Lu Jingqiu got up early the next day, taking her food ration book to the grain station, where she collected fifty kilos of grain and placed it in the back of her cart.
She couldn't carry any more, and it was the older brother at the grain station who helped her load it onto the cart.
Having finished collecting the grain by 7:30 AM, she hurriedly rode her bicycle toward Xue Jianian's home.
She arrived at their place by about eight o'clock.
Unfortunately, as soon as Lu Jingqiu entered the alley, she saw Xia Lin, who had returned from buying groceries.
Seeing the grain on her cart, Xia Lin harrumphed and said, "Lu Jingqiu, you've rented a room; you're not actually giving away grain to others, are you? Or perhaps, you're bartering the grain for something else."
Next door, Xue Jianian left early and returned late every day, carrying a bamboo basket. As someone who had lived two lives, how could she not know what she was up to?