Just as Li Susu was about to follow the older woman to take a look, Lu Yuanxing frowned and stopped her.
Ever since he had been sent down to the countryside, he had experienced unprecedented hostility.
Some people clearly had nothing to do with him, yet they would secretly find ways to harm him.
The middle-aged woman selling eggs in front of them looked kind enough, but one could never be too careful when dealing with strangers.
Especially since they were buying things on the black market. What if they were careless and someone reported them?
His situation was already difficult enough. And now Li Susu was carrying his child. He absolutely could not take any risks.
“We should still be careful. Neither of us knows anyone here. What if something happens?”
Li Susu looked at Lu Yuanxing in surprise.
Was he worried about her?
The egg seller, however, was displeased. She rolled her eyes at Lu Yuanxing.
“Young man, how can you think so badly of people? If it weren’t because this young lady looked trustworthy, I wouldn’t even have bothered! I was only trying to help!”
Lu Yuanxing felt a little embarrassed by her words, but he still blocked Li Susu.
“Let’s buy it another time. You didn’t bring much money today. If you’re really craving meat, I’ll go up the mountain and hunt a wild boar for you.”
His voice was low, but the egg seller still heard him. She pursed her lips unhappily.
“Young man, you look pretty decent, but I didn’t expect you to be so stingy when buying things. You’re making this young lady pay for everything herself, even though she’s thinking about your family. And you won’t even let her buy a piece of pork! Young lady, you’d better keep your eyes open. Don’t let a man’s good looks fool you!”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was obvious from her expression that she looked down on Lu Yuanxing.
Li Susu never expected that after coming to this era, the first person to stand up for her would actually be an egg seller.
Seeing Lu Yuanxing looking utterly defeated, Li Susu smiled and said, “Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. We’re husband and wife. He usually gives all his money to me to keep, so that’s why I’m paying!”
Lu Yuanxing stared at Li Susu in shock.
Was this really the same Li Susu he knew—the vicious, selfish woman who did nothing but cause trouble and make foolish decisions all day?
She had actually stepped forward and gracefully smoothed things over for him?
For a moment, he even wondered whether the person standing in front of him was really Li Susu.
The older woman was equally shocked.
“You two are married? This young man keeps such a cold expression on his face that anyone who didn’t know better would think you were the one chasing after him!”
Li Susu was instantly embarrassed by that remark.
She hurriedly changed the subject.
“Auntie, about that… Could you take us to where we can buy the pork?”
The woman gave Lu Yuanxing a sarcastic look.
“Forget it. I’m afraid your husband will think I’m up to something. It’ll save me the trouble of making the trip.”
Li Susu glanced at Lu Yuanxing, then tugged lightly on his sleeve and said in a soft, coaxing voice, “Come on. Besides, Auntie is selling things at the black market too. We’re all in the same boat here. Nothing should happen!”
Only then did Lu Yuanxing nod.
Li Susu quickly took the older woman’s hand and smiled brightly.
“Of course not! My husband is just worried about me. Auntie, please take us there.”
The woman finally nodded.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Li Susu and Lu Yuanxing followed the woman through several winding alleys before arriving at the entrance of a house.
The woman knocked on the door.
“Is Brother Zhou Dashan home?”
A woman’s voice came from inside.
“Yes, yes! I’m here!”
The door soon opened.
The moment Li Susu stepped inside, she caught a faint smell of blood.
Back in the apocalypse, even the slightest trace of blood could attract large hordes of zombies.
She immediately became tense and cautiously scanned her surroundings.
Lu Yuanxing noticed her movements and felt puzzled.
He increasingly felt that the Li Susu standing before him was completely different from the Li Susu he had known before.
After making sure there was nothing unusual nearby, Li Susu finally relaxed.
Only then did she remember that this was the 1970s. There was no such thing as zombies here.
The moment she smelled blood, her body had simply reacted instinctively.
As the door opened fully, a neatly dressed middle-aged woman walked out. She looked gratefully at the older woman beside her.
“Auntie Hua, did you bring us another customer looking to buy pork?”
Auntie Hua nodded.
“Yes. These two comrades want to buy some pork. The young lady looked trustworthy, so I brought them here. Xiaojuan, take them inside.”
After handing them over, Auntie Hua left.
Li Susu looked at the two nervous middle-aged women and couldn’t help feeling speechless.
If her space hadn’t been filled mostly with instant food, she wouldn’t have bothered going through all this trouble to buy things.
Everything here was just too nerve-racking.
Ever since the apocalypse began, she had basically survived by eating instant food.
That bowl of egg noodles she had eaten at noon was the only fresh food she’d had in a very long time.
She really missed the taste of braised pork.
And those huge pork knuckles!
Ma Juan led Lu Yuanxing and Li Susu into the house. After walking a little farther, they arrived at a small room.
The moment they stopped outside the door, an overwhelming smell of blood hit them.
The smell reminded Li Susu of some unpleasant experiences, and she couldn’t help feeling nauseous.
Lu Yuanxing noticed that she looked as though she wanted to vomit but was forcing herself to hold it back. A hint of concern appeared in his eyes.
He had heard that pregnant women were especially sensitive to certain smells and were prone to morning sickness. Li Susu must have been feeling sick because of the smell of blood.
He lowered his voice.
“You wait outside. I’ll go in and choose the meat. Which part do you want?”
Li Susu hadn’t expected Lu Yuanxing to be so considerate.
Having him choose the meat was fine with her. She really couldn’t stand the smell of blood.
“I want one whole pork leg, and five pounds of pork belly.”
The moment she said this, even Ma Juan, the woman selling the pork, was stunned.
“Little girl, it’s so hot right now. It’ll spoil if you can’t finish it!”
Lu Yuanxing also tried to stop her.
“She’s right. That’s way too much.”
Li Susu smiled.
“If I can’t finish it, don’t you have family at home? There are so many people in your family. Everyone can have some, and it’ll be gone in two or three days. And if you really can’t finish it, you can always cure it and make salted pork.”
In truth, she was thinking that if Lu Yuanxing refused to take it, she could simply store it in her space.
Her space had a preservation function. Anything placed inside would remain exactly as it was when it went in.
It was even better than a refrigerator.
They had come all the way into town and had to walk such a long distance. If she didn’t buy more things while she had the chance, she’d feel that she had wasted all that effort.
However, when Lu Yuanxing heard her words, his heart warmed again.
What was going on with Li Susu today?
When she bought eggs, she had thought about his family.
Now that she was buying pork, she was thinking about his family again.
Although she had committed many serious wrongs in the past, after spending the day with her, he unexpectedly didn’t find her annoying anymore.
Still, he didn’t want to spend Li Susu’s money.
“Just buy the pork belly. We’ll get the pork leg next time.”
Li Susu looked at the tall, long-legged Lu Yuanxing in disbelief.
“You… Don’t tell me you think it’s too heavy and don’t want to carry it? Or… you can’t carry it?”
The moment she said this, Lu Yuanxing’s entire body stiffened.
Fine.
Very good.
He had been trying to save her money, and she actually dared to question his strength?!