The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 101: Reaching an Agreement (400+ Monthly Passes)_1

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Reaching an Agreement (400+ Monthly Passes)_1

He Tiantian had nearly finished her meal when Niu Lili returned from outside and said, "Tiantian, my cousin has already taken the letter to deliver it, and he won’t be back until tonight. Everyone else is busy, so they can’t take you now. You can stay in the dormitory here with me tonight, and when my cousin comes tomorrow to pick up the letter, he can take you back."

There was a clock on the wall of the restaurant, and it was five minutes to three o’clock. Even if someone could take He Tiantian to Qijia Village, they wouldn’t be able to make it back to Nan City before evening.

He Tiantian smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Sister Lili, it’s just that I’m troubling you again."

"No trouble at all. Come on, there’s nothing to do now anyway. I’ll take you to the dormitory out back to freshen up and rest." Niu Lili said warmly, helping He Tiantian with her things.

Following Niu Lili, He Tiantian made her way through a corridor over twenty meters long to a two-story building. "My dorm with another female accountant is upstairs. The downstairs is where a few male chefs live. The women’s bathroom is on the second floor; inside you can wash clothes, take a bath, or use the toilet, very convenient..." Niu Lili explained as she walked.

He Tiantian looked around, her appreciation for Niu Lili intensifying.

What a wonderful girl she was, and who knows who would be lucky enough to have her in the future!

Niu Lili had a room to herself, with a one-and-a-half meter wide bed, a wardrobe, and a desk beside it. On the desk, there was a thermal flask and an enamel jug, and next to the desk were two stools.

"Tiantian, we’ve got hot water here, so make yourself at home," Niu Lili said, continuously trying to make He Tiantian feel welcome.

He Tiantian took two boxes of pastries from Xinghua Building out of her package and said, "Sister Lili, these are the most famous pastries from Xinghua Building in Nan City. My mother asked me to bring them especially for you as a thank you for telling me that very important news."

Niu Lili’s eyes fell on the packaging, which was exquisite and labeled ’Century-Old Shop.’ Even before tasting them, she knew they must be good.

"That was just a small favor; how could I accept something from you!" Niu Lili actually wanted them but felt embarrassed to say so. In her view, she had merely passed a few words to He Tiantian, but to He Tiantian, those important bits of information were not only lifesaving but could also change He Tiantian’s fate!

He Tiantian set them down on the table and said, "Sister Lili, you’ve been kind to me, and I’ll always remember it. If you don’t accept this little gift, I’ll feel embarrassed to stay here with you."

As she spoke, He Tiantian began to pick up her things to leave.

"Hey, hey, you silly girl, I’ll just accept it then," Niu Lili quickly stopped her, "Now that you’re here, how could I let you go! Alright, I’ll take the pastries. When I have something good, I’ll save some for you too. Also, I haven’t thanked you yet for the air-dried wild rabbit your cousin sent me. After I took it home, everyone said it was delicious."

He Tiantian was surprised but then guessed that Niu Dajun must have given Niu Lili one of the wild rabbits.

"Hehe, it’s not really anything special. I caught it while cutting grass on the mountain. If you like it, Sister Lili, I’ll catch a few more and bring them to you." After all, the mountain behind was vast, and with the Snake King around, she could catch plenty.

There was no place to store it before, but now there was, though every time it was placed in the Snake King’s Barrier Space, the Snake King would snort and glare.

Sister Lili thought hard and asked, "Tiantian, can you really catch wild chickens and hares?"

He Tiantian nodded and said, "Yes, fresh rabbit doesn’t keep well, so I’ve salted and air-dried them to preserve them for a long time."

"Tiantian, sis wants to discuss something with you," Sister Lili said, thinking about improving their family’s livelihood and even making some money, she couldn’t help but try to find a way through He Tiantian.

"Sister Lili, just speak your mind," He Tiantian said, who had already guessed Sister Lili’s thoughts; but she had to maintain her image as an innocent young girl and not someone scheming.

Sister Lili worked in a restaurant, but now due to the scarcity of resources, even restaurants sometimes didn’t have enough supplies. It often happened that a dish ordered by a customer couldn’t be made by the kitchen. It wasn’t because the chefs lacked skills, but simply due to the lack of ingredients.

A clever wife can’t cook without rice!

"It’s like this, our restaurant looks flashy, but the dishes we can make are limited. Sometimes when leaders come and order dishes, we can’t produce them and often get scolded. If you can get meat, any meat, just as long as it’s meat, sell it to our restaurant. Whether you want money or Grain Coupons, either is fine; we definitely won’t let you down," Sister Lili said with a distressed look. As a hostess directly facing the leaders’ criticism, it was not easy to maintain her job.

Upon hearing this, He Tiantian pretended to be terrified and said, "Sister Lili, speculation and profiteering will get you re-educated. I’m already mired in official issues that I haven’t resolved. If I’m discovered speculating and profiteering, then I really won’t have a savior."

Sister Lili saw He Tiantian’s frightfully scared look, felt pity, and laughed covering her mouth, "What are you afraid of? You have me, don’t you? Just bring the rabbit meat directly to my house, and I’ll give you the money. It’s all done in secret; even if someone else finds out, just say you gave it to me."

He Tiantian thought for a moment; Sister Lili wouldn’t dare to do this unless she had backers. Otherwise, on her own, Sister Lili wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

"Don’t worry, my uncle by marriage runs this restaurant; nothing will go wrong," Sister Lili assured her. "You’re an educated youth, far from home and without much money, this is a shortcut for you. If you don’t trust me, don’t you trust my cousin?"

Seeing Sister Lili insist like this, He Tiantian thought that refusing would seem inconsiderate. Moreover, she did need some money, not only for herself but also for her parents and Huo Yingjie.

"But I don’t know how many I can catch; it’s all down to luck and can’t be guaranteed," He Tiantian said softly, sharing her difficulty to prepare Sister Lili mentally.

"No worries, just process whatever you catch and have my cousin take it to the county. I’ll give you a good price. For one air-dried rabbit, I’ll give you one yuan and two, one pound of national Grain Coupons; for one air-dried chicken, I’ll give you one yuan, six liang of national Grain Coupons," Sister Lili said, offering a price higher than the purchasing station.

He Tiantian had never sold these items before. Having owed Sister Lili a favor, He Tiantian decided to do this deal to repay the favor, "Okay, I trust Sister Lili. When I go back, I’ll head up the mountain to see. If there is something, I’ll process it properly and bring it to Sister Lili. Oh, Sister Lili, we’ve run out of Salt Coupons at home, and I can’t buy salt. I’ll give you money; could you help me buy some? Even though it’s winter, those items need timely processing to maintain their flavor."

Sister Lili laughed, waved her hand and said, "We have plenty of salt here at the restaurant; no need to buy any. I’ll bring you some tomorrow. Alright, you rest here, I’ll go back downstairs. This dessert looks delicious; I’ll take one box downstairs for the chefs to try, and tomorrow, I’ll bring the other box home for my parents to taste."