“Huh? Why can’t you accept it?”

Wen Ci didn’t understand, but then she thought of a solution and smiled, saying, “Then how about this: come over to my place another day, and I’ll make the instant noodles for you. That should be fine, right?”

Zhang Cheng: “Well, I guess that’s okay.”

They were explicitly forbidden from accepting gifts from family members.

But being invited to eat by family members was allowed.

Wen Ci returned home and glanced at the clock hanging in the living room. It was just past nine. She turned on the TV but found there weren’t many channels to watch.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

Even in the apocalypse, there had been signals to pass the time.

The 1980s felt a bit too boring. She walked into Huo Jingyuan’s study and noticed a blank notebook and a pencil on the desk.

Grabbing the paper and pencil, she sat on the steps by the inner room’s entrance.

She began sketching the entire courtyard on the paper. The yard was currently empty, and Wen Ci wanted to take this opportunity to renovate it.

After all, she would be living here for several years.

She drew a pavilion where they could drink tea, chat, and shelter from the wind and rain. The path to the pavilion was paved with gravel, and on the left side, she sketched some vegetable plots.

In her previous life, Wen Ci had been a design student and was skilled at sketching. It took her half an hour to draw the layout she envisioned.

She planned to build the pavilion herself using wooden planks.

She just needed some help.

Wen Ci pursed her lips, deciding to show the design to Huo Jingyuan later and ask for his input. This house was their shared home.

After idling around until 10:30, there was a knock at the door, and Xue Li’s voice called out, “Sister-in-law, I’ve brought the groceries!”

Hearing this, Wen Ci, who had been sitting on the sofa, sprang up. As she walked toward the inner room’s entrance, she remembered she needed to fetch money and called out, “Just a moment, wait for me!”

After grabbing the money, Wen Ci hurried to the door to let Xue Li in. Seeing him carrying vegetables and meat in both hands, she said apologetically, “You’ve really gone out of your way, Xue Li.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

Wen Ci asked, “How much do I owe you? Let me pay you.”

“No need, sister-in-law.”

Wen Ci frowned, her expression turning serious as she insisted, “No, you must take the money for today’s groceries.”

She noticed there were pig trotters and pork knuckles.

These were premium items, and Xue Li’s monthly salary wasn’t high. Buying these from the canteen kitchen must have cost quite a bit. “Listen, how much is it?”

“Three yuan.”

Wen Ci handed him three yuan.

In the 1980s, instant noodles were considered a luxury item, costing fifty cents per pack, which was equivalent to a whole day’s food expenses for an ordinary family.

Wen Ci wasn’t the type to spend money recklessly.

Being new here, she couldn’t let the sisters treat her all the time.

Xue Li asked, “Sister-in-law, do you need help carrying these?”

Wen Ci quickly declined, “No, no, you go ahead with your work. I can manage.”

With that, she picked up the two bags of groceries from the ground.

“Are you sure?” Xue Li asked, concerned.

“Who do you think I am?”

Carrying the bags in both hands, Wen Ci walked for about seven or eight minutes until she reached the building where she had met Sister Jing and the others earlier. She placed the bags on a bench.

She took a deep breath.

She only knew Sister Jing lived in this building but had forgotten to ask for the specific apartment number and floor. After a moment’s thought, she called out, “Sister Jing, I’m here!”

As soon as she finished speaking, the door of the first apartment on the second floor opened. Zhu Jing stood on the corridor and waved at Wen Ci. When her eyes landed on the groceries and meat on the bench, they widened in surprise.

She had thought Wen Ci would at most buy a piece of meat.

But there were so many premium dishes. Zhu Jing suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed and forced a smile, saying, “Xiao Ci, wait for me for a moment.”

She went back inside and rummaged through the drawer for the few remaining yuan she had at home. Her husband’s monthly salary was around thirty yuan, half of which went to supporting his parents.

Zhu Jing couldn’t help but sigh.

Hearing Wen Ci’s voice, Xiang Qin and the others also came out of their apartments. When they saw the pig trotters and pork knuckles on the bench, they were stunned.

“Xiao Ci, you…”

Wen Ci smiled brightly, “When treating my sisters to a meal, of course, it has to be something good!”

Zhu Jing’s lips twitched, “This is too much… it must have cost a lot, right? How about we split the cost? We can’t let you spend so much alone.”

Wen Ci refused. She took a step back and said seriously, “No, I said I’d treat, so I’ll treat. If you insist on this, I’ll take the groceries and leave right now.”

Seeing that she couldn’t persuade Wen Ci, Zhu Jing reluctantly said, “Then let’s set up a table and eat downstairs.”

Wen Ci nodded obediently, “Thank you, Sister Jing.”

She was only providing the funds; the real effort was being put in by Sister Jing.

The others weren’t idle either, helping Zhu Jing with the preparations. They all crowded into the building’s shared kitchen, chatting and laughing.

Zhu Jing teased, “Your husband must have quite the reputation to get the canteen to sell you so much stuff. How much did you spend on these?”

“Three yuan.”

Hearing this, Zhu Jing paused her chopping and looked up at Wen Ci, raising an eyebrow, “Wow, they were actually fair this time and didn’t overcharge.”

The canteen staff in the military compound were also family members of the soldiers. They were skilled cooks, and their food was delicious, making their positions some of the most coveted among the military families.

They usually charged extra when selling groceries to others.

For sought-after items like pig trotters and pork knuckles, they would mark up the price.

Wen Ci didn’t understand, “Do they charge extra when selling groceries from the canteen?”

“Yes,” Xiang Qin complained, “Last time when my husband’s parents came to visit us in the northwest, we didn’t have enough groceries at home. I went to them and ended up paying an extra yuan.”

“Parents can come to the northwest to visit?”

Wen Ci had never heard of such a rule.

“The northwest military region is different from others, especially for ordinary soldiers. They only get marriage leave and annual leave, and the annual leave has to be taken in batches.

Marriage leave is only five days, and annual leave is eight days. For soldiers whose homes are far away, if they take the green train, all their leave time is spent on the road.

So, soldiers in the northwest military region can have their immediate family members visit, and the military will cover half the cost of the sleeper train tickets. They just need to apply.”

After hearing Zhu Jing’s explanation, Wen Ci’s eyes curved into a smile.

This rule in the northwest military region was really quite good.

Wen Ci said, “I asked Xue Li to buy them.”

“No wonder. Captain Xue often travels to Haishi and has a good relationship with the canteen staff.”

Wen Ci suddenly needed to use the restroom, “Sister Jing, where’s the bathroom?”

Zhu Jing pointed her in the right direction.

As soon as Wen Ci left, Hou Li couldn’t help but say, “I’ve never heard my husband mention that Captain Xue is married.”

Xiang Qin chuckled, “Many soldiers don’t disclose whether they’re married or not.”

“That’s true.”

By noon, Zhu Jing had finished cooking all the dishes, and the others helped carry them to the table. The aroma of the pork knuckle filled the air.

The usually quiet Miao Ling suddenly said, “I’ll go back to my room.”

Wen Ci and the others sat at the table waiting for her. Two minutes later, Miao Ling returned, carrying two bottles of soda in each hand and one in her mouth.

Wen Ci quickly got up to help her set them on the table.

Miao Ling said, “These are leftover sodas from the New Year. A big meal like this deserves soda.”