Chapter 13: Urns and Gathering News at the Department Store

“Daughter, go get your graduation certificate quickly. We need to leave soon.”

As soon as Director Wu entered, he said this to his daughter who was chopping vegetables in the kitchen, then went inside to get money. He took out one thousand yuan, counted it carefully in front of Liu Xinghe, and handed it over.

“Little sister, you count it yourself again.”

“No need to trouble yourself. I saw you count it, aunt, it’s correct. Let’s go now; it’s better to handle this early and have peace of mind.”

Liu Xinghe put the money into her bag, then stored it in her space, signaling Director Wu to take his daughter along. The faster this handover happened, the better.

Director Wu turned to see his daughter standing there, staring blankly. Smiling helplessly, he waved:

“Daughter, why are you just standing there? Didn’t I tell you to get your graduation certificate? You’ve been dreaming of having a job, and now that you have one, why are you frozen?”

“Mom, is it really a job?”

“Yes, hurry up! I’ve given you the money and brought the household registration book, so there’s no excuse. Let’s go handle the paperwork. In a couple of days, you can start working as a cashier in the steel plant’s finance office. It’s a top-notch job, so move quickly.”

“Alright!”

Director Wu’s daughter was overjoyed and dashed inside to get her graduation certificate.

Once things were confirmed, no one wanted any accidents. The three of them hurried to the steel plant without stopping for a moment.

With Director Wu, who knew all the procedures and the steel plant’s layout, leading the way, everything was done remarkably fast. In less than half an hour, all the arrangements were complete, and the job was entirely separated from Liu Xinghe’s involvement.

After the transaction, they left the steel plant. Liu Xinghe felt a huge weight lifted from her heart. She declined Director Wu’s invitation to eat, checked the time, and headed to the police station to see Director Zhang.

Director Zhang, however, took her to see three urns.

“Do you want to take these ashes home?”

After the execution of criminals, their ashes can be claimed by family. Liu Xinghe was effectively the closest relative of these three, so Director Zhang asked.

“No, I’ve already publicly severed ties with them. I don’t want anything more to do with them.”

She felt satisfied seeing them punished by law and didn’t want to handle their ashes herself—it would dirty her hands and pollute the environment. It was better to let the state deal with these “garbage” people.

“I actually came to see you, Director Zhang, about a personal matter.”

“Alright, we’ll take care of the ashes then.” Director Zhang placed the urns in a special storage box, removed his hat, and said, “I’m free now, so go ahead and tell me what this personal matter is.”

“Director, now that they’ve been punished and executed, would you say my earlier report on Shen Xi counts as ‘meritorious reporting for the public good’?”

Liu Xinghe looked seriously at the urns, then at Director Zhang, brazenly asking.

Director Zhang paused, then thoughtfully said, “You could say it counts as meritorious reporting for the public good.”

“Director, I see that other meritorious reporters receive certificates or banners. Could I also get a banner that says ‘Meritorious Reporting for the Public Good,’ or a certificate officially stamped by the police station?”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Director Zhang, full of hope. She had no shame asking—her determination to extract every last “value” from this family’s ashes was clear.

Director Zhang glanced at the wound on her neck and smiled helplessly. “Well… yes, we can issue it to you. Come collect it tomorrow afternoon.”

Liu Xinghe’s heart dropped with joy, and she smiled widely, thanking him: “Thank you, Director, I’ll definitely come.”

“No need to thank me. It should be issued to you.” This also served as a form of security for her going to the countryside.

After finishing this, Liu Xinghe smiled: “Director, I have another real personal matter.”

“Go ahead,” said Director Zhang.

“I heard from Grandpa Zhang that both your sons are about to get married. The house must be too crowded. What do you think of my place? You’ve seen the yard; it has many rooms, plenty of space, a small courtyard where you can grow vegetables—very suitable for a family. I was looking for someone to watch the house while I’m away. If you’re interested, we can discuss it.”

Liu Xinghe looked expectantly at Director Zhang.

It was a lucky coincidence—she had initially wanted to ask Grandpa Zhang about any potential needs at the police station but ended up learning about Director Zhang instead. He was the perfect candidate.

She added:

“You know I’m heading to the countryside soon. Once I leave, the house will be empty. No one knows what could happen to it. The countryside is over a hundred or two hundred kilometers away. I won’t have many chances to check on it. Having a reliable person watch the house will put my mind at ease. After all, this is my grandfather’s hard-earned property. It can’t fail on my watch. This is the only hope left to me.”

“I’m worried about that too, but regarding the house, I need to discuss it with your aunt first. She makes the final decision. Come with me home; we can taste your aunt’s cooking and talk while eating.”

Talking about his wife brought a bright, happy smile to Director Zhang’s face.

Caught off guard by the display of domestic bliss, Liu Xinghe swallowed her emotions, smiling:

“Director, you and your wife are truly happy. I won’t disturb your dinner. I still need to buy some supplies at the supply and marketing cooperative for my countryside trip. Once you’ve discussed it with your wife, you can come to my house. I’ll show you the house carefully.”

It was surprising to see such a tall, tough man also happily devoted at home. Director Zhang was impressive, without an ounce of male chauvinism.

“Alright, go ahead. Your wound hasn’t healed yet, take care of yourself,” Director Zhang nodded in approval.

“Okay, goodbye, Director.”

After parting with Director Zhang, Liu Xinghe headed straight to the department store to buy supplies for her trip to the countryside.

Although her space had a supermarket stocked with all kinds of modern goods, they were obviously contemporary and would stand out. For practical items, it was better to buy things native to this era.

With the space there as a backup, she had to stock up, as rural supply stations weren’t as abundant as the city. Now was the time to prepare.

Entering the department store, Liu Xinghe was like a fish in water, joyfully shopping from the first floor to the third, buying multiple quantities of anything useful.

For example, era-specific items for social interactions, fruit candies, milk candies, and spiced sunflower seeds—she bought extra for distributing to others.

Items in her space couldn’t be shown to others, so she had to use the ones from this era.

She even bought four large red thermoses and several sets of clothes, shoes, and pants.

Then she thought about buying fabric to make her own clothes—her mother’s dowry included a sewing machine still in her space, and she knew how to use it.

With all her fabric coupons in mind, seeing there was still time before closing, Liu Xinghe went to the fabric counter to buy half a yard of cotton fabric.

Two clerks were chatting and snacking on sunflower seeds. The younger one said, “Let her pick whatever she likes” before returning to the conversation.

Liu Xinghe didn’t mind. They chatted; she shopped, quietly eavesdropping on the gossip.

The older clerk said: “Do you know Zhou Xiaomei?”

“Yes, isn’t she the daughter of Director Zhou at the neighboring grocery store? She went to Qingyong Commune not long ago. She signed up secretly for a boy behind her mother’s back. What’s happening now?” the younger clerk replied curiously.

Liu Xinghe, keeping her head down over the fabric counter, perked up slightly at the familiar commune name.

“Turns out the boy was Chen Shimei. They’ve broken up, which is good news for Director Zhou.”

The older clerk smirked, with a hint of envy:

“You have no idea how spoiled Director Zhou’s daughter is. Going to the countryside was more like going to enjoy herself. She receives gifts frequently, was given a Phoenix-brand bicycle, and even got a job at the supply and marketing cooperative through connections.”

Liu Xinghe became serious, focusing all her attention on the conversation.