Su Wanqing stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.
“Looking for money.” Su Wanqing didn’t know what was going on either—her memories were a jumbled mess, and she couldn’t even remember where she had put something as important as money.
Lu Changfeng’s frown deepened. “I already gave you the money. What more do you want?”
Su Wanqing said, “The rice jar is empty, and there’s nothing to eat at home. I plan to take the children to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy some rice and flour, and also get a few yards of cloth to make them new clothes.”
Lu Changfeng didn’t believe her. She had never bought anything for the children before—any money she got went straight into her stomach or back to her parents’ home.
“Liar!” Lu Changfeng snorted coldly.
“Mom just gave us a bath.” Lu An’an’s voice came from the side. He held his younger siblings’ hands as they stood by the wall.
All three children had changed into clean but worn-out clothes, their hair still damp.
Lu Changfeng’s gaze swept over the three children before returning to Su Wanqing. She herself looked much cleaner too.
The expression on his face didn’t change, but the annoyance in his eyes lessened slightly.
“You usually keep the money in the iron box on top of the cabinet,” he said before turning and walking into the inner room without offering to go with them.
Su Wanqing stepped onto a stool and felt around the dusty top of the cabinet until her fingers touched a cold iron box.
Opening it, she found several large ten-yuan bills, some loose change, and a pile of ration coupons. Counting it all, there was still over ninety yuan left.
Thank goodness, Su Wanqing let out a long sigh of relief.
She took thirty yuan and some coupons, tucked them into her pocket, and turned to the three children. “Let’s go, we’re going shopping.”
Before leaving, she glanced at the three large bags of garbage piled in the corner of the room.
She bent down, picked up one bag with each hand, and tucked the third bag under her arm, lifting them all with ease.
She tossed the three bags onto the garbage heap outside the courtyard, the entire process effortless.
This was only because in her previous life, she had often gone to the gym to lift weights.
At the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Su Wanqing first bought twenty catties of rice, ten catties of white flour, and a bar of soap. In this era, there was no shampoo yet, so she’d have to make do.
If she had the raw materials, she could make some herself. It suddenly occurred to her that if she could sell daily chemical products, she’d make a fortune.
While buying the rice, she stepped onto the scale—180 catties. She patted her large belly, determined to shed this excess weight.
She also bought some woolen fabric and cotton cloth, planning to make clothes for the children. She didn’t need any for herself.
She was too fat—it would be a waste of fabric. She’d wait until she lost weight.
But shoes and socks couldn’t be skimped on—the children’s shoes and socks were all worn out.
Su Wanqing bought two pairs of cloth shoes and one pair of sneakers for each of the two boys. For Lu Tiantian, she bought a pair of sneakers and two pairs of little leather shoes.
Three pairs of socks for each of them.
After buying them, she immediately replaced the old shoes on their feet.
Finally, she bought the children one catty of White Rabbit candies and two catties of peach shortbread.
The children’s faces lit up with joy—this was the first time their mother had ever bought them snacks.
Su Wanqing first grabbed a handful and distributed it among the children. Lu An’an took his share, and the coldness in his eyes finally warmed. “Thank you, Mom!”
Lu Pingping and Lu Tiantian were overjoyed.
“Mom is the best!”
Children were easy to please; the hard one to handle was the man at home. As long as they didn’t divorce for now, everything would be fine.
Afterward, she went to the butcher’s shop and bought one catty of pork belly. In these times, everyone lacked oil in their diet, so pork belly was more popular than lean meat.
She also weighed out two pounds of pork fatback, planning to render lard when she got home, and bought a pound of marrow bones.
Turning to the market, the 1980s market was small, with not many varieties of goods for sale.
She bought a black fish, cucumbers, tomatoes, bok choy, and eggs.
The children followed behind her, their hearts filled with joy—they wouldn’t have to go hungry anymore.
On the way home, a middle-aged woman wearing a Dacron shirt blocked their path.
“Wanqing, have you struck it rich? Buying so much stuff.” The woman’s eyes were fixed on the fish and meat in Su Wanqing’s hands, practically gleaming.
Su Wanqing searched through the original host’s memories. This was the original host’s mother, Chen Cai’e.
Every time she came, it was either to ask for money or demand things, never once giving the original host a kind look, yet the original host gave her money every month.
“Mom.” Su Wanqing called out perfunctorily.
“Ah, I heard Changfeng is back. Did he give you this month’s living expenses?” Chen Cai’e rubbed her hands together, her eyes shining. “Your brother is getting married soon, and the family is short on money. Give me seventy yuan first to tide us over.”
Su Wanqing looked at her without speaking.
“What are you staring at? I raised you all these years—isn’t it only right that I ask you for seventy yuan? Hurry up and hand it over!” As she spoke, Chen Cai’e reached out to snatch the money from Su Wanqing’s pocket.
Su Wanqing sidestepped, and Chen Cai’e lunged into empty air.
“What are you doing?” Su Wanqing glared at her.
Chen Cai’e was momentarily stunned by her reaction. The old Su Wanqing would never have dared to speak to her like this.
“What am I doing? I’m here to get money! You ungrateful girl, shouldn’t you, as the older sister, contribute money and effort when your brother is getting married?” Chen Cai’e pointed at Su Wanqing’s nose and scolded.
Painful memories from the original host surfaced. Su Wanqing sneered, “I give the family fifty yuan every month, and you’ve used it all to support my brother. Now the house is almost out of rice, and the children are skin and bones from hunger, and you still ask me for money?”
She deliberately spoke loudly, drawing pointed glances from passersby.
“This mother is really heartless.”
“This woman is no good either—she looks like a pig herself, while her children look like refugees.”
“Look at her wearing Dacron, while her grandchildren are in tattered clothes. How can she even ask for money?”
Chen Cai’e’s face flushed a purplish-red. “What nonsense are you spouting? What’s wrong with me taking a little money from you? You wretched girl, a married daughter is like spilled water—how dare you meddle in your family’s affairs?”
Su Wanqing couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. “No money, and no goods either. If you keep making a scene, I’ll call the police.”
Chen Cai’e wasn’t intimidated by the word “police.” “Oh, you dare call the police? Looks like you’ve grown some backbone.”
She reached out to hit Su Wanqing, but Su Wanqing, holding her purchases, couldn’t easily fight back. However, Chen Cai’e’s hand was caught by a strong, powerful arm.
It was Lu Changfeng.
“What are you doing?” Lu Changfeng’s brows were already furrowed with anger.
Chen Cai’e didn’t dare provoke Lu Changfeng. “Changfeng, I just thought since Jianjun is getting married, I’d ask Wanqing for a bit of money.”
Su Wanqing said coldly, “What does your son’s marriage have to do with me? If you don’t have the money, then don’t get married.”
Lu Changfeng could hardly believe his ears. In the past, Su Wanqing was always pestering him for money to give to her family. This time, she actually refused on her own—how unusual.
“Did you hear that? Your daughter said she doesn’t have any.”
Lu Changfeng’s innate sense of intimidation made Chen Cai’e’s heart tremble. She cursed, “You wretched girl, I won’t let you off,” and then left.
Lu Changfeng looked at Su Wanqing before him. She really hadn’t lied—she had taken the children out to buy things. He had heard from the neighbors earlier and couldn’t help but come to see for himself.
He took the bags from Su Wanqing’s hands. “So heavy—can you carry these?”
She hadn’t even been willing to let the children carry anything and had even bought them new shoes. The old Su Wanqing had never treated the children like human beings.
Su Wanqing said, “This little bit? No problem.” She was, after all, someone who could deadlift sixty kilograms.
Lu Tiantian, still munching on White Rabbit candy, chimed in, “Yeah, Mom is really strong. She threw out three bags of trash all by herself.”
Seeing that she had also bought snacks for the children, Lu Changfeng felt that perhaps his decision that morning had been the right one.
Su Wanqing said, “You go home first. I’ll take the children to the tailor’s shop to get clothes made. Do you need any clothes made?” Once the autumn heat passed, Jiangcheng would gradually enter winter. She didn’t believe the original owner would have prepared winter clothes for the children.
Lu Changfeng said, “I don’t need any.” He usually wore his work uniform, and his clothes were all sent from home. “You could also take the children to buy clothes.”
Su Wanqing said sheepishly, “Haven’t I already spent too much of your money? I thought I’d save a little. Once I find a job, I’ll buy clothes for the children.”
Lu Changfeng said, “Alright.” He thought Su Wanqing might be trying to ask for money indirectly this time—she had learned to be clever.
Without another word, he carried the bags and headed home.
The children happily followed Su Wanqing to get new clothes made. The tailor took their measurements, and each child was to have six new outfits—three for autumn and three for winter.
Seeing wool for sale, she bought some along with knitting needles. She didn’t know how to knit, but she could ask Zhang Cuifen to teach her.
When they returned home, Lu Changfeng was already cleaning the windows. He always did a thorough cleaning whenever he came back. Surprisingly, Su Wanqing had taken out the trash today—something unheard of—which lightened his workload a bit.
Su Wanqing said, “You don’t need to clean. It’s rare for you to have a day off. I’ll clean after lunch.”
Since she wanted to lose weight, doing more housework could count as cardio.
In these times, there were no washing machines, no robotic vacuum cleaners, no water heaters. Going out meant walking, biking, or taking the bus—several times more physical activity than in the future era. And with food scarcity, there was no takeout to order.
There wasn’t even an electric rice cooker. Su Wanqing couldn’t understand how the original owner had managed to get so fat.
Lu An’an sympathetically pulled his father down. “Dad, she’s right. You should rest properly at home during your time off.” He cleverly winked at his father.