Chapter 120: Buying a Watch

Zhang Ping'an is wronged; this is a man's instinct, wanting to drill into every hole he sees, and he is no exception, it just took a little bit longer.

The two of them tidied up and went out, though Wang Xiaoling's walking posture was a bit strange.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother, have some tea."

"Aye."

"Ping'an, why don't you help Xiaoling?"

"Xiaoling, we are going back this afternoon. You and Ping'an should live well together from now on, and come back to visit your hometown when you have time."

In a little over a month, it will be time to harvest wheat, so they must go back to keep an eye on things, while also handling the odd jobs, preparing to throw themselves heart and soul into the wheat harvest.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother, don't worry, I will take good care of Brother Ping'an."

"Hahaha, good, let's eat, let's eat."

After the meal, Zhang Laohan pedaled the tricycle and took the family of four back; at this moment, only Zhang Ping'an and the two of them were left in the whole courtyard.

"Xiaoling, let's just rest at home today and not go anywhere; it's a good time to introduce you to the people in our courtyard."

"Mm, okay."

Although Wang Xiaoling had been seeing Zhang Ping'an for a long time, she rarely came to the courtyard, so naturally, she couldn't be said to know the people here.

"The West Wing Room in the Front Courtyard is the home of Yan Bugui. He is a primary school teacher and a decent person; my Si Jie being able to graduate from primary school within two years is half thanks to him."

"The two families in the East Wing Room are newcomers, and I don't know much about them, only that they are also employees of the Rolling Mill." Zhang Ping'an glossed over the other families in the Front Courtyard.

"In the Middle Courtyard, you know my San Jie's family; opposite them is Yi Zhonghai's family. He is a complex person, but currently, he is not bad."

"The main room of the Middle Courtyard is the home of He Daqing, who was the chef at our wedding banquet. His wife is Huairu's aunt, and his son has a pretty good relationship with me."

"The Xu family and the Liu family in the Back Courtyard..."

"There is also the Deaf Old Lady in the Back Courtyard, who was the former owner of this courtyard. This person... it's hard to say, anyway, try not to go to the Back Courtyard in the future."

"Mm, okay."

"You can slowly get to know the other women in the courtyard; my San Jie will definitely teach you when the time comes."

In the Front Courtyard where Wang Xiaoling lived, there were only her family and her second uncle's family, so she rarely witnessed the scheming of a large compound; that was one of the reasons why Wang Xiaoling was so simple-minded and was tricked by Zhang Ping'an so quickly.

But Zhang Ping'an didn't want her to be tricked by others, so he still had to give her a brief introduction to the monsters and demons in the courtyard.

It was already a bit hot in May, and the two of them were swaying comfortably on the lounge chair under the grape trellis. Before long, Wang Xiaoling fell asleep. Zhang Ping'an covered her with a thin blanket and watched her quietly.

Zhang Ping'an felt incredibly satisfied in his heart at this moment; his parents were both alive and in good health, he had a house, a vehicle, and land in Sijiucheng, and a celestial beauty for a wife. In the future, they would have three or five children of their own.

Unknowingly, Zhang Ping'an fell asleep himself. What he didn't know was that the Back Mountain of the Cottage in his space had been growing slowly ever since he collected the Jade; it was already over four hundred meters high and was still growing at a rate of 1.2 meters every day.

Zhang Ping'an didn't know how long he had slept; he felt he hadn't been this relaxed in a long time. At this moment, the lounge chair beside him was already empty.

Zhang Ping'an checked his watch; it was already past eleven in the morning, and smoke was rising from the kitchen chimney. It seemed Wang Xiaoling was cooking lunch.

"Xiaoling, what are you making?"

"Brother Ping'an, you're awake? I'm stir-frying, it'll be ready soon."

"Good."

Wang Xiaoling was no longer the little girl who only knew how to make smoke when lighting a fire. After three or four years of learning, although her cooking wasn't necessarily great, it was at least home-style.

"Brother Ping'an, hurry and taste it."

"Good."

Zhang Ping'an picked up a chopstick of shredded potatoes—well, they couldn't be called shreds, they should be strips—and the presentation was average, but the taste was okay.

"Mm, not bad, you've made progress over the years." Zhang Ping'an habitually stroked Wang Xiaoling's head.

"That's right, I've been practicing hard with my mother."

"Yes, yes, yes." Seeing her cute, smug look, Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but kiss her.

"Oh, hurry up and eat."

"Hehehe, okay."

As the saying goes, a full belly leads to lust, but looking at the still bright sky, Zhang Ping'an suppressed the agitation in his heart and diverted his attention.

"Xiaoling, let me take you to buy a watch. It's getting hot, so let's buy a fan too."

Zhang Ping'an thought that he wouldn't get a Watch Coupon until this time next year, and the Industrial Coupon would probably be about the same; besides, buying early meant enjoying it early.

Before, when he slept alone, he could just dive into his space in the summer, but now that he had a wife, although it was hot, he couldn't bear to let go of her fragrant, soft body, so he had better buy a fan as soon as possible.

"Mm~ a fan is fine, but forget the watch. There are Table Clocks in the Pharmacy and at home; it would be a waste for me to buy one."

"Fine, let's go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative first and talk about it when we get there."

"Okay."

After the two finished their meal and tidied up a bit, Zhang Ping'an rode the tricycle and set off for the Supply and Marketing Cooperative with Wang Xiaoling.

"Ping'an, Xiaoling, are you two going out?"

"Yes, sister-in-law. Xiaoling, this is the sister-in-law from the Liu family in the Back Courtyard."

"Hello, sister-in-law." Wang Xiaoling also greeted her.

"Good, good, good."

Zhang Ping'an introduced everyone they met along the way. In fact, most of the women in the courtyard had seen Wang Xiaoling and knew she was the granddaughter of the Divine Doctor, after all, who didn't have a headache or fever in their family?

When the two arrived at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Zhang Ping'an pulled Wang Xiaoling over to look at watches.

"Hello, comrade, may I ask how much this lady's watch is?"

"Young man, you just got married, right? This watch is a hot item, and it's an imported foreign product, 135,000. If you are sure you want it, I'll take it out for you to see." The Salesperson saw that Zhang Ping'an and his wife were well-dressed and recommended it strongly.

"Brother Ping'an, it's too expensive, that's several months of my salary."

"It's fine, we'll buy it. Please take it out for us to see."

"Alright, you go pay first, and I'll adjust the strap for your wife."

The Salespeople in the Supply and Marketing Cooperative nowadays were all multi-talented experts; they could tie watermelons with hemp rope, wrap bowls in oil paper, dispense soy sauce, and do everything else.

"Alright."

Zhang Ping'an paid readily, took the receipt, and when he returned, the watch was already on Wang Xiaoling's wrist.

"Young man, your wife's hands are truly beautiful; look at how well it fits her."

"Thank you, comrade."

"No need for thanks, we are all here to serve the people."

The basic conduct of salespeople nowadays is good, and there are no slogans about beating customers without cause yet.

"Comrade, do you have any Electric Fans here?"

"We do, but they are very expensive, costing over two million; I recommend the Peanut brand to you. Although it is a bit pricey, its manufacturing craftsmanship is no less than foreign goods."

"Fine, let's buy one of those too."

"Done, you go pay first, and I will have someone go to the warehouse to fetch it."

"Alright, wife, you pay; I spent all my money buying you the watch."

"..."

The Siheyuan had only had electrical wiring installed in the last two years, and the voltage was not very stable, so households rarely used electric lights, with traditional lighting methods still being the majority.

At the beginning of the electrical installation, Zhang Ping'an spent a large sum of money to have an independent electricity meter installed for his own courtyard to avoid disputes later on.

Other residents all shared one electricity meter, but since every household used very little electricity, the amount split per household each time the meter was read was only a few hundred yuan (a few cents), a mere pittance that no one cared about.

Zhang Ping'an's home was much the same; the wattage of the electric lights now was not high, and the light was dim and yellow, so it was indeed not suitable for reading at night.

"Let's go, let's head back."

Zhang Ping'an took the Table Fan; whoa, it wasn't big but it was quite heavy, at least fifteen or sixteen jin, and if it were a Floor Fan, it would likely be more than double that.