Reborn in the 60s, I hunt to support my family and even seduce the village beauty.

When we arrived at the department store, there were already a few people coming and going at the entrance.

Chang Kun put Xiu'er down, took her hand, and the group went inside together.

Upon entering, a strong smell of fabric, soap, and wooden cabinets hits you.

The sales clerks were wearing blue uniforms; some were tidying up the shelves, while others were leaning over the counter chatting idly.

The group went to the fabric counter first.

The saleswoman was a woman in her forties, who was measuring fabric with a ruler without even looking up.

Chang Kun explained his purpose: he wanted to buy bedding fabric and clothing materials.

Cheng Min leaned over and gestured to the sales clerk to indicate the size and color. In no time, she had chosen the fabrics for two quilts: one cotton and the other slightly thinner.

"Did you bring your cloth ration coupons?" the sales clerk asked, looking up at her.

Chang Kun pulled out a stack of coupons from his pocket, flipped through them a few times, and handed over a few cloth coupons. The clerk took them, glanced at them, and then started buying the cloth.

Xiuer stood on tiptoe, her face almost pressed against the glass, staring at the colorful objects inside, constantly muttering, "Big brother, that little mirror is pretty! Big brother, what's that? Big brother, that little comb..."

Chang Kun was getting a headache from her calling him, so he squatted down and said to her, "I came out today to buy things for Brother Qu Hun, not for you."

Xiuer pouted, while Changmei, holding Xiaobao, laughed: "This little girl is just like Xiaokun when he was little, she wants everything she sees."

Xiuer was unhappy and pouted, saying, "I didn't! I was just looking!"

Chang Kun patted her little head: "I'll buy you something fun later."

Cheng Min smiled, pursing her lips. She hadn't expected that Chang Kun had been such a troublesome child.

After getting the fabric, the group went to the ready-made clothes counter. Cheng Min picked out two sets of clothes, one thinner one for autumn and one thicker one for winter.

The clothes were folded neatly, tied with paper rope, and handed to Chang Kun.

"Why don't we buy the bedding while we're at it?" Chang Mei suggested from the side. "Ready-made bedding saves trouble; we don't have to go back and sew it ourselves."

Cheng Min thought about it and agreed. She then went to the bedding cabinet and picked out two ready-made quilts. The cotton wadding was white and felt soft to the touch.

Xiuer reached out and touched it, rubbing her face against it, and said with squinted eyes, "So soft, so soft, even softer than the ones at home!"

Chang Kun pulled her away: "Don't rub against me, or I'll get you dirty and they won't be able to sell their products."

Xiuer withdrew her hand, her eyes darted around, and then she fixed her gaze on the enamel basin next to her, which was printed with a large red "double happiness" character, looking very festive.

She pointed to the basin and said, "Big brother, this is beautiful! Brother Qu Hun will definitely need it for his wedding!"

Chang Kun looked at them and thought they were indeed nice. He then took out an enamel basin, a thermos, and a pair of enamel mugs printed with peonies.

Cheng Min counted them one by one: bedding, clothes, basins, thermos flasks, jars, plus the bicycle and dowry money that had been agreed upon beforehand. Zhang Quhun's wedding preparations were basically complete.

"We're missing a mirror." Chang Mei, holding Xiao Bao, pointed to a small round mirror in the counter. The mirror frame was printed with a pattern of mandarin ducks playing in the water. "How can a wedding be without a mirror? The newlyweds need to comb their hair in front of the mirror."

Chang Kun asked the salesperson to bring out the mirror as well, and also grabbed a comb.

Xiuer stared longingly at the small mirror, swallowed hard, and finally couldn't resist: "Big brother, I want a small mirror too..."

Chang Kun glanced at her: "What do you need a mirror for? How old are you?"

"I can look in the mirror! I comb my braids every day!"

Cheng Min laughed beside her and said to the sales clerk, "Give her another small mirror." She also took a red hair tie and handed it to Xiu'er.

Xiuer held the mirror and red ribbon, beaming from ear to ear, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Sister Xiaomin! I like you the most!"

Chang Mei laughed at her from the side, "You just said you were just looking, and now you've got the stuff?"

Xiuer chuckled, carefully put the small mirror into her pocket, and clutched the red ribbon in her hand, treating it like a precious treasure.

Chang Kun was truly amazed by how women shopped; it took him an entire morning to barely buy all of Qu Hun's items.

After paying the bill, the group left the department store. Cheng Min, still not walking very well, followed slowly behind.

Chang Mei, carrying Xiao Bao, walked beside her, oblivious to everything, and kept asking, "Xiao Min, does your foot still hurt? Go back and get some hot water to put on it."

Cheng Min blushed and responded, cursing Chang Kun eight hundred times in her heart.

After returning home, Cheng Min first put her things away. She then gathered the bedding and clothes she had prepared for Zhang Quhun and stacked them on top of the cabinet in the room, intending to send them over when needed.

Chang Kun counted the items and found that Xiu'er's small mirror was missing. After searching for a long time, he finally found it under Xiu'er's pillow. The little girl has learned to hide things.

The girls had agreed to stay home to catch up on their studies, but there wasn't a soul in the courtyard.

Xiaoqing's notebook was spread out on the stone table. She had only corrected half of the arithmetic problems when she disappeared.

Xiao Mu's homework was under Xiao Qing's, and the girls had all disappeared without a trace.

"Where did he run off to again?" Chang Kun frowned, told Cheng Min to stay home and rest, and went out to look for him.

When I passed the alley entrance, my aunt wasn't sunbathing in front of the state-run restaurant; instead, I could hear a lot of chattering coming from inside.

Chang Kun pushed open the door and immediately saw his aunt sitting in a chair, holding Xiao Shui down with one hand and holding a feather duster in the other, about to hit Xiao Shui's bottom.

Xiao Shui was lying on the stool, her pants pulled down halfway, crying loudly and kicking her little legs wildly.

Xiaoqing and Xiaomu stood to the side, still holding cookies in their hands, looking on guiltily, wanting to eat but not daring to, wanting to run away but not daring to.

"I told you not to write properly! I told you not to fail the test!" The feather duster smacked down, leaving another red mark on Xiao Shui's bottom, and she cried even harder.

Auntie heard the door open, looked up and saw Chang Kun, and breathed a sigh of relief: "Xiao Kun, you've come at the right time! Look at these girls!"

Chang Kun walked over, looked at Xiao Shui who was lying on the stool crying with snot and tears streaming down her face, and then looked at Xiao Qing and Xiao Mu who were huddled up next to her. He understood the gist of it.

"Auntie, why are you resorting to sticks?"

"These little girls, they go to school but they still don't learn anything good. They've forgotten the days when we couldn't even get enough wild vegetables to eat in the village! If we don't teach them a lesson, they won't know what's what!" Auntie was so angry that she was practically fuming.

Chang Kun looked at Xiao Qing and Xiao Mu: "What about the homework that Sister Xiao Min assigned?"

"At...home." Xiaoqing's voice was barely audible.

"What are you doing out here when you're at home?"

The two girls fell silent, heads bowed, their toes shuffling on the ground.

Chang Kun sighed and said to his aunt, "Aunt, please stop hitting them. I'll take them back and let Cheng Min watch them fix it."

Auntie snorted, reached out and lifted Xiaoshui off the stool, pulled up her pants, and slapped her bottom again.

"Go back and do your homework! If I find out you failed again, I'll give you a good spanking!"

Xiao Shui nodded while crying, her face covered in tears and snot.

I thought going to school in the city would be a blessing, but I never expected that math would be harder than digging for wild vegetables...