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Once they reached the town, the roads were noticeably smoother. After a bumpy three-hour journey, they finally arrived at their destination in the county.
The military vehicle pulled up right in front of the department store, immediately drawing the attention of passersby. At the sight of this scene, everyone knew—another military family relocation was taking place, and the family had come for a major shopping trip.
However, the department store salesclerks didn’t particularly like serving military families. Many of these women came from the countryside, and visiting a department store for the first time, they reacted with wide-eyed wonder, much like Grandmother Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
The children of these families tended to be noisy and rowdy, running around, grabbing things, tugging on their mothers—just like mischievous little monkeys. It was exhausting just watching them.
And that wasn’t the only issue. These military wives were reluctant to spend money. They thought everything was too expensive and insisted on bargaining.
Seriously, this was a department store, not an open-air market! There was no room for haggling here!
In reality, soldiers received decent pay and benefits—their salaries were relatively high, and they got plenty of ration coupons. But their wives were simply too frugal to spend freely.
So, whenever the store clerks learned that military families were coming to shop, they were far from enthusiastic about assisting them.
Because of this, any unpleasant task that no one wanted to do was inevitably assigned to Xiao Zhao.
She braced herself and stepped forward to serve the customers. But the moment she saw the family of three, she couldn’t help but think—not all military families were alike.
This particular family was not only visually pleasing, but even the little child was remarkably well-behaved. Though clearly curious about their surroundings, the child simply observed quietly instead of running around or shouting like most kids.
The woman’s skin was incredibly smooth and fair, making Xiao Zhao want to ask what kind of skincare products she used.
She was wearing a simple dress, nothing fancy, yet on her, it looked exceptionally elegant. Even her voice was pleasant to listen to!
As for the man in uniform, although he wore a stern expression and looked rather intimidating, the moment he turned to his wife and child, he softened instantly!
Xiao Zhao was internally screaming: They’re perfect for each other! Absolutely perfect!!
If Li Xia could hear Xiao Zhao’s inner thoughts, she would probably sigh in amusement—so people were already shipping couples back in the 70s, huh?
Li Xia prioritized quality and aesthetics when shopping. As long as something wasn’t outrageously expensive, she was willing to buy it. After all, these were items she would use for a long time, so it was better to choose things she genuinely liked rather than simply going for the cheapest option.
Products from this era were generally well-made. She had even heard that some electric fans from the 60s and 70s could still function decades later.
But what really mattered to her was appearance. Take the bed sheets and quilts, for example—the ones she had just seen were covered in huge, gaudy peony patterns symbolizing wealth and prosperity. Honestly… they were just too much.
After carefully sifting through the selection, she finally found two sets with more subtle and elegant designs.
Then, her attention shifted to the fabric section, where she noticed that the patterns were actually much fresher and more refined. Seeing this, Li Xia decided to buy some fabric and planned to have a custom four-piece bedding set made later.
At this time, the largest wardrobe available was a double-door design. Resources were scarce, and people only had a few sets of clothes to rotate through, so there was no need for the massive wardrobes that would become common in later years.
The department store had everything for sale. In addition to the items on her list, Li Xia also picked up a few children’s storybooks and picture books for An An.
She even spotted sanitary belts for sale and bought one for herself.
Until now, she had only used cloth or paper during her periods, which was extremely inconvenient and uncomfortable. While a sanitary belt might not be as hygienic or convenient as modern options, it was still an improvement over using paper.
…
Once they had everything they needed, Li Xia asked, “We’ve pretty much gotten everything. An An, is there anything else you want to buy?”
An An, happily clutching the storybook and picture book his mother had bought him, shook his head with a content smile. “Mommy, no more!”
But then, Gu Weicheng suddenly turned to Xiao Zhao and asked, “Where do they sell clothes?”
Xiao Zhao quickly replied, “Downstairs. I’ll take you there.”
At first, Li Xia thought Gu Weicheng was shopping for himself.
But when they got to the second floor, he walked straight into the women’s clothing section.
“I noticed you didn’t bring many clothes with you this time. You look good in dresses—buy a few more.” Gu Weicheng said.
“Your husband treats you so well. You’re really lucky!” Xiao Zhao chimed in from the side.
Her elder sister hadn’t been so fortunate. Her brother-in-law was extremely stingy and wouldn’t even buy her new clothes. To save money, her sister had to sew her own dresses, and even then, her brother-in-law would give her an attitude about it.
Seeing her sister’s struggles had made Xiao Zhao dread the idea of marriage. But now, looking at Li Xia and her family, she realized that not all men were like her brother-in-law.
Li Xia pressed her lips into a small smile. Xiao Zhao was right—Gu Weicheng wasn’t the type to sweet-talk or say charming things, but his actions spoke volumes.
He cared about her, and he was willing to spend money on her.
That alone put him miles ahead of many men.
Since she really hadn’t brought many clothes, and Gu Weicheng had encouraged her to buy some, Li Xia took his suggestion to heart and picked out a few dresses.
…
During this era, dresses were called Bulaji, a term borrowed from the Soviet Union. The style was quite classic—what would later be considered vintage fashion.
In this era, buying clothes meant you couldn’t try them on. The best you could do was hold them up against your body to check the fit. Fortunately, Li Xia had a well-proportioned figure, so she could wear most standard sizes. She ended up buying two dresses, two blouses, and two pairs of pants.
She also noticed that while clothing colors in this era weren’t particularly vibrant, consisting mostly of gray, blue, and black, with the right eye for pairing, it was still possible to put together stylish outfits.
For example, the two blouse-and-pants combinations she picked out—gray with black—were actually quite similar to the Miu-style aesthetic that had been trendy before she time-traveled. And the caramel brown with oat white set? Right now, people might call it “earth tones”, but wasn’t this just the Morandi color palette?
Xiao Zhao watched as Li Xia took what seemed like ordinary clothes and paired them into chic and flattering outfits. Her eyes lit up with excitement.
She had always known that the department store carried nice clothes—but she had never realized they could look this good!
After picking out her own clothes, Li Xia also bought some outfits for An An.
As they left the store, she looked at the military truck filled to the brim with their purchases and couldn’t help but sigh in satisfaction—this was truly a shopping spree to remember!
Just as Li Xia and her family walked out the door, Xiao Zhao was called into the manager’s office.
The reason?
Because she had been the one to assist Li Xia’s family, her monthly sales performance had skyrocketed, securing first place on the leaderboard.
In this era, commission-based pay wasn’t a thing yet. However, the Department Store’s “Model Worker Award” was directly tied to sales performance. Xiao Zhao, who had only been on the job for two months, was now about to receive a Model Worker Award!
The senior employees, who had always been reluctant to serve military families, were all stunned!
…
The shopping trip had been exhausting.
As soon as they got home, Gu Weicheng told Li Xia and An An to rest, assuring them he would take care of unpacking.
Meanwhile, Xiao Li helped Gu Weicheng carry the newly purchased wardrobe into their room.
Sister-in-law Tao heard the commotion from next door and quickly came over to help. Seeing the military truck packed to the brim, she gasped in surprise.
“Xiao Li, did you guys empty out the entire Department Store? Are you planning to spend everything you have?” she exclaimed.
She had also gone shopping as a military spouse before, but the amount she bought back then was less than half of what Li Xia had just purchased, and even that had felt painfully expensive to her.
How much must Li Xia have spent on all this?
“I figured it’d be best to buy everything we need in one go, so we won’t have to keep making trips to the city,” Li Xia replied with a smile.
Truthfully, they had spent quite a lot today.
When she calculated the expenses just now, she realized their total savings had dropped by nearly 1,000 yuan.
One thousand yuan—from a modern perspective, it didn’t seem like that much.
But in this era, that was more than two years’ worth of wages for an average worker. The purchasing power of that amount was enormous.
Still, Li Xia didn’t feel the least bit regretful.
Money was meant to be spent—and everything she bought today was exactly what she wanted. If it meant she could live comfortably and use things that made her life easier, then it was worth every penny.
“Sister-in-law Tao, would you like some water?” Li Xia offered warmly.
The last time Sister-in-law Tao had visited, their house had been completely empty, with nothing to serve guests with.
But now, they finally had everything they needed—including a proper set of cups.
At last, she could properly host visitors.
…
Three of the cups were for her, Gu Weicheng, and An An, while the remaining ones were prepared for guests.
In this era, people loved to visit each other’s homes, and according to Gu Weicheng, once their place was properly set up, they would need to host a meal—inviting the soldiers and military spouses close to him over for dinner.
This tradition, known as a housewarming gathering, was customary. Li Xia was actually worried that even with all these cups, they still might not be enough.
“So many cups! You’re really willing to spend,” Sister-in-law Tao remarked with a sigh. “In our house, we only have one enamel mug. Whoever gets thirsty just takes it and drinks—there’s no need for all these formalities.”
Of all the things Li Xia had quickly adapted to since arriving here, this was the one habit she simply couldn’t accept.
Drinking from the same cup as others… it just felt too unhygienic to her.
…
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Su Wenyen had already boarded the train to Luzhou County.
She told Su Wenbin that she needed to make a trip home because she had forgotten to hide something important—a foreign literary classic, a banned book.
If it were discovered, their parents might not even be allowed to stay at the labor farm any longer.
Su Wenbin understood the seriousness of the situation, so he had no choice but to agree to let Su Wenyen go back. However, he repeatedly warned her to be extremely careful on the way.
Without hesitation, Su Wenyen bought a train ticket to Luzhou County—but her true purpose had nothing to do with retrieving the book.
She was going to Luzhou County to find Li Xia’s lover!
Since she knew that Li Xia’s hometown was Daxi Village in Luzhou County. Her plan was to go there first, ask around, and see if she could uncover any information about Li Xia’s lover.
Upon arriving in Daxi Village, Su Wenyen asked around and quickly found Li Jiangang’s home.