Chapter 17.2

The ferry sailed for about twenty minutes, moving from the river into the sea. After another ten minutes, it docked at Rong City’s pier.

Rong City’s pier was much larger than Pingchuan Island’s ferry pier, with many more boats, both large and small—about ten or so. The pier had a dedicated waiting area for passengers, and there weren’t many people specifically waiting to go to Pingchuan Island, so the area near the entrance wasn’t crowded. There was no danger in disembarking or boarding.

Once they left the pier, the three of them took a bus straight to the Department Store.

The Department Store was located at a crossroads in the city center. It was a three-story building, with a semi-circular outer wall, and in the center hung a large portrait of a great leader. On both sides of the portrait were massive quotes.

Sunday mornings were the busiest time in the city center. The crossroads were bustling with people, and every time the bus stopped, half of the passengers would get off.

On the bus Su Ting was on, half of the passengers were heading to the Department Store, and among them, at least half had come from the island, many of them wearing military uniforms.

After getting off the bus, most of these people, about 80 or 90 percent, would head toward the Department Store. Su Ting didn’t even need to enter the building to imagine how lively it must be inside.

Once they entered, it was indeed as busy as expected, with long queues in front of every counter.

Being able to queue was already considered good; at some counters, people were packed so tightly that it felt like they were standing back to chest, with several circles of people around them. Even if the salespeople shouted at them to stop pushing, it was of no use.

Su Ting looked at He Dongchuan, then at He Yan, and finally down at her own little arms and legs. She decisively decided to weave through the counters and head further in.

She couldn’t believe that such a large Department Store wouldn’t have a counter with fewer people.

The first floor indeed had no less crowded counters. Most of them sold daily necessities or pastries and cookies, which had high demand and low prices, so there were many buyers.

The second floor was a bit better. While the counters selling daily necessities still had a lot of people, there were also less common counters, such as those selling furniture, appliances, and ready-made clothes.

At that time, very few people were willing to buy ready-made clothes because they were relatively expensive. For example, a basic round-neck T-shirt would cost over two fabric ration tickets. But if they bought the fabric themselves and made it, it would only cost a few pennies. Even if they hired someone to make it, the fabric and labor wouldn’t exceed one ticket.

Compared to the quiet ready-made clothing counters, the fabric counters were much busier, with dozens of people fighting over fabric.

Su Ting asked someone and found out that there was a sale of flawed fabrics today. The flaws weren’t significant and wouldn’t affect wear. The fabric ration tickets could be halved, then halved again, which made everyone go crazy fighting for them.

Su Ting was a bit tempted after hearing this, but the elderly women at the counter were far too fierce. There was no way she could get in, and within the crowd, small-scale battles were ongoing, with constant shouting and cursing.

She couldn’t do it, she just couldn’t.

With some regret, Su Ting withdrew her gaze, only to hear He Dongchuan ask: “Do you want to buy the flawed fabric?”

Su Ting’s eyes brightened and she asked: “Are you going to fight for it?”

He Dongchuan cleared his throat. “I think it’s better to buy ready-made clothes. That way, you don’t have to work hard making clothes after buying the fabric. I’ll pay for the clothes.”

At first, Su Ting felt a bit disappointed. She really wanted to see He Dongchuan fight over fabric with a bunch of old ladies. But when she heard the last sentence, she felt happy. Who would still want to buy flawed fabric if they could get ready-made clothes?

Su Ting asked: “Can I buy a few more?”

He Dongchuan replied: “As long as you have enough tickets.” When it came to money, he could be generous, but when it came to tickets, there was nothing he could do.

Since she was heading out, Su Ting had brought all the tickets she had. The only fabric ration tickets she had were the two given to her by He Dongchuan. These tickets were issued at the beginning of the year and the end of the year. Since she and He Yan had transferred their household registration halfway through, they didn’t have any.

The two tickets that He Dongchuan had were military fabric ration tickets, which couldn’t be used for her clothes. If he bought clothes for her, he wouldn’t have any left to buy fabric for shirts later.

What could be used was the industrial ticket. Its use was much more versatile; it could be used to purchase any industrial product.

The industrial ticket was issued based on salary, worth ten yuan each. He Dongchuan had a high salary and had saved up quite a bit. While he didn’t dare to say how much, it was more than enough to buy her two sets of clothes.

Su Ting didn’t feel comfortable splurging, so after much consideration, she chose a beige dress made from polyester fabric. Although she didn’t use many tickets, the price wasn’t cheap—it cost a full twenty-five yuan!

However, He Dongchuan paid without hesitation.

She didn’t just focus on herself, though. She also bought He Yan two sets of summer clothes. At that time, children’s clothes were much cheaper than adults’ clothes, and they used fewer tickets.

Then, she bought a pair of shoes for herself and He Yan. This time, she paid for them herself because she didn’t want to keep taking advantage of He Dongchuan.

But He Dongchuan wasn’t too happy. His lips pressed into a thin line.

Su Ting wasn’t sure what to make of his reaction. To her, given that they were a couple who were inevitably going to part ways, it made sense to be clear about things—otherwise, they’d have to deal with property division when they divorced.

But it seemed like he didn’t think that way.

It made sense, though. He Dongchuan didn’t appear to be very traditional, as he was willing to do household chores, but his mindset was still rather conventional. He thought it was only natural for a man to support his family.

So after he married the original body, even though he didn’t hand over all their savings, he gave her all his tickets, and he took care of the household expenses. He didn’t have any intention of touching the dowry the original body had brought.

Once she realized this, Su Ting thought his personality was actually quite nice. At least, she didn’t have to hide anything or worry about constant calculations when living with him.

So when it came time to buy a bag, Su Ting didn’t pay for it herself. Instead, she had He Dongchuan pay.

The bag wasn’t expensive, only five yuan. After all, it used less material and wasn’t a branded item. But the style was decent—simple and plain, much more fashionable than a military shoulder bag.

Before paying, Su Ting tried on the bag, and since there was no mirror, she asked He Dongchuan and He Yan for their opinions.

The older one said: “It looks good.” while the younger one said: “It looks better than the previous one.” Though He Yan’s response was only four words longer, it conveyed almost the same meaning, but Su Ting felt his answer was more to her liking. She smiled and patted his head, saying: “Then we’ll go with this one.”

He Dongchuan: “???”

—

After buying clothes, the two of them took He Yan to pick out a toy.

He Yan chose a tin toy car, a military truck style. The car was about as long as his little arms. After getting the toy, he could only hug it.

He Yan was also happy to hold onto it, as he had been thinking about the toy car for a long time.

There was a child in the courtyard who had a similar toy car. Although it was a small sedan model and much smaller than this one, it was enough to make the other children in the yard envious.

He Yan was also envious. So, when Dad and Mom let him choose a toy today, he mustered up the courage to pick a toy truck that was larger and more impressive than the small sedan.

He Yan thought that his toy would definitely make all the other children envious!

So, he was very excited holding the toy. Even when He Dongchuan offered to carry it for him, he refused. Su Ting had no choice but to hold his hand and walk with him.

When they arrived at the post office, Su Ting went to buy a postage stamp to send a letter, while He Dongchuan waited to make a phone call back to the capital.

Sending the letter was a bit faster than making the phone call. They had almost arrived at the same time to stand in line. Su Ting finished first, and there were two people ahead of He Dongchuan. She walked over to wait with him.

While they were waiting, He Dongchuan asked: “Do you want to call home as well?”

Su Ting’s first reaction was to refuse, not because she was heartless, but because she felt guilty.

She didn’t feel any guilt toward the original person after entering the book. Although the original person had not appeared much in the novel, she was an important character. Her impression of her was still that of a mere paper figure, and the original person was also an antagonistic character.

If she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to have crossed over. She missed the original world even more, missing her phone, computer, cola, and fried chicken. But what could she do? She had been forced into this ridiculous situation of crossing over.

She didn’t think she owed the original person anything.

The same went for He Dongchuan and He Yan. They were first just paper characters, then they were people who had been harmed by the original person. After she had crossed over, although she couldn’t cater to them, at least she wouldn’t make their situation worse than it had been in the novel. Naturally, she didn’t feel guilty.

As for the original person’s family… Based on the memories left behind by the original person, her siblings-in-law were not a concern, but at least her parents had truly cared for her.

But now, because of her, they had lost their daughter.

Su Ting found it hard not to feel guilty toward them.

Su Ting pressed her lips together, finding an excuse: “There’s no phone at the commune, I can only call from the sub-district office. It’ll take over an hour for the call to go back and forth. Forget it, I’ll buy some things next time and write a letter to send to them.”

Thinking about writing the letter, Su Ting felt troubled. Although she remembered the original person’s handwriting and could imitate it, everyone had different writing habits. It was easy to mimic one or two characters, but writing a whole letter would be difficult for her.

But not keeping in touch with her family wasn’t an option. The original person’s parents would definitely worry. Between calling and writing letters, Su Ting preferred to communicate with them in writing.

She decided to leave it for now. Once she had fully adapted to her current identity, maybe she would be able to face the original person’s parents properly.

He Dongchuan thought her reasoning made sense and nodded: “Then next Sunday, I’ll come with you to send the letter.”

After waiting for seven or eight minutes, it was finally He Dongchuan’s turn. The three of them walked into the phone booth.

He Dongchuan made the call and first called out: “Mom.” The moment He Yan heard this, his eyes instantly lit up, and he called out: “Grandma! Grandma!” He jumped up, trying to grab the phone from Dad.

Su Ting was worried about disturbing others on the phone, so she quickly covered He Yan’s mouth and said: “Keep your voice down, there are other people on the phone.”

He Yan made an “Oh” sound and stopped shouting, but he continued to bounce around, staring at his dad.

He Dongchuan noticed this and, after exchanging a few pleasantries with Chen Xiaoman, handed the phone to He Yan.

The little one hugged the phone and started calling out, his voice soft and shaky: “Grandma~” The trembling tone made He Dongchuan shiver, and his expression was too complicated to describe.

Not only was He Yan’s voice soft, but he also spoke a lot: “Mm-hmm, we had breakfast before coming. We took a boat on the way here, and the boat was really big, with a lot of people on it. Grandma, have you ever been on a boat? No? Then you should come here! I’ll take you on a boat.”

“We came to buy some things. Mom bought me two sets of clothes, they’re super nice! Mom says I look really handsome in them! Dad and Mom also bought me a toy car. Grandma, do you know what kind of toy car it is? It’s…” 

He Dongchuan lowered his voice and asked: “When did you praise him for being handsome?”

Su Ting was caught off guard by the question: “Why are you asking this all of a sudden when you’re going to pay?”

“I didn’t hear it.” He Dongchuan replied.

Su Ting responded with an “Oh” and after a while, she realized that if he hadn’t heard it, then he hadn’t. Why did he feel the need to confirm it? But looking at He Dongchuan’s side profile, she decided not to ask him about it.

Finally, He Yan was ready to finish the call. He spoke into the receiver: “Goodbye, Grandma, you have to miss me!”

After hearing the reply from the other end, he handed the phone to Su Ting.

Su Ting took the phone, unsure, and asked: “For me?”

He Yan nodded, continuing with his soft voice: “Mm-hmm, Grandma said she wants to talk to Mom.”

Su Ting brought the phone to her ear. Before she could speak, Chen Xiaoman’s voice came through: “Tingting?”

Su Ting quickly responded: “Eh! I’m here, Mom!”

There was a pause on the other end, and awkward silence began to spread. Su Ting felt a bad premonition but didn’t dare look up at He Dongchuan.

The cheerful laughter that followed confirmed her suspicions: “It’s better to call me Mom. Calling me Mom is closer than calling me Auntie.”

Su Ting: … Damn.

The original person liked He Dongchuan so much. Wouldn’t she have immediately started calling him “Dad” when she met his parents in the capital to build a closer relationship? Also, why did the memories left by the original person always have blanks at key moments? Was this some kind of prank by the cross-over gods?

And, today was definitely her “revealing day.” wasn’t it? Ahhh!

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