Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Liu Xiangyang stopped at the fabric counter and pointed to the pink fabric with small flowers.

"Take a few feet of this."

The sales clerk glanced at him: "How many feet?"

Liu Xiangyang looked at Zhao Xiaoman.

"Is that enough to make a shirt?"

Zhao Xiaoman was stunned. She looked at the piece of cloth, then at Liu Xiangyang, opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Liu Xiangyang asked again, and Zhao Xiaoman blushed slightly, whispering, "Five...five feet is about right."

Liu Xiangyang nodded and said to the salesperson, "Take five feet."

While the sales clerk was measuring the fabric, Zhao Xiaoman stood beside her, her eyes fixed on the cloth, not blinking.

Liu Xiangyang then pointed to another bolt of pure white cotton cloth: "Take five feet of this too."

Zhao Xiaoman turned to look at him, hesitant to speak.

Liu Xiangyang didn't look at her. He took out a stack of tickets from his pocket, counted out a few, and handed them to the sales clerk.

The salesperson took the ticket, measured out five feet of white cloth, wrapped it up, and handed it over.

Liu Xiangyang handed two cloth bags to Zhao Xiaoman. Zhao Xiaoman was still stunned as she held the bags while Liu Xiangyang walked to the next counter.

"Let's go."

Zhao Xiaoman followed, her hands clutching the cloth bag tightly.

Snow cream counter.

Liu Xiangyang pointed to the row of glass bottles.

"Two boxes of face cream, please."

The sales clerk placed two boxes of face cream on the counter, and Liu Xiangyang took out a receipt.

Zhao Xiaoman whispered from the side:

One box is enough...

Liu Xiangyang ignored her and shoved both boxes into her hands.

Soap counter.

"Sandalwood scented, five pieces, please."

Zhao Xiaoman panicked: "Five yuan is too much!"

Liu Xiangyang glanced at her.

Use it slowly.

Zhao Xiaoman was speechless, unable to utter a word.

Card issuing counter.

Liu Xiangyang pointed to the colorful hair clips.

"Choose whichever you like."

Zhao Xiaoman's eyes lit up when she saw the hair clips, but she didn't touch them.

Liu Xiangyang glanced at her for two seconds, then walked over and picked out a few: one red, one with a bow, and one simple black striped one.

He placed the three hair clips on the counter.

"Wrap these three up."

As the saleswoman was wrapping hair clips, Zhao Xiaoman stood beside her, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

She lowered her head so that Liu Xiangyang wouldn't see her.

As Zhao Xiaoman emerged from the department store, carrying large and small bags, she was still dazed.

She stood at the door, looking at the things, then at Liu Xiangyang.

Liu Xiangyang pushed the car over and climbed on.

"What are you standing there for? Get in the car."

Zhao Xiaoman put her things in the bicycle basket, sat on him sideways, and put her hands on his waist. The bicycle lurched forward, and after riding for a while, Zhao Xiaoman suddenly pressed her face against his back and said in a muffled voice, "Xiangyang."

"Um."

"Are these... all for me?"

Liu Xiangyang chuckled. "Otherwise what? Are there any other people here?"

Zhao Xiaoman didn't say anything, but gripped the clothes around his waist tightly.

After riding for a while, her voice came again, even more muffled: "I've never... I've never bought so many things at once."

"As long as she's my woman, I won't let her suffer," Liu Xiangyang said, patting her hand.

"Xiangyang, you're so good to me," she said, pressing her face against his back.

After riding for a while, Liu Xiangyang turned into an alley and stopped in front of a restaurant.

The storefront wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy, with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance that read "Yingbin Hotel".

Zhao Xiaoman looked up and paused for a moment.

She knew this restaurant; it was a long-established brand in Harbin. Her mother would point to it and say, "The food here is good," when she passed by with her parents before, but she had never gone in.

Liu Xiangyang parked the car, took the things from her hands, and put them into the car basket.

"Let's go."

Zhao Xiaoman stood at the door, somewhat hesitant.

"This place... must be quite expensive, right?"

Liu Xiangyang glanced at her.

"How much more expensive can it be? Besides, I'm happy to spend money on my woman." He then pulled her hand and walked inside.

Hearing his words, Zhao Xiaoman felt very touched and followed him up the steps with sparkling eyes.

The two went inside. The restaurant was quite spacious, with seven or eight square tables. It was lunchtime, but there weren't many people; only two or three tables were occupied.

The waitress was a woman in her forties, wearing a white apron and with a toothpick in her mouth. When she saw them come in, her gaze first swept over Liu Xiangyang, and then over Zhao Xiaoman.

"How many are there?"

"The two of you."

The waiter pointed to a table by the window: "Sit there."

Liu Xiangyang pulled Zhao Xiaoman over to sit down. A white plastic sheet was laid on the table, with a glass plate underneath, and the menu was pasted on the wall.

Zhao Xiaoman looked up at the menu, and as she looked, her eyes widened: Braised pork belly 1.2 yuan, sweet and sour fish 1.5 yuan, scrambled eggs 3 mao...

Liu Xiangyang glanced at it, stood up, and walked over to the counter.

The waiter, who was wiping glasses, looked up at him and asked, "Comrade, would you like to order?"

Liu Xiangyang nodded and pointed to the menu on the wall: "Braised pork, sweet and sour fish, scrambled eggs, and a tomato and egg soup."

The waiter paused for a moment while wiping the cup.

She glanced at Liu Xiangyang, then at Zhao Xiaoman, her expression somewhat subtle: "Comrade, are you two sure you can finish all this food?"

Liu Xiangyang smiled and said, "Don't worry, I can finish it. I have a big appetite and won't waste any."

The waiter didn't say anything more, but turned around and shouted towards the kitchen.

Liu Xiangyang returned to his seat, where Zhao Xiaoman was staring at him with wide eyes.

What did you order?

"Braised pork belly, sweet and sour fish, scrambled eggs, and soup."

Zhao Xiaoman opened her mouth, but after a long pause, she managed to utter a sentence:

"This is way too expensive, it's enough to feed me for a week..."

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Liu Xiangyang reached out and pinched her cheek: "It's rare for us to come out, so eat something good."

Zhao Xiaoman's face turned slightly red from his pinching. She lowered her head and didn't say anything more, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.

While waiting for the food, Zhao Xiaoman kept glancing at the menu on the wall, then at the door, and then at Liu Xiangyang.

Liu Xiangyang leaned back in his chair, looking at her: "Shall I take you to see a movie later?"

Zhao Xiaoman shook her head, her lips curling up in a wide smile: "Okay, but... I just don't know if I'll run into Zhou Zhiming again."

Liu Xiangyang laughed: "Don't worry, he's doomed."

"Xiangyang, did you just write one letter? Nothing else?"

"Eat first, I'll show you later."

The dishes were served quickly. The braised pork was glistening with oil, the sweet and sour fish was fried to a golden brown, the scrambled eggs were tender and yellow, and the soup was served steaming hot.

Zhao Xiaoman looked at the table full of dishes and swallowed hard.

Liu Xiangyang picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of braised pork on her plate.

"Eat."

Zhao Xiaoman lowered her head, put the piece of meat in her mouth, and as she chewed, her eyes suddenly felt a little hot. Without looking up, she picked up another piece of fish with her chopsticks.

Liu Xiangyang sat opposite her, watching her eat. After a while, Zhao Xiaoman looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, but the corners of her mouth turned up.

"Xiangyang, this braised pork is delicious, you should have some too." She then placed a piece of pork in his bowl.

Liu Xiangyang picked up his chopsticks: "Eat."

The two of them took turns eating with their chopsticks, and finished off the entire table of food.

The soup is all gone.

Liu Xiangyang put down his bowl, leaned back in his chair, and let out a burp: "Don't move." He reached out and pinched a grain of rice off the corner of her mouth, then put it in his own mouth.

"Don't waste food."

Zhao Xiaoman was stunned for a moment, her face flushed, as she looked at him.

Liu Xiangyang put the rice grains into his mouth.

Zhao Xiaoman blushed even more and lowered her head.