The Sanshui Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative was tiny—just two storefronts totaling less than 60 square meters.
It stocked most everyday necessities, but there were few customers, leaving the clerks lounging around lazily.
That changed the moment a striking couple walked through the door.
The man was impossible to ignore. Dressed in a crisp navy uniform, he stood tall and straight, his handsome features drawing every eye wherever he went.
Several young saleswomen blushed just looking at him.
Yet the woman beside him wasn’t overshadowed in the slightest.
Her skin was fair as fresh snow. She wore a bold, fashionable red polka-dot blouse with a black jacket draped over her arm. And when people got a good look at her face, they couldn’t help but gasp.
Her bright, watery eyes seemed to hold endless charm. Her delicate nose was perfectly sculpted, and her rosy lips were as soft and vivid as flower petals.
She was breathtakingly beautiful. Anyone who saw her instinctively stopped to stare.
But Shen Niao had no attention to spare for those gazes. Every so often, she simply glanced at Wu Qingchuan walking beside her.
Ever since she’d said she hoped their marriage approval would come through sooner, he’d been wrapped in an invisible layer of ice.
Though he’d followed her all the way to the cooperative, no matter how much she chattered along the way, he hadn’t responded with more than a word.
Shen Niao guessed the reason.
She had practically forced him into this marriage. She wasn’t the kind of wife he’d wanted, so naturally he wasn’t eager for their application to be approved quickly.
Maybe he was even hoping it would be rejected altogether, freeing him from her.
She secretly glared at his expressionless face.
Hmph. What a crafty man.
Originally, shopping for wedding supplies had just been a formality.
Now that both of them had their own thoughts, the atmosphere was undeniably awkward.
Before long, even the sales clerks noticed.
Judging from their appearances, they were a perfect match, and they were clearly shopping for wedding necessities.
Yet they acted nothing like an engaged couple.
The woman wandered around choosing whatever she wanted.
The man simply followed behind and paid.
Did they just meet and immediately decide to marry?
That wasn’t impossible in this era.
Still…
How could such a handsome man stay so cold toward a woman this beautiful?
Shen Niao couldn’t care less what they were thinking.
She was here to shop.
Fortunately, Wu Qingchuan had a strong sense of financial responsibility.
While feeling slightly annoyed at him, she also took advantage of the excuse of “buying wedding supplies” to purchase quite a few extra things.
After all, Wu Qingchuan was paying.
Why not spend his money while she could?
The shop wasn’t large.
She browsed and bought until she’d gotten everything she wanted.
During the process, she noticed that most of the sales clerks barely spoke Mandarin. Even those who could spoke it with thick local accents.
She could only guess half of what they were saying.
Luckily, Wu Qingchuan not only understood them perfectly, but could also converse fluently in the local dialect, naturally becoming her interpreter.
Although…
He remained a very taciturn interpreter.
As long as he could translate, Shen Niao wasn’t asking for anything more.
Once they had nearly finished shopping, she symbolically carried only two enamel washbasins decorated with blooming peonies, leaving Wu Qingchuan to carry everything else.
Just as they were about to leave, Wu Qingchuan stopped in front of the watch counter and pointed at what appeared to be the finest ladies’ watch.
“How much is this?”
The saleswoman smiled.
“This is a Titoni ladies’ watch. We went through a lot of trouble to get it approved for our store last year. It’s the most expensive watch we carry—350 yuan.”
“I’ve heard it’s a foreign brand. Even stores in big cities don’t always have one. Our little cooperative somehow managed to get a single piece, but because it’s so expensive, nobody’s bought it yet.”
Wu Qingchuan turned toward Shen Niao.
“Do you like it?”
She looked up in surprise.
“You’re buying it for me?”
How strange.
He’d looked unhappy the entire shopping trip.
Yet now he was buying her a watch?
She wasn’t about to be touched by the gesture.
Still…
If she could make Wu Qingchuan spend a hefty sum on her, she certainly wasn’t going to refuse.
She looked carefully at the watch and blinked.
She recognized it.
In her previous life, she’d seen one at an antique market.
It had been one of the earliest batches of Titoni ladies’ watches imported into China—a rare collector’s item.
Besides, it was small and elegant, with a genuine leather strap that looked far prettier than most women’s watches on the market.
She couldn’t deny she was tempted.
Looking back at Wu Qingchuan, she asked again,
“You’re really buying it for me?”
He gave a brief nod.
He had indeed been affected by her eagerness to marry him.
Not because he was happy.
He simply assumed she wanted revenge on Wu Chengzu.
After all, she’d admitted she’d loved Wu Chengzu for years, and only came to Yazhou to marry him because she’d been betrayed.
Being treated as nothing more than a tool for revenge naturally left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Yet…
Watching her seriously pick out things for their wedding gradually softened his heart.
Forget it.
She’s still young.
Why should I argue with her?
She came from a wealthy family.
A watch wasn’t something she lacked.
But marriage was a major event.
As the man, he should provide his future wife with something respectable.
The saleswoman was delighted, casting Shen Niao an envious look.
Look at her fiancé.
How generous.
And a high-ranking naval officer too.
This young lady is truly blessed.
Since Wu Qingchuan insisted, Shen Niao didn’t pretend to refuse.
She held out her wrist, allowing the saleswoman to fasten the watch.
Then she lifted her hand beside her cheek.
The coffee-brown leather strap wrapped elegantly around her slender, fair wrist, while the delicate watch face resembled a tiny sparkling gemstone.
Yet no matter how beautiful the watch was…
It still couldn’t outshine the woman wearing it.
Tilting her head, Shen Niao smiled brightly at Wu Qingchuan.
“Thank you, Commander Wu.”
Her smile bloomed like a flower.
The gloom that had weighed on Wu Qingchuan all morning eased considerably.
The atmosphere between them finally became harmonious again.
Stepping lightly out of the cooperative, Shen Niao happened to notice a notice posted on the wall beside the entrance.
Recruiting Sales Clerks
Men and women welcome.
Requirements:
Standard Mandarin.
Primary school education or above.
Progressive thinking and good moral character.
The qualifications were incredibly ordinary.
They could hardly be called requirements at all.
Then again…
Aside from the military personnel and their families, most of Yazhou’s local residents lived very simple, traditional lives.
To put it bluntly—
They hadn’t had much exposure to the outside world.
After shopping through the store, she’d noticed that nearly every sales clerk spoke with a heavy accent.
Even their handwriting in the account books was crooked and uneven.
Shen Niao stared thoughtfully at the recruitment notice.
Although she wasn’t lacking money or ration coupons thanks to her dimensional space…
As supplies grew scarcer in the future, there would be things that couldn’t be bought even with money and coupons.
According to the period novels she’d read, a job as a supply cooperative clerk was one of the most coveted positions of the era.
Clerks were always the first to know when new goods arrived.
They even had priority purchasing rights.
That wasn’t actually what interested Shen Niao.
What she cared about was the convenience it would bring for exchanging goods through her space.
And…
After Wu Qingchuan died, she wouldn’t be able to continue living in the military family compound.
She’d never intended to leave Yazhou.
Because the military was stationed here.
According to the novel, the organization valued Wu Qingchuan highly.
As long as she didn’t betray him like Shen Su had, even after Wu Qingchuan’s death, the military would likely continue looking after her.
Furthermore, for several years after his death, political purges outside would still be severe.
With her background as the daughter of capitalists, leaving Yazhou would be dangerous.
But staying on the island was different.
Because the military was stationed here, the chaos sweeping the outside world couldn’t easily reach it.
Besides…
Wu Qingchuan’s friends were all nearby.
If anyone tried to make trouble over her family background, she could always seek protection from the military.
The military held tremendous authority in the region.
As long as she never remarried, seeking protection as the widow of a fallen hero shouldn’t be a problem.
The Yazhou Naval Garrison was an important military base.
There were many soldiers stationed here, and because living conditions were difficult and the island needed development, the requirements for military spouses to accompany their husbands had been relaxed to officers as low as company commanders.
Just yesterday, Zhang Cuihua had told her that the military family compound housed a large number of military dependents.
Many of those wives had no stable jobs.
They survived by taking temporary work—washing military bedding, mending uniforms, helping with road construction or irrigation projects—earning small wages based on how much work they completed.
A lucky few held permanent positions.
Some worked as clerks at the military service cooperative.
Others were daycare workers, guesthouse managers, cafeteria helpers or cooks, or members of the laundry and sanitation teams.
But there were very few such positions.
They were considered excellent jobs.
The moment one became vacant, countless people fought over it.
The military had tried coordinating with the local government.
Unfortunately, Yazhou’s economy was underdeveloped.
It was little more than a small county town.
There simply weren’t enough jobs to go around.
Still staring at the recruitment notice, Shen Niao smiled at Wu Qingchuan. The tiny beauty mark at the corner of her left eye seemed to lift with her smile.
She handed him the two enamel washbasins.
“How about… you head back first?”
“I’ve got something I need to take care of.”