As Lin Yuan and Zhao Huanhuan left the village, they saw a bustling scene of activity on a clearing far to the north of the village.

"Is that where the educated youth settlement was built?" Zhao Huanhuan asked, sitting on the back of the bicycle with her arm around Lin Yuan's waist.

"Hmm." Lin Yuan had already checked it out when she went for her morning run. The bricks and cement were arranged and delivered by the commune, and the villagers would just provide labor to help the educated youth build the houses.

After Lin Yuan finished speaking, seeing that Huanhuan didn't say anything more, she couldn't help but turn around and look at her. "What's wrong? Want to go over and take a look?"

"No need, I'll go help after we finish our things at home!" Zhao Huanhuan said softly.

Lin Yuan agreed.

After arriving in Shanglin City, the two asked someone for directions and headed towards the bicycle shop.

Zhao Huanhuan chose a Forever brand 26-inch straight-beam bicycle for 158 yuan. After Lin Yuan confirmed that Zhao Huanhuan wanted this one, he went to complete the formalities.

These days, bicycles that require a ticket are mostly brand-name brands, like Shanghai's Forever Flying Pigeon or Phoenix. They all require a ticket and are expensive, costing over 140 or 150 yuan.

However, if you buy other domestic brands of bicycles, you don't need a ticket. Generally, it's difficult for people without a formal job or strong connections to get a bicycle ticket, so they will buy other domestic brands of bicycles. The quality is definitely not as good as Forever or Phoenix, and the price is cheaper, generally between 100 and 120 yuan.

After completing the formalities, Lin Yuan helped test the bicycle. Once she confirmed that there were no problems, the two of them pushed the bicycle away.

When they got back on the street, each of them was riding a bicycle.

This bicycle is a size smaller than the one Lin Yuan rides at home; it's a 26-inch model, while Lin Yuan's is a 28-inch model.

Zhao Huanhuan tried it at home, but she had some difficulty riding it because she wasn't tall enough and her legs were too short. She had to jump up every time she rode it.

On the way here, Lin Yuan had Zhao Huanhuan try it out on a flat area, and Zhao Huanhuan even fell down. So when they arrived at the bicycle shop, Zhao Huanhuan immediately saw that the Forever brand had a smaller 26-inch bicycle, and she chose it without hesitation.

Lin Yuan saw that she immediately took a liking to the 26-inch model, and aside from giving her a doting smile, he indulged her and went to pay the bill.

Actually, Lin Yuan thought that the 28-inch bicycle was bigger, with bigger wheels and thicker tubing, and looked more sturdy and powerful. He always felt that the 26-inch bicycle was not as sturdy as the 28-inch bicycle.

But Huanhuan likes it, so he bought her a 26-inch one. He mainly bought it for her to ride, and as long as she likes it, that's fine.

Huanhuan fell while riding his bicycle uphill this morning, and he was really heartbroken.

After buying the car, the two went to buy things for their wedding.

A pair of red "double happiness" character washbasins, and a pair of red plastic-framed upright round mirrors.

A pair of red combs, and a pair of red comb boxes.

These were all recommended by people who sell wedding supplies; they said that everyone getting married should prepare these.

The other two people's toothbrushes, toothbrush cups, and towels were also in pairs, and the styles were acceptable, so Zhao Huanhuan bought them all.

I also bought invitations, wedding candy, red paper, a red gift ledger, and other miscellaneous things.

I bought all these miscellaneous items and it cost me over twenty yuan.

After they came out, they passed by a shopping mall. Lin Yuan stopped and said to Zhao Huanhuan, "There's a shady spot here. You can sit and rest for a while. I'm going in to buy something."

Zhao Huanhuan nodded; she was also tired from shopping and wanted to take a break.

Lin Yuan settled her in, bought her an ice pop to eat while she rested, and then ran into the mall.

He wanted to buy Huanhuan a tape recorder.

However, after looking around, Lin Yuan couldn't find any small single-cassette recorders. He asked the salesperson, who said they were out of stock. They said they had large double-cassette recorders with dual speakers, priced at 420 yuan.

It's a bit expensive; Lin Yuan can't afford it right now.

He glanced silently at the dual-speaker radio cassette player; it was large, beautiful, and perfect for Huanhuan to play with.

He remembered the price, which was over four hundred, and thanked the salesperson.

Lin Yuan decided that after returning to the army, he would train hard and do his missions well. He wanted to earn merit, rewards, and bonuses this year, and buy his wife the tape recorder when he came back next year.

Left with no other choice, Lin Yuan could only buy a radio that was a little smaller and nicer than the one on Zhao's cabinet, spending sixty-eight yuan.

Since we don't have a tape recorder, let Huanhuan listen to this for now!

Lin Yuan, who had been happily going in, quietly came out carrying the box.

When Zhao Huanhuan saw him come out, she stood up and looked at the box he was holding.

As he got closer, he saw clearly that it was a 6-transistor radio.

"You ran in just to buy this?" Zhao Huanhuan asked in surprise.

"Well, I was thinking of buying you a tape recorder, but I don't have enough money. The one with two big speakers costs over four hundred," Lin Yuan said apologetically to Zhao Huanhuan.

"Are you stupid? I don't want these. We'll buy them when we have more money. Come on, let's go in and return them."

"No refund, take a look and see if you like it?" Lin Yuan held it out to Zhao Huanhuan, looking at her with a smile.

Seeing his apologetic expression, Zhao Huanhuan chuckled and carefully examined the radio design printed on the radio box.

"How much is this?" Zhao Huanhuan asked, looking up.

"Sixty-eight!" Lin Yuan said softly.

Zhao Huanhuan hesitated for a moment, "You can discuss it with me before you buy it. In the future, you must discuss things with me first, especially things you buy for me. I want to buy things that I like."

If you spend money and buy something you don't like, then the money was wasted.

Lin Yuan gave a soft "hmm," then shook her head and chuckled, "Even if we discussed it, would you still let me buy it?"

"Yes, if you see something you like, I'll let you buy it. I remember I saw a record player in the mall last time, let's go and exchange it for that, I like that one," Zhao Huanhuan said, blinking her eyes at him.

"Huh?" This time it was Lin Yuan's turn to be surprised. She didn't want a radio, but preferred a record player?

When Lin Yuan realized that the expression on her face was really about to change, she was surprised. This girl's preferences were strange. Since the advent of radios and tape recorders, weren't people starting to phase out those record players? Why did she like that instead?

"Huanhuan, are you really going to switch to that one?" Lin Yuan asked her seriously.

"Okay, let's change it. I saw that your parents have a radio, which you bought for them before, right?" Zhao Huanhuan asked.

Lin Yuan nodded, "Yeah, that one I bought the year before last, it cost over fifty yuan!"

Zhao Huanhuan nodded, "That's fine. We have a radio at home that can play current events, so we'll get a record player. I like that one."

Lin Yuan agreed.

He locked the bicycle, had Zhao Huanhuan carry the radio case, and then picked up all the things they had bought and went back into the mall.

When the radio salesman saw them return with the box, he instinctively tried to hide, assuming they were back to return the radio.

Zhao Huanhuan chuckled at the other person's subconscious action and said, "Comrade, we'd like to exchange our record player, is that alright?"