With these eighty yuan, Li Jiao did not go to redeem her ring, mainly because the money wasn’t enough.
When Xiao Zhang came to collect the prescription and more chicken soup, Li Jiao didn’t take the twenty yuan. Instead, while Qin Lie wasn’t paying attention, she asked Xiao Zhang for a few ration coupons.
She planned to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to do some shopping.
Xiao Zhang glanced at the corner where at least three bundles of Broad-tendon Vine remained and said with a smile, “Comrade, is anyone still interested in your Broad-tendon Vine?”
Li Jiao blinked. “Not at the moment. I need to raise the price, so if the old gentleman wants to buy it, it might not be as cheap as before.”
Xiao Zhang was taken aback, cleared his throat, and said, “Alright. The chief asked me to inquire about your teacher. He said it seems you have a deep understanding of traditional Chinese medicine.”
“I can’t say.” Li Jiao’s eyes dimmed, a hint of depth flickering in their depths.
Hearing this, Xiao Zhang didn’t press further. He gave Li Jiao the coupons she wanted, picked up a bowl of still-warm chicken soup, and returned to the ward.
When the Old Bureau Chief heard Xiao Zhang’s report, he sighed softly. “Later, go tell that young comrade that if she wants to raise the price, so be it. At my age, I don’t have much longer to live. I just want to be comfortable, and my old comrades… they all have injuries all over their bodies, and it’s tormenting.”
Xiao Zhang understood. The Old Bureau Chief wanted the young woman named Li Jiao to take a look, but since she wasn’t willing, they couldn’t force her.
Meanwhile, Li Jiao stared in the direction of the Old Bureau Chief’s ward, lost in thought for a moment.
Snapping back to reality, she glanced at Qin Lie, who had fallen asleep due to the medication. She found a nurse and asked her to keep an eye on him. Then, with the money in hand, she hurried alone to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Qin Lie was in dire need of things. His undershirt had stiffened, and the holes let in drafts. The cloth shoes on his feet were worn through at the soles.
Thinking about how, in the nearly one year since she married Qin Lie, she had never suffered hardship, while Qin Lie…
Li Jiao choked back a sob, firm in her resolve not to let Qin Lie suffer any longer, and arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative.
As soon as she entered, she was greeted by a mix of smells.
The old-fashioned building with green-painted walls was bustling with people. Glass counters, deliberately raised to prevent customers from touching the goods, were polished to a shine.
Overhead, several wires crisscrossed, connecting the various counters to the cashier’s desk.
With a whoosh, an iron clip used to hold money and coupons slid swiftly along the wire.
It finally landed in front of the cashier.
Li Jiao tightly clutched the blue cloth pouch that had held the money earlier. Inside were the ration coupons she had exchanged with Xiao Zhang.
Among them were a few national grain coupons and an extremely precious industrial coupon.
These were her lifelines, hidden on her person when she was driven back home.
In her previous life, she had been reluctant to use these things. After running off with Li Wenbo, he had tricked her out of them.
In this life, she would spend them all on herself and her own man.
With her family’s assets securely tucked away, Li Jiao confidently squeezed her way to the shoes and hats counter.
“Comrade, give me a pair of those Warrior basketball shoes with the white soles and red logo, size 44!”
Looking at the display, Li Jiao felt an instant liking. These shoes were a hot-selling item in the city, costing ten yuan a pair and requiring an industrial coupon.
An ordinary farmer might not even be willing to buy a pair in an entire year.
The salesperson was cracking sunflower seeds and didn’t even lift her eyelids. “Do you have a coupon? No coupon, no sale.”
“Yes.” Li Jiao slapped the industrial coupon and ten yuan on the counter.
The salesperson’s eyes lit up, and their attitude immediately changed, swiftly fetching and packing the goods: “Alright! These shoes are really sturdy. Are you buying them for your husband? He’ll definitely look sharp wearing them!”
Li Jiao felt the thick lining inside the shoes, thinking of the frostbite on Qin Lie’s feet, and couldn’t help but smile.
After buying the shoes, she moved on to the clothing section.
She immediately took a liking to the thick military-green cotton coat hanging on the wall.
This was definitely a hot commodity—filled with new cotton, thick and windproof, with a fur collar. It cost twenty-five yuan.
Li Jiao didn’t even blink. “I’ll take this one too. Please find me the largest size.”
Next, she hurried to the food section, first buying five pounds of flour, planning to have Qin Lie, who couldn’t get out of bed, make dumplings for her when she got back.
Li Jiao smiled as she thought about it, then turned to buy two pounds of pork fat. This stuff was even more precious than lean meat, as few households had much oil in their diets.
Taking it back to render lard for mixing with rice would be the most nourishing.
Li Jiao recalled the hardships of those ten years, her eyes darkening with gloom.
A fragrance caught her attention. She sighed, shook off her irritation, and walked toward the source of the scent.
It was the counter selling snowflake cream. Li Jiao thought there was none left at home, so she decided to buy a jar to share with Qin Lie.
After this shopping spree, forty or fifty yuan had flowed out like water.
The wire overhead hummed, and the cashier’s abacus clicked rapidly. The cashier looked at Li Jiao with envy and astonishment: “Comrade, you’re really living the good life, spending so generously on your husband!”
Li Jiao nodded proudly. “My man treats me well, so of course I have to treat him well too.”
Li Jiao struggled out of the supply and marketing cooperative’s entrance, laden with bags large and small.
Just as she stepped off the stairs, she bumped into a middle-aged woman carrying a basket.
“Oh my, isn’t this the delicate wife of the Qin family’s second son?”
The newcomer was none other than the village’s notorious gossip, Aunt Guihua, who loved to spread rumors and was on good terms with Qin Lie’s sister-in-law, Wang Cuifen.
Aunt Guihua’s shifty eyes swept over the items in Li Jiao’s hands.
“My heavens!” Aunt Guihua exclaimed, her voice cracking with shock. “Educated Youth Li, isn’t your Qin Lie’s leg broken? Isn’t he still lying in the hospital? How can you splurge like this? How much money did you spend? Tsk tsk, are you planning to give up on life, or did you not even let Qin Lie stay in the hospital and just spent all the money yourself?”
Hearing her words grow more and more outrageous, Li Jiao frowned and interrupted, “Auntie, what are you saying? Everyone saw Qin Lie come to the hospital with me. If you don’t believe it, you can go check at the hospital. Besides, your eyesight must be failing—can’t you see all this is for Qin Lie?”
Aunt Guihua glanced at the large shoes and then at the obviously oversized cotton coat, finding it all very strange. Was this delicate, wasteful educated youth being so kind-hearted?
“Auntie, I don’t know how you and your husband get along, but my Qin Lie suffered so much, almost lost his life. Shouldn’t I take good care of him?”
“But this…” Aunt Guihua frowned, still skeptical.
Li Jiao took a step closer and chuckled, “Oh, money is just a nuisance—if you spend it all, you can always borrow more. After all, the Qin family’s old house still has some savings. Sister-in-law always tells me we’re one family. When I run out of money, I’ll just have Qin Lie go ask his older brother and sister-in-law for some. They can’t just watch their younger brother starve, can they? Besides, Qin Lie has earned quite a bit for them anyway.”
Aunt Guihua was left speechless. Li Jiao was clearly planning to latch onto the Qin family’s eldest son!
Watching Li Jiao sway her hips as she walked away, Aunt Guihua let out a gasp and clapped her hands together. She didn’t even bother buying soy sauce anymore and immediately turned to run toward the bus station.
This was big news! She had to hurry back and tell Wang Cuifen—this second daughter-in-law had gone mad! She was going to bleed the Qin family dry!
Li Jiao returned to the ward in high spirits and piled the items she’d bought at the head of Qin Lie’s bed.
Qin Lie had just woken up and was completely bewildered by the sight.
“Jiaojiao, what… what is all this?”
“It’s all for you. Come, try it on.” Li Jiao shook out the overcoat and draped it over his back, nodding in satisfaction. “It looks great. This green really suits you.”
Qin Lie’s throat tightened, and he clenched his fists. This version of Li Jiao truly captivated him.