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Chapter 5 – A Trip to the Department Store

“No problem,” Lin Tingyu introduced, “the department store isn’t far, about twenty minutes away. Should we walk?”

The five yuan hadn’t come easily. Lin Tingyu didn’t want to waste it on bus fare. For someone like him, who spent his days running and climbing, a twenty-minute walk wasn’t even worth mentioning.

“Sure!” For once, Xu Jingchu and Qin Yajuan were in agreement. The money in their hands was precious, and twenty minutes on foot was nothing.

“Let’s go look at clothes first.” Qin Yajuan had already decided how to spend her twenty yuan. She wanted to buy a few sets of pretty clothes. Once she started working in the factory, wearing nice outfits would surely catch Wang Yuejin’s eye.

Xu Jingchu also knew buying clothes was necessary. If she wandered around the military compound in patched-up clothes every day, people would gossip that the Lin family mistreated her, which would bring them unnecessary trouble.

“Alright, Tingyu, thanks for helping us out,” Xu Jingchu said.

Lin Tingyu really liked this tall sister. She always had “thank you” and “sorry to trouble you” on her lips. The teacher said one should be polite, and this tall sister really was. Unlike the other one, who always spoke like she was giving orders.

Even his own big brother didn’t treat him so politely! Hmph! If it weren’t for Mom and Dad’s sake! If it weren’t for the money’s sake!

Qin Yajuan quickly picked out a few outfits and went to try them on. The saleslady by the side eagerly tried to persuade Xu Jingchu, “Comrade, why don’t you try this light yellow dress? I don’t usually recommend it, but you’re very pretty, and it would look great on you.”

Xu Jingchu waved her hand to refuse. Qin Yajuan had just taken a blouse that cost three yuan. That dress probably wouldn’t be less than ten. She needed to save her money for more important things.

“Jingchu-jie,” Lin Tingyu tugged at her sleeve, motioning for her to squat down because he couldn’t reach.

“What is it?” Xu Jingchu cooperated.

He leaned in close to whisper, “I’m only telling you this secretly. I think you look better than Yajuan-jie. No matter what clothes you wear, you’ll look better than her.”

Xu Jingchu smiled. “Thanks for the compliment. I’ll buy you some candy later.”

At the mention of “candy,” Lin Tingyu’s eyes curved into happy crescents.

Qin Yajuan spent all twenty yuan clean. “Jingchu, aren’t you buying anything? Or are you planning to hoard the twenty yuan Auntie Zhang gave you, and then ask her for more later? You sure know how to play your cards.”

She deliberately said this in front of Lin Tingyu. Children loved to repeat things and never understood whether words were good or bad.

“Who said I’m not buying? We let you go first. Once you’re done, I’ll buy mine.” Xu Jingchu shot back.

“Who knows how long you’ll take? I’m not waiting. I’m going home, I’m tired.” Qin Yajuan had no intention of tagging along with her.

Opportunities to watch TV in the village were rare. Now that she finally had TV freedom and had already bought what she wanted, she had no desire to keep Xu Jingchu company.

“Yajuan-jie, do you remember the way home? If you do, you can go ahead.”

“I must accompany Jingchu-jie. For one, I haven’t finished the task my brother gave me. For another, the way back is the same as the way here—we’ve walked it once. But the places Jingchu-jie still wants to go, she won’t know her way around. So I have to stay with her.”

As expected of the child of a high-ranking family—clear reasoning, composed and confident.

“Fine, Yajuan-jie, you can head back then.” Though Qin Yajuan didn’t want to curry favor with the Lin family, she also couldn’t afford to cross them for no reason—not even Lin Tingyu.

Once Qin Yajuan left, Xu Jingchu said to Lin Tingyu, “Tingyu, could you take me to buy some fabric?”

That morning while tidying the house, she’d noticed the Lin family owned a sewing machine. If patched clothes weren’t acceptable, she could make a few new ones herself.

In her past life, she’d sewn plenty of clothes for Wang Yuejin’s family. Though it had been decades since, even if her skills were rusty, she’d eventually remember.

“Okay.” Lin Tingyu didn’t quite understand, but he respected her decision.

Xu Jingchu picked out several bolts of fabric—some in steadier colors, some brighter—to suit different occasions.

“Jingchu-jie, where to next?” Lin Tingyu, though young, could tell she had her own plans.

“Come on! Time to get you that candy.” He hadn’t expected her to keep her word so quickly, and skipped along happily as he led the way. What surprised him even more was that she generously bought him half a jin at once.

“Tingyu, listen to me. You need to space these out. No more than five pieces a day, or else you’ll get cavities.”

“What are cavities?”

Xu Jingchu realized she’d slipped. People in the eighties didn’t know about cavities. “It’s when bugs use drills to make holes in your teeth.”

She deliberately made it sound painful to scare him.

“Alright, alright, I’ll eat four a day.” As expected, kids were easy to scare.

“Okay, now that you’ve got your treat, let’s buy food for the whole family. We’ll get some vegetables, meat, rice, flour, and oil.”

The thought made her heart ache. That morning, when she’d tidied up, she discovered the Lin family’s kitchen had nothing but a few basic seasonings. No rice, no flour, no oil. Clearly, Zhang Qiuyun hadn’t expected her to handle these things and hadn’t given her any ration coupons either.

These coupons she was using now all came from her own stash.

“Jie, why are we buying that stuff? Our family doesn’t cook. My parents don’t know how. Usually, we just eat at the canteen.” His answer explained perfectly why the kitchen was empty.

“No worries, I can cook. You’ll just need to help carry things back. And don’t worry, I won’t let you do it for nothing—I’ll buy you an ice cream bar later. We’ll take the bus home, my treat.” Xu Jingchu’s tone was sincere, even when asking help from a child.

“Okay, okay.” He agreed eagerly. “Jie, don’t look down on me just ’cause I’m small. I’m strong!”

She thought, I know you’re strong—otherwise I wouldn’t dare buy this much.

After buying the groceries, she left them at the shops for pickup later. “Tingyu, we’ll come back for these. There’s still one place I want to go.”

“Where?” At this point, wherever she wanted to go, he was willing to follow.

“The Xinhua Bookstore. I want to buy some books.” The ones she’d brought from the village weren’t complete, and she barely had any practice materials. Buying books was her top priority.

“No problem, Jie. Do you need exercise books, pens, rulers? I’ve got loads—I can give you some. I never use them.” After just an hour, Lin Tingyu already treated Xu Jingchu as one of his own.

Besides… he didn’t like studying anyway. What was the point of studying when he could run around the compound, playing fighting games with his friends? Only his big brother liked burying his head in books. Now there was another—this fairy-like big sister.

“Yes, yes, of course!” Xu Jingchu was delighted, nodding quickly. Even a little saved was worth it.

By choosing fabric over ready-made clothes, she saved quite a bit, and after all the purchases still had just under five yuan left.

Another profitable day!

When they finally got home, it was already past noon. After a whole morning of activity, Lin Tingyu was quiet now, his stomach growling.

“Jingchu-jie, my brother’s probably too absorbed in studying to remember to eat. I’ll go to the canteen to get our meal tickets. Mom left enough for the four of us this morning.” He volunteered eagerly.

“Alright,” Xu Jingchu agreed, exhausted herself.

When they came in carrying bags full of purchases, Qin Yajuan was still watching TV.

“Well, well, Xu Jingchu, you really went all out, huh? Bought so much stuff already? Do you really think this is your own home?” Qin Yajuan sneered sarcastically.

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