Chapter 21: Did You Buy It for Me?

Jiang Hong didn’t answer, instead turning to look at Li Yiyi, who was following behind him. “What kind of clothes do you want?”

As soon as Li Yiyi entered the store, she took a quick look at the clothes. Unfortunately, none of the clothes were to her liking. They may have been fashionable in this era, but after being accustomed to the clothes from her past life, she didn’t find them appealing.

“Let’s buy clothes for the two kids first. I’ll look at mine later,” she said to him.

Jiang Hong nodded and turned to speak to the saleswoman at the counter. “Please get two sets of clothes for each of the children.”

When the saleswoman heard “children,” her bright eyes immediately dimmed. She had hoped to meet a young, unmarried soldier, but when she realized that the man already had a wife and kids, her hopes were dashed.

The saleswoman listlessly brought out four sets of clothes.

Li Yiyi stepped forward to try them on the two children, and the sizes fit them well.

Considering that children grow quickly, she ended up only buying one set for each of them.

When it was time to pay, Jiang Hong stepped up to the counter first, handing over both fabric coupons and money.

As they left the clothing store, Li Yiyi overheard the saleswoman, who was speaking to her colleague with a tone of envy, saying something about how such a good man was beyond her reach.

The two children hugged their new clothes, their little faces bright red with happiness.

They had grown so much, and finally, they had clothes of their own to wear.

“We finally don’t have to wear the clothes that Sister Tiantian and the others don’t want anymore!” Jiang Yueyue joyfully shouted while holding her clothes.

Her words made Li Yiyi feel a pang of guilt. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Jiang Hong, even though this wasn’t her doing. Still, as she now inhabited the body of the original owner, she knew she would have to bear the blame.

Jiang Hong didn’t blame anyone, though—he only blamed himself.

He gently stroked his daughter’s head. “From now on, we’ll only wear our own clothes. Daddy will work hard, take on more tasks, and earn more money for you, your brother, and Mommy, so you can all live a good life.”

Li Yiyi was a bit surprised. She had expected him to scold her for not taking care of the children properly, but instead, he said nothing to her.

At that moment, a surprised voice came from behind them.

“Sister, Brother-in-law, is that really you?”

A teenager, around seventeen or eighteen, rushed up to them.

Li Yiyi looked at the boy’s face. After searching the memories left by the original owner, she realized who he was—Li Jiabao, the original owner’s younger brother who studied in the city.

Li Yiyi frowned at the thought of this little brother. In short, Li Jiabao was a selfish, opportunistic person, always saying sweet words to take advantage of the original owner. Unfortunately, the original owner was a fool who easily got tricked.

The original owner’s death had a lot to do with him.

“Jiabao, I didn’t expect you to have grown so much after a few years,” Jiang Hong said, staring at him for a moment before recognizing who he was.

Li Jiabao, with an excited expression, ran up to Jiang Hong. “Brother-in-law, when did you come back?”

Jiang Hong answered, “I came back a couple of days ago.”

“Sister, you haven’t come to the city to see me these past few days,” Li Jiabao said with a grin, looking at Li Yiyi.

Li Yiyi stared at his face, which wore a grin that made her feel uneasy. In her heart, she scoffed. People who didn’t know any better might think her little brother actually missed her, but the truth was that the original owner had come to the city a few days ago to bring him money.

But now that she had taken over this body, the matter was no longer relevant.

Li Yiyi suppressed her disgust and replied, “I’ve been feeling unwell these past few days, and since your brother-in-law is back, I’ve been too busy. You should focus on your studies in the city and avoid picking up bad habits.”

From what Li Yiyi knew from the original owner’s memories, Li Jiabao wasn’t actually focused on studying—he was just coasting through school.

Li’s mother had always wanted to get her younger son through school, but in this era, teachers had little interest in teaching, let alone students.

Li Jiabao glanced at Jiang Hong before continuing with a pitiful look. “Sister, I’ve been studying really hard lately. I’ve lost a lot of weight. Do you think I look thinner?”

Li Yiyi forced a smile and glanced at his face. “Really? I don’t think you’ve lost that much weight. Anyway, focus on your studies. Your brother-in-law and I still need to buy a few other things.”

Without waiting for his surprised expression, she pulled Jiang Hong away briskly.

The two children didn’t have a good impression of Li Jiabao and quickly followed their parents once they left.

After meeting Li Jiabao, Li Yiyi lost interest in browsing any further.

As soon as they left the department store, she released Jiang Hong’s hand. “Jiang Hong, take the kids to the restaurant up ahead and wait for me. I need to buy some fabric and order some food. I’m hungry.”

“Okay, here,” he said, pulling out several large union tickets and a stack of food ration coupons from his pocket.

“You still have money?” Li Yiyi had been curious when he paid earlier, but the appearance of Li Jiabao had distracted her from asking.

“This is from my mission bonus,” he replied.

Li Yiyi took the money. After all, since this man was now hers, his money was hers too.

“Do you still have any money on you?” She asked as she took one of the union tickets from him.

Jiang Hong nodded. “I have two more. Do you need them?”

He thought she still wanted some.

Li Yiyi quickly stopped him as he reached for his pocket. “I didn’t ask for your leftover money. Keep those two, but a man shouldn’t be without money on him.”

“That’s all. Take them to the restaurant. I’ll join you once I’m done with my shopping,” she added.

After parting ways with them, Li Yiyi didn’t go to the supply and marketing cooperative. Instead, she found a secluded spot where no one passed by and entered the space supermarket to shop.

This time, she had a specific goal. She went straight to the clothing section of the supermarket.

This supermarket was the largest in the city, with a complete range of products.

Once inside the clothing section, Li Yiyi didn’t choose any ready-made clothes but went to the warehouse, where she picked out three bundles of fabric—one in blue, one in white, and one in red. Each bundle was about a meter long.

While heading to the checkout, she passed by the men’s section and spotted a few items that caught her eye.

For some reason, when she saw these clothes, her first thought was that Jiang Hong would look great in them.

When she finally went to check out, she was not only holding the three bundles of fabric but also two men’s t-shirts and a bag of candy for the children back home.