The crowd was indignant. Previously, no one dared to speak up, but now that someone had taken the lead, they all voiced their dissatisfaction.  

Jiang Qiuyue wasn’t afraid of offending people—worst case, she could just have Lin Zhengrong send more supplies from the army later. She simply couldn’t stand the salesclerk’s blatantly dismissive attitude.  

The commotion at the counter grew louder, and soon a manager rushed over to see what was happening. Jiang Qiuyue immediately spoke up: “Your salesclerk here has quite the attitude. She’s refusing to sell available stock, saying she’s keeping it for herself, and even called me poor for ‘disturbing her work.’ Tell me, Comrade Manager, as a state-run enterprise funded by the people, is this how you treat ordinary citizens?”  

In this era, nothing was more dangerous than being accused of elitism. The manager’s face instantly paled. But the salesclerk, Wang Juhua, still felt wronged. “Manager, she’s the one being unreasonable! I already promised my friend I’d save it for her!”  

“Oh? Is this department store yours to decide who gets what?” Jiang Qiuyue scoffed.  

The manager shot Wang Juhua a glare, but he knew this kind of favoritism was common among salesclerks. Internally, he cursed Jiang Qiuyue for making trouble. “Comrade, you can eat carelessly, but you must speak carefully. Juhua is in charge of this counter—if she says we’re out of stock, you shouldn’t be causing a scene. Why can’t we all be civil? If it’s not available today, just come back another time.”  

Hearing this, Jiang Qiuyue realized the manager not only intended to shield the salesclerk but also had no intention of selling her the snowflake cream.  

She hadn’t expected buying something to be so difficult—no wonder protagonists in era novels always coveted these “iron rice bowl” jobs.

(Note: “Iron rice bowl” (铁饭碗) refers to stable, state-assigned jobs that were virtually unlosable during this period in China.)

As Jiang Qiuyue was figuring out how to respond, Lin Zhengrong spoke first: “So you’re saying we’re the troublemakers here?”  

The manager didn’t reply, but his expression said it all—Obviously.  

Seeing the manager’s attitude, most onlookers assumed nothing would change. After all, salesclerks in state-run stores were untouchable. The crowd began to disperse.  

Lin Zhengrong said coldly, “Remember what you just said.”  

“Remember it? Fine by me!” Wang Juhua, thinking she and the manager had won, sneered. “A couple of country bumpkins acting all high and mighty—who do you think you are?”  

Lin Zhengrong leaned close to Jiang Qiuyue’s ear. “Take Beibei and Nannan to buy some pastries. I’m going to make a phone call.”  

Hearing this, Jiang Qiuyue knew Lin Zhengrong had a plan. She led the children away to the snack section.  

Watching Jiang Qiuyue leave, Wang Juhua grinned at the manager. “Thanks, Uncle Zhou!”  

“Juhua, how many times must I tell you? Stop looking down on customers!” Zhou Shuyi sighed.  

“I wasn’t looking down on anyone!” Wang Juhua pouted. She hadn’t even wanted this job—she’d dreamed of joining the song and dance troupe, but her family had forced her into the department store. “Besides, with you here, Uncle Zhou, what’s there to worry about? It’s not like they can do anything to me.”  

“You… your parents have spoiled you rotten,” Zhou Shuyi said helplessly. As the daughter of an old friend, he had no choice but to indulge her.  

After giving Wang Juhua a few more instructions, Zhou Shuyi noticed the store manager approaching and hurriedly greeted her with a smile.  

But Gao Qin ignored Zhou Shuyi and instead addressed Lin Zhengrong warmly, “So it really is you, Zhengrong! Qiu Jie mentioned you were back, and I was wondering when you’d come over for dinner. I’ve already heard about the situation. Manager Zhou, wasn’t Wang Juhua hired under your recommendation?”  

Zhou Shuyi hadn’t expected the manager to know Lin Zhengrong. He nodded while discreetly studying the man—tall, upright, but otherwise unremarkable to his eyes.  

“I just reviewed the records. Comrade Wang Juhua scored exceptionally high on the written exam. How is it that her work attitude doesn’t reflect that?” Gao Qin’s pointed question made Zhou Shuyi visibly nervous—he had leaked the exam questions to Wang Juhua beforehand.  

Before Zhou Shuyi could respond, Gao Qin fired several product knowledge questions at Wang Juhua, who stammered through each one without proper answers.  

Zhou Shuyi interjected, “Manager, Juhua she—”  

“That’s enough. I understand exactly what’s going on here.” Gao Qin’s voice turned icy. “Zhou Shuyi, with your years of experience, how could you make such a grave mistake?”  

In the past, she might have turned a blind eye to such common practices among colleagues. But today, Zhou Shuyi and Wang Juhua had the misfortune of crossing Lin Zhengrong.  

She ordered them to apologize immediately.  

Lin Zhengrong raised a hand. “Wait.” He retrieved Jiang Qiuyue before adding, “Now you may apologize to my wife.”  

Before Jiang Qiuyue could process the situation, Zhou Shuyi was already bowing with a strained “We’re deeply sorry.” Wang Juhua, however, clenched her jaw stubbornly, tears welling in her eyes but refusing to speak.  

“Apologize now!” Zhou Shuyi urged, sensing the gravity of their predicament.  

“No! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Wang Juhua burst into loud sobs instead.  

Gao Qin shot Zhou Shuyi an exasperated look. He now bitterly regretted facilitating Wang Juhua’s employment, but remorse wouldn’t undo the damage. The harder he pressed, the more hysterical Wang Juhua became.  

With a sigh, Gao Qin turned to Lin Zhengrong. “I’ll handle this disciplinary matter. Was your wife here for snowflake cream?” Her gaze shifted to Jiang Qiuyue behind Lin Zhengrong. Her husband had come home raving about Lin Zhengrong’s “fairy-like” wife—she’d assumed it was typical male exaggeration. But seeing Jiang Qiuyue’s delicate features and poised demeanor, she realized the praise hadn’t been unfounded.  

Jiang Qiuyue confirmed with a polite smile. “How many jars did you need?” Gao Qin asked, momentarily flustered.  

Glancing at the still-sniffling Wang Juhua, Jiang Qiuyue replied sweetly, “I’ll take both.” One for her face, the other as body cream—since they were available, why not?  

After hearing that Jiang Qiuyue wanted both, Wang Juhua refused. “No way, I promised my friend!”  

“Zhou Shuyi!” Gao Qin shot him a glare. Zhou Shuyi’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly pulled Wang Juhua aside.  

Gao Qin personally packed two jars of snowflake cream for Jiang Qiuyue, then turned to Lin Zhengrong. “Qiu Jie has been praising how fortunate you are ever since he returned home. Now that I’ve met you in person, I’m really envious. Since you’re in the city, why not come to our place for lunch? I’ll be off work soon.”  

Back in the army, Qiu Jie had been a few ranks above Lin Zhengrong. Since they were from the same hometown, Qiu Jie had taken good care of him. Now that they were in the city, it was only natural for Lin Zhengrong to pay a visit to the Qiu family, so he agreed.  

Before heading to the Qiu residence, Jiang Qiuyue stopped by a grocery store to buy a pound of braised pork head meat, along with some pastries and alcohol. The family then followed Gao Qin to the Qiu home.  

When Qiu Jie heard that Lin Zhengrong had come, he bought some fish on the way back. Gao Qin cooked while Jiang Qiuyue sat with the two kids, snacking on sunflower seeds.  

Qiu Jie’s children were older and had lunch at school. The family lived in a two-room apartment in a tube-shaped building, allocated by Qiu Jie’s work unit. For city dwellers, this was considered quite a decent housing arrangement.  

Gao Qin’s cooking skills were indeed impressive—the braised fish was fragrant and flavorful, and she also made a refreshing smashed cucumber dish, perfect for the men to pair with their drinks.  

Once the dishes were served, Qiu Jie brought up the matter of Bai Yongquan and the others. “They confessed everything at the police station. Bai Yongquan was the mastermind—there’s no escaping a bullet for him. As for Bai Shengli, he’s been involved in petty thefts all over the city. With all those offenses piled up, he won’t get off easy either. You don’t need to worry about retaliation.”  

“As for your adoptive parents, they genuinely didn’t know about Bai Yongquan’s scheme to impersonate the police. Since they weren’t involved, they can’t be charged. However, they deliberately obstructed justice, so the station plans to detain them for five days. After this, they should behave a little better.”  

Jiang Qiuyue thought five days was too lenient—they should be locked up longer to give her a few more days of peace. But she had no say in police matters, so she quietly focused on serving the children.  

“Sister-in-law, your two kids are so well-behaved. They’re not fussy at all,” Gao Qin remarked, looking at Lin Beibei and the other child with admiration. “You should see my little rascal—he’s a handful.”