A Beauty in the 80s Goes on a Blind Date with Her Child, Captivating the Military Compound - Chapter 18

“Young woman… the young woman with the red scarf… the one with the child…”

A woman was secretly calling out to her, waving her hand at Shen Sisi.

Shen Sisi stopped. “Are you calling me?”

The woman looked very simple and honest. She was wearing a patched cotton jacket, and her face was red from the cold. “I have free-range chickens from my backyard. Would you like one for the child?”

Seeing that she didn’t respond, the woman continued to push her sales.

“If you don’t want chicken, you’ll need eggs, right? I have laying hens. You can buy one and have fresh eggs every day…”

“I have chicks, too, but they’re in the back alley.”

As she spoke, she enthusiastically lifted the cover of a chicken coop in front of her. Inside were several roosters and hens, as well as a white silkie chicken.

Shen Sisi had only planned to buy some meat and vegetables before heading back, but the woman’s sales pitch suddenly made her feel a bit tempted.

Gu Chengfeng’s yard was quite big. It really wouldn’t be a problem to raise two chickens. This small number wouldn’t make the yard smelly, and Niu Niu could have a fresh egg every day.

Seeing her interest, the woman quickly said, “Don’t you worry. My chickens are the best in the whole market. Look at this big rooster, how red its comb is! It even has spurs on its feet. That’s an old rooster. And that hen is great; it lays eggs every day, sometimes more than one…”

Having lived in the countryside for a long time, Shen Sisi could tell a free-range chicken from a glance.

The woman wasn’t lying. The chickens looked excellent. But with a basket in one hand and a child in the other, it was inconvenient.

“If you’re serious about wanting them, just give me your address, and I’ll deliver them to your door,” the woman said.

This was the first time Shen Sisi had ever seen home delivery. This woman was a good businesswoman.

So, she agreed with the woman to buy one rooster and one laying hen.

Just as she was about to give her address, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded from the alleyway. The public order and inspection team had arrived.

In an instant, everyone quickly packed up their stalls, grabbed their things, and scattered like birds.

The woman also couldn’t bother with Shen Sisi. She grabbed the chicken coop and ran, swiftly blending into the crowd.

Shen Sisi also ran with the crowd. After all, if she were caught secretly shopping at the black market, it would be a huge hassle.

After running for a long time, she was pushed by the crowd toward the pier.

It was very lively here. There were over a dozen piers alone, and as far as the eye could see, there were large and small cargo ships squeezed together, rocking with the waves.

On the pier, busy porters were everywhere. They wore singlets or thin shirts, their muscles glistening with sweat, blood, and dirt.

Shen Sisi, breathing heavily, glanced around covertly. She saw the bustling, prosperous scene but also the hardship of the workers.

She noticed their broken skin on their shoulders, swollen and bruised arms, and backs that were permanently bent from years of carrying heavy loads. Some even had deformed joints, yet they were still carrying on with their work.

On a nearby empty space, a few older workers were rubbing their shoulders with medicinal alcohol.

As they rubbed, they muttered, “This medicinal alcohol worked at first, but now it’s not working as well.”

“My friend, you should go see a doctor! You can’t keep going like this!”

“Sigh, people like us don’t have the time or money to go to the hospital…”

Shen Sisi was drawn to their medicinal alcohol. She walked over curiously. “Mister, can I take a look at your medicinal alcohol?”

The man turned his head in surprise. Seeing a fair-skinned, beautiful young woman, he hesitated before handing her the bottle. “Why do you want to look at this?”

“Just curious.” Shen Sisi took the bottle and sniffed it several times. She could pretty much figure out its contents.

She was almost certain that it was just a bottle of spirits with a bit of camphor, cinnamaldehyde, and a small amount of numbing herbs.

It had some effect, but not much, and it was very slow to take effect.

She handed the bottle back to the man. “I wanted to ask, do all of you use this kind of medicinal alcohol?”

The older workers all nodded. “People at the pier pretty much all use this kind of trauma medicine. It used to be quite effective, but now…”

The rest of the words were self-evident.

Shen Sisi fell silent. This kind of medicinal alcohol was heavily diluted.

The herbs and dosages needed to be strictly controlled.

If there was too much, the effect would be too strong. If there was too little, it would have no effect.

If the medicine was effective before but not now, either the men had developed a tolerance, or the manufacturer was cutting corners.

Regardless, this medicinal alcohol was no match for the medicinal oil she made herself!

The recipe for the medicinal oil was given to her by an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Golden Phoenix Village.

During that special time, the old doctor was locked up. Only Shen Sisi was kind to him, bringing him food every day.

So, before he died, the old doctor gave Shen Sisi all the medicinal oil recipes he had secretly kept.

Shen Sisi only remembered two common recipes by heart: one for bruises and sprains that promoted blood circulation, and another for treating rashes in children.

The rest of the recipes were hidden in her house in the countryside.

Seeing this, a light bulb went on in Shen Sisi’s head. She had been worried about not finding a business opportunity, and now it had come to her!

Excitedly, she hugged Niu Niu tightly and gave her a big kiss on her soft little face.

“Niu Niu, let’s go home. Mama is going to make you something delicious…”

Niu Niu was counting the big ships in front of her. She had just counted to fifteen, sixteen, when her mother suddenly grabbed her and kissed her.

She was a bit confused, but when she heard that there would be something good to eat, her eyes immediately lit up. “Yay, Mama, I want to eat fishy.”

“Okay, Mama will go buy you fish…”

The black market was out of the question now. Shen Sisi took Niu Niu to the supply cooperative and bought a one-and-a-half-pound fatty fish, some small vegetables, half a block of white tofu, and a few ugly-looking apples.

The mother and daughter happily walked toward the military residential compound.

As soon as she entered the compound, she noticed that people were looking at her strangely. Their expressions were not as friendly and warm as before.

Shen Sisi was good at reading people’s expressions. From their faces, she knew that they must have heard about her.

She didn’t mind. She walked past everyone calmly, but she wondered who had leaked the news about her. Was it Feng Yanzhou? Or…

“Ptooey! You shameless, used-up woman…”

A slightly plump woman with dark red skin muttered as she spat toward her.

If she had walked just half a step faster, the spit would have landed on her face.

Shen Sisi frowned and glared at her. “Who are you? Do I know you? If you keep spewing nonsense, don’t blame me for being rude.”

“How dare you curse me… You’re quite aggressive!” Zhang Xiuhong’s nose and eyes flared with anger, and her attitude was very arrogant. “You may not know me, but I know you! You’re so famous in Lin County…”

Shen Sisi’s heart sank. “Who told you?”

Zhang Xiuhong snorted coldly. “It’s none of your business! Who doesn’t know about your little scandal…”

Shen Sisi’s fingers were digging into her palms. This Zhang Xiuhong was here to cause trouble. Otherwise, why would she target her when they had no animosity?

Perhaps, the target wasn’t her at all, but Gu Chengfeng.

Realizing Zhang Xiuhong’s intention, Shen Sisi forced herself to remain calm. She absolutely could not fall for this and cause trouble for Gu Chengfeng.

So she took a deep breath, neither questioning nor acknowledging the woman, and turned to walk toward her own small house.

Zhang Xiuhong was like a hen ready for a fight. If Shen Sisi had caused a scene, she would have used the opportunity to make a huge fuss and drive her out of the compound.

With Gu Chengfeng’s temper, how could he not go crazy?

But it was like punching cotton.

The other party didn’t take the bait at all!

Zhang Xiuhong was so angry she stomped her feet. She couldn’t just keep making trouble for no reason, so she just pointed at Shen Sisi and cursed. “You shameless, used-up woman… Don’t pretend you’re so pure. You just wait!”

She gritted her teeth and made a bet with a few other military wives. “You guys want to bet? I bet she won’t last a month before she’s kicked out.”

A gentle-looking woman named Yang Qiuxia subtly fanned the flames. “With Sister Xiuhong taking action, let alone a month, she won’t even last a few days before she’s swept out the door!”