Chapter 008: Shopping and Stockpiling! Buying Clothes! Buying All Kinds of Supplies!

Qin Xiaoran currently had 686 yuan and 58 cloth coupons. In this era, that was enough to buy a lot of things.

As she walked, she thought about how to use this money.

First of all, she definitely needed to buy clothes.

Taking back everything from the Wang family wasn’t going to be easy. It would take time. For now, she couldn’t tear her face off with them completely. The clothes she had promised to buy, she had to buy, otherwise, in the future, she would have no excuse to ask them for money again.

Of course, the amount she bought could be controlled.

It was summer now. One nice dress, a set of blouse and trousers, one pair of leather shoes, one pair of cloth shoes—together with her old clothes and shoes to rotate, that would be enough for now.

Adding it up, it would cost at most 200 yuan and 20 cloth coupons. The rest of the money could be used for other things.

Second, she definitely had to buy food.

Rice, flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish, and all sorts of ingredients—as well as pots, bowls, and pans for cooking—she needed to stock up.

She had starved too much in her last life. Without food in her hands, she never felt safe. She had to hoard more this time, just in case.

Stockpiling food in her space wouldn’t just be for emergencies. For example, like this morning when she hadn’t had time to eat, she wouldn’t have to go hungry. It would be much more convenient.

Third, she also needed to buy seeds for grains and vegetables, as well as chickens, ducks, geese, and fish.

Since her space had fields and a river, naturally she should plant crops and vegetables. This way, she could be self-sufficient and not rely on outside purchases.

With a river and vegetables, she could also raise chickens, ducks, geese, and fish. Once they grew, she could have meat and eggs.

Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but smile.

But then she thought of another problem—she only had cloth coupons and no other ration coupons!

This was a bit troublesome, but not unsolvable. She could just go to the black market to exchange for some.

Some people secretly sold the coupons they had saved up at the black market, trading them for cash or other goods.

In this era, reselling ration coupons counted as the crime of “profiteering.” If caught, it would be troublesome. But such things always existed.

For example, Uncle Li—the one who gave her cloth coupons—was doing this. And not on a small family scale, but in a fairly large operation.

She herself had often dealt with the black market in her previous life. Not to make money, but just to survive.

By the time she came back to her senses, she had already arrived at the department store.

Pretty, expensive dresses and other high-end goods couldn’t be found at regular supply cooperatives—only here.

She wasn’t familiar with the place, only having heard about it a few times from Cui Hongyan and Wang Xiaoyi, but she had never actually been here.

Pressed for time, she went straight in.

There were so many things for sale, dazzling to the eyes, but her mind was steady, and she went directly toward the clothing section.

The clothes here were brightly colored, and naturally very expensive.

Walking around, she even recognized a few pieces that Cui Hongyan and Wang Xiaoyi had worn before. But she didn’t see anything she liked.

The price was one thing—but more importantly, they didn’t suit her.

She wasn’t satisfied, and the nearby sales clerk wasn’t satisfied either, looking at her with obvious disdain.

After some time, she finally spotted a decent one: a light gray sleeveless dress. The fabric resembled suit material, giving it texture without being too flashy. The price was also acceptable—exactly 100 yuan.

As for women’s leather shoes, those were easier to choose. There was a simple style for 30 yuan, but it required a shoe coupon, so she didn’t take it for now.

Glancing around, she saw that aside from the disdainful sales clerk, there was another one nearby. So she deliberately bypassed the one with eyes above her head and went to the other to pay.

Under the bitter gaze of the snobbish clerk, she paid 100 yuan and 10 cloth coupons, took the dress, and left the department store.

What she didn’t know was that after she left, a young girl in a light blue dress came out from the department store in a hurry.

“Lili, why are you running? Wait for me.”
“I think I just saw a friend of mine.”
“Oh? You saw someone you know? Where? Why didn’t you call her?”
“…I don’t know. Maybe I was mistaken. She doesn’t seem like someone who’d come to this kind of place.”
“Ha, if you were mistaken, then forget it. Come on, let’s keep shopping. My cousin said a new batch of high-end goods just came in. Lili, you’re so pretty—once you wear new clothes, you’ll definitely be the most beautiful girl in school!”

—–

Qin Xiaoran knew nothing of what had happened in the department store. She walked into a deserted alley, tucked the dress into her space, and then went to the supply cooperative.

The clothes there were simpler, but in this era, the basic styles didn’t differ too much. Plus, things here were much cheaper than at the department store.

She picked out a white short-sleeved shirt, a white long-sleeved blouse, a pair of black trousers, and a yellow patterned headscarf. Altogether it cost only 55 yuan and 14 cloth coupons.

Leaving the supply cooperative, she secretly stashed the clothes into her space, wrapped the headscarf around her head to cover most of her face—so that no one would recognize her—and then headed to her next destination: the black market.

She had experience with the black market, though in her previous life it was years later. But it hadn’t changed much.

Along the road were stalls selling all sorts of things—vegetables, pork, eggs, cloth, shoes—everything you could think of.

The sight instantly lifted her spirits, and she began choosing things quickly.

After all, no coupons were needed. Whatever she liked, she bought!

Pork: 1 yuan per jin—she bought 2 jin!
Eggs: 8 cents each—she bought 20!
Vegetables: a few cents per jin—she bought 2 jin of each she liked!
They even had hens for sale—6 yuan each—she bought one!

After buying a lot from one spot, she would go to a deserted corner and stash everything in her space.

When she put the live hen into her space, she paid special attention—and to her relief, it stayed alive. She had been worried it might die.

Coming out of the space again, she went to another street and continued buying.

Cloth shoes without coupons, 5 yuan a pair—she bought two pairs!
Daily necessities like pots, bowls, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste—she bought two sets each!
Other small items she hadn’t thought of before but seemed useful—she bought them too!

After this shopping spree, she realized she had only spent just over 100 yuan!

After buying clothes earlier, she had 531 yuan left. Now she still had over 400.

Actually, she was just being careful not to draw attention. Otherwise, if she really went all out in one place, the money would’ve been gone fast.

But that wasn’t a problem. For now, she just needed an emergency stockpile—she could always buy more later.

Next, she checked out rice, flour, grain, and oil. These were sold in “black shops,” which didn’t require coupons but charged 20–50% more.

Buying in bulk meant she couldn’t carry everything herself, so she’d need delivery. That was risky—on one hand, someone might report her, on the other, the seller might take the money and not deliver.

But she wasn’t worried. She had “connections” here.