Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

Chapter 294: 294 Selling misery

But when she settled down, Zheng Lanying was stunned. There wasn’t even an iron pot here. What to do about breakfast?

She went to Ma Changshun’s house again, asking tearfully where she could get a pot.

Ma Changshun was also quite troubled. Should he go to Mr. Chen for help? With that thought, he glared at his eldest daughter.

Ma Dongmei didn’t see any trouble with this.

”Lan Ying, you should go to the station to buy them. You’re missing so many things. You came at the wrong time. It’s so cold now. You need a lot of firewood. Although you’ve been given food, you still need to grind it into flour, and you’ll have to go to the station for that as well.

You don’t have any pots, bowls, or pans, but you can buy all those at the station.

There are also kang mats — how can there not be some light in the middle of the night?”

Zheng Lanying was dumbfounded hearing Ma Dongmei’s words. She hadn’t thought it through this much.

She looked troubled, ”Dongmei, I have less than a hundred yuan left. I still haven’t sorted out the small donkey. I don’t have the money to buy these things.”

”You’re out of money?”

Zheng Lanying nodded, on the verge of tears, looking pitiful.

Ma Dongmei was just someone who looks down on people. Seeing Zheng Lanying’s behavior, she thought she was rich. Who would have thought she was nothing?

So she wasn’t so enthusiastic anymore.

”Lan Ying, with this little money, you can’t buy a small donkey.”

”Then what should I do? I came here without knowing anyone. What should I do?” she said and squatted down, crying bitterly.

Ma Changshun glared at Ma Dongmei again.

”Lan Ying, actually, it’s not impossible. You could just farm a hundred acres, couldn’t you?”

”But I really can’t do it. Just thinking about this number, I don’t have the courage.”

”Then there’s no way. You’ll just have to find a way yourself.”

Zheng Lanying knew Ma Dongmei wouldn’t be much help and that she still needed to find Ma Changshun.

”Group Leader Ma, you can’t just watch me unable to survive?”

”I’ll take you to Director Feng to apply for an advance and subsidies.”

This finally put Zheng Lanying at ease. As long as she could borrow, it would be fine.

Ma Changshun was furious internally, but since he had accepted her, he had to think of a way.

He drove her to the station again, just as Feng Baoshan had just returned and was preparing to go home for lunch.

”What are you all doing?”

Ma Changshun looked quite depressed, ”Director Feng, this Comrade Zheng can’t handle a hundred acres, so she’s at the minimum of fifty acres.”

Feng Baoshan nodded. Seeing this young woman, he had already thought she’d only be able to do the minimum.

Zheng Lanying saw that Ma Changshun wasn’t getting to the point, so she became anxious and just decided to do it herself.

”Director Feng, I’m alone, so I came from the village to here.

I don’t have money either, but I still need to buy a small donkey, and I don’t have any living supplies.

Can the station help me?”

Feng Baoshan sat down, looking at Zheng Lanying.

”Of course, the station will help those who truly have difficulties.

But it’s not free. It must be repaid within two years.”

”Director Feng, I can definitely do it. Don’t worry, I will definitely repay it within two years.”

She knew that as long as she completed her tasks, she would get paid.

”Comrade Zheng, you’re missing not only these. The hundred jin of grain given to you in the morning also needs to be returned. And you don’t have seeds for spring planting either. Those also need to be borrowed from the station.”

Hearing this from Feng Baoshan made Zheng Lanying feel very embarrassed. It wasn’t as simple as she had imagined.

”Director Feng, the station must help me. There are several months before the thaw, and I also need to live.”

”But if you calculate it like this, you’re owing too much.”

”Director Feng, please trust me. I can definitely pay it back within two years.”

Feng Baoshan laughed, ”I’m not really worried, all your paperwork is here. If you run off without getting caught, that’s your skill. But if you’re caught, you’ll know what awaits you.”

Zheng Lanying was so scared that her face turned pale. It was quite terrifying.

”Director Feng, believe me. I absolutely won’t do that. I will work diligently and repay the station’s money as soon as possible.”

”Hmm. If you don’t repay in two years, a third year will incur additional costs. Just a year more will be an extra fifty, even if you only owe five, it’s fifty.

Of course, if it adds up, more won’t be lent.”

Ma Changshun regretted it deeply, how could he have taken on such a person? Fooled by her talk so eloquently.

”Comrade Zheng, come back in the afternoon. Accountant Zhang has gone home for lunch.”

Ma Changshun felt even more upset. He also had to provide a meal.

So at noon, Zheng Lanying ate at the Ma Family’s. She was really hungry, so she ate quite a bit.

This made Ma Dongmei unhappy; she had initially thought she could get something out of it, but it turned out to be a poor skin, still dining at her house, eating shamelessly and without feeling embarrassed, eating so much.

With a snort from Ma Changshun, Ma Dongmei didn’t say anything unpleasant.

Ma Changshun felt troubled inside, that his daughter was like this, unable to get married, always thinking she was better than others.

After lunch, Zheng Lanying ignored Ma Dongmei’s expression, following her and resting for a while on the kang at the Ma house.

In the afternoon, Ma Changshun took Zheng Lanying to the station once more. In such cold weather, going back and forth several times outside wasn’t as comfortable as lying at home.

He had truly saved Old Chen. Otherwise, it would be him who was in trouble now.

At the station, Su Yuanyuan wrote the IOU, detailing what was borrowed, how much, and when to repay it. Everything was written clearly, signed, and fingerprinted.

Then someone took Su Yuanyuan to collect the items. The cart was loaded with everything she borrowed; of course, there were also three hundred jin of cornmeal. But the price was really high, costing three mao per jin.

Just the cost of the grain alone was nearly a hundred. The small donkey, donkey cart, and supplies were two hundred and thirty yuan.

That doesn’t even include the seeds for spring planting, and it’s already three hundred and twenty.

Zheng Lanying didn’t consider this amount of money much. She thought she could earn it back in one year.

On the way, Ma Changshun had to manage two donkey carts. The young woman from the countryside couldn’t do anything.

Thus, Ma Changshun thought there must be something wrong with this female comrade.

When they got home, he still had to set up a large pot for Zheng Lanying and check if the chimney could exhaust smoke properly.

The firewood had to come from his own home, and the donkey’s fodder was also borrowed from the Ma Family by Zheng Lanying.

She was setting up her own home, so she was quite attentive. But with the things just sitting there, she was willing but unable.

She kept the fire burning until the evening, having already added water to the large pot twice. This way, the room got a bit warmer.