Chapter 8: The Thrifty Spendthrift

Pan Hehua’s hand, clutching the money, trembled with anger.  She couldn’t do anything about her second son.

“Alright, enough with all this.  Everything’s been divided, go live your own lives from now on, don’t bother each other.”

Zhou Youlu’s words were more directed at Zhou Yu and Xu An, the newlywed couple, than the rest of the Zhou family.

Zhou Yu took the money, patted the back of the chair Xu An was leaning on, and limped out.  Xu An quickly stood up and followed him.

As they reached the door, Zhou Yu grinned, revealing his sharp white teeth, and turned back to look at Zhou Hongguang, whose face was full of displeasure. He pointed his thumb towards the east room.

“Big brother, I’m taking my wife to buy new clothes.  Please clean up the room before we come back, so my wife has somewhere to put her things.”

He then took Xu An out of the Zhou family’s courtyard.  As soon as they stepped out, they were in a narrow alley, with all sorts of odds and ends piled up on the sides, making full use of every bit of space.

Xu An followed closely behind Zhou Yu, keeping pace with him.  As they passed the doors of their neighbors in the alley, they could occasionally hear some gossip.

Most of it was sarcastic and mocking Zhou Yu.

“Ungrateful wretch, he’s been in prison for three years, and he doesn’t even know how to behave.  He’s been bothering everyone all day long. The Zhou family really raised a debt collector.”

“Now they’ve split up, the Zhou family is kind, they actually gave him a lot.  He’s got the nerve to ask for more.”

“With that limp of his, he’s probably going to rely on the money he got from the split for the rest of his life.  He even found such a beautiful young wife.  They don’t look like they know how to live.  In my opinion, the Zhou family should have split up sooner.”

Xu An looked up at the limping figure in front of her.  He swayed as he walked, seemingly oblivious to the mocking voices around him.

The houses and courtyards were close together.  The Zhou family had just split up, and the news had already spread.

She ran a few steps forward and walked side by side with Zhou Yu, explaining softly, “Actually, I’m quite good at managing money.”

After all, they were in the same boat now. She needed to get along well with Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu’s gaze fell lightly on the delicate woman beside him.  Her skin was as white as a peeled egg, soft and tender.  She was saying she was good at managing money.

Zhou Yu snorted, thinking that this woman was crazy for wanting to stay in the city so badly.

The man’s disbelief was obvious on his face, he didn’t even try to hide it.  Xu An pursed her lips slightly, a little annoyed.

She followed Zhou Yu down a long, winding path, finally leaving the deep alley and arriving at a street.  Xu An looked up and saw the old signboards.

Small Commodity Market, Vegetable Market, Agricultural and Sideline Products Market, State-owned Department Store.  A small street, bustling with people buying what they needed.

Zhou Yu led Xu An over and went straight into the state-owned department store.  Xu An followed him, weaving through the crowd, and entered the clothing store.  Zhou Yu crossed his arms and leaned against the stall outside the door, raising his chin at Xu An.

“Hurry up and choose.”

Xu An walked into the small shop, looking at the limited selection, she was a little lost.

She was wearing a worn-out, colorful outfit.  The saleswoman didn’t pay attention to her, she just looked at Xu An with disdain, thinking she wouldn’t be able to afford anything.

She looked around, but everything was just the same old stuff.  Xu An chose two undershirts and a thick black jacket made of good material, and handed them to the saleswoman.

“All together, how much?”

The saleswoman didn’t expect this country bumpkin to have good taste.  She straightened up a little.

“The undershirts are twenty yuan, the jacket is fifty-five, and the trousers are thirty-five.”

Xu An nodded and reached into her pocket for money.

Her hand was pressed down by a large hand.  Xu An looked up and saw Zhou Yu staring at the saleswoman.

“The undershirts are ten yuan, the jacket is thirty-five, and the trousers are twenty.” His voice was calm and unambiguous  (unquestionable).

Xu An had never bargained before, seeing Zhou Yu bargain made her feel curious.  She obediently put the money back in her pocket.

“My undershirts and jackets are made of the best materials this year, how can you bargain like that?” The saleswoman held the clothes, disagreeing.

“Sixty-five, that’s final.” Zhou Yu held Xu An’s wrist, ready to leave at any moment.

The saleswoman helplessly waved her hand. “Fine, I’m unlucky today.  I’ll pack it for you.”

Zhou Yu let go of Xu An’s arm, crossed his arms, and raised his chin at her.

Xu An understood, she immediately paid and took the bag, leaving with Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu turned his head and looked at Xu An casually, mocking her.

“Tsk, you really know how to manage money.”

Xu An clenched her hand holding the bag, trying to defend herself.

“No one is perfect.  Bargaining… you’re good at it, that’s fine.  I’m good at other things.”

The man’s mocking gaze fell on her, Xu An turned her head away and refused to look at him.

Zhou Yu took Xu An to the shoe store.

Xu An chose a pair of thick-soled shoes. The saleswoman took them, her attitude was polite.

“One pair of thick-soled shoes, sixty yuan.”

Xu An scratched her collar, secretly glancing at Zhou Yu, who was watching the show silently.

She whispered like a mosquito, “Sister, can you lower the price a little?”

The saleswoman didn’t hear clearly, but she could tell what she was saying, and immediately shook her head. “I can’t lower the price anymore, sixty yuan is already losing money.”

Xu An’s helpless hand was already reaching into her pocket, ready to pay.

Zhou Yu stared at the timid woman, and said calmly, “Thirty-five, I’ll take one pair.”

Zhou Yu started bargaining with the saleswoman.  Xu An’s hand stayed in her pocket, she watched Zhou Yu, and only took out the money when Zhou Yu told her to.

After buying the things, Zhou Yu looked at the timid woman mockingly. “What, not full yet?”

Being mocked for being timid and soft-spoken, Xu An held the bag and silently felt that she was indeed a little hungry. She hesitantly nodded.

A short laugh came from beside her. Xu An looked over, Zhou Yu was staring at her lazily. “Let’s go.”

Xu An stared at Zhou Yu’s swaggering gangster-like figure, took a deep breath, and ran to catch up with him, walking side by side.

Leaving the state-owned department store, they walked out of the street.  Xu An and Zhou Yu came to a roadside stall, a simple awning set up with two large pots underneath, the environment wasn’t great, but the owner was cooking with a lot of enthusiasm.

Zhou Yu stretched out his leg and sat on a stool. Xu An followed and sat beside him, like a good wife, her legs crossed, sitting straight.

There was a simple menu written on a roadside sign with charcoal.  The words were big and eye-catching.

Zhou Yu called out two dishes, and the owner shouted in response.

The fire was burning fiercely, and the two dishes were cooked quickly, just a few stirs in the pan, and then they were served.

The owner’s wife quickly brought Xu An and Zhou Yu bowls, chopsticks, and rice.

Xu An stared at the steaming two dishes in front of her.  She looked up and saw Zhou Yu was already eating.  This guy really enjoyed his food. Xu An stared at the dishes in front of her, the owner hadn’t washed the bottom of the pan before cooking.  She held her chopsticks, hesitant.

“Picky.”

Xu An looked up and saw Zhou Yu’s disdainful expression.  She explained softly.

“You didn’t see, did you? The owner didn’t wash the pan before cooking.”

Zhou Yu was used to it. “If you think it’s dirty, everything outside is dirty.  You’ll starve.”

He smiled maliciously, looking at Xu An.  “The steamed buns I gave you this morning, the owner’s steamer isn’t washed every day either.”

“You seem to be enjoying it.”

Being mocked by this man, Xu An picked up her bowl and took a bite of white rice.

Zhou Yu looked up and down at the woman in front of him, a little puzzled. “You’re from Nancheng, right?  Nancheng’s conditions are much worse than here.  You’re not from a good family either, who spoiled you so much?”

Xu An was speechless, she couldn’t explain.  She silently picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, proving that she wasn’t picky.

Seeing that the woman was finally eating normally, Zhou Yu started to devour his rice again.

Xu An ate one bowl and didn’t want to eat anymore.  Zhou Yu quickly cleaned up the table, not leaving a single scrap of food.  He casually wiped his mouth, stood up, and paid.

After paying for the meal, he stared at Xu An, his brows furrowed. “Anything else you want to buy? I don’t have time to wander around with you all day.  Buy everything at once.”

“We’re splitting up today, we’ll definitely need to buy a lot of things.”

Xu An counted on her fingers, one by one. “After we split up, I guess your mom won’t let us eat together anymore.  Not to mention splitting up, this morning, before we split up, she didn’t even mean to let us eat together.  So, we need to plan ahead for pots and pans.”

She looked up at Zhou Yu. “We don’t even have a place to cook now.”

Zhou Yu frowned, squeezed his limp leg, and stood up. “Let’s go.”

Xu An stood up, holding her things, and asked, “Where to?”

Zhou Yu impatiently clicked his tongue. “Go buy all the stuff you need.”

Zhou Yu took Xu An to a souvenir and sundries store.  Xu An looked around at the various pots and pans, Zhou Yu directly told the owner to take a cast iron pot.  It was a hot commodity, it was rare for the store to have one left.

Xu An looked at the cast iron pot in Zhou Yu’s hand. It wasn’t very big, but it was heavy. She picked out other pots and pans and handed them to Zhou Yu.

After paying, Zhou Yu directly took a sack and packed everything, then went out to buy a honeycomb coal stove next door.  When they came out, Xu An looked at Zhou Yu. “Why didn’t you bargain?”

Zhou Yu was limping, carrying all these things was a bit difficult. He glanced at Xu An, looking at her like she was an idiot. “These things, sometimes if you don’t buy them, they’ll be gone.  They’re not hard to sell.”

Xu An nodded, half understanding.  Seeing how hard Zhou Yu was struggling, she frowned slightly. “Let’s call a tricycle to take it back. We still need to buy other things later, we won’t be able to carry everything.”

He was both troublesome and picky. Zhou Yu was annoyed and put everything down by the side of the road.

Finally, they put the things down at the store’s door. Xu An went to the agricultural and sideline products market, bought some rice, oil, and seasonings, then bought meat and vegetables, without even hesitating to spend money.

Zhou Yu watched this spendthrift girl who said she was good at managing money, his forehead throbbing.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to see it.  He went to call a tricycle, loaded the things they had bought, and then they both got on.  The small tricycle instantly had no space left.

The tricycle bumped along the alley towards the Zhou family’s door. As they passed by, the neighbors in the alley saw the couple sitting on the cart with all these things, and they couldn’t help but gossip.

“They’re really a match made in heaven, these two spendthrifts.”

“They’re probably going to spend all the money they got from the split.  I bet they’ll have to rely on Hongguang to support them later.”

“It’s a real shame, the Zhou family is really unlucky.”

Xu An silently held the handrail of the tricycle, carefully watching the things on the cart, afraid they would fall.  She didn’t pay attention to the contemptuous and mocking faces of these people.

Zhou Yu half-opened his eyes and looked lazily at the woman, the whistling cold wind in his ears, along with those stinging gazes, slapped him in the face.

Soon, the tricycle stopped at the Zhou family’s door. Xu An’s frozen hands trembled, she touched the handrail and got off.  Zhou Yu, even though he was limping, was still more agile than her.  He had already started unloading the things from the tricycle.

After unloading the goods, Xu An paid, and she and Zhou Yu carried the things back to the courtyard together.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw the whole Zhou family moving things from the east room, bustling back and forth, making them look a little lonely.

They put the things down in the courtyard.  Xu An tucked her hands into her sleeves, and followed Zhou Yu to the east room.

Zhou Hongguang saw Zhou Yu come back and said in a deep voice, “Second brother, I’m giving you the east room.  Live a good life with your wife.”

Zhou Yu snorted, his face full of mockery. “Give? Big brother, you’re not ashamed.  Did you give it to me? You’re just trying to make yourself look good. You’re not worthy of my things.”

“How is it not giving? Second brother, my brother and I have already moved out.  This is our bedroom, we’ve lived here for three years. You came and took it, what else could it be but giving?”

Feng Yirou couldn’t help but speak up.  She couldn’t stand Zhou Yu’s scoundrel look, the Zhou family was always giving in to him.  He was really a shameless ingrate.

Zhou Yu didn’t even glance at her, he stared at Zhou Hongguang. “Lived here for three years?  You moved in soon after I went to prison, right?  You really could live here.”

“Second son, didn’t we say it before? Now that you’ve split up, don’t bring up the past.” Zhou Youlu’s wrinkled face was fixed on Zhou Yu.

Xu An was beside Zhou Yu, watching the Zhou family opposite them.  She turned her head and glanced at the man beside her.

It was strange, every time they confronted Zhou Yu, the Zhou family would all stand together, as if Zhou Yu was an outsider.

If it weren’t for Zhou Yu’s sharp tongue, he would have been bullied terribly.