After getting off the train, Lu Chaonan carried a large travel bag through the crowd and quickly found the station exit.
His uniform made him particularly conspicuous among the crowd.
The moment he stepped out of the train station, he headed straight for the long distance bus station.
After asking around, Lu Chaonan learned that the next bus home would not leave until one thirty in the afternoon, which meant he still had two hours to spare.
After leaving the bus station, he glanced around before heading toward the supply and marketing cooperative.
He had returned in a hurry and had only brought some personal belongings with him. Since he had some free time now, he decided to buy a few gifts for his family.
The others were not that important, but he definitely had to buy something for Lin Shuya.
After entering the supply and marketing cooperative, Lu Chaonan first picked out gifts for the Lu family.
A pack of Soft White Red Plum cigarettes cost forty seven cents, so Lu Chaonan bought ten packs at once. Between his own brothers and the friends he had grown up with, they would all be gone after making the rounds.
He also bought ten feet of cotton fabric for Li Chunhua, enough for her to make herself a new outfit.
As for his two sisters in law, he had barely interacted with either of them, so he casually picked out two tins of snake oil, one for each of them, as a meeting gift.
There were also quite a few children in the family, so Lu Chaonan bought two jin of candy. Once he got home, each child could grab a handful as a small token from him as their uncle.
After buying gifts for everyone else, Lu Chaonan stood by the counter, feeling somewhat troubled.
What should he buy for Lin Shuya?
Lin Dahai had been a prominent figure in the village.
When he was young, he had left home with the army and did not return for fifteen years.
When he finally came back to the village, he carried his luggage on one shoulder and held a little girl in his other arm.
He reclaimed land, built a house, and settled down there for good.
The year after returning to the village, he was elected village chief. Later, when several natural villages merged to form a production brigade, he successfully became the brigade captain.
Lin Dahai had received compensation after leaving the Army, and he was also capable enough to earn money on his own. Many people in the village had tried to arrange another marriage for him, but he had stubbornly refused to remarry and raised only one daughter, Lin Shuya.
As his only daughter, Lin Shuya had been pampered by Lin Dahai since childhood.
Most children could go an entire year without getting a new set of clothes, but Lin Shuya could have two new outfits made every season, and there was never a patch to be seen on her clothes.
Most girls either had their hair cut unevenly or simply tied it up with a piece of yarn, but Lin Shuya had all kinds of pretty hair ties from a young age. Lin Dahai had even learned how to style her hair from one of the skillful women in the village, so her hairstyles were rarely the same.
It was not just that she dressed well. In an era when most families rarely ate meat throughout the year, Lin Dahai always found a way to get some whenever he went into the mountains or worked in the fields, and Lin Shuya could have meat once every ten days.
The Lin family also raised three chickens, and all the eggs they laid were reserved for Lin Shuya. She had one every day, and there was almost always some kind of snack for her as well.
Later, when Lu Chaonan began training with Lin Dahai, he benefited from it too. He could eat an egg every day, and Lin Shuya would also share some of her snacks with him.
She had eaten well and dressed well.
Lin Shuya had lived such a comfortable life before marriage that Lu Chaonan had no idea what he could buy to please her and make her forgive him for leaving the day after their wedding and disappearing without a word for two years.
Lu Chaonan walked around and looked over every counter. It was a small town, and the selection was fairly ordinary.
When he reached the ready made clothing counter, however, he spotted a light yellow floral dress with a slightly fitted waist and a pleated skirt that looked like a blooming flower.
After only one glance, Lu Chaonan was certain that Lin Shuya would look beautiful in it.
“How much is this dress?”
The saleswoman immediately greeted him with a smile when she saw Lu Chaonan. “Fifteen yuan. An old tailor made it himself and brought it to our counter on consignment. No coupon is required, only cash, which is why it is so expensive.”
On the black market, cloth coupons could sell for the same price as the cloth itself, so clothing that did not require coupons effectively cost twice as much.
Light colored floral cotton fabric cost fifty cents per foot, and this dress could not have used more than six feet of fabric.
Fifteen yuan was not cheap. After all, Dacron was the most fashionable fabric at the time, and fifteen yuan was enough to buy an outfit made from it.
The dress had been sitting at the counter for nearly a month. Plenty of people had asked about it, but the moment they heard the price, they shook their heads and walked away.
People these days were skilled at making things for themselves, and the style of this dress was not particularly complicated.
Any capable young woman could buy the fabric, go home, and make the dress herself on a sewing machine, so there was no need to waste money buying one from a store.
Lu Chaonan did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he turned to look at the shoe counter beside it.
A dress like that would look better with a pair of leather shoes. The women in the art troupe all dressed that way.
There were not many styles of leather shoes on display, though there were quite a few sandals.
The plastic sandals came in many colors, but they had a strong smell.
Lu Chaonan raised his hand and pointed to a pair of light colored leather sandals. “How much are those?”
“Ten yuan. They are this year’s most fashionable style and sell very quickly. They would go perfectly with this dress.” The saleswoman was quick to read the situation. “Comrade, you must be home on family leave, right? How long has it been since you last saw your wife? Bring this outfit home, and I guarantee your wife will be thrilled.”
Then she took out two hair ties.
“One dress and one pair of shoes, twenty five yuan altogether. I’ll give you these two hair ties for free. Go home and dress your wife up beautifully. There’s a new movie showing at the cinema tonight, so take her there and make an appearance. The two of you will look like a perfect match, and everyone will be praising you.”
The saleswoman certainly knew how to talk, so Lu Chaonan took out three ten yuan notes and placed them on the counter.
Carrying the things he had just bought, Lu Chaonan stood at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. There was still plenty of time, so he decided to go to the state run restaurant for a meal first.
The moment he stepped down the stairs, he spotted someone he knew.
“Quande, what brings you to the county town?”
Zhao Quande turned when he heard the voice. The moment he saw Lu Chaonan, he hurried over excitedly.
“Brother Nan? When did you get back? Why didn’t you say anything? I could have gone to the station to pick you up.”
Lu Chaonan took out one of the packs of cigarettes he had just bought and handed it to Zhao Quande.
“I just got off the train and was buying a few things before heading home. Have you eaten yet? My treat. Let’s go eat at a restaurant.”
Zhao Quande did not stand on ceremony and reached out to take the things from Lu Chaonan.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
The state run restaurant was not far ahead.
Inside, a small blackboard listed the day’s menu, with both meat and vegetable dishes available.
There was no point in eating out if it was only going to be radishes and cabbage, since those were already common at home.
Lu Chaonan ordered two meat dishes, Kung Pao chicken and braised pork, for a total of two yuan.
He also ordered four liang of rice, two liang for each of them.
After paying with food coupons and cash, they found an empty table that someone had just left.
Only after the waitress cleared away the empty bowls did Zhao Quande lower his voice and ask, “Brother Nan, you didn’t really come back this time to divorce Lin Shuya, did you?”
Lu Chaonan was pouring tea from the pot when his hand paused, and he looked up.
They had grown up together, so Lu Chaonan knew Zhao Quande’s personality very well.
Family gossip was usually the kind of thing village women chatted about.
For news like this to have reached Zhao Quande, it meant that the entire village had probably already heard about it.
Lu Chaonan frowned slightly but remained calm as he said, “I finally managed to marry her, so why would I divorce her? People in the village just love spreading nonsense.”
Zhao Quande also felt that it seemed unlikely, but he immediately asked another question.
“But if Lin Shuya insists on getting a divorce, would you agree?”