Chapter 12 – Going to the County Town

After breakfast, Lu Fengnian drove Liu Shuning and Ruibao to the nearby county town.

The closest town to the military base was called Beiling County, but to get there, they had to drive around Mount Daqing.

Mount Daqing was the largest mountain range in the vicinity, with a total area of over one thousand square kilometers.

“Lu Fengnian, there are so many mountains here. Can we go hunting when we have time?” Liu Shuning got a little excited at the sight of the mountains. The trap-setting skills she had learned in her previous life might finally come in handy.

“You can hunt pheasants and wild rabbits on the hill behind the base, but don’t go deep into the mountains—there are tigers and bears in there. Even if you know martial arts, you still can’t be careless.” Lu Fengnian had already realized on the train that Liu Shuning knew martial arts. He had even suspected her of being an enemy spy. But after spending time with her, he found she was straightforward and hated injustice.

How could such a kind-hearted girl be a spy? She probably learned martial arts from the family guards.

“Don’t worry, I won’t go into the deep mountains. I used to learn how to set traps and hunt with a slingshot from our family’s driver uncle. I just want to see if I can catch anything with traps.”

Liu Shuning’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Lu Fengnian was starting to suspect her?

He probably had doubts ever since she used martial arts on the train.

Now she had to explain both her martial arts and hunting abilities clearly. She didn’t want to be mistaken for a spy and end up locked up.

“Your driver knew how to hunt?”

“Of course! He was a retired soldier. He could hunt and knew martial arts. I learned my skills from him. He even said I was gifted and a great seedling for martial arts.”

Their former driver really had been a retired soldier. He died a couple of years ago while out on a business trip with Liu Zhixiong. It was said that both the man and the car rolled down a ravine. Liu Zhixiong only survived by jumping out of the car in time.

“Then when we get back, we’ll have a sparring match—see whether your family’s kung fu or my military boxing is stronger.” Lu Fengnian’s doubts about Liu Shuning were completely dispelled. He’d been overthinking it before.

“Sure!” Liu Shuning had been wanting to spar with him too. She also wanted to see which was better—her Liu family martial arts or military boxing.

——

Half an hour later, the car stopped near the supply and marketing cooperative in Beiling County.

“This place is so rundown, and there’s barely anything inside.” This was Liu Shuning’s first time seeing such a small cooperative. The items on display were few and easily visible—mostly just daily household goods.

“Compared to Shanghai, this place definitely can’t compete. But you can still find all the essentials. For big-ticket items like bicycles and sewing machines, though, you’ll need to go to the department store.”

“Let’s split up. You take Ruibao and go to the department store to buy a bicycle. I’ll look around here on my own.”

Her new home already had almost everything in her space, so she didn’t plan to buy much here.

She’d just browse the store and pick up some items that weren’t in her space. Everything else, she’d retrieve from her dimensional storage.

“Will you be alright by yourself? How about I go with you to buy your stuff first, then get the bicycle?”

Lu Fengnian was hesitant to leave his wife alone. She was so beautiful—what if she ran into a bad guy?

“No need, I can handle it. Just keep an eye on Ruibao.”

Liu Shuning shook her head. She needed to take things out from her space, which wasn’t convenient if someone was with her.

“Alright, but be careful. Here’s the car key. Once you’re done shopping, ask someone from the store to help carry the items out—it’s fine to tip them. Don’t be silly and try to carry everything by yourself.”

He planned to go and come back quickly. The department store wasn’t far, and buying a bicycle shouldn’t take long.

Liu Shuning walked into the cooperative and headed straight for the food section.

“Comrade, I’d like one jin of those biscuits, one jin of brown sugar cakes, and one jin of egg cakes.”

“That’ll be 3.5 yuan and three jin of ration tickets.”

“How much is White Rabbit milk candy per jin? I want one jin.” Liu Shuning already had White Rabbit candies in her space—she just wanted to ask the price.

“One yuan fifty. No ration tickets needed, but we’re out of stock. If you want it, go to the department store.”

The staff’s attitude was not great. Liu Shuning even caught the clerk rolling their eyes. But since her task wasn’t done yet, she held back her anger.

“How much is a large iron pot? Do you have coal stoves?”

“Large iron pot is 10 yuan and five industrial tickets. Coal stove is 15 yuan, no ticket needed.”

“What about cotton fabric? How much per foot?…”

Liu Shuning spent the morning mainly asking prices, going through all the items in the store. Under the annoyed gaze of the staff, she finally bought some snacks and a coal stove, then left the cooperative.

Meanwhile, Lu Fengnian was carrying Ruibao in the department store, looking at bicycles. There weren’t many styles—just the Forever and Phoenix brands, both with similar designs.

“Comrade, do you have 26-inch bicycles?” Lu Fengnian wasn’t happy with the available models. The 28-inch bikes were too tall—his wife might not be able to reach the pedals.

“You’re probably looking for the 26-inch Flying Pigeon model. This month, we only got two, and they’ve already been reserved.” The bicycle clerk was polite only because Lu Fengnian wore a military uniform. If it had been someone else asking for a 26-inch bike, she would’ve just brushed them off.

“When will the next batch come in? I want to reserve one.”

“That I’m not sure about. But if you want to reserve, you’ll need to pay a 100 yuan deposit.”

“Alright, thank you. Here’s the deposit. The extra five yuan is for phone costs—please call me when it arrives.” Lu Fengnian handed over 105 yuan. He didn’t want someone else to use connections and snatch his bike once it arrived.

The clerk happily pocketed the five yuan—this handsome soldier was quite generous. Five yuan was her salary for five days! She’d go buy some meat and treat herself to a good meal. Today was definitely her lucky day. “Comrade, leave me your contact info. When your bike comes in, I’ll notify you right away. Don’t worry—with me here, you’ll definitely get your bike next month.”

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Although he didn’t get the bike right away, Lu Fengnian still felt a bit disappointed. Resources in the northeast were just too scarce. In Shanghai, a 26-inch bicycle wasn’t anything rare at all.

“Uncle, I want that toy!” While passing the toy section, Ruibao pointed at a tin frog and said to Lu Fengnian.

“I’ll buy you that toy if you promise to sleep with me tonight, okay?” Lu Fengnian pinched his chubby cheeks. This little brat got to sleep cuddled up with his wife—he was jealous. He wanted to sleep with her too, but she still wouldn’t share a room with him.