Chapter 18 – Buying Furniture

The next day, after waking up, Liu Shuning went to the camp to find Monkey.

“Hey, sis-in-law, looking for me?”

“When you’re free, can you come with me to Harbin? I want to go to the secondhand market and get some used furniture.” Liu Shuning felt a bit embarrassed. If moving furniture didn’t require a vehicle, she’d rather just hitch a ride with the logistics supply truck.

“Wait for me at the guesthouse. I’ll go ask the company commander for leave.”

“If you’re not free, I can wait until Lu Fengnian returns from his mission.”

“No worries, sis-in-law. Just wait for me. Before Deputy Company Commander left, he reminded me a dozen times to take leave and go with you to buy furniture in Harbin. I promised him, and I’ll keep that promise.” Monkey had been meaning to ask Liu Shuning when she wanted to go, but since the deputy commander was away, he hadn’t visited.

“That’s really too much trouble for you. When Lu Fengnian gets back, I’ll ask him to invite you over for dinner.”

He was helping her with such a big favor—she couldn’t let that go unacknowledged. She decided she’d cook a big, hearty meal herself to thank him.

“No problem! I just got my hands on two good bottles of liquor. I’ll bring them over and drink a few rounds with the deputy company commander.”

—

Liu Shuning didn’t wait long at the guesthouse before Monkey arrived in the car. After getting in, she noticed there was already an older woman sitting inside.

“Hello, Auntie. Are you heading to Harbin as well?”

“You’re Deputy Company Commander Lu’s wife, right? I’m your neighbor—just call me Aunt Yang.” Aunt Yang hadn’t seen Liu Shuning the day she moved in and had always been curious about Lu Fengnian’s wife.

Last year, she’d wanted to introduce her niece to Lu Fengnian, but he’d rejected her. Now that she’d seen his wife, she finally understood—he must have thought her niece wasn’t pretty enough!

“You’re the wife of Commander Hu, right? Lu Fengnian mentioned you before.”

On her first day in the family compound, Lu Fengnian had introduced her to the neighbors—Commander Hu’s family included.

“Yes, if you have any questions about living in the family compound, feel free to ask me.” Aunt Yang warmly held Liu Shuning’s hand. The more she looked at this girl, the more she liked her.

Liu Shuning smiled and nodded, “Thank you, Aunt Yang. I’m sure I’ll be bothering you often.”

“Did you offend Zhang Lianhua somehow? I overheard her badmouthing you the other day with her fellow townsfolk.”

“I have no idea what I did to offend her. She just likes to gossip about me behind my back.” Liu Shuning felt innocent—maybe she dug up Zhang Lianhua’s ancestral grave in a past life to deserve such hatred.

“Maybe it’s because you’re pretty. I heard that before Zhang Lianhua married Commander Yang, she had a fiancé who broke up with her because she wasn’t good-looking enough.”

“No way! Don’t tell me she holds a grudge against every pretty woman out there?”

If that were the case, then her mentality was seriously twisted.

Liu Shuning decided to stay far away from Zhang Lianhua. Jealous women were too dangerous.

“That Zhang Lianhua is vicious. There used to be a really pretty girl in the art troupe, but thanks to Zhang spreading rumors, the girl was forced to marry a divorced company commander.”

“That’s so pitiful. The girl didn’t even offend her!”

“And that’s not even the worst of it. Her own sister-in-law was married off to a lame man in his forties.”

“For real?!”

…

Liu Shuning listened with great interest the whole way. She hadn’t expected that Zhang Lianhua had harmed so many people. No wonder she wasn’t afraid at all when she got exposed the other day.

Once they arrived in Harbin, Monkey first dropped Aunt Yang off at her destination, then took Liu Shuning to the secondhand market.

“Monkey, take the coupon and go buy some pork from the supply cooperative. I won’t be quick picking furniture, and if we go too late, the pork will be sold out.”

This trip to the secondhand market was just a cover. She couldn’t just conjure furniture out of thin air. If she didn’t send Monkey away, there’d be no way to retrieve the furniture from her space.

“Can you go in by yourself? How about you buy the meat, and I help pick the furniture?”

Monkey didn’t feel at ease leaving her alone. He’d promised the deputy commander he would take good care of her. With a sister-in-law this pretty, he worried she might attract the wrong kind of attention.

“It’s fine. I can handle it myself. I’ll meet you at the alley entrance with the furniture later.”

“But—”

“No buts. Go buy the meat already, or there’ll only be bones left. Don’t worry, I won’t run off.”

“Alright then, be careful. I’ll be back soon.”

Liu Shuning got out of the car and went straight into the secondhand market. It was basically just a small courtyard packed with all kinds of salvaged secondhand goods.

Most of the items were old furniture and clothes. Things like watches and bicycles—more expensive items—were rarely seen.

“Boss, how much for this sofa set?” Liu Shuning wandered around and was surprised to find some really good stuff.

“Twenty yuan. If you want it, take it now,” the boss replied, clearly looking down on the worn piece Liu Shuning pointed at.

“What about this big bed? And these broken dining tables with missing legs?”

“Fifty yuan for everything. Take it all or leave it.” The furniture had all come from the home of a guy named Feng Dazi—it hadn’t cost him a penny.

Times were changing, and keeping this stuff around wasn’t doing the boss any favors. He figured he might as well sell them off cheap.

“Can you go a bit lower? Look at this sofa—it’s so worn. And the coffee table’s broken too. These dining tables are all busted. Even if I take them home to fix, I don’t know how many are salvageable.”

Although she sounded critical, Liu Shuning was thrilled on the inside. These were all made of gold-thread nanmu wood—fifty yuan was a total steal!

In the future, this kind of furniture would be worth millions. Even if some were missing parts, with a little repair, she could piece together a complete, valuable set.

“No way. That’s the lowest I’ll go,” the boss grumbled. He was already annoyed—this was top-quality stuff, and she still thought fifty yuan was expensive?

“Alright then. Can you help me move the furniture to that alley entrance?”

“You pay up, and I’ll have my guys move it right away.”

Liu Shuning happily handed over the fifty yuan. Getting something worth millions for just fifty yuan—what a deal!

The boss immediately called over a few workers to move the sofa, bed, dining table, and other items to the alley.

Liu Shuning followed along. Once everything was moved, she told the workers to leave first. Then, when no one was watching, she activated her space and stored all the furniture inside. After that, she took out the furniture she had been rewarded by the system.

The system’s gifted furniture was quite a lot:
— One bed
— One wardrobe
— One vanity table (without a mirror)
— One dining table
— Four chairs
— A 1.2-meter-long sofa
— One coffee table

(Note: The system rewards were not too modern—they matched the era.)