It wasn’t until she saw the cans of milk powder that Qiao Zhenzhu finally realized just how important formula would be.
She was carrying four babies.
There was no way she could breastfeed all four on her own.
She wasn’t a dairy cow—no matter how willing she might be, her body simply wouldn’t manage it.
To be fair to all four children, they would all have to drink formula.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t any milk powder stored in her space.
Which meant they had to buy it.
At that moment, Lu Huai was already loaded down with bags big and small. Seeing Qiao Zhenzhu standing there motionless, he walked over curiously.
“Zhenzhu, what’s wrong?”
Qiao Zhenzhu pointed at the milk powder, then patted her stomach.
Lu Huai immediately understood.
The babies would be born soon—they needed to start stockpiling formula.
With his current military rank, and considering they were expecting four children, once the babies were born, he would probably receive two milk powder ration tickets per month.
An ordinary worker’s family only got one milk powder ticket per quarter.
Compared to that, two tickets a month was already considered a lot.
But raising four babies? Two tickets a month still wouldn’t be enough.
If they didn’t want the children to suffer, the only option was to buy as much as possible while they were still in Shanghai.
Unfortunately, although the two of them had plenty of different ration coupons on hand, they didn’t have any milk powder tickets.
By the time they left the department store, neither of them was in particularly high spirits.
They didn’t bring all the purchases back to the guesthouse.
When they passed through a secluded alley and made sure no one was around, Qiao Zhenzhu quietly stored everything inside her space.
After returning to the guesthouse, she immediately pulled out a thick stack of ten-yuan bills from her space.
“There should be people selling milk powder tickets on the black market.”
Lu Huai took the money from her hands.
“I’ll go myself.”
Seeing how determined he was, Qiao Zhenzhu didn’t argue.
These were his children too. It was only right for him to go buy the tickets.
Lu Huai left with the money.
With nothing else to do, Qiao Zhenzhu lay on the bed and decided to use her powers to grow red dates.
This time, she dried all the dates before storing them in her space.
Fresh crisp dates weren’t in season yet; it would still be over a month before they appeared on the market.
But dried red dates were available year-round.
On the black market, people didn’t only use money—bartering was common too.
In this era, most people didn’t eat well. Adults and children alike often suffered from anemia.
Something nourishing like red dates, known for replenishing blood, was highly sought after.
She could probably trade them for plenty of useful things on the black market.
Qiao Zhenzhu continuously used her wood-element ability to grow red dates, losing track of how many she had produced.
Only when someone knocked on the door did she put the jujube tree back into her space and get up to answer it.
Standing outside was Lu Huai.
He was carrying a lunchbox and looked dusty and travel-worn.
“It’s already dark. Why didn’t you turn on the light?” he asked as he casually switched it on himself.
Qiao Zhenzhu smiled. “I didn’t notice. So? Did you get them?”
Seeing her eager expression, Lu Huai didn’t tease her with suspense. He placed the lunchbox on the table and started pulling things out from his waist pouch.
Stacks upon stacks of milk powder tickets appeared before her eyes, neatly arranged in piles. The sight was especially pleasing.
Qiao Zhenzhu picked them up excitedly and quickly noticed that besides the milk powder tickets, there were also industrial coupons and foreign exchange certificates.
Lu Huai explained from the side.
“One milk powder ticket plus three industrial coupons can buy one can of Bright brand milk powder.”
“One milk powder ticket plus five to ten industrial coupons, along with foreign exchange certificates, can buy a can of imported Dutch milk powder.”
“I visited several black markets and managed to buy fifty milk powder tickets in total. I also got enough industrial coupons and foreign exchange certificates to match.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll visit several department stores and Friendship Stores and buy all the milk powder we can.”
While Lu Huai spoke, Qiao Zhenzhu listened intently.
She didn’t interrupt, but her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Only after he finished did she exclaim in admiration:
“Wow! You’re amazing!”
Fifty cans of milk powder!
For an ordinary worker’s family, that would’ve been unimaginable.
Under her shining gaze, Lu Huai felt warmth spread through his chest.
He cleared his throat before continuing.
“With these fifty cans as a foundation, plus the two milk powder tickets we’ll receive every month after the babies are born, I’ll figure out other ways to get more. Feeding the children steadily until they turn one shouldn’t be a problem.”
Qiao Zhenzhu nodded in agreement.
“That’s right! As long as they can drink milk until they’re one, that’s good enough!”
In this era, city residents could at least find ways to get milk powder tickets, but people in production brigades often never even saw one in their lives.
If a mother couldn’t produce milk herself, the babies would have to survive on thin porridge or rice water.
Compared to that, the fact that their four babies could drink milk powder until the age of one was already extremely fortunate.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, the two happily headed out.
Every time they entered a department store, they bought five cans of milk powder first.
Then came malted milk drinks, all kinds of pastries, candies, white sugar, brown sugar, canned fruit, and canned meat.
These were all valuable goods. Once they left Shanghai, buying them would become much harder.
Besides that, Qiao Zhenzhu also bought ready-made clothes that didn’t require ration tickets.
Brown, gray, or black wool coats. Black leather shoes, canvas shoes, Warrior sneakers, and rubber shoes in several sizes.
Umbrellas, raincoats, scarves, hats, and gloves.
As long as no ticket was required, Qiao Zhenzhu bought it all.
The military base where Lu Huai was stationed was in the Northeast. Winters there were dry and freezing cold. Without proper skincare, people’s faces would get chapped red like monkey bottoms.
Clam-shell oil only cost twelve cents a tin and worked best against cracked skin.
Ya Shuang cream came in an osmanthus fragrance version for thirty-eight cents a bottle, and purchases were limited. Many young women used it as a thick overnight face mask before getting married, leaving their skin soft and hydrated the next day.
Friendship Snowflake Cream was famous across the country and cost twenty-five cents a tin.
There were also Pearls & Birds skincare products for fifteen cents a box.
Shanghai brand floral water came in glass bottles with a strong alcohol scent, costing eighty cents a bottle. After using it up, the bottle could even be reused as a flower vase.
These products were already popular in Shanghai. They would definitely be even more sought after in the Northeast.
If she gave them out as small gifts to military wives, she would surely get along well with them.
Each department store limited the quantity a customer could buy—but if they simply visited more stores, wouldn’t that solve the problem?
By the end of the day, the two of them had successfully purchased fifty cans of milk powder, twenty glass baby bottles, dozens of replacement nipples, and piles of miscellaneous supplies.
Formula had been their biggest worry.
Now that they had enough, Qiao Zhenzhu slept especially soundly that night.
Not only did she sleep well, she slept for a long time. When she finally woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Lu Huai had already bought breakfast and was sitting nearby reading a newspaper.
When he saw her open her eyes, he smiled and put down the paper.
“You’re awake. Get up, wash up, and eat something.”
Qiao Zhenzhu quickly got up and headed toward the bathroom.
Most pregnant women in late pregnancy moved with difficulty and often suffered from swollen hands and feet.
But because she possessed wood-element powers, her body had been nourished extremely well. Aside from her large belly, her limbs remained slim, and she still walked briskly and energetically.
By the time she came out of the bathroom, Lu Huai had already opened the lunchboxes and neatly arranged the chopsticks and spoons.