Next, she added two bottles of Coca-Cola, a pack of Yang Pangzi Shredded Spiced Duck, and two HaiDiLao self-heating hot pots to her cart.
The total came to 142.3 yuan.
She took out twenty ten-yuan notes and held them in her hand. In an instant, 200 yuan disappeared, replaced by the items she had purchased along with 57.7 yuan in change.
The app even gave change automatically.
It was unbelievably intelligent.
Even so, her heart ached.
She had just spent over 200 yuan in one go.
If she’d gone to a state-owned restaurant instead, that amount would have paid for meals there for an entire year.
No more shopping.
No more.
She only had 3,000 yuan after all. She couldn’t afford to spend money like this.
Although her storage space was packed with supplies that she could sell for a lot of money…
Selling them once or twice was one thing.
If she relied on it as a long-term source of income, people would inevitably suspect she was an enemy agent.
Besides, this was a politically sensitive era.
As the daughter of a former capitalist family, it would be all too easy for someone to report her for hiding private assets.
Looking at the food from the modern world spread out before her, she suddenly felt as though she had returned to her old life.
It was like any ordinary evening after work.
Too tired to cook, she’d order some instant food to fill her stomach.
Then, just as she was eating, her mother would video-call her, scolding her for not taking care of herself and living on junk food.
The thought made her chest tighten.
Her eyes stung.
Her throat felt painfully constricted.
She missed her mother.
Back in her original world, she had simply gone to sleep one night and inexplicably awakened here.
She had no idea whether her body in the modern world had died.
If it had…
What would happen to her mother?
She had lost her husband while she was still young.
If she lost her daughter too in her old age…
How heartbroken would she be?
How could Pang Dongling, another mother, be worse than even a stepmother?
Fortunately, those gloomy emotions were quickly shattered by the delicious food before her.
The cherries were plump and bursting with juice.
Their deep red color was vibrant, and their sweetness was pure bliss.
Then there was the ice-cold Coke…
Paired with the fragrant HaiDiLao self-heating hot pot…
It was simply perfect.
It turned out that good food really could burn away a third of life’s sorrows.
After eating and drinking her fill, she slept soundly through the night.
Early the next morning, while Shen Xiaoyuan was still sleeping peacefully, a frantic knock sounded at her door.
Already annoyed at being awakened, she yanked the door open.
Seeing that it was Pang Dongling only darkened her mood.
“What the hell do you want?”
Pang Dongling rolled her eyes.
“You’re a young lady. Watch your language. The Zhao family really didn’t raise you properly.”
Then, like a chameleon changing colors, she immediately put on a flattering smile and handed Shen Xiaoyuan a list.
“Xiaoyuan, the supply and marketing cooperative opens at eight-thirty. You need to get there early and line up.
Some of the things on this list are very hard to buy.”
“For example, this pure cotton bedding set. If you’re late, it’ll be sold out.
Jiawei is allergic to wool, so he can’t use blankets or woolen bedding.
He has to use cotton during the winter.”
“Also buy him two sets of Dacron clothes. Those are always in short supply, so you’ll have to be quick.”
“Oh, and Jiawei smokes. Buy him a carton of Zhonghua cigarettes. That’s the only brand he smokes.
The cooperative only gets one carton a day, so you’ll have to grab it the moment the doors open.”
“And buy lots of white sugar too. Jiawei loves sweets. We even have to put sugar into the dishes we cook…”
“Mom!”
Shen Xiaoyuan finally cut her off.
“I only have three thousand yuan!
Do you think I have thirty thousand?
Shouldn’t I keep some money for myself?”
The smile on Pang Dongling’s face became slightly twisted.
“I knew you weren’t really that kind-hearted.
Yesterday you agreed so readily to buy things for Jiawei.
Now you’re unwilling after such a tiny expense?”
Being woken up early had already put Shen Xiaoyuan in a bad mood.
Pang Dongling’s words were like dancing right on her last nerve.
She let out a cold laugh.
“Have you lost your mind?
Shen Jiawei is being sent down for labor—not going on vacation.
If you send him all those luxury items, aren’t you afraid someone will report him for living like a capitalist?”
Although Shen Xiaoyuan’s tone was harsh, Pang Dongling actually listened.
“You’ve got a point.
Then forget these.
We’ll just buy these instead…”
She crossed out several items on the list while muttering to herself.
Then she handed Shen Xiaoyuan another slip of paper.
“After you’ve bought everything, mail it to this address.
I won’t be going with you.”
Shen Xiaoyuan looked puzzled.
“You’re not coming?
You’re really trusting me to buy all this by myself?”
Pang Dongling’s expression became a little unnatural.
“Your father and I have something to do.
We need to go back to our old house in Xiangcheng.”
Back to Xiangcheng?
Shen Xiaoyuan’s mind immediately began racing.
Combining that with the conversation she’d overheard the previous night, she quickly figured everything out.
After being robbed twice, Shen Hanning was worried that more trouble would follow.
So he intended to move up their plan to flee to Hong Kong.
Since their Shanghai home had already been emptied, they naturally had to return to Xiangcheng and retrieve the valuables they had hidden there a few days earlier before taking everything to Hong Kong.
Otherwise, what would they live on after they arrived?
She secretly rejoiced.
She had originally planned to make a trip to the Xiangcheng house herself.
Now it looked like she wouldn’t have to.
She could simply stay home, wait for them to return…
…and carry out her third round of looting.
She nodded.
“All right. You can go.”
Shen Xiaoyuan put on a light layer of makeup and braided her hair into the thick twin braids that were fashionable in that era.
She couldn’t help sighing.
People back then really had thick hair.
One braid from this body was as thick as both braids from her modern body combined.
She selected a red polka-dot dress from her storage space.
The dress made her already fair skin look even paler.
It fit as though it had been custom-tailored for her, accentuating her slender waist.
After admiring herself in the mirror with satisfaction, she slung a canvas shoulder bag over her shoulder and headed downstairs.
“Dad, Mom, I’m heading out!”
she called toward Shen Hanning and Pang Dongling’s bedroom.
Since their bed had been stolen, they had spent the past two nights sleeping on the floor.
Pang Dongling answered drowsily,
“Go on, then.”
After leaving the house, Shen Xiaoyuan didn’t go far.
Instead, she hid behind a large tree and kept watch on the Shen residence.
Sure enough, half an hour later, a small truck pulled up in front of the house.
Shen Hanning and Pang Dongling hurried aboard before the truck sped away in a cloud of dust.
The corners of Shen Xiaoyuan’s lips curled upward.
Her mood instantly brightened.
Since she was already out…
She might as well enjoy a local breakfast.
The aroma from State-Owned Breakfast Shop No. 2 was already drifting through the air.
“One bowl of sweet soy milk, two meat buns, two youtiao, one bowl of plain rice porridge, and a generous helping of pickled side dishes.
I’m eating here.”
She pulled out a stack of grain coupons from her canvas bag.
“Here’s the grain coupons.”
The owner looked up at her.
She had fair, delicate skin that seemed soft enough to squeeze water from, a slender figure, and spoke in a gentle voice.
She didn’t look like someone with a big appetite.
Nor did she look like someone who had gone hungry for days.
He couldn’t help asking,
“All that… for one person?”
“Of course.”
Shen Xiaoyuan nodded.
She sat down at one of the small tables by the stall.
Before long, everything she had ordered arrived.
The enamel bowl was filled to the brim with soy milk, with a translucent layer of soybean skin floating on top like a piece of silvery-white silk.
The youtiao had just come out of the fryer.
Golden, crisp, and wrapped in coarse newspaper, with little circles of oil slowly soaking through the paper.
She dipped a piece of youtiao into the soy milk until it soaked up all the liquid.
One bite…
Sweetness and fragrance filled her mouth, satisfying every one of her taste buds.
The meat buns were much larger than those from the modern world.
They were packed with filling beneath a thin skin, with rich meat juices already seeping through the surface.
One gentle bite released an explosion of savory flavor.
She was happily devouring her breakfast when she caught sight of a familiar white shirt out of the corner of her eye.
She looked up.
Damn.
It’s that scumbag Pan Jiaxing.