Chapter 15: Preparations Nearly Complete

She headed to the counter selling cigarettes and alcohol, still holding a few ration tickets for tobacco and liquor. Presumably, her mother had prepared these, thinking that as she was going to the countryside, she would need to maintain good relations with the locals.

Xu Qinghuan simply bought a few packs of low, medium, and high-grade cigarettes: Phoenix, Da Qianmen, and Warrior—some of the most popular brands of the time. Phoenix cost six jiao and two fen per pack, Da Qianmen three mao five fen, and Warrior one jiao three fen.

The eight-fen-per-pack brand was too cheap; Xu Qinghuan felt it wasn’t presentable enough.

Maotai liquor was eight yuan a bottle. She had heard it held some collectible value, so she bought two bottles. These were limited in purchase, but Wang Juan helped her pull some strings; otherwise, she could have only bought one.

She also used her tickets to buy brown sugar, white sugar, milk powder, and malted milk, exhausting all her coupons. She bought canned peaches and lychees—two cans each, as she loved these fruits.

On the second floor, which sold clothes, shoes, and socks, Xu Qinghuan barely used her cloth ration tickets. She purchased two pairs of pants, two shirts, two pairs of shoes—including one pair of liberation shoes—and two pairs of underpants.

After spending all her cloth tickets, she could only look at more items without buying.

Altogether, Xu Qinghuan spent 150 yuan and 35 fen. She still had 807 yuan and 34 fen left, but no matter the era, money was never enough.

She didn’t buy anything else since her handbag was already full. Wang Juan accompanied her to the door, hesitating to speak.

Xu Qinghuan said, “Wang Jie, I’ll come by again tomorrow to see if I missed anything and bring your medicine along.”

Wang Juan took fifty yuan from her pocket. “I’m really sorry, this is all I brought. You’ve helped me so much; I should thank you properly. I won’t forget your kindness.”

Xu Qinghuan declined, “The three sets of medicine cost thirty yuan altogether. I’ll give you the medicine tomorrow, and you can pay then. No rush.”

Thirty yuan was no small sum, but there was a key herb in her space’s medicine stock with immeasurable value. Not only did it nourish the host body, but it also ensured the early development of the fetus.

Carrying her bags, Xu Qinghuan walked across two streets before finding a quiet alley where she stored all her purchases in her space.

Unfamiliar with the area, she asked around and finally located a state-run pharmacy, bought the herbs she needed, and carried out three bundles.

Leaving the herbs in her space overnight allowed them to absorb spiritual energy, which was immensely beneficial to patients.

This was also why Xu Qinghuan charged thirty yuan.

Next to the first floor of Yong’an Department Store was a tailor’s shop; adjacent to that was a cotton wadding workshop. Xu Qinghuan delivered the cotton and fabric to have made a winter coat, a ten-pound cotton quilt, and a five-pound cotton quilt.

She arranged to pick them up in two days.

After a full day, she returned to the Xu family home just before dusk. The family hadn’t eaten yet. Wang Mingxia was cooking in the kitchen, and Xu Manman sat on the sofa crying. Seeing Xu Qinghuan come back, she hurriedly stood up, tearfully calling out, “Sister, I’m so sorry!”

Xu Qinghuan paused, expression unreadable. “What’s wrong?”

Xu Manman showed her the watch with the broken dial. “Sister, I just wanted to see what the watch looked like. Brother Chengxu gave me your engagement token, but I didn’t take good care of it and accidentally dropped it.”

“Broken is broken. That engagement token was given to Huanhuan anyway. As long as she doesn’t mind, what’s the big deal?” their eldest brother, Xu Hongwei, said.

Xu Manman’s eyes widened as she looked at Xu Qinghuan. “Really? You won’t be mad at me?”

Their second brother, Xu Hongye, said nothing but stared intently at Xu Qinghuan, as if waiting for her approval before he would relent.

“That watch isn’t mine anymore. Whoever he gave it to, whether it’s broken or not, is none of my concern,” Xu Qinghuan said indifferently.

Wang Mingxia brought out the dishes, already aware of the situation, smiling, “There’s no need for sisters to argue. I said your sister wouldn’t mind this. You don’t know, Manman came back crying earlier, scared out of her wits. It’s nothing big!”

Xu Manman stamped her foot. “Mom, you don’t understand. Brother Chengxu won’t say anything, but his mother will definitely be unhappy if she finds out. What should I do? I promised him I’d replace the watch.”

This reminded Xu Qinghuan that she had dozens of watches in her space, any of which could sell for millions in the future, but she couldn’t take out a single one now. She’d have to buy a watch tomorrow.

She recalled having a nationwide watch ration ticket that she could use.

It felt as though the Lin family had emptied all their accumulated wealth for her.

Wang Mingxia’s expression darkened. “Where would the family get money or tickets to buy a watch as compensation? This isn’t a small matter!”

Xu Manman cried, “Mom, I don’t want this either, but what else can I do? This is the engagement token between Sister and Brother Chengxu!”

Wang Mingxia looked at Xu Qinghuan. “Huanhuan, what do you think we should do?”

Xu Qinghuan had already sat down and started eating. The meal was boiled Chinese cabbage, potatoes stewed with eggplant, and corn flatbreads—a diet fit for weight loss in the future. She stretched her neck, took a sip of water, then steadied herself.

“Auntie, that watch is what I returned to Jiang Chengxu. Since he gave it to our cousin, it’s her matter. You can’t ask me to handle it.” Xu Qinghuan caught the fleeting look of surprise on Xu Manman’s face.

Manman pursed her lips, blushing, and stamped her foot again. “Ah, sister, I only wanted to look at it. I didn’t mean to break it.”

Xu Qinghuan scoffed, too lazy to reply.

As long as she could free herself, she didn’t care who jumped into the fire.

Wang Mingxia’s eyes brightened. “Huanhuan, are you saying you’ve broken off the engagement with Jiang Chengxu? That’s a lifelong matter. You’d better be sure!”

Xu Manman, afraid Xu Qinghuan might regret it, hurried to say, “Mom, why pressure sister? If she wasn’t sure, would she have returned the watch? It’s broken now anyway; she probably doesn’t want it.”

“Right, I don’t want it!” Xu Qinghuan said without lifting her head.

Manman didn’t want it either. If she were engaged to Jiang Chengxu, she certainly wouldn’t want the watch Xu Qinghuan had worn. But for now, she couldn’t return it, so she had to make do.

After finishing her meal, Xu Qinghuan returned to her room to organize her clothes. The winter cotton-padded jacket was especially thin, and the sleeves were short. Unless lengthened, she couldn’t wear it. Two other sets of clothes, including the ones she was wearing, were also a bit short.

Without sewing skills or tailoring knowledge, she would have to figure something out when she got to the Northeast.

It was July now. She had a straw mat beneath her and a set of winter cotton quilts and blankets in the wardrobe, weighing only five or six pounds combined, but enough for now. She planned to lay the two old, stiff quilts on the kang stove in the Northeast, and use the new ten-pound quilt as a cover, which would be very warm.

Her preparations were nearly complete, except for buying a watch tomorrow.

After that, she would proceed with the breakup, check for anything she missed, and set off for the Northeast in three days.