Xiaolan could make such things!

Planning to become “egg thieves” that night, they hurried to sleep after finishing the baskets. They propped the door with wood instead of locking it, and with no bed, Xiaolan laid clean reed stalks on the ground. Fortunately, it was August – this drafty old shack would have made them ill in colder weather.

Without an alarm clock but mindful of their task, Xiaolan woke to rustling sounds after a short sleep – Liu Fen had already retrieved the reed baskets from the river.

“Sleep a bit more, Mother will search first.”

Reed leaves stung when they cut the skin – why else would duck eggs lie uncollected? It was hard work, and Liu Fen didn’t want her daughter to suffer. The original ‘Xiaolan’ had been delicate, unused to farm work.

Xiaolan shook her head, “Let’s go together.”

Two people could search faster and more safely. Without a flashlight, they relied on moonlight. Fortunately, the moon was bright, promising another sunny day tomorrow.

Mother and daughter carried their small baskets, searching in secluded areas. Wild ducks flew up when they encountered reed patches, and when they finally found duck nests, they were empty.

When they found their first clutch of eggs, they startled the dogs at the cattle pen.

Old Wang, the lonely cattle pen keeper, was alert: “Who’s there!”

The flashlight beam swept twice as Liu Fen shielded Xiaolan, deeply embarrassed: “…Uncle, it’s me, just collecting some duck eggs to nourish my child.”

“Dajun’s wife?”

Old Wang saw both covered in grass debris.

Everyone in Dahe Village knew about Xiaolan being driven out. Old Wang didn’t much like Xiaolan – even setting aside her behavior issues, this girl’s eyes showed no respect for elders, never even greeting them. But Liu Fen was pitiful, and Xiaolan’s forehead was wrapped in blood-stained gauze. After some thought, Old Wang handed his flashlight to Liu Fen:

“Return it tomorrow.”

Liu Fen’s eyes reddened with gratitude.

Xiaolan thought that not everyone in Dahe Village was awful, and said sincerely:

“Thank you, Grandfather Wang.”

Old Wang was surprised. He glanced at Xiaolan, then led his dog back to the cattle pen, leaving the mother and daughter to their task.

With the flashlight’s help, they ransacked that area’s duck nests. After several hours, they had collected seventy to eighty wild duck eggs in their two reed baskets, leaving Liu Fen somewhat dazed.

Besides eggs, they found a nest of hatched ducklings.

“We could raise them.”

Their down feathers were fully grown, and Liu Fen was pleased.

Thinking of their uncurable shack, Xiaolan shook her head: “We can’t be sure who’d benefit once they’re grown – better to sell them too.”

Liu Fen was reluctant.

But with their meals uncertain, raising wild ducks would draw too much attention.

They returned home to inspect each egg – including Xiaolan’s earlier twelve, they had 82 unincubated eggs. Not waiting for dawn, Xiaolan and Liu Fen set out for town, with two sweet potatoes from the ashes as their provisions.

Roasted sweet potatoes had been novel and rustic for Xiaolan’s first meal.

After two meals, she was less enthusiastic. Fortunately, her childhood hardships had prepared her to endure such circumstances – a privileged princess transported here would have gone mad on the first day.

Survival in this era came first – only then could one seek a better life!

With this conviction, Xiaolan pressed on, reaching the county town as dawn broke. While Dahe Village was poor, Qing’an County had some economic foundation, with large meat processing and agricultural machinery factories employing many workers. The cattle raised in Dahe Village’s pen were destined for the meat processing plant.

Even meat plant workers who could get some meat found eggs hard to buy. Among Qing’an County’s townships, many raised pigs and cattle, but few kept poultry.

“Where should we sell?”

With two large factories in Qing’an County employing well-paid workers, the black market centered around them. The meat processing plant workers were particularly well-off, and Liu Fen suggested selling nearby.

But Xiaolan took a different approach:

“Let’s try around the machinery factory.”

The machinery factory had more workers, and Xiaolan was more familiar with such facilities.

By the time they reached the machinery factory, it was light. Workers cycled in as Xiaolan noticed others carrying goods – fellow sellers… Perfect, some had chickens, others freshly dug sweet potatoes, but no egg sellers competing today.

Just as they found a spot, a woman with a vegetable basket approached:

“Selling chicken eggs?”

Xiaolan was straightforward, “They’re wild duck eggs, all fresh. If you’re interested, I’ll sell them cheaper than chicken eggs.”

Wild duck eggs the same size as chicken eggs but cheaper seemed like a good deal. Who cared about texture?

Market-price chicken eggs cost 1.2 yuan per jin plus ration coupons, while farmers sold them for 1.5 yuan without coupons. Xiaolan had already inquired – a friendly chat and sweet talk, and no one treated prices as secrets.

Seeing the woman lingering, clearly interested, Xiaolan knew her chance:

“For under ten eggs, they’re thirteen fen each, ten or more at twelve fen, twenty or more at eleven fen!”

Her tiered pricing confused the woman.

Not taking advantage of a bargain would be foolish – planning to buy just a few, the woman bought twenty-one instead… Her practical wisdom was noteworthy – take the bargain, but don’t lose your head.

Xiaolan collected 2.30 yuan, even dropping the one-fen remainder.

She handed the money to Liu Fen, who hadn’t recovered her composure. Other sellers watched Xiaolan – this alluring girl was surprisingly efficient in business!