It was another peaceful night. Listening to his exhausted snoring, Bai Jiu slowly drifted off to sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, he was already gone, but there was breakfast waiting in the kitchen—porridge, pickled vegetables, and a scrambled egg.
After calling the two children over to eat, Bai Jiu planned to go out. Taking the kids along would be too inconvenient, so she decided to ask her next-door neighbor for help.
"Hello, Aunt Xu," Bai Jiu greeted with a bright smile the moment the door opened.
"Oh, I was wondering who it could be! It’s Bai Jiu. What brings you over? Have you eaten yet?" Aunt Xu was holding a bowl of porridge, though hers had sweet potatoes mixed in.
This way of eating was quite common in the village, so Bai Jiu wasn’t surprised.
"Come in, come in! Look at me, I’m just so happy to see you." Aunt Xu stepped aside, letting Bai Jiu and her children into the house.
Since she was there to ask for a favor, Bai Jiu didn’t stand on ceremony.
"Aunt Xu, I came over today to ask for your help." Bai Jiu wasn’t one to beat around the bush, and she hadn’t come empty-handed. She brought not only the children’s daily rations but also several packs of pastries.
Seeing her carrying bags of all sizes, Aunt Xu had no idea what she was up to, which was why she had simply invited them in first.
"What is it?" Aunt Xu didn’t agree blindly, nor was she so shortsighted as to promise anything just because of the gifts.
"It’s like this—the things we had shipped to the house still haven’t arrived, so I want to go to the post office to check. Also, we’re running low on food, so I need to buy some groceries. But there’s no one to watch the kids. Since you’re so kind, I figured I’d come over and bother you for a bit."
Bai Jiu spoke openly and made her intentions perfectly clear.
"Ah, I was wondering what it was! No problem at all. Zhengyang and Xiuxiu are such good kids. Leave them with me. I have nothing to do anyway." Hearing it was just babysitting, Aunt Xu agreed immediately. It was a minor favor that neighbors should naturally help with.
"Thank you so much, Aunt Xu." Bai Jiu was genuinely thrilled by her acceptance. Although her children were obedient and would likely be fine left alone at home, what if something happened? She couldn’t afford to take that risk. It was much better to have a friendly neighbor keep an eye on them.
"There’s no need to thank me for this."
But Bai Jiu never intended to let someone watch her kids for free. "You’re doing me a huge favor, Aunt Xu. You must accept these little gifts, otherwise I’ll feel bad." She quickly handed the items over.
"That won’t do. I can’t accept these. Take them back." Aunt Xu hadn’t expected Bai Jiu to bring so many things just for babysitting. They were too valuable; she couldn’t take them.
"I can’t take them back. If you don’t accept them, I’ll be too embarrassed to ask for your help."
After a few rounds of polite refusal, Aunt Xu finally accepted the pastries.
"I’ll take these packs, but don’t insult me with these food rations. Take them back. How much could two little kids possibly eat?" Staring at the white rice in the leather bag, Aunt Xu unconsciously swallowed hard.
But she truly couldn’t accept the rice. However, Bai Jiu wasn’t about to take back what she had already brought over.
"Aunt Xu, I still need to trouble you with this. The children have weak stomachs. This rice is for their lunch. They can’t eat coarse grains right now. So this really isn’t for you—it’s just to trouble you to cook it for the kids."
Zhengyang and Xiuxiu looked bewildered. They had accepted their mother’s plan to spend the day next door at Grandma Xu’s house, but since when were they sick?
"Mom," the two called out, looking at her in confusion.
Bai Jiu patted their heads. "Be good. Listen to Grandma Xu and eat lunch here today."
If she hadn’t been afraid of drawing too much attention, she would have brought over some meat as well. Unfortunately, she couldn’t. She would make it up to Aunt Xu next time.
Looking at the two thin, small, yet fair and clean children, Aunt Xu knew Bai Jiu raised them with great care. The bag of rice looked less like a meal for two children and more like rations for an entire family. But pushing it back and forth any further wouldn’t look good and might harm their neighborly relationship. She decided to simply remember Bai Jiu’s kindness in her heart.
With that, the two children were entrusted to Aunt Xu. Bai Jiu had also stuffed some White Rabbit milk candies into their pockets. Aunt Xu had a grandchild at home too, though older than Zhengyang and Xiuxiu. Bai Jiu hoped the candies would help them make a new friend.
Without her children and husband in tow, Bai Jiu headed out. She didn’t take the cafeteria’s shuttle bus, waiting until it left before departing. Once outside, she retrieved a bicycle from her spatial dimension.
If she hadn’t been afraid of drawing unwanted attention by overtaking a motor vehicle on a bike, she would have pedaled past it long ago. Riding a bicycle was much more comfortable than being crammed into a stuffy vehicle anyway.
Upon arriving in the city, Bai Jiu went straight to the post office. Learning that her parcels had arrived, she claimed them without a second word. She then found a secluded spot and stored everything into her space.
After that, she strolled around the International Trade Mall. She had heard that foreign currency was required here, which, unfortunately, she didn’t have. But it didn’t hurt to go in and broaden her horizons.
The goods were undeniably high-quality, but the styles were too old-fashioned. The clothes didn’t catch her eye at all; her mind was set on appliances like a refrigerator and a television. Now that she had her own home, she wanted her daily life to be comfortable, even if she wasn’t aiming for outright luxury. A TV, a fridge, a washing machine, and electric fans—she wanted to equip her home with all of these.
Sadly, she didn’t see any refrigerators, though there were TVs and fans. However, the prices were significantly higher than at the supply and marketing cooperative, and the designs weren’t even that impressive. After walking a full lap around the mall, Bai Jiu bought nothing except some chocolate that didn’t require foreign currency.
The International Trade Mall might not have what she wanted, but the Kyoto Mall and the supply and marketing cooperative certainly did. Without Gao Zhijun around, she could sneak the items back. At worst, she could just strap everything onto her bicycle right before reaching the entrance. Fortunately, the bicycle she had taken out was a heavy-duty model with a front crossbar; otherwise, she really wouldn’t have been able to haul so many things.
Of course, Bai Jiu didn’t buy everything at once. She only purchased two electric fans, as the weather was currently sweltering. She decided to bring Gao Zhijun along next time to buy the television. It was an expensive item, costing over a thousand yuan. It wasn’t that she lacked the money, but rather... it would be hard to explain. She was worried he might be upset if she spent that much money unilaterally. These were rare, carefree days, and she had no intention of ruining the peace just yet.
At noon, Bai Jiu treated herself to some authentic Beijing City cuisine. It was absolutely delicious. The Capital City was the Capital City after all—the food supply was vastly superior to that of her hometown, and the variety of dishes was far richer. They even had seafood, though the taste was a bit mediocre.
After wandering and shopping, the time reached two-thirty in the afternoon. Bai Jiu began preparing for her trip back. The ride home was as breezy and comfortable as could be—infinitely better than life back in the village.
When she was about a mile away from the research institute, Bai Jiu stopped. Finding a deserted spot, she strapped all the items she needed to bring home onto her bicycle. She had managed to turn a simple bicycle into a vehicle with the cargo capacity of a truck. One had to admit, she was quite a talent.
Riding the bike was no longer an option; she could only push it along. The afternoon sun was still beating down mercilessly. It wasn’t long before her clothes were thoroughly soaked with sweat. By the time she arrived back, she looked as if she had been fished out of a river.
Since she hadn’t been living there long, most people were unfamiliar with her. Seeing her return with such a massive haul of goods, quite a few onlookers grew red-eyed with blatant jealousy.