Chapter 6: The Deceived Girl in the 1970s: Fake vs. Real Daughter Story (6)

After tidying up the house and putting everything in place—

Well, she was still missing the most important item, a large cooking pot.

With no other option, Xiaoxiao took about half a jin of her White Rabbit creamy candies and went to find Auntie Tan.

“Auntie, I’ve moved out, but I don’t have a pot. Do you know any family who might have a spare one to trade?”

Whether it was because Xiaoxiao had bought a lot from her earlier that morning or because she showed up with candy in hand, Auntie Tan’s attitude was much more pleasant this time.

“Educated Youth Yes, you’ve come to the right person. My family has one—but there’s a small crack at the rim that’s been patched. If you don’t mind, you can come take a look.”

“Sure! Thank you so much, Auntie.”

“No problem. My old man said you’re renting Wang Fugui’s house. If I remember right, their stove used to have a hot water urn at the back. You probably don’t have one of those either, do you?”

“That’s right, Auntie. I’m short on all the kitchen basics—pots, pans, everything.”

“Don’t worry, you’re in luck. Our place still has all of those things, though none of them are new. They’ve all got minor flaws. The lid of the hot water urn is broken, but you can still use it if you manage. I’ll just give you that one. As for the rest, you’ll have to make do with wooden stuff for now and go to the town market later to trade for what you like.”

Honestly, she’d wanted to get rid of these things for a while. Her husband had insisted on keeping them, but now giving them to the new educated youth seemed like it’d be fine.

Xiaoxiao checked them out. It was indeed patched and not perfect—but for now, it’d do.

“How much, Auntie?” Xiaoxiao asked.

“I’m not trying to rip you off. A new pot costs 20 yuan and a ration coupon. Mine’s been patched, and just in one small spot. How about 15 yuan?”

Xiaoxiao pulled a face, pretending to hesitate. “Could you go a little lower, Auntie?”

Auntie Tan hesitated, then said, “Alright—how about 14.5?”

After pretending to think it over, Xiaoxiao agreed and bought it.

Once she brought everything home and finished cleaning the place again, she realized it was already dinner time.

Just as she was about to cook, she noticed she was still missing a large water vat.

No idea if anyone in the village had one she could trade for. She’d have to ask.

The village well wasn’t close to the homes, so not having a water vat just wasn’t practical.

The two buckets she hauled back earlier were nearly used up. She needed to go fetch another two before dark—otherwise, what would she use for washing tonight or cooking tomorrow?

After a long day of cleaning, Xiaoxiao didn’t feel like cooking. Plus, she was low on firewood. The two bundles she had were ones she’d traded for by giving candy to a boy named Xiaodong.

It was better to just eat some instant noodles in the train space.

Once inside, she noticed the train car had a water heater. Could it still produce hot water?

Surprisingly, yes—it really did have hot water ready for use.

Xiaoxiao was thrilled. This would save her so much trouble!

But she wondered—once the hot water was used up, would it refill automatically?

If it did, that would be amazing. She wouldn’t need to haul water so often, and she’d never run out of hot water again. It’d save on firewood too.

She decided to test it today.

After a full day of scrubbing and cleaning, she could use a nice hot bath. But first, she had to figure out the water vat—it was more urgent.

She stepped outside.

The center of the village had a large sun-drying yard. The house she rented was perfectly located—right by the yard. Although it was a bit noisy, it was definitely safe.

With neighbors all around, no loafing troublemakers would dare approach.

At this hour, people were eating dinner in the yard, holding bowls in hand. Xiaoxiao spotted the team leader and hurried over.

“Team Leader, I’m still missing a water vat. Do you know who might have one to trade?”

“I’ve got one at home. Girl, come to my place, and we’ll trade,” said a woman beside him before the team leader could answer. She reached out and took Xiaoxiao’s arm.

“Uh… Auntie, you are…?”

“My name’s Wang Cuihua. Just call me Auntie Cuihua. I’d like to trade for a few fabric coupons, if that’s alright. My son’s getting married soon, and we’re short on cloth.”

Xiaoxiao looked to the team leader, who nodded, so she asked, “Auntie, how do you want to trade?” I don’t have many fabric coupons—I only brought a few when I came.”

Wang Cuihua replied, “Don’t need a lot—just two feet.”

Xiaoxiao: … Two feet—was that a lot or not?

She had no idea. The original host’s memories didn’t help either, and she’d never bought anything herself.

Well, whether it was a good deal or not, she had to get the vat. No one else was going to help her with this.

In a small village like this, as long as things weren’t too outrageous, people tended to help locals over outsiders, unless it was a sworn enemy situation.

After a moment’s thought, Xiaoxiao decided to trade. The town wasn’t easy to get to, and hauling big items back would be inconvenient. Taking a small loss was worth it.

“Auntie, I’d like to take a look first. If it’s too small and can’t hold much, I won’t take it.”

“Sure, no problem. Come with me.”

At Wang Cuihua’s house, she pointed at a vat and said, “Here, this one. It holds three dan of water. That should be more than enough for just you.”

Xiaoxiao took a look—it was indeed pretty good.

“But Auntie, what will your household use? I only see the one.”

Wang Cuihua laughed. “That just shows you don’t know the local ways. Lots of people here have stone vats made at Master Li’s. Those can be made bigger, and they’re not as fragile.”

Xiaoxiao nodded. Yeah, glazed clay ones like this broke easily.

“Then, Auntie, could you help me carry it back? I’m afraid I’ll drop and break it.”

“No problem. Auntie’s strong—I can earn 10 work points!”

“You really are capable, Auntie.”

“Of course I am!”

This auntie could really chat. Luckily, the place wasn’t far, and they arrived quickly.

“Thank you so much, Auntie.”

“No need! Come to me if you ever need help.”