Chapter 40: with translation of chapter title

San Daye finished speaking and glanced around guiltily, seeing that He Yuzhu and them had already left, only then did his heart settle. He Yuzhu's fists were formidable, Character could fight even better; he couldn't afford to provoke any of them.

He Yuzhu braised pork in the evening and also prepared a fish; by the time he finished his chores, the moon had begun to rise.

"Brother, what did you make that smells so good?" He Yushui came back from school, "Surely you made braised pork for me; today I definitely have to eat two big bowls of rice."

She entered the door and only then noticed a woman already seated at the dining table; although not particularly beautiful, she looked quite comfortable, and her bearing seemed like that of the lady of the house.

"How old a girl are you, still talking like that?" He Yuzhu scolded, "This is the Character I told you about; she used to give you candy."

He Yushui is still young; by the time she could form memories, Character had already gone to the sports team for training, so they didn't see each other often.

"Sister-in-law."

He Yushui's words made Character blush.

Maybe the meal was indeed delicious; they cleaned several plates. He Yushui pulled Character, who was about to wash dishes, and they went together to the bedroom to talk privately.

This task was entrusted to He Yuzhu.

The bright sun shone in He Yuzhu's eyes; he yawned as he went out and saw Character already practicing horse stance in the courtyard. That motionless posture marked her as an expert at a glance.

Breakfast was simple noodles.

He Yushui finished a few bites and wanted to pull Character out for shopping; the grocery shop still had a few days before completion, so they had some time to play.

He Yuzhu naturally also had to go along.

Nowadays, going out shopping meant either the park or the mall.

The mall in front was naturally bustling; the counters were filled with all kinds of goods, and the three of them were dazzled, gaining a bit of insight.

At a counter selling hats and scarves, He Yushui quietly told her brother to buy Character a gift, and since they were going to marry, the household should also add some bedding.

He Yuzhu glanced over and immediately spotted the red scarf hanging there; although it seemed a bit rustic to his eye, he couldn't deny it still caught the eye.

"Hello, could you hand me that red scarf to have a look?" He Yuzhu pointed at the item.

The clerk carefully sized up He Yuzhu, saw his clothing was decent, then lazily took down the scarf and tossed it in front of him.

He tried it on Character; it indeed looked good.

"Could you get me another in a different color?" He Yuzhu said. He bought one for Character, and naturally also got one for He Yushui, trying to avoid favoritism.

"None left, just this one." The clerk sat there cracking melon seeds, "This thing is of good quality; it won't wear out."

These clerks are really terrible; they're not unable to see, they just don't want to move.

"Brother, I have something to wear; look at the blankets." He Yushui tugged his arm.

Now blanket quality varies; some are still without edging, and He Yuzhu basically doesn't look at them. The grocery shop has top-quality blankets, all later velvet, light and comfortable to cover with.

"I think your brother's blanket quality is not bad, better than the ones here." Character said, "I'm a bit hungry; let's pay and head back."

The clerk took the money and ticket, but her mouth was unforgiving: "You say people nowadays can boast so much, even claiming quality better than the mall's; how could I believe that?"

"No money, just making a fuss."

That remark was simply the end of the line.

He Yuzhu wanted to exchange a few words with the clerk, but he was a bit worried about Character; if she launched another Technique, it might not end well.

"How dare you speak like that? No wonder people say clerks have big tempers." He Yushui retorted, "What junk, it's basically just rubbish."

"You..."

"What are you doing, arguing with customers again?" A middle-aged man in a black Zhongshan suit came over, "Nothing to do, go help in the back warehouse."

He lifted it high and then set it down gently.

This is also understandable; nowadays clerks have countless connections behind them, so even leaders may not want to easily offend them.

"Zhuzi, Character, are you over here to buy wedding supplies?" The former Northwest-bound Minister Mi suddenly came from behind, "The quality of the goods here is still decent."

Character was delighted; she pulled Minister Mi to a vacant spot and asked why, if he was supposed to go to Northwest, he was here instead.

Minister Mi told them that he had indeed gone to Northwest, and now he was back to liaise on supplies, which was also his work there.

"How's the liaison going, Uncle Mi?" Character asked concernedly, "If you're lacking anything, just let us know."

Minister Mi gave a bitter laugh.

Now it's not a matter of lacking something; rather, everything is lacking. Liaising here has been completely unsuccessful; the little connections that once existed are basically gone now.

Just like such a large mall, there should be some stock at the bottom, alas, no matter how he tries, he can't get in touch with anything.

"The things we lack are many—food and daily goods." Minister Mi shook his head, "Even if you emptied your little grocery shop, it wouldn't be enough."

"Old Mi, why have you come over here?" The middle-aged leader came again, "Let's eat lunch before we leave; even if our business doesn't succeed, we still have righteousness."

He glanced at He Yuzhu and the others, asking if they were juniors, and suggested they eat together at noon, offering stewed pork with pickled cabbage.

Looking at his gaze, it was clear he looked down on them—just because they didn't buy his shoddy blankets, he actually thought they had no money.

"Uncle Mi, come to my place for lunch; I'll make shredded chicken with cucumber, drenched three whites, and we can have a few drinks." He Yuzhu and Character each took one of his arms, "Let's eat some proper good food."

Knowing what Minister Mi was worried about, Character directly told him that the original grocery shop had been upgraded to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative; if he needed anything, just say the word.

Even if we don't have it here, we'll try to get it connected for him.

"Just handle it however you can; if you can get it, I'll take it all."

He Yuzhu also pondered this along the way; his wholesale department had plenty of stuff, but supplying the Northwest would still be somewhat insufficient.

There he had more of various drinks and such.

We can provide a batch of grain to him; these are rewards given by the system to myself, and then various seasonings, etc., we can also provide a portion.

The rest will need careful calculation.

At noon, the dishes were naturally prepared by He Yuzhu himself; Minister Mi ate with oil dripping from his mouth, although he had previously been a street director, he had rarely eaten such good food before.

"Indeed, the factory is richer than our streets." Minister Mi sighed, "I haven't even seen some of these dishes."