After holing up in the guesthouse for a few days, Lu Chuyu was dressed to the nines today. She had chosen a Givenchy one-shoulder, waist-hugging, hip-hugging dress, its chest adorned with pearls and gemstone embroidery that seemed capable of dazzling one's eyes under the sunlight. She wore a three-layered stacked white pearl necklace.
Thinking about the big shopping trip to the Friendship Store today, she opted for a pair of white leather low heels, with pearls also embellishing the toe caps.
Lu Chuyu spun around once in front of the large mirror at the stairwell entrance of the guesthouse—she truly was a sight to behold.
Zhang Liping had been waiting in the front lobby of the guesthouse since early morning. When she looked up and saw Lu Chuyu descending the stairs from the second floor, she couldn't help but be "stunned"—this young woman was truly beautiful, like a doll.
"Good morning, Ms. Lu. Have you had breakfast?"
"Good morning, Comrade Zhang. I've already eaten. Thank you for going out of your way to come here. The Friendship Store isn't far from the guesthouse—let's walk over."
"Very well, Ms. Lu." Although Zhang Liping had requested a car, squeezing four people in the back seat would have been rather cramped, so she naturally went along with Lu Chuyu's suggestion.
Unlike the Friendship Mall in the capital, Beicheng, which was a standalone building, Nanhu City's Friendship Store was located on the upper floor of the city's only department store building. Naturally, there were no elevators in those days, so to reach the Friendship Store, one had to first pass through the department store.
Although the guesthouse wasn't far from the department store, it still required a walk of over ten minutes—enough time for Lu Chuyu to learn from Zhang Liping the general situation of the Lu family at present.
Sure enough, no matter the era, those with lovestruck brains never ended well.
Still, compared to those who had been sent down to farms or even lost their lives, Lu Changgui wasn't in too terrible a state. The one who truly suffered was Lu Baozhen.
Zhang Liping worried that Lu Chuyu might lose her temper upon hearing about the Lu family's misfortunes, so she became even more cautious. What a mess this was—she reckoned that the leadership's plan to attract investment and earn foreign exchange this time was about to fall through again.
"I never expected Uncle to have had such a rough time all these years. Fate truly plays its tricks. How is my eldest cousin's health now?"
She still had to put on a show, though Lu Chuyu simply couldn't squeeze out any tears. She could only manage a sorrowful expression.
"She's out of danger now. She returned to the village from the clinic last night."
Lu Chuyu nodded. "At least she's divorced now—that counts as escaping a sea of suffering. All of you, help me think: besides the big-ticket items like a color TV, refrigerator, sewing machine, electric fan, and bicycle, what else do I need to buy?"
Color TV! Refrigerator! Sewing machine! Electric fan! Bicycle!
Zhang Liping felt her head buzzing. No wonder she'd asked to borrow a truck from the transport team—this woman was far too generous with her spending.
"A radio? But with a color TV, I suppose a radio wouldn't be needed."
After speaking, Liu Changxing raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, though inwardly he thought—forget a color TV, even a radio wasn't something an ordinary family could easily afford, especially in the countryside.
"We'll see when we get there. If it's decent, we'll buy it. A radio doesn't take up much space anyway." Lu Chuyu looked utterly nonchalant.
Along the way, Lu Chuyu was like "the only lamp shining in the darkness." Though she sparked considerable discussion, and even some idle loafers followed from a distance, no one dared approach her.
After all, Lu Chuyu had two men in suits following behind her, like guards beside a cadre, and Zhang Liping was wearing "cadre attire" as well.
The city folk naturally had some discernment and knew that people with such an entourage weren't to be trifled with. The most important reason, though, was Lu Chuyu's appearance—she clearly wasn't a native of China.
Those with a bit of knowledge would whisper to their companions, "Probably a mixed-blood. But my, she's gorgeous."
Once inside the department store, Lu Chuyu spotted the bicycle section at a glance—mainly because that area had the fewest people.
"I want four bicycles: two 28-inch ones, and those two red 26-inch ones."
"Four?!"
In this day and age, a family owning even one bicycle was enough to draw attention. Four at once? At this point, it wasn't just Zhang Liping—even Liu Changxing and the other two wore expressions of shock.
"Ms. Lu, are you saying you want to buy four bicycles?"
Lu Chuyu smiled and nodded at Zhang Liping. "Yes, four. One for my uncle, one for my older male cousin, one for my older female cousin, and one for my younger female cousin—that makes exactly four. Originally I wanted to buy five, to get one for my aunt as well, but I see there are only two 26-inch ladies' bicycles here. I'll buy more later."
Zhang Liping instinctively swallowed.
Her own Zhang family—why didn't they have a relative who'd gone abroad?
Sun Yueying had already handed the foreign exchange certificates to the sales clerk at the bicycle counter, who stood there somewhat dazed.
"Is the 24-inch Hitachi color TV the largest one? It looks a bit small. Oh well, I'll take one. Also, this Wanbao refrigerator, and four electric fans as well—I don't know how many rooms my uncle's house has. This radio looks quite nice—I'll buy both the large and small ones. And please write up an invoice for this sewing machine too."
Zhang Liping felt like she was about to go numb at this point.
Envy was making her ugly.
"Boss, how about some hard currency items like cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and sugar? Also, fabric—right now you still need cloth coupons to buy cloth, and folks in the village can hardly manage a new set of clothes once a year." Sun Yueying reminded from the side.
Lu Chuyu gave her an approving look. "Buy plenty, especially cigarettes and candy—we'll be handing those out to the villagers soon enough. Oh, and also some nourishing items, like malted milk powder, brown sugar, and canned fruit. After all, my eldest cousin just got out of the hospital, so she needs to eat well."
"Boss, why not have Comrade Zhang help us get in touch with the city meat processing plant? To build up her strength, she needs to eat meat. But meat is rationed these days—even with meat coupons, you have to line up at dawn and get lucky to buy any."
"Comrade Zhang, would that be convenient for you?"
Zhang Liping nodded somewhat blankly. "It's convenient—my husband happens to work at the meat processing plant. How much do you need? I can have it delivered first thing tomorrow morning."
"Half a side, then."
"What? Oh, yes, of course, Miss Lu."
Overseas Chinese weren't all the same, it seemed. This Miss Lu must be someone capable back in America. She remembered the last overseas Chinese she'd hosted—they'd only bought some cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and sugar. No, when she got back, she needed to report this properly to her superiors. Miss Lu deserved special attention—who knew, she might even invest.
"Boss, should we buy some watches?" Sun Yueying suddenly thought of it.
Lu Chuyu shook her head. "There are watches among the gifts I brought back from America." The system's daily check-in had given her a few watches over time, and they were just taking up space—perfect to give to the Lu family.
After the shopping was mostly done, Lu Chuyu glanced at the Emotion Points on the system panel before her and smiled happily. "Come on, let's go upstairs and browse the Friendship Store."
The Nanhu City Friendship Store was on the fourth floor of the department store building, and the entire floor had only a handful of customers. The moment Lu Chuyu came up, she spotted the qipao counter. She had a fondness for Chinese style, so naturally she went to try on a few qipaos. The sizes were a bit off, but the Friendship Store had dedicated tailors who could alter them on the spot to fit.
Taking advantage of the time, Lu Chuyu also bought some jade ornaments—jade and gemstones were truly cheap in this era.
She also picked up several ready-made outfits from the clothing counter, intending to give them to Lu Changgui's family.
After walking until her feet were a bit sore, Lu Chuyu checked the time—it was already noon. The group left the department store and headed straight to the state-run restaurant.
As soon as they walked in, they saw a line of large characters plastered on the wall: "No beating customers."
That was a hallmark of the era, to be sure.
The skill of the state-run restaurant's kitchen chefs was beyond question, and on top of that, there was no "technology and ruthless tricks" back then—everything was healthy ingredients. All in all, it was extremely kind to the taste buds.
After lunch, Lu Chuyu returned to the guesthouse. After a morning of shopping, she was feeling a bit tired, and besides, she had a "moving family reunion" performance to put on tomorrow, so she needed to conserve her energy.
Meanwhile, at the Beiquan Production Brigade, things were buzzing with excitement—especially at the Lu household.
Shi Cuixia smiled as she saw off the last batch of villagers who had come to pry about the Lu family's "overseas relatives," then latched the courtyard gate. Her face ached from smiling all day.
"Old man, I suppose our hard days are finally over, aren't they? I just wonder if your parents will take a liking to me, this country wife of yours."
At that thought, Shi Cuixia's heart tightened.
She had once been a servant girl in the Guan household, personally attending to the Third Miss. She knew well that because the Third Miss was born of a concubine, the Lu family looked down on her. And she herself—of servant origin—would probably be looked down on even more.
Lu Changgui reached out and took Shi Cuixia's hand. "All these years, you and I have relied on each other through thick and thin. You've held up more than half this family. My parents will certainly acknowledge you. It's just that I feel guilty—I've failed my parents, not being able to care for them all these years. I don't even know how they're doing, or my little sister. And why did only my niece come back alone?"
Lu Changgui's heart was racing. There was an answer lurking at the bottom of it, but he didn't dare to think about it.
He was truly afraid. Before, with no news at all, he could still deceive himself.
"By the way, Baohua, first thing tomorrow morning, go to the Liu family and bring Jin Feng over. With what happened with your eldest sister, the Liu family didn't back out of the engagement—they're a reasonable family, and we can't let them down."
Lu Changgui looked at Lu Baohua, who had been grinning like a fool all day.
"Got it, Dad. Dad, let me tell you—I can hardly believe it. This good fortune actually landed on our family. The Lis must be kicking themselves now."
"Hey, keep your voice down—don't let your eldest sister hear you." Shi Cuixia, afraid of upsetting Lu Baozhen, raised her hand and thumped Lu Baohua.
Inside the room, Lu Baoxi held Lu Baozhen's hand. "Sis, don't overthink things. Our family's good days are coming. When the time comes, I'll beg Grandpa and Grandma to take you abroad with them. Once we're over there, we'll start fresh. As for that ungrateful little brat—just pretend you never gave birth to him."
Lu Baozhen smiled gently. "It's nothing, little sister. I've long since come to terms with it. I suppose the bond between mother and son was just too shallow. Since he chose to look down on me, his own mother, along with the Li family, then I'll let him go. It's just that the pain in my heart will take time to heal. I originally thought my life would be like this forever, but I never expected Mom and Dad would still be willing to take me back, and Second Brother and you don't mind having me either. I'm content with this life."
"That's nothing yet. The good days for our Lu family are still ahead. A while ago, an overseas Chinese from Dayu Town took his relatives away to enjoy a comfortable life. Do you think Cousin will take us along too? If she doesn't take us, will she leave something behind to make our family's life a bit easier?"
Lu Baozhen thought much more deeply than Lu Baoxi. Why would Cousin, a young woman, return to the country alone to search for relatives? Could it be… She sighed. "Don't think too much about it. We can't take advantage of Cousin."
"I'm just thinking about it. Even if we can't live a good life, we can still imagine it. Just imagining makes me happy. Sister, don't worry, I definitely won't take advantage of her."
She wasn't that kind of person. She just hoped that if there was a chance, she could send her eldest sister away. Otherwise, staying here would invite nothing but gossip in the days to come. Could her eldest sister's temperament really withstand that?