She was the exact same kind of person as Lin Lanlan—endlessly greedy!
Birds of a feather really did flock together!
Lin Shuang gave up any thought of bribing Shi Dongyun.
On the other hand, her younger brother, despite his young age, clearly distinguished right from wrong; he would certainly prove to be no ordinary person in the future.
Leaving the courtyard, Lin Shuang first paid a visit to the department store.
“Comrade, I’ll take this bicycle.”
Before Lin Shuang even stepped inside, she heard a familiar male voice.
Could it really be that much of a coincidence?
Yet, it was!
Men seemed naturally inclined to observe their surroundings; the moment Lin Shuang crossed the threshold, he immediately looked over.
The moment their eyes met, the man froze imperceptibly before walking toward Lin Shuang with a smile.
Lin Shuang: “…” No way, no way! He recognized me?
Then she heard the man greet her familiarly, “Cousin, you’re finally here. Come quickly and look at this bicycle—doesn’t it suit you very well?”
A Type 26 bicycle, designed specifically for women—of course it suited her.
Lin Shuang put on a pleasantly surprised face and said, “Cousin, you bought this for me? Thank you, Cousin!”
The corner of Zhuang Zhiyuan’s mouth twitched slightly. This girl, who had disguised herself as an old grandmother, was truly good at taking advantage of a situation.
The reason he could recognize Lin Shuang was, of course, not because he had eagle eyes.
Instead, after returning last night, he had investigated her overnight.
Relying on the old master’s connections and with the help of his brothers, Lin Shuang’s identity was quickly uncovered.
He just hadn’t expected the young girl to look so striking—though her skin was far too thick!
However, Zhuang Zhiyuan was no ordinary person either.
“I buy, you pay. One hundred and sixty yuan, plus a bicycle coupon. Cousin, after you.”
He placed quite a bit of emphasis on the word “after you”!
Lin Shuang had originally come for a bicycle anyway.
She would take her scumbag father’s bicycle, but that didn’t stop her from preparing an extra one.
In case a tire got punctured unexpectedly, she would still have a timely replacement.
Lin Shuang soon returned with the slip to pick up the bicycle, only to unexpectedly spot Zhuang Zhiyuan pinning an old man to the ground. Meanwhile, more than a dozen men carrying sharp weapons suddenly emerged from the surroundings, all lunging toward Zhuang Zhiyuan.
Without second thoughts, Lin Shuang charged forward in a few quick strides and kicked away a man who was aiming a sharp weapon at Zhuang Zhiyuan’s back.
With a wild card suddenly bursting into the scene, the group of men lost their focus. Zhuang Zhiyuan also happened to finish tying up the old man, spinning around to join the fray.
Before long, a large crowd lay sprawling across the ground.
Another group of people arrived from outside, and Lin Shuang could see they were there to back Zhuang Zhiyuan up.
Figuring there was no further need for her, Lin Shuang quietly slipped away to another side of the department store.
Thanks to last night’s trade, she had acquired quite a few coupons. The nation-wide ones could be saved for now, but the local ones had to be used before leaving Shanghai.
With both money and coupons in hand, Lin Shuang showed no restraint in her shopping.
“Give me ten jin of white sugar, ten jin of rock candy, twenty jin of brown sugar, two jin of White Rabbit milk candies…”
She almost bought out the entire food counter, leaving the two shop assistants rushing around frantically.
After finishing her purchases on this side, she moved to another section.
Fabrics, ready-made clothes, shoes, insoles, socks, gloves… almost anything that could be used, Lin Shuang bought several sets of each.
In the end, she even bought a large number of buttons.
Washbasins, towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, enamel mugs, needle and thread… basically anything useful, Lin Shuang requested 20 of each item.
Mung beans, soybeans, job’s tears, rice, wheat, buckwheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams… until all her coupons were completely spent.
Finally, Lin Shuang asked someone to help carry everything to a secluded spot.
It wasn’t as if none of the shop assistants grew suspicious.
With a single line from Lin Shuang—that she was purchasing goods on behalf of the working people in the Northwest—the shop assistant was rendered speechless, effectively suppressing any stirred-up suspicions and even speeding up their movements significantly.
She then went over to the watch counter. Lin Shuang didn’t buy anything overly expensive; she bought a Titoni watch for one hundred and sixty yuan and put it on her wrist right away.
It was immensely inconvenient not being able to check the time.
After brief thought, she also bought a men’s watch.
Meanwhile, on Zhuang Zhiyuan’s end, after leaving the matters to his subordinates, he went to answer a phone call from the old master.
The moment he picked up, he heard the old master’s roaring voice, which vibrated so loudly that Zhuang Zhiyuan pulled the receiver further away.
“You scoundrel! Didn’t I tell you to buy a bicycle for Lin Shuang?”
“How dare you feign compliance while disobeying me? Just wait until you get back—see if I don’t break your legs!”
Zhuang Zhiyuan froze. “Old man, didn’t you tell me to buy a bicycle for my younger sister?”
How did it suddenly involve Lin Shuang?
He didn’t like Li Zhizhi, his maternal cousin, but his father’s side had no paternal female cousins, making Li Zhizhi his only sister-figure. He had assumed…
Old Man Zhuang had a fiery temper and snorted on the spot.
“When you were little, you put caterpillars in Li Zhizhi’s hair. When you grew a bit older, you led your cousins to isolate her. Four years ago, when I asked you to mail a dress over, you secretly swapped the gift for a piece of pork—by the time Li Zhizhi opened it, it already stank to high heaven, and she didn’t dare eat meat for three years.”
The meaning was crystal clear: asking you to buy a bicycle for Li Zhizhi—was that a joke?
Recalling what he had just done, Zhuang Zhiyuan’s face burned with a stinging sensation.
“Sigh… I’m an old fool too. How could I let a reckless brat like you handle such an important matter? I should have gone in person.”
“Enough! Originally, I wanted to introduce you to that girl Shuangshuang, but luckily she found someone reliable. Someone like you… forget it. Lin Shuang will be your sister from now on, and you better act like a brother.”
Lin Shuang had no idea that what had happened to her at the department store had reached Grandpa Zhuang’s ears so quickly.
Storing everything into her space, Lin Shuang returned to the front of the department store to ride her bicycle, only to see a man standing upright like a young poplar tree by the entrance.
Once she caught sight of his face clearly, Lin Shuang took the initiative to step forward and greet him.
“My name is Lin Shuang. Let’s get reacquainted.”
Having one more friend meant one more path available. Given the capability the man had shown last night, Lin Shuang felt she might still need his help in the future.
Zhuang Zhiyuan, however, felt a little uncomfortable.
Lin Shuang didn’t think much of it.
She simply felt that the person in front of her was indeed a master capable of seeing through her disguise at a single glance.
Looking at his expression, he could act the part of whatever role he took—quite the multifaceted person!
Given what had just happened, this man was likely carrying out some sort of mission. A person who didn’t try to get close to a powerful figure like him would be a fool.
After a moment of awkwardness, Zhuang Zhiyuan composed himself and reached out his hand openly.
“Zhuang Zhiyuan. Just for the life-saving favor you did me earlier, sister, you’ll be my real sister from now on.”
Lin Shuang: “…” Was a powerful figure really this easy to get close to? Could he turn out to be a weakling after all?
Zhuang Zhiyuan felt quite uncomfortable under her scrutiny and took the initiative to change the subject.
“Since you’re my sister now, I should give you a meeting gift.”
With that, he took a stride with his long legs and led the way into the department store.
Lin Shuang was left completely bewildered. She ended up receiving a radio along with a pile of daily necessities in a blur.
She thought to herself that this meeting gift was certainly practical.
However, she had no reason to accept things from others for nothing. Just as she was about to refuse—
She heard this self-proclaimed brother say, “If you don’t accept it, Old Man Zhuang will break my legs.”
Only then did Lin Shuang realize that this man was Grandpa Zhuang’s grandson.
At that, she refrained from turning it down any further.
She was then taken on a trip to the police station, where she received a certificate of commendation for acting courageously for a just cause.
Lin Shuang treasured it and put it away into her space, thinking to herself that this outing had been more than worth it.
Just for this alone, having an extra brother wasn’t a bad thing at all!
The newly recognized brother and sister, wanting to learn a bit more about each other, went to a state-run restaurant for a good meal before parting ways.
Lin Shuang headed straight for the train station. Although Zhuang Zhiyuan offered to help her buy a ticket, Lin Shuang wanted to check out the train station herself and explore the surroundings to gain a better understanding of the local customs and conditions of this era.
It was just a pity she didn’t have a Polaroid; otherwise, she would have taken more pictures, as these old photos would serve as testimony to the era in the future.