After the two finished breakfast, Chu Dongmei said to An Moxue, "Moxue, this county town has a supply and marketing cooperative and a department store. Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative first. Buy whatever you like, and I'll pay for it today!"

"Really, how come our usually quiet Miss Chu is so generous today!"

"Oh dear! Isn't it a joy to have friends coming from afar? We must celebrate!"

"Alright! I appreciate the thought, but keep your meager savings! You can always have a treat sometime."

"Alas, I am but a tiny shrimp, and I am no match for a big fish like you."

"Yes, that's right, good to know."

The two men looked at each other, then burst into laughter, drawing the attention of passersby.

When they saw passersby looking over, they took each other's hands and ran towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

The two men entered the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Dongmei, what kind of food is this?" An Moxue asked, pointing to the food in a food counter.

"This is a traditional dish of the local ethnic minorities. It's very delicious and made with glutinous rice."

"Comrade, please give me two jin. I'll take it back to the village chief's house and Uncle Ma's house. It seems a bit small, no, give me four jin instead. Please pack it separately by the jin."

"OK."

"Dongmei, this fabric is nice and suits you well. This color of plaid is quite rare."

"Indeed, I like the ginger-yellow plaid pattern too. Comrade, could you please provide a shirt?"

"Wow, this counter actually sells dried seafood! We don't have that where I'm from! Comrade, do you need food coupons?"

"Only big fish require fish tickets; the others don't."

"Great, comrade, give me three catties of each of these, this one, this one, and this one, without any coupons."

"Comrade, are you sure? There are seven items in total!"

"Yes, but I'll have to trouble you to pack them into bags of half a pound each, as I'll keep them to give to my relatives and friends."

"Okay." The sales clerk thought to herself, "Where did this guy come from? He's got a lot of money and connections."

Chu Dongmei secretly tugged at An Moxue and whispered, "Moxue, did you buy so much? Can you finish it all?"

"It's alright, I mainly keep it to give as a gift during the Chinese New Year. This is a rare item in our area."

"Alright! Take it easy!"

When the two left the supply and marketing cooperative, they were carrying large and small bags.

"Let's go, next stop, department store."

"Walk!"

The two of them went shopping again at the department store.

......

"Mo Xue, we bought this stove, how are we going to take it home? I'll buy another one next time, we bought a bit too much today!"

"It's alright, I can carry it. Here, you take this bag, I'll take the stove."

As he spoke, he handed Chu Dongmei a bag, and with the bag in one hand and the stove in the other, he easily picked it up.

He looked at Chu Dongmei and asked, "Dongmei, how are you?"

"Wow, my sister is amazing! Let's go!"

We have to go!

......

Chu Dongmei sat in the state-run restaurant, picked up a piece of carp, and said, "Mo Xue, if it could be like this every day, buying whatever we want and eating whatever we want, that would be wonderful."

"Yes, that day will come. This fish is good; I'll pack one to take home for dinner later."

"Okay, I've found this place. The portions here are much bigger than in Kyoto."

"Feilong Province is the same, the portions are huge. The sweet and sour pork at the state-run restaurant in our county is delicious, when you go there, I'll treat you to some."

"Sure! It's just that our group of friends is scattered all over the country, I wonder when we'll be able to get together again!"

"Who knows! I think there will always be someone who can help."

“I’m worried about Guo Zhijia. You said she’s in that mountain village in the south, and I’m afraid of some of the bad habits there.”

“When I wrote to her, I told her some things to keep in mind. I don’t think there will be any major problems. Don’t forget that she’s usually quite clever.”

“Wentao is the most annoying. Every time he sends a bunch of instructions without changing the wording. I suspect he just copied the previous letter and sent it again.”

"Yes, mine is the same."

The two ate and chatted, enjoying a level of relaxation they had never experienced since coming to the countryside.

After a satisfying meal, Chu Dongmei remarked with emotion: "If one has two or three close friends in life, half a pot of tea and half a cup of wine, that is enough!"

"Yes, stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life! How delightful!"

"I haven't felt this good in a long time. You know, wouldn't it be wonderful if we never grew up? Why do people have to grow up!"

"Yeah, if you don't grow up, you can just eat, drink, and play. You won't have so many worries."

"That's for sure. The local villagers see that you have good conditions and want to take a bite out of you. The educated youth see that you have good conditions and want to take a bite out of you too. I never knew that people could be so dark for profit. It's terrifying."

"It's normal for there to be both good and bad people. Just like there's day and night."

After they finished eating, they didn't move, just chatted idly about this and that.

When it was time to board the bus, the two of them, carrying large and small bags, boarded the bus and returned to the village.

Because of the Huang family's situation, no one in the village stayed home today. They were all running around from house to house, exchanging information and experiences.

This also made the villagers aware of An Moxue's great achievements. After An Moxue and Chu Dongmei got out of the car, they were surrounded by the villagers.

They not only surrounded her to look at her, but also pointed and whispered about her.

"So you're the one who came to see Chu Zhiqing and beat up Huang Lao Er's family?"

An Moxue responded calmly, "Yes, it's me. Is there something you need?"

"I'm fine!"

"Could you please move aside? We're heading back," Chu Dongmei said.

Surprisingly, the group was easy to talk to and stepped aside.

An Moxue and Chu Dongmei carried their things back.

You can also vaguely hear a few people saying, "Who said that? That adults are scared when they see her and children cry when they see her? But she's quite good-looking!"

"What the onlookers outside Huang Lao Er's house said yesterday was that she kicked people flying one by one, and they couldn't get up. It was terrifying when she was hitting people. They were watching from outside the yard and their hearts were pounding. They were afraid that they would get implicated if they weren't careful."

The two of them were left speechless, both amused and exasperated by their words.

"Mo Xue, you're famous now. This is probably just because people want to see what you look like."

"Hmm, I thought it was about avenging Huang Lao Er's family!"

"Me too, I'm a little scared."

When the two returned to the educated youth settlement, everyone there was stunned. These two were really good at buying things!

The envious and jealous looks in everyone's eyes were impossible to hide.

A short while later, a group of village girls came in. They entered the house, saw An Moxue, and asked, "Are you the one who beat up Huang Lao Er's family?"

"Yes, it's me."

Before the little girl could ask anything else, another group of people rushed in and went straight to An Moxue and Chu Dongmei: "This guy who beat up Huang Lao Er isn't scary at all! Who is he? He's just spouting nonsense."

Looking at the waves of people, An Moxue wanted to ask, "Which guy made her sound so scary? Shouldn't he be described as wise and powerful?"