The woman could see clearly. With no foodstuff to eat, these pieces of jade jewelry had no value at all. No matter how valuable these things were, they couldn’t be eaten as meal and couldn’t let themselves live.
Just like in the apocalypse, no one needed anything like money anymore and all the people wanted was food.
At the same time, the woman’s words revealed a bit of sadness and helplessness.
However, these things were of great value to Xiulan.
She knew that in another ten to twenty years, when this period passed, the country would start to build again, and then slowly reached its prosperous age, then the value of these things would be reflected at that time.
She might only need to give a little foodstuff to collect these pieces of jewelry now, but when the period of prosperity comes, they would be a great fortune.
Xiulan said, “Auntie, if this is the case, then I am willing to exchange my foodstuffs with you.”
The woman asked Xiulan excitedly, “Girl… you… are you really willing to trade with me?”
“Yes! Auntie, I know that these things are valuable, but you need foodstuffs, and I like these things. Wouldn’t it be just right for us to make a trade?
“I have foodstuffs in my basket and it is not convenient to trade here. Let’s go, Auntie, I will accompany you to your home to give you the foodstuffs there.”
Xiulan was really worried about the woman’s situation, and now, it was just right to give the foodstuffs after sending her back home.
The woman also knew that this place was really not suitable for trading and her body was still very weak, so she did not try to be brave and refuse Xiulan.
“Girl, that’s too much trouble for you.”
“It’s okay, Auntie, I have nothing to do anyway.”
Xiulan supported the woman and under her guidance, they walked in the direction of her house.
On the way, the two chatted for a while. The woman’s husband’s surname was Chen, so Xiulan started calling her Auntie Chen.
Like Zhao Xiulan’s guess, Mrs. Chen was really not a simple person.
Sometimes people’s temperament could not deceive people, especially the kind of bookish aura, which had to be cultivated over the years.
Mrs. Chen’s behavior and manners were very good, and she should have been from a rich family before.
Seeing the house where she lived, it confirmed Xiulan’s guess.
The place where she lived was a small western-style house. In the county seat, two-story houses were actually rare, not to mention this kind of small western-style house, which could only be built by very wealthy people.
However, the courtyard of the house was already very dilapidated and some places had obviously been smashed. The exterior looked good, but many places inside had also suffered damage.
There was nothing in the house, only a few pieces of worn-out furniture, even the chairs and tables were lame and have been repaired with broken wood.
There was a hot water bottle, two enamel jars, and a few pairs of bowls and chopsticks on the table.
Near the door, there was a small iron pot, which was probably used for cooking.
There was also an old coal stove with an iron kettle on top of it that was used for boiling hot water.
The other rooms on the first floor were empty, except for the one near the south side with a shabby little bed.
There was a huge contrast between the furnishings in the house and the architecture of the small western-style house.
Seeing this scene, Xiulan couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.
Thinking of Mrs. Chen’s life experience and the current situation in this house, Xiulan had almost guessed it. It was probably because her family was too rich before, then they were labeled as bad people and received special treatment, so she ended up like this.
There were too many people like her. There were a lot of big landlords and capitalists that had fallen to this point because of their wealth.
After Xiulan helped her into the house, she asked her to sit down first.