Zhou Qiqi was busy stuffing clothes into a woven bag and couldn’t be bothered to argue. She just flashed the shop owner a sweet smile.  

“Who said I’m only taking this few? I’m just starting small to test the waters. Once this batch sells out, I’ll be back to buy more from you!”  

The girl was fresh-faced, bright-eyed, and had a honeyed tongue. The shop owner took an instant liking to her and nodded.  

“Alright then! Next time, I’ll give you the regular customer discount!”  

Unexpectedly, the woman from earlier wasn’t ready to let it go. She stood haughtily to the side, her eyes filled with disdain and scorn.  

“Test the waters?”  

“With the outdated styles you picked? You think you’ll sell them all? I bet they’ll just rot in your hands! By then, you won’t even know how to cry about it!”  

Her shrill voice drew the attention of several customers who had just entered the shop.  

“No need for your concern,” Zhou Qiqi said leisurely, smoothing out the woven bag. Suddenly, she lifted her gaze, her clear eyes sharp as a blade, sweeping over the woman’s twisted face.  

“Not knowing how to cry is still better than some people not knowing how to look decent!”  

The moment those words left her mouth, a few onlooking customers couldn’t hold back their laughter.  

“You ill-mannered little brat! Who are you calling indecent?!”  

The woman’s face flushed red with rage. Stomping her high heels, she lunged at Zhou Qiqi.  

The shop owner hurriedly stepped between them, pulling and coaxing until she finally managed to drag the woman away. Even as she left, the woman kept cursing.  

“Country bumpkin, thinking you can sell clothes—what’s the use of just being pretty? Can’t even recognize good taste…”  

The shop owner wiped sweat from her forehead and sighed helplessly. She took Zhou Qiqi’s hand and whispered,  

“She’s always like that! One of the first street vendors in the city, made some money, and now she thinks she’s hot stuff. She looks down on everyone, as if they’re all in her way!”  

“Don’t take it to heart, girl. You seem sharp—I’m sure you’ll make it big!”  

What could she do? Both were customers, and she couldn’t afford to offend either.  

Zhou Qiqi didn’t want to make things difficult for her. Her fingers tightened slightly around the woven bag, her eyes narrowing with a meaningful smile.  

“Auntie, you seem to know her well. Do you happen to know where she usually sets up her stall?”  

….

Just as she stepped out of the shop, Shitou (Shi = Shitou) came rushing over in a fury.  

“Sis-in-law? Did that woman bully you? Let me go teach her a lesson!”  

He’d been waiting outside and, though he couldn’t hear clearly, had pieced together what happened. The moment he saw the woman lunging at his sis-in-law, he’d wanted to charge in.  

But Zhou Qiqi had told him to watch Zhouzhou, so he’d forced himself to stay put.  

Zhou Qiqi quickly stopped him.  

“No, no, no! You’re a soldier—even off-duty, you represent the army. You can’t just go around picking fights. If there’s a score to settle, I’ll handle it myself!”  

“But—”  

Shitou was still fuming, but Zhou Qiqi hoisted the woven bag onto his shoulder.  

“But what? Don’t tell me you’re trying to slack off and avoid carrying this?”  

The thing was heavy, and she couldn’t wait to offload it onto him.  

Knowing his sis-in-law had a plan, Shitou didn’t argue further. Scratching his head, he obediently took the bag in one hand and held Zhouzhou’s hand with the other.  

Zhou Qiqi led the two of them to a nearby fabric store, where she bought some cloth, sewing supplies, and a couple of new pairs of shoes for herself.  

On the way back, she stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative for fresh meat and vegetables before heading toward the department store.

She had been here once before with Zhu Yingying, but last time, they were in a hurry to buy pots, pans, and other household items.  

This time, she finally had the chance to explore properly.  

The moment she stepped inside, she heard a salesperson shouting at the top of their lungs:  

“Last one left! Stop pushing!”  

A crowd surged forward like a tidal wave. Zhou Qiqi stood on tiptoe and saw a palm-sized black-and-white TV displayed at the center of the counter, its screen broadcasting footage of the women’s volleyball team heading off to the World Championships.  

“Four hundred yuan? And you need industrial vouchers too?”  

Listening to the murmurs in the crowd, Zhou Qiqi sucked in a sharp breath.  

That was nearly half a year’s wages for an average person!  

Her gaze swept over the fridge model priced at eight hundred yuan beside it, and her eyes widened even further.  

She had originally thought that since building the bathroom and shower room hadn’t cost much, she could use the leftover money to buy a few big-ticket items for the house.  

But after some consideration, she decided against it—better to wait until she’d earned more.  

After wandering around for a while, the three of them arrived at their destination—the stationery section.  

She patted Zhouzhou’s shoulder, cleared her throat, and said with an air of nonchalance:  

“Ahem, take a look around. Pick whatever you like.”  

“Since we’ve brought you out, it wouldn’t do to send you back empty-handed. Wouldn’t want people thinking I’m stingy.”  

Zhouzhou blinked in confusion, then slowly wandered around, her gaze lingering on the art supplies.  

Finally, she timidly pointed to a small box of crayons inside the display case.  

Zhou Qiqi had made such a grand declaration, only for the child to pick the cheapest item possible. The salesperson curled her lip, clearly unimpressed, and said impatiently:  

“Just this? Forty-two cents!”  

“Who said just this? Pack up this, this, and this—all of it!”  

Zhou Qiqi slapped down a ten-yuan bill and grabbed everything Zhouzhou had glanced at earlier—watercolor paints, oil brushes, and the like.  

Zhouzhou tilted her little face upward, her eyes reddening like a bunny’s.  

Zhou Qiqi quickly waved her off.  

“No, no, no—your uncle told me to buy these for you! It’s his money! If you want to cry, go cry to him!”  

She couldn’t stand kids crying—it was too much trouble.  

Seeing that Zhou Qiqi had picked out high-quality supplies for the child, the salesperson’s attitude softened. She even recommended some complementary sketch paper and canvas.  

By the time they left the counter, Zhouzhou was carrying a big pile of art supplies herself, her little face flushed and her steps unusually light as she stuck close to Zhou Qiqi.  

After shopping, it was time for lunch.  

Even though it was already September, the midday sun was still scorching enough to make one dizzy.  

Zhou Qiqi wasn’t one to skimp on herself. She promptly dragged her two companions to a state-run restaurant.  

First, she ordered three ice-cold Arctic Orange sodas, then waved her hand grandly and picked two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes—four dishes in total, costing four yuan and fifty cents.  

The most expensive item was a seasonal steamed silver carp, priced at one yuan and fifty cents per fish—something most people couldn’t bring themselves to order.  

Zhou Qiqi, however, was different. Seeing that Zhouzhou was eating heartily, she straight-up ordered another fish.  

With Qin Shi, the soldier, as their bottomless pit, not a single scrap of the five dishes went to waste.  

After lunch, Qin Shi drove them home.  

When they arrived at the doorstep, Yingying and her husband happened to return at the same time.  

Qin Shi once again played the role of manual laborer, helping to carry Yingying’s sewing machine over.  

When the couple got married, Battalion Commander Wang had made sure they had the “three rounds and one sound” (bicycle, sewing machine, wristwatch, and radio)—all the essentials.  

But Yingying had never used the sewing machine—she didn’t even know how.  

Running her hand over the brand-new sewing machine in front of her, Zhou Qiqi felt an indescribable emotion.