Chapter 36: Keep a Low Profile
“Alright, you should go get some rest. We have to head to the station early tomorrow morning.”
Mother Sheng finally left his room. Outside, the entire family was busy gathering supplies for Sheng Wanze’s trip.
Early the next morning, Mother Sheng boiled every single egg left in the house so he could eat them during the long train ride. Since the weather was getting hotter and cooked food spoiled quickly, she only prepared two meals of fried rice and eggs for his immediate consumption. The rest of his provisions consisted of dry, long-lasting goods like steamed buns and dense pastries.
As his younger sister, Sheng Wanyan wanted to show her support in her own way, so she made five large jars of extremely spicy chili sauce for him to take back to the base. Sheng Wanze had a high tolerance for spice and loved bold flavors; the chili sauce would be perfect for jazzing up bland military rations.
Once the cooking was finished, Sheng Wanyan had to hurry off to the factory. As a new employee, she couldn’t ask for a morning off so soon.
Both Father and Mother Sheng had taken a few hours of leave to escort Wanze to the railway station. As the train slowly pulled away from the platform, they could only stand there and sigh, watching their son leave once again.
“Let’s go back,” Father Sheng said quietly.
Mother Sheng nodded. No matter how reluctant she was to see him go, it was his duty to leave. At least she knew he would return in October for the wedding.
She only had five months left, and there was so much to prepare for her son’s marriage. Given the current tense political climate, hosting a large, lavish wedding banquet was completely out of the question; it would draw too much negative attention. The safest option was to host a private, modest dinner where both sets of close relatives could gather and formally celebrate the union.
Because they couldn’t give Pan Yue the grand wedding banquet a bride deserved, Mother Sheng was determined to compensate her in other ways so the girl wouldn’t feel disappointed the moment she married into the family.
As soon as Sheng Wanyan clocked into work, she caught Wu Jiaxiu enthusiastically winking at her from across the room. Sheng Wanyan blinked in return, instantly understanding the signal.
It seems the fabric is ready, she thought.
When Wu Jiaxiu got up to use the restroom, Sheng Wanyan quietly followed her into the hallway.
“I managed to secure one bolt of defective cloth. The price is exactly the same as last time,” Sheng Wanyan whispered.
“Really?!” Wu Jiaxiu gasped, excitedly grabbing Wanyan’s arm.
Sheng Wanyan nodded.
Wu Jiaxiu was thrilled. She would take the fabric back and see exactly how much her sister-in-law needed. If there was any leftover, she could use it to sew some new clothes for herself and her husband.
“Yes. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow morning, same time and place as last time,” Sheng Wanyan promised.
“Wanyan, thank you so much! I really owe you.”
Sheng Wanyan had truly helped her navigate a tricky family situation. As a newlywed, if Wu Jiaxiu didn’t possess certain capabilities or connections that the other sisters-in-law lacked, she would easily become a target for bullying within the household.
Although she had a state job and earned her own salary, her husband was the middle child in his family. The middle position was notoriously the most vulnerable to grievances and parental neglect. Even though her husband was a worker and everyone in his family maintained polite smiles on the surface, no one truly knew the calculating schemes running through their minds.
If she wasn’t assertive and didn’t actively demonstrate her resourcefulness, she and her husband would be squeezed dry by the rest of the family in the future.
“You’re very welcome,” Sheng Wanyan smiled.
Sheng Wanyan had an astronomical amount of supplies hidden in her dimension, but she had absolutely no intention of following the path of typical transmigration novel heroines by flooding the black market to become incredibly wealthy.
Having lived in this era for a month, she had gained a deep respect for the sheer cunning and survival instincts of the people around her. None of them were stupid. “Playing the pig to eat the tiger” was a very real, dangerous game here.
In an era defined by extreme material scarcity, how could the authorities—or the black market bosses—not suspect someone who magically produced massive quantities of rare goods every single week? Who would allow a random girl to disrupt the market rhythm and plummet local prices without consequence?
Furthermore, did anyone actually believe the ruthless operators running the black markets were fools? If they were truly stupid, they would have been executed by the strict regime years ago.
Sheng Wanyan never did anything without absolute confidence. Selling small, untraceable items occasionally to improve her family’s living standards and build a modest safety net of starting capital was perfectly fine.
But establishing deep connections with the black market to sell wholesale supplies? Absolutely not. She didn’t know the players, and one wrong move could land her entire family in prison—or worse.
If you possessed a heaven-defying treasure, the only logical move was to remain extremely low-key and cautious, rather than flaunting your wealth. With her modern knowledge and business acumen, once the economic reforms eventually opened up, she could easily seize the opportunity to build a massive corporate empire through legitimate means.
There was no need to take life-threatening risks during such a highly sensitive political period. It wasn’t as if her family was destitute and starving to death; they were actually living quite comfortably.
Moreover, she had no intention of trapping herself in a gilded cage of corporate exhaustion like she had in her previous life. In this life, she wanted to be a free bird. She wanted to do what she loved, live for herself, and enjoy the simple pleasures. As long as her family remained healthy and safe, she wouldn’t regret lacking extreme wealth or glory.
Returning home after work, Sheng Wanyan pulled ten fresh eggs from her space. The apartment’s stockpile of meat and eggs had been completely depleted after the engagement dinner. Even if they couldn’t risk eating meat right now, they still needed the eggs to supplement their daily nutrition. Steamed egg custard had a very mild scent that wouldn’t drift down the halls and arouse the neighbors’ suspicions.
When she walked in, she saw that Mother Sheng was in a somber mood. She was clearly still missing Sheng Wanze and struggling with the reality of his departure.
“Let’s eat,” Mother Sheng said quietly.
Dinner was simple: a basket of coarse steamed cornmeal buns, a large bowl of smooth steamed egg custard, and a side of cold, pickled vegetables mixed with Grandma Sheng’s spicy chili sauce.
Despite the downgrade in luxury, no one in the family complained. The chili sauce was incredibly fragrant and flavorful, making the dry, rough cornbread much easier to swallow. The cornmeal buns of this era were genuinely coarse; if eaten too quickly, the rough grains would literally scratch your throat.
But no matter how rough the food was, it was infinitely better than starving. The older generations of the Sheng family had lived through famines and wars; how could they complain about a full stomach?
Early the next morning, Sheng Wanyan rode her bicycle to the designated spot near the cotton mill to wait for Wu Jiaxiu. Just like last time, Wu Jiaxiu arrived with her sturdy, reliable husband.
The transaction was swift. One bolt of thirty feet of fabric at fifty cents a foot. Wu Jiaxiu handed over 15 yuan in cash.
Wu Jiaxiu enthusiastically tried to drag Sheng Wanyan to the State-Owned Restaurant for breakfast again, but this time, Wanyan firmly refused. In this era, food coupons were incredibly precious, and Wu Jiaxiu was a married woman with her own household to manage; Sheng Wanyan felt it would be highly inappropriate to keep taking advantage of her generosity.
Seeing that Wanyan absolutely refused to go, Wu Jiaxiu compromised. During the lunch break, she went to the factory cafeteria and bought Wanyan a large, icy bowl of sweet mung bean soup.
The early summer weather was already turning humid, sticky, and oppressive. Drinking a bowl of chilled, sweet mung bean soup was incredibly refreshing. The soup was genuinely sweet, a testament to the unadulterated ingredients of the era. Sheng Wanyan savored it, appreciating how authentic the food tasted compared to the highly processed snacks of her past life.
Back in the office, the other clerks were slightly curious when they saw Wu Jiaxiu bring Wanyan a special treat from the cafeteria, but since it was a personal matter that didn’t affect their work, no one asked any questions.
However, Niu Fangli watched the exchange with piqued interest. A sudden thought crossed her mind, and she looked at Sheng Wanyan with growing enthusiasm. But since they were on the clock in the office, it wasn’t convenient to ask. She decided to approach Wanyan after work.
Sheng Wanyan spent the afternoon quietly knitting her sweater under her desk. She wasn’t incredibly fast, but her stitches were tight and perfectly even.
She had already finished half of the bodice. This particular sweater was for Grandma Sheng. Wanyan had intentionally knitted it a bit loose so the elderly woman wouldn’t feel restricted or uncomfortable when moving her arms or doing daily chores.
While Wanyan knitted leisurely, Wu Jiaxiu was stealthily cracking roasted melon seeds, keeping a paranoid eye on the door in case Director Li suddenly appeared.
“Comrades…” a voice boomed from the hallway.
Sheng Wanyan instantly shoved the sweater into her drawer. Wu Jiaxiu swept the melon seeds directly into her pocket. The rest of the clerks scrambled to hide whatever personal projects they were working on. It was as if speaking of the devil had summoned him.
Director Li strolled into the office, his hands clasped behind his back and a cheerful smile on his face. Every clerk was suddenly sitting perfectly straight, staring at him with the utmost professional attention.
“A new month has arrived,” Director Li announced. “We need a fresh batch of promotional slogans for the factory’s main notice boards. I want each of you to draft one new, high-quality slogan by the end of the day.”
“Understood, Director Li!” the office chorused.
Director Li nodded in satisfaction. Tucking his leather portfolio under his arm, he grabbed his notebook and pen from his desk and headed out to attend a leadership meeting.
With an actual task assigned, everyone immediately dropped their slacking. They pulled out fresh sheets of paper and uncapped their pens, brainstorming new patriotic slogans. After all, when an official assignment came down from the boss, you had to deliver.
