He signaled Jiang Lin to go home together.

She seemed hesitant, but he didn’t rush her.

He just held the child and waited for her silently.

Jiang Lin felt her heart race under his gaze and quickly said, “Let’s go.”

The four of them went back to the supply and marketing cooperative.

As expected, Qian Bo was sitting there obediently, watching the bags.

Jiang Lin: …What’s going on?

Seeing them return as a family of four, Qian Bo felt a wave of jealousy.

It was like a jar of old pickles that had been fermenting for twenty years. “Haha, Jiang Lin, congratulations on your family reunion.”

He muttered to himself, recalling someone once saying, “I would never betray Bian Haitao, I would never betray my pure love.”

Just then, a truck from the Hongqi Commune drove by.

Jiang Lin saw it was driven by Driver Duan and immediately waved at him, “Driver Duan.”

Driver Duan was also happy to see Jiang Lin, “Hello, Jiang Zhiqing (Educated Youth Jiang).”

Qian Bo sourly remarked, “Wow, aren’t you two close.”

Cheng Rushan glanced at him, his eyes giving a clear warning.

The pain in Qian Bo’s shoulder made him back down again.

You can’t blame him for being scared.

After going to Shuihuai Village, he’d heard many stories about Cheng Rushan.

Earlier, Cheng Rushan had squeezed his shoulder so hard it almost got disabled.

So when Cheng Rushan told him to watch the bags, he didn’t dare to leave.

He didn’t feel cowardly, he just feared Cheng the bully’s revenge.

Cheng Rushan said to Jiang Lin, “Go buy the cloth.”

Jiang Lin felt embarrassed again.

Earlier, she had slapped him in public at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Going back now would be really awkward.

But she hadn’t expected Cheng Rushan to have such a good temper.

Not only wasn’t he angry, but he acted like nothing had happened.

If it had been another man, being slapped by his wife or girlfriend in public, wouldn’t he have immediately turned hostile?

She shook her head, “I’ll watch the kids, you go.”

Cheng Rushan immediately understood her concern. “The cloth tickets are on the counter, go ahead.”

Jiang Lin got anxious hearing that, “On the counter?” How careless! What if they get lost?

Cheng Rushan smiled, adjusting their eldest child higher up, revealing his left pants pocket. “They won’t get lost, there’s money in my pocket.”

Jiang Lin glanced and quickly looked away.

There’s nothing wrong with reaching into her husband’s pocket, but she didn’t see him as her husband, so she wouldn’t do it.

“I have money.” She hurried into the supply and marketing cooperative, afraid the cloth tickets might fly away.

Cheng Xiaobao hugged his father’s head, lovingly rubbing it, making his palms itch and causing him to giggle, “Dad, let’s go too.”

Cheng Dabao wasn’t used to being held and squirmed to get down.

Cheng Rushan put Dabao down, but Xiaobao clung to him, pulling on his ears, unwilling to let go, afraid he might run away.

Cheng Rushan had to put Dabao down and then took a wad of money out of his pocket, handing it to Dabao.

Dabao took it and ran to the supply and marketing cooperative to give it to Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin was examining the cloth tickets—military cloth tickets, usable nationwide, totaling ten zhang (about 33 meters).

Previously, each person received 2.8 feet of cloth tickets per year, but now they had 15 feet, enough to make a set of clothes for an adult.

She hadn’t expected Cheng Rushan to be so capable, a hidden gem.

The shop assistant, Tao Zhen, stood behind the counter, looking at her with dissatisfaction. “No need to count them. These are special military cloth tickets. No one dares to steal a soldier’s labor fruits.”

Jiang Lin replied, “Counting makes me happy.” What’s it up to you?

Tao Zhen said, “You’re quite bold, aren’t you? I’ve never seen a wife dare to slap her husband in public.” Normally, women like that would be sent back to their parents’ home early.

What could Jiang Lin say?

That’s not my husband?

Or that she didn’t know he was her husband and misunderstood?

Seeing Tao Zhen defending Cheng Rushan, she smiled, “You just haven’t seen much. There are men who hit women, and of course, there are women who hit men. If you have a man who hits you, I wouldn’t care.”

Tao Zhen blushed, having no man to hit her.

Just as she was about to retort, Jiang Lin interrupted, “Let’s stop arguing and get back to buying cloth.”

Tao Zhen, still annoyed, asked, “What kind do you want?”

Jiang Lin wanted to use up the soon-to-expire cloth tickets first.

She checked but saw no dates on them.

Instead, there were stubs that needed to be torn off to invalidate them after use.

“These are special tickets, they don’t expire. Shows how little you know!” Tao Zhen said proudly, feeling pleased to use Jiang Lin’s lack of knowledge against her.

Jiang Lin retorted, “Don’t be so smug. It would be a disaster if a cloth seller didn’t know cloth tickets.” Trying to feel superior with her professional knowledge against a layperson?

Jiang Lin felt it was a loss not to buy discounted cloth, as one foot of cloth ticket could buy two feet of cloth.

In modern times, she wouldn’t consider this, but with scarce resources, she had to be thrifty.

She took out her ten-plus yuan, keeping a few for cotton and planning to use the rest to buy cloth.

The cloth prices ranged from 0.3 yuan to 0.7-0.8 yuan per foot, so her money couldn’t buy much.

Tao Zhen, seeing her small amount of money, sneered again.

With her appearance, she had thought Jiang Lin was wealthy.

But now, seeing her small amount of money, she wondered why she showed off, especially when she had been thinking of buying high-priced cloth.

Just as Jiang Lin was feeling the pinch, Cheng Dabao, who was silently standing beside her, stood on tiptoe and handed her a stack of money. “Mom, Dad said you can buy whatever you want!”

Tao Zhen was speechless, thinking, “Wow, that’s generous! You have such a good man and you still hit him? Are you crazy? Really spoiled!”

Jiang Lin’s eyes lit up at the sight of so much money.

She took it from Dabao and turned to see Cheng Rushan carrying Xiaobao, also walking in.

Jiang Lin turned to choose the cloth.

She needed something durable: work cloth, twill, plain cotton.

She also bought a few meters of expensive corduroy to make winter clothes for Dabao and Xiaobao, plus some good fabric for embroidery.

She planned to save half of the cloth tickets for future emergencies since they didn’t expire.

The counter was high, and Cheng Dabao, standing on tiptoe, could only show the top of his head.

He wanted to see the cloth but couldn’t, so he tugged on Jiang Lin’s clothes. “That one.” He pointed with his small finger.

There was a stack of cloth, and Jiang Lin wasn’t sure which one he meant.

Just as she was about to lift him up, Cheng Rushan bent down and hoisted Dabao up.

Cheng Dabao pointed at a red cloth with small yellow flowers. “This one, for making a dress. It’s pretty.”

Jiang Lin thought, “Isn’t that like tomato and egg?” She smiled, “That’s for new brides.”

Cheng Dabao was stubborn, “It’s pretty.”

Cheng Xiaobao pointed at another one with a white background and green flowers. “This one is pretty.”

Jiang Lin said, “It’s going to be cold soon, no dresses.”

Cheng Rushan said, “We’ll take both.” He estimated Jiang Lin’s height, “Eight feet of each.”

Tao Zhen, who had been impatient, now smiled upon seeing Cheng Rushan. “Hey, comrade, have you two made up?”

She noticed the faint finger marks on his face from the slap and was amazed that he wasn’t angry but seemed happier, as if nothing had happened.

What a strange man.

Cheng Rushan looked at her and said, “We didn’t have a fight. Comrade, you owe my wife an apology.”

Tao Zhen was taken aback, “Apology? What for? I didn’t do anything.”

Cheng Rushan smiled but didn’t explain further.

Tao Zhen suddenly remembered.

Earlier, when they were queuing, she had scolded Jiang Lin.

While it wasn’t exactly abusive, her attitude had been poor.

She pouted, unwilling to apologize.

She always behaved like that, it wasn’t personal.

Why should she apologize?

The man opposite, although smiling, had eyes growing colder, as if he wouldn’t let it go until she apologized.

Tao Zhen couldn’t handle the pressure and was afraid he might be an officer who could cause trouble with her superiors.

She quickly said, “Sorry, it was busy earlier, and I was in a hurry. My temper wasn’t great.”

Jiang Lin hadn’t expected Cheng Rushan to stand up for her, and she hadn’t expected the shop assistant to apologize so easily.

She wasn’t really mad at Tao Zhen.

In her previous life working in renovation, she dealt with many clients and government officials.

Understanding their frustration and irritability was necessary.

Otherwise, what could you do?

Not do business?

The other person’s habitual bad attitude wasn’t aimed at anyone specific, so she didn’t take it to heart.

Cheng Rushan had noticed this, and she felt quite touched.

Seeing the finger marks on his face, she felt a bit embarrassed.

“It’s okay, we understand your hard work. Please understand our excitement in buying cloth too.”

Tao Zhen, who had thought Jiang Lin must be a shrew for slapping her husband, was surprised by how easygoing she was.

She took out a roll of discounted cloth from under the counter. “Here’s some discounted cloth, I’ll give you half.”

Counter staff could keep discounted cloth for their own use, which was customary.

Jiang Lin’s eyes lit up, “You’re so selfless, comrade!”

The discounted cloth was sturdy work cloth, although slightly flawed, it was perfect for making quilts.

She bought three zhang (about 10 meters) of discounted cloth.

She didn’t buy the plain quilt lining cloth, as she could get durable, cheap old-fashioned cloth from the countryside, specifically from Temple Village in Yanghong Brigade’s Second Team.

After she finished choosing, Tao Zhen measured the fabric, snipped it, and with a quick pull, divided it into two bundles, tying them with fabric edges.

Jiang Lin praised Tao Zhen, “You’re really skilled, comrade, top-notch.”

Tao Zhen, seeing her in a better light, asked softly, “About that handkerchief…”

Jiang Lin had two handkerchiefs left in her bag, one embroidered with peonies and the other with bellflowers.

Tao Zhen inquired and chose the one with peonies.

Cheng Dabao said, “This one is pretty.”

Tao Zhen, pleased, said, “They’re all pretty, but this one has more embroidery, uses more thread, and took more effort. It’s a good deal.”

Jiang Lin thought, “That’s an interesting reason.”

Tao Zhen also bought two wallets from Jiang Lin, intending to see if they could sell.

If there was a market, she’d have Jiang Lin supply more.