Even with a bicycle, it still took more than two hours to reach the county town. Most of the road was dirt—there were no asphalt roads at all. Whenever they hit bumpy sections, Lin Su’s butt felt like it was going to fall apart from the jolting.
The most awkward part was that every time they passed over rough ground, her body would uncontrollably lean against Qin Zhoucheng’s back, brushing against his tense back muscles.
Lin Su sat up straight the entire way, gripping the edge of the bicycle seat tightly. She had been in relationships before, so it wasn’t because she was shy—but men in this era were generally very conservative. She was afraid that constantly bumping into him would make her look like some shameless woman taking advantage of him.
In fact, Qin Zhoucheng wasn’t having an easy time either. Having her soft body leaning against his back made him break into a thin layer of sweat. Yet until they reached the supply cooperative in the county, she never once tried to wrap her arms around his waist.
After parking the bike, she still sat stiffly, like a wooden pole, completely dazed. Qin Zhoucheng couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Back at the clinic, she had been bold enough to casually comment on his abs—but now she was so shy.
She didn’t look like her usual self at all.
For some reason, Qin Zhoucheng felt a bit disappointed. He actually wouldn’t have minded if she had hugged his waist or touched his abs a little. Then he could jokingly scold her, and she would puff up and argue back, her bright eyes full of energy—that would’ve been quite cute.
“I’ll go lock up the bike. Wait here?” he asked.
“I’ll walk around. See you inside the store,” Lin Su replied.
For some reason, she felt that Qin Zhoucheng looked a bit… displeased.
The county supply cooperative wasn’t as large as the big department stores in Haicheng, but it still had two floors, selling everything from daily necessities to fabric and ready-made clothes—just with fewer styles.
Lin Su saw many familiar old brands. To people of this era, they might seem fashionable, but to her, everything—from design to materials—looked outdated and old-fashioned.
She shook her head slightly.
“What are you doing here? This isn’t a place someone like you belongs,” a familiar voice suddenly sounded.
Lin Su turned around and saw two familiar faces—Yu Minghai and Yu Xiuli.
She remembered Aunt Liu mentioning that Yu Minghai had come to the county with his sister.
What rotten timing—of all places, she had run into them here.
In this era, goods were only sold through supply cooperatives. Although reform and opening-up had begun, private vendors were still rare. Even in county towns, markets mostly sold eggs, vegetables, soap, toothpaste, and fabric—all purchased with ration coupons.
There was only one such cooperative, so it was inevitable they would run into each other.
Yu Xiuli looked at the skincare items in the counter with smugness, waving something in her hand.
“Country bumpkin, do you even know what this is?”
It was a small round yellow tin box. “Never seen it before, right? This is Snow Cream. Only city girls like Sister Tingting are worthy of using it. This is goose grease cream too—both are for her. People like you have probably never even seen them.”
Lin Su glanced over lazily. Coming from the 21st century, she had seen everything—from early creams to advanced skincare routines with essences and serums layered for morning and night use.
A tiny tin of Snow Cream like this wasn’t enough to impress her.
Seriously?
Seeing Lin Su stay silent, Yu Xiuli became even more smug.
“If I gave it to you, you wouldn’t even be worthy of using it. A peasant woman like you—ignorant and uncultured.”
Yu Minghai didn’t speak. He simply looked her over critically.
“You followed me here? Don’t forget—we’re already divorced.”
This hypocritical ex-husband looked refined and wore glasses, but it was just a decent-looking shell. Inside, he was rotten.
“I came to buy things. I didn’t follow you,” Lin Su rolled her eyes and walked toward the second floor.
Behind her, Yu Xiuli sneered again. “Brother, ignore her. She’s just jealous that you’re buying gifts for Sister Tingting.”
Lin Su couldn’t be bothered with them and went upstairs, where fabric and ready-made clothes were sold.
She looked at the various fabrics and was surprised by the selection. What shocked her most was that they even had wool coats.
“Jian Guo, I want this one! Buy me this coat—it looks so good on me!”
A young couple nearby was trying on a wool coat. The girl, with braided hair, was clearly in love with it.
It was a bright orange coat. The wool wasn’t very fine, and the design was outdated, but Lin Su remembered that in this era, wool coats were rare and expensive.
And indeed—the man asking the price was stunned.
“This coat costs over 600 yuan? Our whole family couldn’t save that much in five or six years! Shan Shan, don’t buy it—it’s too expensive.”
“It’s good quality! I can wear it for a lifetime! I’m only getting married once—why won’t you buy it for me?”
There was no such thing as clothing lasting a lifetime. Lin Su knew that very well. Her mother had once bought a red wool coat in the 1990s for 1,000 yuan. Ten years later, it was outdated and just sat in the closet.
The man looked torn.
“Shan Shan, we’ve already spent a lot on the wedding. We fulfilled all the ‘three turns and one sound system’ requirements. My dad said electric fans are in short supply—maybe we should save the money for that.”
“So electric fans can be worn on my body? Wu Jianguo, those were my mother’s demands! I just want this coat. Your family isn’t poor, why are you so stingy?”
“Shan Shan, don’t cry… let me think of a way…”
The man was panicking.
Six hundred yuan was indeed a huge amount. Even factory workers earning steady wages only made thirty to forty yuan a month, saving for years to afford it.
“If you don’t care about brand names, you could have it tailored instead,” Lin Su suddenly said.
The shop assistant glanced at her arrogantly.
“Comrade, are you joking? Tailors can barely make shirts and pants. Who has the skill to make this kind of coat?”
Lin Su smiled and pointed at herself.
“Me.”
The assistant snorted. “Stop bragging. Go outside and brag there. This is the only coat in the whole county. If you don’t buy it, stop trying it on.”
The girl called Shan Shan tearfully took off the coat, unwilling to let go.
The service attitude here really wasn’t great—but in this era, sales clerks were state workers with iron rice bowls and monopolized goods, so customer service was rare.
Wu Jianguo tried desperately to comfort his fiancée, almost begging her.
Finally, he turned to Lin Su.
“Comrade… you said you can make it by hand. Is that true?”
“I don’t believe her! Wu Jianguo, you’re just trying to brush me off!”
Shan Shan turned to leave angrily.
At that moment, Lin Su pulled out a dress from her bundle and shook it open.
It immediately drew everyone’s attention.