Tian Xingzhu stayed in Beijing for another two days. With her holiday drawing to a close, she had no choice but to prepare for her return to Lanshan County.
Compared to her first trip to the countryside, when Tian Xingzhu knew nothing and naively believed that money and ration coupons could solve everything, she had since learned a hard lesson. In that small backwater of Nanjiang County, there were plenty of things that money and ration coupons simply could not buy.
Therefore, for this return trip, Tian Xingzhu not only had her mother supply her with ample cash and coupons, but she also prepared a vast array of daily necessities. These included a ten-pound cotton quilt, wool sweaters and trousers, a woolen overcoat, fur-lined boots, and various foodstuffs such as beef jerky, malted milk extract, and even chocolates that were exclusively sold at the Friendship Store. Tian Xingzhu knew that gathering these items wasn't easy, even in Beijing, so the moment she returned home and settled matters with her mother, she immediately set about procuring them. In the days leading up to her departure for Nanjiang County, she had shipped them off one by one through the post office.
Chapter 511