Chapter 19: Entering the Town to Buy Supplies

After another two days on the road, the group passed a small county town. Their food supplies were running low, so Liu Juntao suggested scouting ahead.

Liu Juntao returned after half an hour and said, “Now’s a good time to head in. Today the Japs are out with their collaborators sweeping the surrounding areas, so there aren’t many of them left in the town.”

The group quickly packed up and entered the town. No one was guarding the city gate, so they hurried to buy what they needed, worried the Japs might come back any moment.

Passing a steamed bun shop, Wang Li bought twenty buns, handed one to each person so they could eat while walking, and stored the rest in the basket.

Han Ya held her bun in her hand, reluctant to eat it. She swallowed hard, glancing at the bun. Wang Li felt a pang of sadness—this girl must be worried that if she eats now, she won’t have anything later. Wang Li said, “Go on, eat it, girl. Auntie still has more. If you wait too long, they’ll get cold and won’t taste as good.”

Han Ya immediately shoved the bun into her mouth, as if someone might try to snatch it from her. Wang Li ate one herself, found it quite satisfying, and grabbed another.

Times were hard, but the buns were large and filling—two were enough to be full. After giving everyone one more bun, Wang Li was ready to find a general store. In this era, general stores usually had a decent range of goods.

She asked the bun shop owner, who said there was a Cheng’s General Store just west from the crossroads ahead.

When they walked in, they saw a row of large clay jars along the back wall containing soybeans, red beans, mung beans, rice, millet, wheat flour, black flour, sorghum flour, cornmeal, and buckwheat flour. Up front were bamboo baskets, trays, and mats, each with a paper sign listing the price. To the left of the entrance were soybean oil, sesame oil, and vinegar. On the wall hung ropes, sickles, hats, and scarves. Several rolls of oilcloth stood nearby. Though the store was small, it was well-stocked.

A store clerk noticed the group and quickly came over. “Looking to buy something?” he asked.

Wang Li replied, “Two jin of vinegar, poured into a bamboo container. Two jin of millet, ten jin of rice, ten jin of wheat flour, two jin of oil, one liang of Sichuan pepper, one liang of star anise, ten feet of oilcloth, and four umbrellas. I also saw you have scarves and hats—give me two of each kind.”

After placing her order, she turned to the others. “Anything else you all need?”

Wang Minghao asked, “Boss, do you have a walking stick? I twisted my leg—it’s hard to walk.”

Surprisingly, they did have one. The place might be small, but they really did carry a lot.

Since no one else was buying anything, Wang Li asked how much the total was. She paid and loaded everything onto Liu Juntao’s basket.

They prepared to leave the town, worried that if they delayed too long, the Japs might return.

On the way out, they passed a baked flatbread stall. Wang Li bought another twenty. Then they came across an old man selling peanuts by the roadside—she bought half a jin.

Outside the city gate, they saw an elderly woman struggling with a basket full of eggs.

Wang Li asked if she was selling them. The old woman happily said yes and explained that she didn’t dare go into town, fearing she’d be robbed. Wang Li had been craving eggs anyway and figured she’d boil them all and take them on the road—convenient and filling.

She gave the old woman a silver coin and took the basket too.

The old woman exclaimed, “Young miss, this is too much! I can’t take that much money!”

Wang Li thought to herself that she had plenty of money in her storage space anyway—helping someone in need was always worthwhile.

The four of them walked in stops and starts until the sun began to set. Up ahead, they saw an old abandoned kiln. Everyone carefully scouted the surroundings, looking around warily. This era called for caution—not only against Japanese soldiers, but also against bandits. Beside the kiln was a river.

They found a walled-off spot and set down their things. Han Ya started pulling out supplies. Wang Li asked Liu Juntao to gather firewood. Tonight, after dinner, they’d burn some ash to properly wash the dishes and clean their hands and feet. Washing their hair was out of the question—it was too risky in the cold.

Wang Li quickly built a makeshift stove, cooked some millet porridge, and mixed up two bowls of wheat flour dough. She cracked four eggs into it, added some oil, used warm water to knead the dough, and fried a big pan of flatbreads.

They also stir-fried some sliced potatoes, which went down quite nicely. After dinner, Hanya was told to wash the dishes, while Liu Juntao was sent to fetch water.

Secretly, Wang Li used her mind to cut a piece of cotton cloth from her space. She cleaned Wang Junhao’s wound with it, disinfected it with alcohol, then opened a capsule of amoxicillin and sprinkled the powder onto the injury.

The space was a mess—she couldn’t find the Yunnan Baiyao right away—so she just gave him a pill to take instead.

Wang Junhao was extremely obedient. When she told him to close his eyes, he closed them. When she told him to take medicine, he took it. He didn’t ask questions or say a word.

In truth, Wang Junhao wasn’t obedient so much as dumbfounded. The moment his sister came close to him, his brain just went blank. He couldn’t think at all.

That night, they heated up some hot water and used ash to scrub the pots, dishes, and utensils clean for quite a while. Once cleaned and packed into the basket, it would be easier to carry when they were ready to move.

They also washed their hands and feet, cleaned the towels, and wiped down their hair. Wang Li told them to go to bed, while she added more firewood to the stove, preparing to keep watch overnight.

Wang Junhao refused to sleep—he insisted on staying up with her.

Wang Li said, “Go rest. The more rest you get, the faster your wound will heal.”

Truthfully, she wanted to enter the space during the night and organize things a bit so it would be easier to find what she needed later.

Wang Junhao said, “Sis, do you hate me? I feel like I’m just dragging you all down.”

Wang Li didn’t even know how to respond. Where had he gotten the idea that she hated him? He was way too sensitive.

She quickly replied, “I don’t hate you. I’m just tired and don’t feel like talking. Go to sleep—resting will help your recovery.”

Wang Junhao said, “Sis, why don’t you take the train? We’re almost in Suzhou. It only takes one day by train to get to Haicheng. I can tell you’re exhausted and frustrated. I’ll give you an address—please go find me when you can. Or you can place an ad in the paper to find me. If you have the address, you can put one in the paper and I’ll find you.”

After speaking, he stared at Wang Li without blinking. Wang Li felt faint. For someone usually so clever, he sure became stubborn when it came to this. She felt mentally drained. They were already so close—why waste money on a train now?

Wang Li didn’t want to argue, so she stayed silent and continued feeding firewood into the flames.

Wang Junhao scooted over again and tugged on her hand. “Sis, I brought this from home. My mom told me that when I found someone I liked, I should give this to her. I like you. Please take it—there’s a jade pendant, a bracelet, and a pair of rings. Keep them safe for now. Once we settle down, I’ll marry you. We’ll wear them for our wedding.”

Wang Li didn’t want to drag it out, so she said, “Go rest. I’ll take them. Once we get to Shanghai, if you regret it, just come ask for them back.”

She figured that if she didn’t accept, he’d keep pestering her for who knows how long. Besides, after a few more scenes together, wouldn’t they just fall for each other like in those drama shoots? And when a new show came around, they’d split up again. He was probably just infatuated after not seeing any women for days—he’d probably fall for a sow if one showed up now.

Shanghai was a city full of distractions. Wang Li was sure he’d regret this decision within a month.

When Wang Junhao saw that she accepted his things, he happily went back to sleep.

Wang Li tidied up the space. She placed the medicine, money, and house deed for the property in Shanghai in an easily accessible spot. Then she checked what she’d collected this time—grains, all kinds of miscellaneous items, and way too many weapons: grenades, pistols, rocket launchers, machine guns, muskets, two radios, a box of sake, and two foreign swords. A pretty good haul. Once she got to Shanghai, with a house and food already taken care of, opening a KFC didn’t sound like a bad idea.

Wang Li exited the space and had only just sat down when Liu Juntao came out. Looks like she wouldn’t be able to enter the space so casually anymore.

Liu Juntao said, “Sis, go get some rest. I’ll keep watch.”