Chapter 8: Shopping Spree in Guangcheng

It was bustling outside, the streets filled with people brimming with energy, looking as though they could kill an ox with their bare hands at any moment.

Not a single person was simply strolling around.

An Minghua had originally wanted to admire the old charm of Guangcheng, but she had no choice but to match the pace of the crowd, heading straight with clear purpose toward the Overseas Chinese Store.

After all, this was a place unfamiliar to her. She ended up circling around a few times and had to ask several people before finally finding the location.

The good news: it hadn’t closed yet!

Even better news: the Overseas Chinese Store was packed with goods!

She glanced at the Overseas Remittance Coupons in her hand. The categories were very detailed. The coupons printed with tobacco tickets totaled 100 yuan, those with sugar tickets were 150 yuan, cloth coupons 200 yuan, and the industrial goods coupons were the most — 400 yuan.

There were also 80 yuan worth of supplementary food tickets, 60 yuan in pastry tickets, and a mix of whole and change in soap tickets — 54 yuan.

Clutching all these Overseas Remittance Coupons, and trusting in the pricing of this era, An Minghua, driven by the overwhelming variety of goods in the store and her growing urge to shop, began her spree.

A pack of Zhonghua cigarettes cost 0.56 yuan — a prime gift commodity. An Minghua used all her tobacco tickets to buy Zhonghua cigarettes.

Father An didn’t smoke, and Father Qin was in poor health and not allowed to smoke. As for Qin Lie, An Minghua had never seen him smoke, though she figured he must’ve picked it up in the army. Still—

Whether he had cigarettes or not, An Minghua didn’t want to concern herself.

It’d be best if he didn’t smoke at all. She had heard that men who smoked had stinky breath!

From the tobacco section to the clothing area, she wandered through racks of ready-made clothes, her heart completely unmoved.

They looked too fashionable — not in line with the low-profile lifestyle she planned to live for the next ten years. But the shoes caught her attention: black square-toed leather shoes, made of soft leather that looked very comfortable to wear.

She even spotted some lightweight running shoes. At once, An Minghua put down the leather shoes and used all her cloth coupons to buy running shoes in the sizes of her family members.

The sales assistant had a good attitude, wasn’t at all surprised by the large volume she was buying, and even helped her carry everything over to the food section.

Here, nearly everything An Minghua bought was snacks for Ping’an.

She used her supplementary food coupons to get canned luncheon meat and Klim powdered milk. She even spotted instant coffee — and right beside it, butter!

She decided to buy more to cook delicious meals for Ping’an later.

She spent all her sugar coupons on all kinds of high-end candies — the kind she’d never seen at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative or department stores. The pastry tickets only added up to 60 yuan, but there were all sorts of sandwich biscuits, finger biscuits, and chocolate cookies. The prices were great too — 2 yuan per jin, 3 yuan per jin. She bought one jin of each, spending the entire 60 yuan right there.

She burned through her industrial goods coupons even faster. Don’t be fooled by the 400 yuan total — you could buy a lot with those.

A single watch could cost most of that amount.

But she already had a watch, and so did everyone at home. So she used all the industrial goods coupons to buy Moutai liquor.

5.6 yuan per bottle — she didn’t get that many, after all.

The sales assistant at the Overseas Chinese Store remained courteous and even helped An Minghua carry her things to the entrance.

Leaving the Overseas Chinese Store, which was filled with luxury items but where a few hundred yuan didn’t seem to stretch all that far, An Minghua smacked her lips, then turned and headed for the department store.

And then — she went absolutely wild at the department store.

There were just too many types of fabrics!!!

No wonder it was Guangcheng—she even saw Xiangyun silk here!

There was woolen flannel, gabardine, all kinds of cotton fabrics, and yarn in a rich array of colors! And surprisingly, there were no purchase limits here!

In places like Guangcheng and Hucheng, it was incredibly common for people to buy piles of things not just for themselves but also for friends and family. An Minghua blended right into the crowd, completely unremarkable among them.

While she was going wild buying and buying, back at the hospital ward, Ping’an was sitting beside the bed, seriously keeping Qin Lie company in conversation.

Chen Yunyan wasn’t there. Just a while ago, a patient had been transferred from the neighboring hospital ward, and the caregiver was someone she knew, so she had gone over to see if they needed any help.

That left just father and son.

Qin Lie steered the conversation back to the Provincial Capital, then casually asked Ping’an: “Why didn’t you want to bring the chicken pastries to Brother Muhan?”

“Brother Muhan is a bad guy! He made Mommy angry. I heard it!” Ping’an’s chubby little cheeks puffed up. “He knocked on the door at night and told Mommy not to go find Daddy. Mommy told him to get lost!”

Qin Lie’s gaze turned sharp when he heard that.

Did Qin Muhan already start coveting his Little Aunt because he thought Qin Lie was about to die?

Ping’an sighed dramatically: “Daddy, can you beat Brother Muhan? Mommy said she wants to beat Brother Muhan to death.”

“Okay, Daddy will definitely beat him to death.”

“Who are you going to beat to death now?” Chen Yunyan pushed open the door. Back when Qin Lie used to protect Minghua as a kid, she would always shout that she was going to beat someone to death. Now, it was Ping’an saying the same thing.

But Qin Lie, the brawler, hadn’t changed one bit.

“Grandma, how’s the uncle next door? Do you know him?”

“I do. The uncle’s mother and your grandma are good friends.” Chen Yunyan nodded. “She’s the one you just saw—Grandma Fang. The uncle next door, Uncle Qi, hurt his leg.”

Chen Yunyan sighed. Such a good young man, and now he’d never stand again. But at least he was alive. As long as someone’s alive, that’s what matters.

Ping’an’s cheeks puffed up again as he said seriously: “Grandma, I have to go see Uncle.”

…

“I’m back!”

An Minghua entered the room in high spirits, one hand carrying a woven rattan suitcase, the other holding chicken soup.

Even though the space inside her storage could hold everything, she made sure to keep some things visible on the outside. She lifted the chicken soup and said cheerfully: “Mom, I brought chicken soup back! The soup here is absolutely top-notch. You all have to try it!”

Chen Yunyan took the lunchbox, and An Minghua raised the suitcase in her other hand to show Qin Lie. “I bought so many things today! Oh, right, Mom, I also secretly bought some herbal bath packets. They were being sold quietly by an old TCM doctor. Take them back for my dad to try.”

“That old doctor said they can be used for foot soaks or full baths. It’ll help ease his pain when it’s damp or rainy.”

In truth, the herbal packets were something she had made herself inside her Pharmacopoeia Space.

Even though this was a three-person hospital ward, for some reason, no other patients had ever been admitted into it.

An Minghua lowered her voice, not too worried about being overheard.

“I also got some herbal pills that doctor made himself. They smell really effective. I’ve written down the uses, dosages, and instructions—Mom, you and Dad can use them as you see fit.”

The pills were actually something she had rolled herself too.

But when she said they “smelled effective.” neither Chen Yunyan nor Qin Lie found it strange. After all, she had studied a bit of traditional Chinese medicine.

Her Master had only half-fed her when teaching—she knew how to make medicine, but not how to prescribe it; could do acupuncture, but not take pulses; could perform massage, but not realignment.

Back in the modern era, she had studied Chinese medicine in her dreams and later got into TCM at university. Her professor had both loved and hated her.

Later, her professor joked that she was incredibly talented in health maintenance, which suddenly enlightened An Minghua. From that moment on, she gave up struggling in the field of traditional medicine and instead capitalized on her strengths in health and wellness to get hired by Boss Wang, the CEO’s household head.

From then on, she never looked back on the road of “not doing her proper job.”

“All right, come drink some soup!” Chen Yunyan poured the chicken soup into bowls. “Minghua, you should have another bowl too.”

“I’m not drinking anymore, Mom!” An Minghua waved her hand as she sat down in the chair to catch her breath.

Ping’an stood on tiptoe and peeked into the aluminum lunchbox, seeing there was still some soup left. He asked Chen Yunyan: “Grandma, can I bring a bowl to the uncle next door?”

“I’ll go bring him a bowl!”

An Minghua was handing the chicken soup to Qin Lie, and when she heard that, she paused in surprise. He hadn’t even been gone that long—how had his social circle expanded again?

Chen Yunyan handed the bowl to Ping’an and quietly said to An Minghua: “Do you remember Auntie Fang from Jing City?”

Of course she did. Back when Grandfather Qin hadn’t retired yet, the two families had lived across from each other in the Military Courtyard.

“Her son, Qi Beiguo, got injured on a mission. His leg’s damaged—he might never be able to stand again.”

As the mother and daughter whispered to each other, An Minghua didn’t bother calling Ping’an back. The little rascal had already carried the soup out.

It wasn’t that she was reluctant to part with a bowl of chicken soup—but she had added diluted medicinal spring water to that soup!

Then again, she thought, it was going into the belly of a hero who defended the country. So be it—let him have it.

After dinner, Chen Yunyan took Ping’an back to the Guesthouse, leaving only An Minghua and Qin Lie in the hospital ward.

That man’s eyes stayed fixed on her again, making An Minghua feel a bit flustered. “The thermos is out of water. I’ll go refill it.”

She grabbed the thermos and stepped out. As she was filling it, she overheard two young nurses whispering gossip nearby.

“That guy in Bed 8—Deputy Company Commander Qin—he’s got a real strong life. A few days ago, I thought for sure he wouldn’t make it.”

“You didn’t hear? The other day, several department heads gave their diagnosis: the complications from Deputy Company Commander Qin’s infection were too severe. They said he wouldn’t last two days. But then, as soon as his fiancée arrived—he woke up!”

“Now everyone’s saying privately that even soldiers are human. When the person they care about shows up, they can claw their way back from the gates of Hell!”

“No wonder a pretty girl showed up by Bed 10 that evening too. That must be Platoon Commander Qi’s fiancée? I wonder if they’re married.”

“A pretty girl? How pretty? Prettier than Deputy Company Commander Qin’s fiancée?”

“I still think Deputy Company Commander Qin’s fiancée is prettier! Anyway, it’s not like that girl can do anything for Platoon Commander Qi—his leg’s already beyond saving.”

Well… not necessarily. If Platoon Commander Qi drank the chicken soup Ping’an brought, he just might be able to stand again.

Hearing herself praised for her looks by the nurses, An Minghua felt quite pleased. She thoughtfully waited until the two nurses walked away before carrying the thermos back to the ward.

“An Minghua?”

As she passed by Qi Beiguo’s hospital ward, a girl stepped out. The two nearly bumped into each other. Hearing the voice, An Minghua turned her head. “Xie Yutang? What are you doing here?”

You’re Qi Beiguo’s fiancée???

“Oh! Minghua, you and Tangtang know each other?”

Auntie Fang came over with red-rimmed eyes, took the thermos from Xie Yutang’s hand, and said: “I’ll go fetch some water. You two young folks catch up!”

…

“So, the fiancé your family arranged for you… is Qi Beiguo?”

Outside the hospital, on a stone bench, Xie Yutang and An Minghua sat side by side.

“Yeah.” Xie Yutang nodded. “Before, I was always resistant to this engagement. But after we met that time… I suddenly felt like all my stubborn affection had been a joke.”

“My dad’s legal troubles haven’t been resolved yet, and then Auntie Qi suddenly reached out to us, saying Qi Beiguo got injured and might never be able to stand again. She told me my dad’s case wasn’t too serious—he wouldn’t be imprisoned for long, but he would definitely be sent down. And if that happened, I’d have no choice but to go to the countryside too.”

“So I figured I might as well marry Qi Beiguo. Whether or not he can walk again, at least I wouldn’t have to suffer in the countryside. And as for my dad, the Qi family said they’d help. Even if he gets sent down, it won’t be somewhere terribly hard.”

An Minghua: “…”

Auntie Fang really pulled some unspoken rules maneuvering with this one—it was complicated, to say the least.

“I just didn’t expect Qi Beiguo to refuse. Before, he always said we’d get married after I graduated, but today he turned me down.”

Xie Yutang glanced uncertainly at An Minghua. “But now… I want to marry him even more.”