Chapter 162: Going to the City to Buy Things
Every time Pan Yue woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, she would see Sheng Wanze sitting motionless on the bed, staring intently at her belly. It nearly scared her to death. Why was this man sitting up in the pitch black instead of sleeping, just staring at her stomach? If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he was plotting something sinister.
After mailing her letter, Sheng Wanyan bought a few stamps to add to her collection. Then, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the materials she had translated over the past month.
“Hello, please mail this to the Capital newspaper office for me,” she told the clerk.
The postal worker nodded and helped her package the documents.
A month ago, Wanyan had written to the newspaper, asking them to forward any books that needed translation directly to her new address. She wasn’t sure if anything had arrived yet, but since she was already in the city, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“Are there any packages for Sheng Wanyan?”
“Hold on a moment, let me check.”
The clerk searched through a chaotic pile of parcels on the floor, taking a few minutes before finally pulling one out. “This has been sitting here for a week. I was starting to think no one was going to claim it.”
It was rare for the post office staff to encounter someone who took so long to pick up their mail.
“I’m so sorry. I just arrived at the military base two days ago and haven’t had a spare moment until today.”
The clerk’s attitude shifted instantly, turning incredibly warm and enthusiastic upon learning her identity. “Oh, you’re a military wife who just moved here?”
Wanyan nodded. In this era, people held a deep reverence for soldiers, which naturally extended to their wives.
“No wonder! You’ve just arrived,” the clerk smiled, patting her chest professionally. “Don’t worry about it. From now on, I’ll make sure all your packages are kept safe right here.”
“Thank you. Here, please have some wedding candy.” Wanyan pulled three pieces of candy from her pocket and handed them over. The clerk beamed and accepted them happily. It was the first time she had ever received wedding candy from a military wife, and it felt extra sweet.
After taking her parcel, Wanyan found a deserted alleyway and ducked into her pocket dimension.
The first thing she did was tear open the package. Inside were indeed the books sent by the Capital newspaper for translation. There were three volumes in total, and curiously, every single one of them was related to firearms and weaponry.
Wanyan frowned slightly as she flipped through the pages. It wasn’t hard to deduce from the material that the country was currently pushing hard into scientific research. When it came to advanced weaponry, they were still lagging far behind other nations. Consequently, the state desperately needed skilled translators to decode and crack foreign technical data.
Still, she wondered why such critical material had been forwarded all the way to her. Was there really no one left in the capital capable of translating firearms documentation?
After a moment of reflection, the truth clicked. Some sensitive tasks were simply better handled by someone far removed from the volatile center of political power. Wanyan didn’t dwell on it for long; her only job was to translate the texts, and whatever happened beyond that was none of her business.
She carefully set the books aside and walked into her storage warehouse to organize the supplies she would be taking back to the base. She knew she had to visit the local supply and marketing cooperative to use up her physical coupons, especially since so many other military wives had traveled to the city to shop. If she returned to the compound with a massive basket overflowing with goods without a single soul seeing her buy anything at the store, it would inevitably spark suspicion. Going to the cooperative was a necessary cover to prevent anyone from finding fault with her lifestyle.
From her warehouse, she pulled out five kilograms of pork, ten kilograms of pork fat, two fresh fish, two racks of ribs, and a pig’s trotter. She also gathered twenty eggs, ten kilograms of rice, five green peppers, five eggplants, and three cucumbers, rounding it out with five kilograms of cabbage, five tomatoes, ten potatoes, and two kilograms of tofu. Finally, she grabbed an assortment of soup herbs—such as red dates, wolfberries, and angelica—which were common enough to blend right in.
Her plan was simple: once she finished making her actual purchases at the cooperative, she would discreetly pack these extra items into her backpack to fill it to the brim. That way, everyone would witness her shopping, and her household could eat exceptionally well without anyone suspecting foul play.
Furthermore, since she was hosting Tingxiao’s comrades the day after tomorrow, having a well-stocked pantry wouldn’t look like a lavish capitalist lifestyle; it would just look like proper hospitality. Even if someone tried to cause trouble for her, she had the perfect justification. If pushed, she could easily flash her generous translation income to shut everyone up.
With her supplies organized, Wanyan left her space and headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative. The moment she walked in, she spotted several of the military wives who had ridden on the truck with her. Wanyan immediately joined the queue at the butcher counter, spending every last meat coupon she carried.
Next, she went over to purchase a supply of coarse grains. She knew her family couldn’t eat refined grains like pure white rice and white flour all the time. If she kept that up, Gu Tingxiao would start questioning their resources long before the neighbors did. Besides, incorporating coarse grains into their diet was actually beneficial; in her previous life, people paid a premium for whole grains, considering them excellent for one’s health. Cornmeal and sweet potato porridge would make for highly comforting breakfasts.
Wanyan also wanted to buy two large earthenware jars to brew her own kimchi, as she had an absolute weakness for pickled foods. However, the jars were far too bulky to haul today, so she reluctantly decided to leave them for her next trip.
The cooperative’s inventory was fairly limited, so she focused on sweets, picking up two kilograms of traditional pastries and six large bags of standard candies. This would be perfect for distributing her wedding treats. Allocating ten pieces per household would cover the neighborhood beautifully. The leftover candies would be saved to sweeten the mouths of any children who came over for the housewarming feast.
Armed with an abundance of cloth and cotton coupons, she also stocked up on textiles. Tailoring her custom sofa cushions was going to require a massive amount of fabric and cotton batting. She planned to begin sewing the moment she got home tonight; once the fabric was washed and dried, the cushions would be ready to go just as the wooden frames arrived tomorrow.
Wanyan deliberately bought a noticeable amount of goods at the cooperative, ensuring she was seen by the others. Once she stepped away from the store, she slipped into a quiet spot to integrate the hidden supplies from her space, filling her backpack to maximum capacity.
Checking her watch, she saw it was already half past two. She adjusted her heavy pack and set off for the designated gathering point.
For this trip, she had no intention of tracking down the local black market; she didn’t want to waste time asking around for directions. She was, however, highly interested in visiting the local scrap yard to hunt for hidden treasures, though she decided that errand could wait until her custom bicycle arrived to give her more mobility.
By the time Wanyan arrived at the truck, almost everyone had already gathered. Once everyone clambered into the flatbed, the wives immediately began gossiping, eagerly inspecting what each person had managed to buy.
Among them, Wanyan’s backpack stood out as the largest and heaviest, though she had carefully draped a sheet of thick black cloth over the top. She had pulled the cloth from her space specifically to keep the nosy neighbors from staring directly at her bounty.
“Sister-in-law Gu… you bought an awful lot of things, didn’t you?” one of the wives remarked.
Seeing such a stuffed pack naturally piqued their curiosity; hauling that much freight must have cost a pretty penny. Several women secretly thought Captain Gu’s new wife was a terrible spendthrift. To blow through money like that the moment they set up house—who knew if they could even afford to pay it back down the road?
“I just arrived at the compound yesterday, and the house is completely bare,” Wanyan explained smoothly. “Besides, my old Gu’s comrades are coming over for dinner in a couple of days, so I needed to stock up on everything ahead of time.”
It was her first time referring to Gu Tingxiao as “my old Gu” in public, and she found the traditional term a bit embarrassing to say out loud. But she knew that while the first time felt strange, the second time would feel familiar. Every woman in the compound addressed her husband that way, so there was no need to be shy.
Hearing her explanation, the wives nodded in understanding. It made practical sense; given how rare it was to secure a seat on the city truck, it was only logical to buy as much as possible to prepare for a major housewarming.
