Chapter 144: Time to Shop

That night, Fu’s mother stayed up late, tidying up the room she was staying in. She also had both children sleep in her room. Fortunately, the kids were very fond of their grandmother.

As for Fu Mingxue, she got to enjoy the big room all to herself.

She had thought she’d have trouble sleeping in such a new environment, but to her surprise, she fell into a deep sleep soon after her head hit the pillow.

She slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, she woke up early. When she got up and went outside, she found that her mother had already been up for quite a while, and the entire courtyard had been swept spotlessly clean.

“Mom, how come you’re up so early? Couldn’t sleep?”

From outside, the faint sounds of people from the army compound running and exercising in the morning drifted over.

“I’ve always been an early riser, you know that. Oh, by the way, I asked Sister Wang next door—she said the supply and marketing cooperative is in town, about an hour’s walk from here. There’s a market today, so let’s go have a look in town later.”

Although they’d received quite a few things yesterday, there were still a lot of things missing at home.

“Alright. I wonder if there’s any convenient transportation to get there.”

At this, Fu’s mother remembered something important. “When are you going to report in at your work unit?”

“I’ll go this afternoon! This morning I’ll go with you to the supply and marketing cooperative. I even have a bicycle ticket—if they have bikes, we can just buy one. That way, it’ll be easier for me to get to work in the future.”

Fu’s mother agreed her daughter needed a bicycle; otherwise, she’d have to walk to work every day.

They ended up leaving a bit late, since they had to wait for the kids to wake up and feed them first. Once the children had eaten, they set off for town together.

They were running late, so the neighbors couldn’t wait for them and had already left with others.

Luckily, just as they were leaving the army compound, Yang Ming happened to be driving out. “Sister-in-law, are you heading to town?”

Seeing it was him, Fu Mingxue nodded. “Yes, we’re just about to go into town.”

Yang Ming immediately said, “Hop in, I’m heading to town too. Let’s go together.”

Fu Mingxue hadn’t expected to catch a ride, but she was happy to accept. She and her mother got in the car.

Once they arrived in town, Yang Ming dropped them off.

“When will you be heading back?” he asked.

Fu Mingxue knew he’d gone out of his way to give them a ride, and she didn’t want to trouble him further.

She replied, “Comrade Yang, we’ll be shopping for quite a while. I’m planning to buy a bicycle, so I’ll be able to ride back myself. No need to come pick us up.”

Yang Ming nodded. “Alright then, sister-in-law, auntie, I’ll be off.”

With that, he drove away.

Fu Mingxue said to her mother, “Mom, let’s check out the supply and marketing cooperative for bicycles first.”

“Alright,” her mother agreed.

The two of them soon found the cooperative—and sure enough, there were bicycles for sale. They were the classic “28 big frame” models.

“There aren’t any women’s bikes?” Fu’s mother thought a women’s bike would be better for her daughter.

But Fu Mingxue preferred the “28 big frame” anyway, since she had long legs. “Mom, let’s just get this one.”

She turned to the salesperson. “Comrade, I’d like to buy a bicycle. How much is it?”

“One hundred and fifty yuan. Do you have a bicycle ticket?”

“Yes.” Fu Mingxue handed over the money and the ticket she’d prepared.

The salesperson wrote up the receipt and told her where to pick up the bike.

“Mom, is there anything else you want to buy? Let’s get everything we need while we’re here.”

“Sure,” her mother replied. There were quite a few things she needed: bowls and such, which they didn’t have enough of, plus soy sauce, salt, sugar, and other seasonings that were running low.

By the time they finished shopping, they’d spent quite a bit of money."