The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 104 - 103: A Woman Must Learn to Love Herself

Chapter 104: Chapter 103: A Woman Must Learn to Love Herself

The department store in the provincial capital was a world away from the supply and marketing co-op back in town. It had three whole floors.

The moment you walked in, you were met with shelves displaying a dazzling array of products—everything from food to household goods. There were even several salesclerks.

The second floor was dedicated to clothing, and the third floor was for home appliances—the major ones.

Since their village didn’t have electricity yet, they skipped the third floor and spent a long time browsing the first and second.

They ended up buying quite a lot. They got Ruanruan the milk formula she drank; since Xue Yue’s milk supply wasn’t great, Ruanruan had always been fed a combination of breast milk and formula.

After this trip, they planned to wean Ruanruan off breast milk completely and switch her to formula full-time.

For the baby’s clothes, Xue Yue chose items made of pure cotton or sateen. The sateen fabric was softer, though a bit more expensive, but Xue Yue was always determined to give Ruanruan the very best she could.

She bought two pairs of soft-soled shoes, thinking Ruanruan would be learning to walk soon and they would be perfect for her.

Then came the toys: a little battery-powered train that chugged along on its own at the press of a button, and a doll.

Spotting some fabric, she bought a roll of plaid cloth, planning to make a set of sheets and a duvet cover when she got back.

She bought a pair of black trousers for both He Lang and Xue Xingzhou, and four pairs of men’s rubber-soled shoes.

For Mrs. He, there was a gray dacron jacket. For Zhang Qian and Yang Xiaoxia, she brought back a silk scarf each. The pens and notebooks she bought were for her own use. The rest was food: Yili bread, sorghum toffee, calcium milk biscuits, and other snacks. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Xue Yue bought herself a jar of vanishing cream and a tube of lipstick. She’d noticed many of the women here wore lipstick, and it seemed to brighten their complexions and make them look more vibrant, so she decided to get one for herself.

As for clothes, Xue Yue had her eye on a long dress, but it was too expensive at over twenty yuan. She couldn’t bring herself to buy it, especially since she still hadn’t worn many of the clothes He Lang had already bought for her at home.

Oh, and she also bought a picture frame when she saw one. They had gotten the print of their family portrait back a while ago, but without a frame, it had just been sitting in a drawer. The frame Zhang Qian had brought over last time was quite nice, so when Xue Yue spotted one, she bought it.

There were many other things Xue Yue wanted to buy, but they simply couldn’t carry any more, so they had to call it a day.

The two of them took all their purchases back to the hotel first, then headed out again to explore the city’s night market.

It was still early, so they went to see a movie.

This time, it was a romance. The movie was a little over an hour long, and when Xue Yue walked out of the theater, her eyes were red and puffy.

He Lang wrapped an arm around her shoulder and said with a helpless sigh, "What’s there to be so sad about? It’s just a movie. None of it was real."

Xue Yue sniffled. "I know, but it was just so sad. The main character was so pitiful. She served her family tirelessly her entire life. She waited until her husband was successful and her children had made something of themselves, only to be riddled with illness. In the end, she couldn’t even die in peace—she never got to see her favorite Gesang flowers again. It just goes to show, a woman has to learn to love herself. You have to love yourself first before you can love anyone else."

He Lang chuckled. "You’re right. You do have to love yourself first. In that case, should we go back and get that dress you liked this afternoon?"

Xue Yue hesitated for only a few seconds. "Yes. Let’s go right now."

So they went back to the department store and bought the long dress for a little over twenty yuan.

Her wallet ached, but Xue Yue truly loved the dress.

Back at the hotel that night, Xue Yue looked at the pile of new things and couldn’t help but marvel at her own spending power.

After her shower, He Lang playfully pulled her into his arms, and they didn’t fall asleep until very late.

The next morning, after two days away, it was finally time for them to head back.

The trip had been a lot of fun, but Xue Yue was still eager to get home. She missed Ruanruan.

She had been thinking of her daughter on and off for the past two days. In all her months, Ruanruan had never been away from her. She wondered if the baby had been crying without her there.

’Perhaps it was a feeling only a mother could understand.’

「Back at the He Family’s old residence.」

Mrs. He was washing clothes in the courtyard. Nearby on the ground, Ruanruan was playing with the second family’s third son.

Ruanruan was holding a Nine Rings puzzle, a toy Zhang Qian had brought over for her to play with.

It was perfectly normal for children to squabble over toys.

Ruanruan may have been small, but she was surprisingly strong. When the third son crawled over to snatch the toy from her, he found he couldn’t take it away if she didn’t want to let go.

Gao Cuiyun had just stepped out of the house when she saw her son trying to get the Nine Rings puzzle from Ruanruan. He tugged for a good while but couldn’t wrench it free. Ruanruan, growing frantic, shook her hand twice to break his grip, and in doing so, swung the puzzle right into the boy’s face. With a sharp WHACK, it struck him.

WAAAH! The third son burst into tears.

Ruanruan froze, looking bewildered as her own lip began to tremble.

Seeing her son get the short end of the stick, Gao Cuiyun flew into a rage. She rushed over, ripped the Nine Rings from Ruanruan’s grasp, and gave the baby a hard shove.

A small child couldn’t possibly withstand such a forceful shove from an adult. Ruanruan immediately fell backward, her head hitting the ground, and she too burst into tears.

Gao Cuiyun scooped up her son and thrust the toy into his hands.

She muttered venomously, "So bossy at such a young age. How dare a little brat like her hit my son? She’ll be completely uncontrollable when she’s older!"

Mrs. He hadn’t been paying attention to the children’s squabble. She only looked over when she heard crying, just in time to see Gao Cuiyun snatch the toy and shove Ruanruan.

She gasped, scrambling to her feet and rushing over to Ruanruan.

She scooped Ruanruan up from the ground, checked her head, and then rounded on Gao Cuiyun, shouting, "Are you out of your mind? How could you bully such a small child? What did she ever do to you?"

Gao Cuiyun was fuming. "Mother, didn’t you see? That little brat just hit my son! Right in the face! Look, his face is all red."

Mrs. He glanced at the boy’s face but couldn’t see any mark. She was now convinced that Gao Cuiyun was the one bullying Ruanruan.

"Where? I don’t see a thing. Besides, so what if she did hit him? How much strength does a baby have? Not like you! You’re her aunt, for goodness’ sake, and you’re being that rough with a child? Have you no shame?"

Gao Cuiyun stroked her son’s cheek. "I didn’t hit her, I just gave her a little push. What, is she somehow more precious than my son?"

Ruanruan sobbed in Mrs. He’s arms, tears streaming down her face as she mumbled, "Mama... Mama..."

She held her little hand up for Mrs. He to see.

Mrs. He looked down and saw that Ruanruan’s little hand was not only red, but the back of it had been scraped, leaving an angry red mark.

Mrs. He’s heart clenched with pain for the child. She gently blew on the scrape. "There, there. Grandma will blow on it. It’ll stop hurting soon, okay?"