Reborn as a Tough Army Wife
Chapter 136 - 131: Spend Frugally

Chapter 136: Chapter 131: Spend Frugally

Fang Pingying knew that men in the military were less likely to show their feelings easily compared to ordinary people and that they were much more reserved. She didn’t mind and leisurely followed behind him.

Luo Zhiyong had to walk a dozen steps ahead and then stop to wait for her from time to time.

Seeing that she was doing it on purpose, Luo Zhiyong just smiled helplessly. He didn’t urge her and simply watched her from a distance as she slowly approached step by step.

Suddenly, he felt that this scene was particularly warm. It seemed that, as long as she was near him, he felt much more at ease, and his temperament wasn’t as irritable.

The couple got on the bus to the city and didn’t get off until after ten in the morning.

Fang Pingying told Luo Zhiyong about the things she planned to buy, and Luo Zhiyong took her to a bustling area in the provincial city to shop.

At that time, comparing the provincial city with its future self, it was indeed dilapidated, but when compared to a town or county, it was much better.

Not only were there tall buildings all around, but the transportation was also convenient. Buses went in all directions, reaching everywhere you needed to go.

In the county, there were only supply and marketing cooperatives, but in the provincial city, they were called department stores. Because department stores had begun to be leased out to private individuals, they somewhat resembled the large shopping centers of modern times.

There was a wide variety of goods for sale, and the sales assistants were very friendly, patiently answering all kinds of questions from customers.

However, as this was a big place with a good environment and service, the goods were frighteningly expensive. Fang Pingying bought only some daily necessities like soap and shampoo but ended up spending more than two yuan.

At home in her town, you could get pretty good items for just several cents. Although these brands were somewhat better, Fang Pingying felt the pinch for a long time. She originally didn’t plan to buy anything there, but Luo Zhiyong insisted on purchasing them.

This made Fang Pingying reluctant to mention anything else she wanted to buy, fearing that Luo Zhiyong would insist on buying it for her, and then they would run out of money without having spent it on the right things.

After leaving the department store, Fang Pingying still wanted Luo Zhiyong to take her to smaller places to buy other things, such as fabric for making bedsheets.

But consumer goods in the provincial city were expensive, even in smaller shops, and the prices were still much higher than back home.

Nevertheless, one had to admit that the variety of goods available here was complete.

Just the range of fabric colors available was far more than what her town’s supply and marketing cooperative had. Fang Pingying spent a long time choosing and finally picked out a set of purple floral fabric to make bedsheets and quilt covers, which the cooperatives back home did not yet sell.

After buying these items, Fang Pingying went on to purchase some chopsticks and bowls, as their home only had two pairs of chopsticks and two bowls. Before, when Luo Zhiyong was home, he often ate in the cafeteria, so they hadn’t prepared more.

Later, the two wandered around and bought some miscellaneous items. Thinking of inviting the people in the courtyard community over for dinner in the evening, they bought quite a lot of groceries, and before they knew it, it was already two in the afternoon.

Luo Zhiyong remembered that they hadn’t had the chance to eat lunch yet. Worried that Fang Pingying must be famished, he reached out to take the things from her hands and said, "Let’s find a spot and grab something to eat first."

Fang Pingying looked at the things in her hands. Today, she had almost spent all the money Luo Zhiyong had given her. If they were to have a meal now, today’s expenditures would seriously go over budget.

She said with a tinge of heartache, "I’m afraid things here won’t be cheap. Otherwise, we might as well go back home to eat. After all, we’ve already bought so much food, we can simply whip something up when we get back."

After saying this, fearing that Luo Zhiyong would insist on eating out because he noticed she was reluctant to spend money, she immediately pretended to weigh the burdens in their hands and said with a troubled face, "Besides, carrying so many things makes it inconvenient to eat out anywhere. Let’s just not go."

Luo Zhiyong knew full well that Fang Pingying was reluctant to spend money, but he had a rough tally of today’s expenses and didn’t want her to shell out any money, so he nodded and said, "It’s fine to go back and eat. But first, buy something to fill your stomach, I saw a bakery over there a while ago."

As he spoke, he put down the things in his hands and pointed toward a Western-style bakery they had seen when they turned a corner earlier.

Fang Pingying felt that was fine, so she put the things down on the ground, and instructed him to keep an eye on them, saying, "Alright, you wait for me here then. I’ll go buy some, we’ll just snack a little, and then take the bus back."

The bakery Luo Zhiyong mentioned sold baked bread that was surprisingly small in size yet expensive. However, Fang Pingying eyed the labeled prices, and even the cheapest bread cost 50 cents each and were half the size of the homemade buns.

After looking around inside, Fang Pingying still found herself unwilling to buy.

Leaving the bakery, she saw someone selling popcorn candy by the roadside at one yuan per pound. Although it wasn’t cheap either, it was light and just several cents could get a bagful, likely too much for the two of them to finish.

Fang Pingying thought it over and decided to buy 50 cents worth, a big bag of it, which the two of them definitely could not finish in one meal. She planned to bring it back for the kids in the compound to snack on.

Fang Pingying returned with the popcorn candy, and Luo Zhiyong, seeing that she hadn’t bought bread from that shop, frowned and asked, "Why did you buy this? Didn’t I tell you to go buy some of those Western-style bread from that shop?"

Fang Pingying pouted and pretended not to fancy those bread, raising the popcorn candy in her hand and saying, "What’s so good about that? This popcorn candy tastes much better."

Luo Zhiyong felt a twinge of distress seeing his wife unwilling to even spend money on bread, and always felt it was because he wasn’t earning enough.

He looked at her somewhat guiltily and said, "I’m busy with work, so I won’t often have the chance to accompany you to the city like today. It’s rare for me to accompany you, and I wanted to buy you something nice but look at you, not even happy about it."

Fang Pingying knew his intentions, flashed him a smile, handed him a piece of the freshly broken popcorn candy, and said with a laugh, "Silly, why the rush for these things? Any time in the future we want to buy something we can. For now, our finances are a bit tight, so we’d better save and spend cautiously. When our lives get better later on, then we can buy."

Luo Zhiyong looked at her expression and said with empathy, "It’s not about lacking that little money to spend. Even if we spend it all, we’ll have this month’s salary in a few days, and the money won’t last until the end of the month. I’ll figure something out; don’t worry."

Fang Pingying smiled helplessly, pulling him to an empty bench on the side where people waited for their rides, and explained in a low voice, "It’s not about whether we have the money or not, it’s about planning for our life. Weren’t we just talking about having a child yesterday? And today, you’re already thinking about binge eating."

"Alright," Luo Zhiyong’s eyes sparked up with flames at the mention of having a child.

Fang Pingying knew this man must be thinking something naughty. She scolded him with a glance and laughed, "Hurry up and eat. Afterward, we should head back early. The bus ride is still a while away."

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)