Chapter 13 – A Trip to the County Town

“No, I don’t want to sleep with you,” Ruibao immediately pouted and looked like he was about to cry upon hearing that he couldn’t sleep with his mom that night.

“Why are you crying? Don’t cry, okay? Uncle will buy you a toy right now.”

Lu Fengnian slapped his own mouth—he talked too much and ended up making Ruibao cry. If his wife saw this, he’d definitely get scolded again.

Ruibao was a little rascal. As soon as he got the toy, he stopped crying and even gave a sweet smile. “Uncle, you’re the best.”

Lu Fengnian: “…”

After getting in the car, Liu Shuning started taking things out from her storage space nonstop.

A full set of pots and pans, a vegetable knife, a cleaver, two enamel basins, one thermos, two jin of pork, ten jin of flour, two jin of White Rabbit milk candy, two ten-jin quilts, two bolts of black cotton fabric, two sets of thick cotton-padded clothes, ten honeycomb briquettes…

They were driving a military pickup truck specifically used for purchasing supplies, and she filled up the entire truck bed.

When Lu Fengnian came back carrying Ruibao and saw the fully loaded truck bed, he was startled. “Wife, why did you buy so many things?”

“We just moved here and need to buy everything. This is just the small stuff—we haven’t even bought furniture yet. If we had, there would be even more. By the way, what about the bicycle you were going to get?”

There was still plenty of stuff in her storage space. What she’d taken out was just a tiny portion.

“The department store didn’t have 26-inch bikes, but I’ve paid the deposit. When they come in next month, we’ll go back to get one.”

“Alright, it’s almost noon now. Let’s eat lunch before heading back.”

“There’s so much stuff in the truck. I don’t feel comfortable leaving it unattended. How about you take Ruibao to eat and just bring me back two steamed buns?”

With all these things in the truck, if no one watched over them, they’d be gone in no time.

“I’ll see if they’re selling meat buns and grab a plate so I can pack it and bring it back to the truck.” Liu Shuning took a new plate from the truck. She had forgotten earlier that food needed to be packed in your own containers.

It was so much more convenient in modern times with disposable containers—leftovers could be packed anytime.

At the state-run restaurant, Liu Shuning looked at the blackboard menu. Luckily, she had all the meat dishes in her system space already, so she just needed to order two vegetable dishes. Her space was practically overflowing with food.

“Comrade, I’d like one order of stir-fried three vegetables, and one of shredded potatoes to go. Do you have any meat buns? I’d like ten.”

“That’ll be one yuan and eighty cents, plus half a jin of ration tickets. Hand me your plate and I’ll pack the food for you.”

It wasn’t lunchtime yet, so the restaurant wasn’t crowded. In under ten minutes, the vegetable dishes were ready.

Outside the restaurant, Liu Shuning secretly took out a serving of braised chicken with mushrooms from her space and poured it into the plate. She hadn’t even tasted the system reward dishes yet—hopefully, they’d taste good.

“I’m back! You two must be starving.”

Lu Fengnian immediately took the food from her. “Wife, you even bought meat? You’re spoiling me.”

Liu Shuning smiled. “You’re about to go on another mission soon—eat more to build up your strength.”

The three of them sat in the truck and began eating. Ruibao’s eyes lit up at the delicious aroma.

He grabbed a meat bun and took a big bite. “Yummy! Mama, this bun is so good!”

“If it’s good, eat more. If you finish it, Auntie will buy more for you.” Seeing that Ruibao was eating well on his own, Liu Shuning didn’t rush to feed him. At two years old, he needed to learn to feed himself anyway.

Lu Fengnian picked up a piece of chicken and fed it to Liu Shuning. “Wife, try this braised chicken with mushrooms. It’s even better than what the base canteen chef makes.”

Liu Shuning opened her mouth and ate the chicken he fed her. The meat was tender and juicy, and the broth was rich and flavorful. It truly was delicious. “It’s really good.”

Seeing his parents enjoying the food, Ruibao reached out with his little hands, wanting to grab some chicken too.

“Ruibao, don’t use your hands. Auntie will give you some.” Liu Shuning quickly placed a chicken drumstick on his plate.

The chef at the state-run restaurant was also decent. The stir-fried vegetables and potatoes tasted good. But compared to the system-rewarded food, it still came up a bit short—after all, products from the system were always top-notch.

Lu Fengnian devoured a meat bun with each bite of vegetables. In no time, he had eaten five of the ten meat buns all by himself.

Liu Shuning’s appetite was smaller—she had one bun, a bit of vegetables, and some chicken, and she was full.

After the meal, they reorganized the supplies and drove back to the base.

Once back, they parked the truck outside their new home.

“Did the people you hired to renovate the house start work today?” Liu Shuning asked as soon as she saw people working in the yard.

“Yeah. The logistics department hasn’t been too busy lately, so I asked them to help out with the house. They work fast—it should be done in three days.”

Last night, Lu Fengnian had made a special trip to the logistics department and gifted the manager two packs of cigarettes.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent so many people to help with the renovations. He’d paid a hefty price to get this done quickly so they could move in.

“I’ll go take a look inside and see how the rooms are coming along.”

When Liu Shuning entered the yard, she saw that the three rooms had already undergone a big transformation. The outer walls had been freshly whitewashed, and the roof tiles had been repaired.

These soldier brothers were really efficient. In just half a day, they’d already done so much.

Meanwhile, Lu Fengnian was pulled aside by a familiar comrade.

“Old Lu, your wife is really something—she’s gorgeous.”

“Old Qin, don’t talk nonsense. How’s the house coming along? My wife bought a ton of stuff today. Can you get someone to help clear out one of the rooms so I can use it as a storage room?”

They had bought so much today, he had to lock everything up somewhere safe.

“There’s a small room sectioned off in the corner. It’s perfect as a utility room. No need to whitewash it—doesn’t matter if it looks a bit old.”

“Alright, thanks a lot for your help today. Once the house is done, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.”

“No need to go that far. Next time, just come over and drink with me when you’re free.” Old Qin patted his friend on the shoulder with a grin. Lu’s wife clearly looked like someone who had never touched housework in her life—no way she’d be cooking for everyone.

For the sake of his buddy’s domestic bliss, it was better to just drink at his place.

“Alright, I’ll go start unloading the stuff. Help me with the whitewashing after.”

Just as Lu Fengnian parted with Old Qin, a middle-aged woman from the neighboring house came out and greeted him warmly. “Captain Lu, looks like you’re getting ready to move in!”

Lu Fengnian smiled back. “Yes, Auntie Yang. I hope you can look after my wife from now on.”