“I need to ask the director about this. Comrade, please wait a moment,” said Ning Shu.

“It’s okay, go ahead and ask. I’ll go get the money to make the payment first,” replied Ning Shu.

“Sure, that sounds good,” said the salesperson.

So, the salesperson went to ask the director of the department store while Ning Shu went to get the money.

When Ning Shu returned with the money, the salesperson was already waiting for her at the refrigerator section.

Upon seeing Ning Shu, the salesperson warmly said, “Comrade, today we can deliver the goods to you. However, if you want delivery, you’ll need to wait a bit. Our director is arranging a tractor. The diesel costs and such will be covered by our department store, so you don’t need to worry. Would you like that?”

“That’s fine. I’ll go pay in a moment and then go to a friend’s place to pick up some things. It’ll probably take about half an hour. Will it be okay to wait for your director to arrange the tractor?” replied Ning Shu.

“Absolutely, it will be fine,” assured the salesperson.

Next, Ning Shu paid for the refrigerator, and the salesperson went to find the director to arrange the packaging.

Ning Shu was already very familiar with the safe zones in the city.

Moreover, she had covered the basket on her bicycle with a cloth, so no one could see the items from the app that she placed inside.

The two watermelons from yesterday were not yet finished, but today Ning Shu brought back 5 kilograms of white peaches and 5 kilograms of yangmei.

When she took the Chinese Bayberry, she couldn’t resist eating a few of them.

The Bayberry, dark as charcoal and incredibly sweet, made Ning Shu feel like she could finish two kilograms by herself.

Thinking about it, 5 kilograms wouldn’t be enough for her family of five.

Besides herself, her husband and three children all had great appetites.

However, taking out too much at once wasn’t appropriate.

In addition to the white peaches and Bayberry, Ning Shu also brought out some other foods: grilled mahi-mahi (delicacy), sweet and sour belt fish (cooked food), and Orleans chicken wings (four kilograms).

With a refrigerator at home, she could just put everything in and not worry about buying too much.

But she couldn’t get too much either.

These items, without soup, were all wrapped in oiled paper, so there was no worry about packaging.

However, the foods with soup were all packed in lunch boxes, which she had exchanged for vegetables from the Moon Bay production team or with residents of the islands for seafood.

Otherwise, she really didn’t know how to deal with so many lunch boxes.

When Ning Shu returned to the department store, nearly half an hour had passed.

The tractor had just arrived, and people from the department store were loading the refrigerator onto it.

“Comrade, you can put your bicycle on the tractor and ride back with us,” the salesperson suggested.

Ning Shu agreed.

After all, the sun was already hot, and riding a bike back wouldn’t be as comfortable as taking the tractor.

Normally, military vehicles came and went frequently, but outside vehicles were rare.

When the guard saw Ning Shu get off the tractor, he casually asked, “Sister-in-law, did you buy something? According to the rules, outside vehicles can’t enter, and outsiders need inspection to enter.”

“Not going in. I’ll just leave the things at the entrance for now. You can move them after your company commander finishes work at noon. But the stuff is a bit heavy; could you help me move it from the car to the entrance?” Ning Shu replied.

“No problem,” the guard assured her.

In fact, the guard found the refrigerator, which Ning Shu thought was heavy, easy to handle alone.

The refrigerator of that era was a Snowflake brand, known as the Snowflake Refrigerator.

It had two layers, comparable to today’s medium-sized refrigerators, between full-sized and mini-fridges.

The refrigerator was light green, a bright and vivid color.

A regular adult man could easily handle this size of refrigerator, let alone a soldier with greater strength.

As the guard moved the refrigerator, he said, “Sister-in-law, I can manage this. I’ll move it for you.”

Since there were two guards, one could handle the moving while the other remained on duty.

If it required both to move something, they couldn’t help, as the post couldn’t be left unattended.

“Is it okay?” Ning Shu was secretly eager to get the refrigerator home sooner, like wanting to wear new clothes the day after buying them.

But she hesitated because the refrigerator was heavy, feeling bad to ask for help.

“Sure, no problem,” the guard generously replied.

Seeing him manage it effortlessly, Ning Shu didn’t refuse anymore. “Thank you so much, comrade,” she said.

“You’re welcome, sister-in-law.”

During summer, the residential area was least populated due to the heat.

If it were winter, many would come out to enjoy the sun.

Because of the heat, Ning Shu and the guard didn’t encounter anyone on their way home.

Three kids were waiting at the doorstep.

They rushed over when they saw their mother returning. “Mom, where’s the refrigerator?” Yibao asked.

Looking at the guard who came with her, Yibao asked, “Mom, did Uncle move our refrigerator?”

“Yes, Uncle moved our refrigerator. Hurry and fetch Uncle some cold water when you get inside. He must be tired,” Ning Shu replied.

“Okay,” Yibao immediately ran inside to pour tea.

Erbao and Sanbao followed closely behind like shadows.

The guard helped Ning Shu move the refrigerator into the dining room.

Yibao quickly brought a bowl of cold water to him. “Uncle, have some water.”

“Thank you, young comrade,” the guard said, drinking the cold water in one gulp. “Sister-in-law, I’ll be on my way.”

“Wait a moment…” Ning Shu hurried to her basket and took out four peaches for the guard. “Here, these white peaches are for you and your colleague. You should have…”

“No need, sister-in-law…” Before Ning Shu could finish, the guard briskly walked away.

Ning Shu sighed and decided to ice the peaches and watermelon later.

Then, she’d have Yibao deliver them.

Turning around, she went to unpack the refrigerator in the dining room.

Inside the dining room, the three kids were already gathered around the refrigerator, but they couldn’t see much due to the packaging.

Seeing Ning Shu enter, Yibao asked, “Mom, can this refrigerator really make popsicles?”

“Mom, can it, can it?” Erbao quickly chimed in.

“Yes, it can, but we need to make molds for popsicles first. Then, we can have your dad make several molds,” Ning Shu replied as she unpacked. “We can even make fruit popsicles, like small round balls.”

“Molds? Mom, can we make Da Mao and Tie Dan molds?” Erbao asked excitedly.

Da Mao and Tie Dan were beloved dogs, and they barked excitedly.

Sanbao was also curious and liked the idea of Da Mao molds.

Ning Shu chuckled, “We’ll have to see if your dad can do that… Go get a basin of water and a clean cloth for washing dishes. We need to clean inside the fridge.”

“Okay…” Yibao hurried to fetch water, Erbao got the cloth, and Sanbao stayed close to Ning Shu, watching as she removed the packaging to reveal the light green refrigerator.

“Mom, this has two doors,” Sanbao felt around. “Mom, can we open it?”

They could open it.

The fridge had a shorter door on top and a longer one below.

Though not large, it was enough to hold plenty of things.

Ning Shu didn’t like to store too much in the fridge, as it tended to give off an unpleasant smell.

“Mom, here’s the water.”

“Mom, here’s the cloth.”

The new fridge had a unique smell that needed airing out after cleaning.

Ning Shu wiped it down and left it to air while she prepared lunch.

The three kids kept watching the fridge curiously, not just out of interest but also because they wanted to make popsicles.

After watching for a while and seeing the fridge still untouched, Erbao became impatient and ran to the kitchen. “Mom, when can we use the fridge?”

“Don’t be in such a rush.” Ning Shu brought out the watermelon that had been soaking since yesterday.

She cut it in half, then sliced it into pieces and put them in a wooden bowl. “Let’s have some watermelon first.”

She leaned in and sniffed the fridge again.

There was still a slight smell, but new items took time to air out.

Well, she could start using it now.

“Let’s have some watermelon.”

Each of the three children took a piece, enjoying it while watching how their mom would use the fridge.

Seeing Ning Shu plug it in, Erbao couldn’t resist asking again, “Mom, can we make popsicles and ice things now?”

“Yes, once it’s cold inside, we can start putting things in. But don’t open the fridge door too often, or the cold air will escape and things won’t chill quickly.”

Ning Shu returned to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

It was simple: she plated the sweet and sour fish, arranged the grilled wood fish on plates, and when it was time to cook rice in the steamer, she reheated it.

She also made a tomato egg soup and stir-fried some vegetables.

With these four dishes, lunch was ready.

Stir-frying the vegetables and making the tomato egg soup was quick.

After finishing, she carried the dishes to the dining room.

Opening the fridge, she saw that the freezer compartment hadn’t frozen yet, but the other compartments were cold.

Ning Shu placed the Orleans chicken wings in the freezer compartment and put yesterday’s marinated meat and watermelon in the other areas.

As soon as everything was in the fridge, the three children eagerly stuck their little heads over to watch.

“Mom, is this okay now?” Erbao asked again.

“Yeah,” Ning Shu began to teach them how to use it. “The fridge is ready like this. You can put whatever you want to freeze inside. Ice pops can also go here… Got it?”

“We got it. Can I try putting something in?” Erbao was eager to try.

“You can. Go get a bowl of cold boiled water to ice, and you can drink it when Dad gets back,” Ning Shu replied.

“Okay.” Erbao ran to the kitchen, poured a glass of cold boiled water, and carefully put it into the fridge.

Once it was inside, Erbao didn’t take his eyes off the fridge.

He even brought a stool to sit in front of it, watching closely.

Ning Shu smiled and shook her head.

Normally, Lin Guodong would see the three children sitting on the doorstep of the yard, chattering away when he returned from work, making a lively scene.

But today, as he approached the house, he didn’t see their figures.

He only saw his wife standing at the dining room door.

Curiously, he asked, “Where are the three children?”