On the weekend, He Qiutang specially changed into a bright outfit and even braided her hair into a beautiful fishtail braid. Seeing this, Shen Lanxiang couldn’t help but inwardly complain that her daughter was “acting all lively and excited about a date.”
“No matter how good the other person’s conditions are, you can’t let him pay for everything. Our family isn’t poor either. If you only spend a man’s money, people will look down on you.”
She took out two ration tickets. She knew He Qiutang had some private savings, and with the five yuan from the Yu family apology, she definitely had enough for the date—but they couldn’t let the boy pay for everything when going out to eat.
“Mom, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Not refusing free benefits, He Qiutang quickly tucked the ration tickets into her pocket.
Looking at her empty hands afterward, Shen Lanxiang thought to herself: indeed, daughters are little thieves of the household.
She kept reminding her again and again that she must leave at nine and be home before four.
After sending her daughter off, she turned around and saw her eldest daughter, He Suqin, sitting by the kang table reading and taking notes.
“Suqin, aren’t you going to follow and see what that boy is like?”
She knew her eldest daughter had sharp eyes—no kind of trickster or bad person could escape her judgment.
“I only took a quick look yesterday. He doesn’t seem bad-looking. As for his character, even if I followed him all day, I still wouldn’t know much. I’m going out today anyway—I might as well ask around.”
For major life matters like this, she would never casually leave her sister to someone she had only known for a few days. She had to investigate properly.
Meanwhile, He Qiutang had no idea her sister planned to check Zhao Huai’an out. Even if she did, she wouldn’t worry—after all, her “husband” was excellent, and had already passed her parents’ test in her previous life.
This was their first date in this new world, and she was extremely excited.
From afar, she already spotted Zhao Huai’an waiting at the entrance of the park.
“I’m here! I’m here! What’s that smell? It smells so good!”
Just a couple of steps away, she stopped and sniffed.
Zhao Huai’an pulled a paper bag from inside his coat.
“Roasted chestnuts. Smell nice?”
Her eyes lit up immediately. In a place with such scarce supplies, being able to buy roasted chestnuts was already impressive.
“Wow, my husband is amazing!”
In this era, men needed to be praised more—otherwise, how would they think to bring her more treats next time?
The signal was received correctly, and Zhao Huai’an smiled even brighter.
“Come on, let’s go inside and find a place to sit. I’ll peel them for you.”
From the beginning, he had already figured out her love for food. Back when he was pursuing her in his previous life, he had taken her to many places to eat delicious things.
“No rush, eat slowly. I brought a water bottle—have some, don’t choke.”
Seeing her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel, Zhao Huai’an felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Feeding the person he liked truly brought happiness.
From his many pockets, he even magically pulled out a thermos, still warm.
After drinking some water, she finally felt better.
“You eat too. Oh right, what did you want to tell me?”
“It’s about those cabbages. It might take some time before we can sell them.”
They weren’t in a rush for food or money, so there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
“It’s fine. Three thousand jin of cabbage is just taking up space. The storage space keeps time frozen anyway—it won’t spoil even after ten years.”
She wasn’t in a hurry to exchange resources anymore either. Their daily sign-ins already provided fresh items.
“Oh right, what about that 100 jin of coal? What are you planning to do with it? It’s not a lot, but not too little either.”
“I never planned to trade it. We’ll keep it for ourselves. But we can’t just take it out yet—I’ll find a proper way in a few days so it can be used openly.”
Then Zhao Huai’an mentioned what happened the previous night.
“I still feel that Tian Ming is suspicious. He was overly enthusiastic. I’m just a small driver—I don’t even know which routes I’ll be assigned later.”
Even if it was investment, it shouldn’t have been this aggressive at first meeting.
So he had decisively refused.
“That’s good. We shouldn’t rush anyway. The resources we have need legitimate channels to be used.”
The two of them discussed and set their direction for the future: use Zhao Huai’an’s identity as a driver to legitimize part of their acquired resources, and exchange surplus items through trusted contacts without involving anything too risky or complicated.
“Oh right, I forgot to tell you—I got into the daily chemical factory. I start work tomorrow.”
Zhao Huai’an had actually heard people talking about it near her home the day before, but of course, he still acted pleasantly surprised.
“Then to celebrate Comrade He Qiutang getting into the daily chemical factory, let’s go to the state-owned restaurant for a big meal today!”
“Also, I haven’t done a sign-in today. Why don’t you pick a place? Maybe we’ll get something good. You’ve already had such good luck getting into the factory—your sign-in luck must be great too.”
Of course, eating at the state-owned restaurant was already planned—but today, they could upgrade their meal.
And then he remembered he hadn’t signed in yet.
“Mmm… let me think. In novels, where do heroines always find treasure? Got it—we’ll go to the waste station! Nine out of ten female leads find treasures there. Let’s try our luck too!”
“Alright, let’s go!”
He immediately agreed.
“Let’s go… treasure hunting.”
Her last words were spoken softly, but full of excitement. She had read many stories where heroines found gold, jade, and hidden treasures in scrap stations—and she was eager to see what her own luck would bring.