CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 077: CALM MIND, UNBROKEN FLESH

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"Wife, feeling any better?" When Xie Jingchen returned to Zhang Shanni’s side, he helped her up with a somewhat uneasy emotion, then directly took out a piece of peanut candy from the kraft paper bag. He only broke off a small piece, one-third the size of the candy, and gently stuffed it into her mouth.

Seeing Zhang Shanni’s pained and uncomfortable pitiful look, for the first time, he felt that he lacked the capital to protect his little wife from suffering the sin of poverty and helplessness—

If his rank were just one level higher, he could apply to drive a military jeep back home. That way, his little wife would never have to suffer the ordeal of taking the bus anywhere.

Brother Rong Wei, who was wallowing in self-blame at this moment, had his mind completely blocked. He failed to realize that even if he could now spare Zhang Shanni from life’s minor miseries, he couldn’t always be there to accompany her for long!

So, regarding the hardships and difficulties of life one must overcome, whether he got a promotion or not, Zhang Shanni would inevitably have to suffer some.

Of course, having a husband with abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people, as a wife, one always enjoys the advantages of gaining status through her husband, and the prosperity for herself and her children.

On the other hand, Zhang Shanni wasn’t feeling great at this moment.

Although her husband seemed to be very sympathetic, the problem was that his sense of hygiene wasn’t in sync with hers. She received his care, but no feeling of being moved arose spontaneously—

When her husband stuffed a piece of candy into her mouth, what Zhang Shanni felt was her uncomfortable scalp tingling ’thump thump’ with numbness!

She had to suppress her natural reaction to not spit out the candy in her mouth!

But as for her husband’s gentle gaze full of concern, Zhang Shanni dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction. Instead, she awkwardly flashed him an ugly smile and mumbled softly, "Sweet."

In her heart, Zhang Shanni was truly afraid he would stuff the rest of the candy in her mouth without another word. Not minding the cheesiness, she quickly and directly snatched the larger remaining piece from his hand and stuffed it into his mouth, flattering him by saying:

"Brother Chen, you try it too. Sweet and delicious, isn’t it?" After saying that, Zhang Shanni herself felt her teeth aching from too much sweetness.

Xie Jingchen looked at his little wife’s expectant gaze, and it just so happened to ignite his secret craving for sweetness. He could no longer keep a straight face; his sword-like brows raised slightly, softening the imposing air between them, and his plump lips curved into a warm, melting smile, "Delicious, the candy fed by my wife is definitely the sweetest."

Zhang Shanni’s eyes widened in surprise, looking at her suddenly transformed husband, even ignoring his arm around her, patting her back—had her husband been replaced by an alien with a new heart?

He was usually a serious and tough guy, why did he suddenly turn into a warm gentleman? This made no scientific sense at all!

If Xie Jingchen knew that this was how Zhang Shanni evaluated him in her heart, he would definitely faint in the bathroom. He always thought he was the warmest and kindest to his little wife.

On one hand, in Xie Jingchen’s eyes, the first impression Zhang Shanni gave him was that of a victim, a weak person.

On the other hand, beneath Zhang Shanni’s frail figure, Xie Jingchen always felt that his little wife was constantly being abused by her relatives.

And on yet another hand, men, even knowing their little wife is strong and capable of taking good care of herself, for a military man, loving and protecting their wife and children is their nature, and loyalty to the family is their duty.

After such a summary, Xie Jingchen’s behavior towards her has always been from the standpoint of a ’husband’, domineering but with a protective love for his wife.

Little did he know, in Zhang Shanni’s view, Xie Jingchen was just a stern-faced military brother, serious and strict—it would have been fine, but when he looked at her, it’s like his eyes twitched, failing to convey the intended warmth, but instead earning him the evaluation of ’squint-eyed’ in her heart.

Seeing him interact with the elderly commander today, Zhang Shanni realized that it was the gentlest she had ever seen Xie Jingchen behave. Only now did she understand that her husband, when he sneakily gazed at her, truly intended to convey his kindness, and not the ’indifference’ she had perceived!

Tsk tsk, this shows that Xie Jingchen is someone who rarely smiles at others, thus he is not skilled at it.

After a short rest, Xie Jingchen then set off with his wife towards their destination.

This time, Zhang Shanni didn’t resort to tricks to ditch Xie Jingchen. The two of them, through negotiations in the supply and marketing cooperative, chose the gifts for their visit based on the available goods.

To be honest, if it weren’t for this unique era, where all items in the Space are too advanced to be used openly, Zhang Shanni truly wouldn’t fancy the products in the supply and marketing cooperative despite not being able to use them from the Space.

After all, having become accustomed to modern daily and personal care products, she wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave upon seeing the era’s soap and fabrics.

Yet these rough daily necessities, in the eyes of Zhou Xiuhua, the mother-in-law, were luxury items. Now that she understood the situation of the average family and the circumstances of society, she could comprehend why the old lady was stingy and calculative.

Most goods, aside from industrial products, rice, meat, and oil, which were valuable commodities, didn’t require any sort of tickets to purchase. With no tickets needed, one would have to spend a lot of money.

But even having money doesn’t guarantee availability, as products have to be in stock to be sold. Even something as crude as soap is often in short supply at the supply and marketing co-op, usually selling out hours after being restocked.

When there’s no stock, money is useless!

Qingyun Town isn’t a big town, rather, it could be considered a poor and remote place. The country folk can still manage a decent living through diligent farming over the years. However, the urban dwellers in town actually live worse than people in the countryside.

The only thing that the townspeople can take pride in is their status. In fact, during this peculiar transitional era, even if they receive a salary, they can’t enrich their material lives.

They want meat, but there isn’t much available. They want daily necessities, but goods are scarce. Aside from their small salaries, the townspeople have no other income.

Country folks, if they crave game, can still venture into the mountains to hunt, but townspeople, if they wish to have meat, can only seek out the black market or try their luck at meat stalls; of course, if they have connections, they can directly purchase from slaughtering grounds, where not only can they get more, but also at a cheaper price.

As such, wanting to buy better items to gain face for herself, Zhang Shanni realistically bowed to the situation, obediently buying the ’top-grade gifts’ her husband suggested: one rough thick towel per household, one block of soap, half a pound of sugar. Hmm, for the elders, add another half a pound of snacks or something similar – such was already considered the most prestigious gifts for visits during this period.

Don’t speak of the quality nor despise the goods; just these three or four items indeed cost quite a bit of money back in those seven or eight years!

As for bringing meat as a gift, the couple decided to be realistic, hoping to cure some game on their way back and then see about giving it away.

At this moment, the meat stalls were already closed, and even if Xie Jingchen wanted to buy meat, he would have to wait until tomorrow.

Even though Xie Jingchen was considered the most promising young man in Qingfeng Village, the idea of giving each household a piece of meat was rejected not only by Zhou Xiuhua, his mother-in-law, but also by Xie Jingchen himself, who sensibly dismissed it. Without meat tickets, what could they use to buy meat?

And pay a high price for meat? Better forget about it.

Xie Jingchen was well aware that after saving his wife and subsequently getting married and hosting the wedding banquet, he really didn’t have much money left. He wanted to save as much as he could for his wife to live on, and he couldn’t bear the thought of buying expensive meat.

Moreover, confident in his own wilderness survival skills, he considered the mountains of Qing Mountain range to be his personal meat storage. With his skills, why would he worry about not having meat?!

Thus, both Zhang Shanni and her husband, being skilled hunters, decided at the same time that they would just hunt some game on their way home.

In Zhang Shanni’s mind, she had the spiritual power to silently lure wild animals, and her husband had the military prowess to quickly secure the game. Heh heh, as long as one has a skill, there’s no panic, meat won’t cease!