Before long, the house was filled with the aroma of various spices. Mrs. Lin initially wanted to get some more sleep, but the enticing fragrance kept her awake. By the time she found her way to the kitchen, Lin Xiang had already cooked her a big bowl of spicy sweet potato noodles. As soon as Mrs. Lin sat down with the bowl, Lin Xiang hurriedly got her up. "Mom, take it inside to eat. I need to take this table and a few chairs." Not only did she need to take the tables and chairs, but she also loaded all the bowls and chopsticks onto the cart, except for the one Mrs. Lin was using. The Lin Family didn’t have many possessions, and now it looked even emptier. Mrs. Lin, holding her bowl, grumbled, "Anyone who knows you’re off to do business would understand, but anyone who doesn’t might think we’re moving house!" "I don’t care if you make any money today. When you come back this afternoon, make sure to bring everything back. If anything’s missing, watch out!" "Got it, we’re leaving now!" Lin Yun had already loaded all the stuff onto the cart, leaving a little space for Lin Xiang to sit comfortably. The cart was human-powered, so the heavier it was, the harder it was to pull. Lin Xiang felt embarrassed to take advantage, so she simply walked alongside Lin Yun, chatting with him now and then to improve their rapport. "Comrade Lin Yun, wait for me!" Just as they were about to leave Li Hua Team, someone called from behind. Lin Xiang and Lin Yun turned to see Liu Pei, dressed in a black cotton coat, clutching a small parcel and running to catch up. She glanced at the things on the cart, then looked away and asked Lin Yun, "Comrade Lin Yun, are you guys heading to town?" Lin Yun didn’t reply but looked at Lin Xiang instead. Lin Xiang had to speak up for him. "Smartie Liu, my brother and I are going to the market day. Today’s event is at Red Flag Commune, not in the same direction as the town, so we’re not going the same way." "Going to the market day? I’ve never been to one before. Can I join you?" Liu Pei asked Lin Yun eagerly. Lin Yun looked at the sky, the ground, and then the things on the cart, but avoided meeting Liu Pei’s gaze. It would be a lie to say Liu Pei wasn’t disappointed; she knew that Lin Yun wasn’t interested in her. But she couldn’t help it; she was into Lin Yun. Lin Xiang looked at Lin Yun too. She was really unsure. After all, going to the market together wasn’t a big deal, and Liu Pei had always been kind to Lin Yun. Refusing again and again would make them seem heartless. But Lin Xiang also knew that now that the leading lady had appeared, the leading man would eventually gravitate towards her. No matter how much Liu Pei gave, she wouldn’t win the leading man’s heart. As a mere space-filler trying to gain favor, Lin Xiang wasn’t keen on getting involved in such a complicated emotional mess. "Mm." Lin Yun responded with a nod, signaling his agreement. Liu Pei was delighted inside and was about to speak to Lin Yun when she saw him gesture to the empty spot and say to Lin Xiang, "You sit here. I can walk faster pulling you along." Lin Xiang quickly climbed onto the cart. Lin Yun nodded at Liu Pei, slung the sack over his shoulder, and pulled the cart forward. "Comrade Lin Yun, why are you taking two wooden barrels to town?" "I smell something spicy and numbing. It smells really good. If I’m being bold, what’s in the barrels?" Lin Yun suddenly stopped, turned, and looked at the chatty Liu Pei, trying to maintain a steady tone, "Smartie Liu, I’m a bit tired from pulling the cart and want to conserve energy, so I’m not keen on talking. Could you stop talking to me?" Liu Pei’s smile froze on her face. She chuckled awkwardly, "Oh, I see. Got it. I won’t talk then." "Brother, should I..." Lin Xiang shrank back, burying her head in her scarf, trying to avoid further trouble. Lin Yun wasn’t really tired; his steps were steady and even-paced. He just didn’t want to talk to Liu Pei. Thankfully, the Red Flag Commune wasn’t far away; it only took about forty minutes to reach the market day location. The Lin siblings arrived fairly early, with only a few scattered stalls in a vast factory, mostly selling food. Lin Yun found a spacious spot, parked the cart, and unloaded the two wooden barrels. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝔫𝔢𝔱 Liu Pei tried to help a few times but was refused by Lin Yun. "Smartie Liu, we’re at the market now. My sister and I need to get busy, so you can go look around on your own." Liu Pei realized he was trying to dismiss her, felt a bit uncomfortable, but as Lin Yun was already busy, she had to leave for the time being. While Lin Yun was busy, Lin Xiang wasted no time in finding the market supervisor. "Big brother, my brother and I want to sell some cooked sweet potato noodles to earn some tuition fees. But we’re from the Li Hua Team and we’re poor, without a portable stove. Do you know where I can get some bricks for an earthen stove?" Lin Xiang discreetly passed over a pack of Hong Shuangxi cigarettes. The supervisor glanced at it, accepted it, and stuffed it into his coat pocket, pointing to a corner, "Just take a few blocks from there. Once you set up the stove, come here to get a couple of burning coals." Lin Xiang was overjoyed, "That’s really great, thank you so much! I was just worrying about how to live through the cold wind, this really helps a lot!" The supervisor accepted Lin Xiang’s gratitude with self-satisfaction. "Is this your first time selling at the market? Selling food?" "Yes, we’re selling sweet potato noodles we made ourselves, cooking them and selling them." The supervisor pointed to a makeshift building on the west side, "You should head there later, fill out some paperwork, and pay a small fee. If anyone causes trouble, someone will back you up. Many first-timers at the market don’t know this and take a lot of flak from the riffraff!" If the supervisor hadn’t mentioned it, Lin Xiang wouldn’t have known! That pack of Hong Shuangxi was totally worth it! Lin Xiang carried a few clay bricks over, "Brother, let’s start building the earthen stove. Are these bricks enough? If not, I’ll get more." "It’s a tad short. Where did you get them? I’ll go fetch them; you stay here and watch our stuff." "No worries, I’ll go fetch another round." Fortunately, it wasn’t a long distance away. Lin Xiang managed to move all the bricks over after a few trips. After building the earthen stove with Lin Yun, Lin Xiang went back to the supervisor for two pieces of burning coal. The cart had some firewood, cut by Lin Yun in the hills yesterday afternoon. With the coal, the fire quickly blazed up. Watching the flickering flames, Lin Yun encountered a problem. He had prepared two wooden barrels, freshly made only yesterday afternoon, but they weren’t fire-resistant!