Reborn as a Tough Army Wife-Chapter 45 Buying a Jar

Thank you for the peace charm from Xuan’er Feifei, thank you!

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Upon hearing this, Zhou Yunmei fell silent and stepped back, signaling Fang Pingying to go and pay.

But she was also thinking to herself that they hadn’t even stayed in the hospital today; it was just some examinations and buying medicine, and it already cost so much. Then, the last time Luo Zhiyong was hospitalized, he had a cast and took a lot of medicine home. It must have been more expensive than today’s expenses.

Moreover, the doctor said that before Luo Zhiyong felt his leg was completely healed and went back to the army, he would need to come here for another check-up to see how well he had recovered.

Adding it all up, including the money for the next visit to the hospital, the US$ 150 she initially gave was definitely not enough.

Seeing that Zhou Yunmei didn’t speak anymore, Fang Pingying knew that she believed Luo Zhiyong’s leg treatment would cost a lot of money. Without further conversation, she paid and called Luo Zhiyong and the others to leave the hospital together.

The group wandered around the county town for a while, asking many shops, but none had the small jars for sale. They were all uniformly large jars and expensive at that, with just one jar costing 40 cents.

Seeing this, Zhou Yunmei urged Fang Pingying to just go back home, suggesting that it would be better to use the large jars from home, which they could get for five cents each at the village’s small grocery store. It would still serve the purpose, only costing a bit more for the extra jars, and this was still more cost-effective than buying the expensive ones.

Luo Zhiyong, not often coming to the county town and unfamiliar with it, asked Fang Pingying what to do.

Fang Pingying had been to the county town several times in her previous life, but that was after the 90s. At this time, she had hardly been to the county town.

She vaguely remembered that near the train station in the county town was a street dedicated to wholesaling goods to people. That street had everything, and the prices were cheap. If they could find that place, they would definitely be able to buy the jars.

Although the train station was not far from here, Fang Pingying was unsure which direction the street was from the train station, as there seemed to be no signs specifically pointing it out.

After some thought, she decided to let Luo Zhiyong and Zhou Yunmei rest for a while as she took Luo Honglan with her to ask for directions in a nearby shop.

She thought that these people probably also acquired their jars from that wholesale street and would likely know about it.

However, the shopkeepers were not friendly, recognizing them as having inquired about jars earlier without making a purchase. They did not want to deal with them and responded rudely, declaring ignorance of any street specifically for wholesaling goods to people.

Fang Pingying asked several stores, but none told her, as these shops were all conniving together in business.

Seeing this, Fang Pingying didn’t bother to ask any further and simply called Luo Zhiyong and the others to head towards the train station first, confident that they would eventually find the place in the county town.

The hospital in the county town was some distance from the train station. Fang Pingying asked around and learned that one could walk there; if fast on foot, it would take half an hour to reach.

Alternatively, there was a public bus that would go directly to the train station.

Zhou Yunmei, listening on the side, became frustrated and said, "Let’s take the bus. It won’t cost much for the four of us. We’ll save money elsewhere."

Fang Pingying glanced at Zhou Yunmei and then at Luo Zhiyong’s leg, nodded in agreement, and decided to head to the bus station.

Public buses in the small county town were not punctual. They waited about half an hour before finally catching one.

The bus was crowded, and although Luo Zhiyong’s leg wasn’t fully healed, he managed to board the bus on his own thanks to his military background and agility without needing the help of Fang Pingying.

The bus stopped frequently along the way. A journey that was supposed to take just over ten minutes took them almost half an hour.

By the time Fang Pingying and her party got off, their clothes were soaked with sweat.

Zhou Yunmei immediately started to complain discontentedly, "It’s really suffering coming to the county town. If I had known, I would have refused to come."

Luo Zhiyong frowned at her and said, "Mom, since we are already here, stop complaining. Public bus rides are like this everywhere."

"Right, let’s go ask about the jars. If we can find them, we’ll hurry back home," said Fang Pingying.

It was almost noon, and if they went back too late, they would have to eat in the county town. The cost of a meal for four people here would probably be enough for a few days of decent food for an entire family at home.

Fang Pingying, thinking about the early stages of her startup business, naturally wanted to save wherever possible.

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This happened today also because Luo Zhiyong’s leg was injured. Moreover, when she saw that Zhou Yunmei was there too, she thought to herself that if she were alone, she wouldn’t even take the bus and would just walk to the train station to save every dime she could, maybe that way she could buy one more jar.

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Fang Pingying was anxious to ask about the location of the dedicated wholesale market, but Zhou Yunmei seemed extremely fatigued from being squeezed on the train earlier. She simply sat down by the roadside and waved at Fang Pingying, "You go ahead. I can’t walk anymore, I’ll just wait here for you. When you’re done shopping, just come here and call for me."

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Fang Pingying thought this was also a good idea, considering Zhou Yunmei’s difficulty in walking would only delay her.

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So she nodded and said to Luo Zhiyong, "Zhiyong, why don’t you and Mom just wait here together? Hong Lan and I will go look for it, and we’ll come back here to find you once we’ve made our purchase."

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"I’m fine. They removed the cast from my leg, and it’s easier to walk now. No bother, I’ll go with you and help check out the stuff," Luo Zhiyong said, though he felt in his heart that it wasn’t right for him, as a grown man, to sit leisurely here while his wife was running all over the place on account of these matters.

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Although Fang Pingying didn’t want Luo Zhiyong to overexert himself, she saw that he was insistent and agreed. Moreover, deep down, she felt it was better to have Luo Zhiyong by her side, as she could at least consult with him if anything came up.

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But leaving Zhou Yunmei alone here, Fang Pingying worried that she might wander off and they wouldn’t be able to find her when they returned.

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Fang Pingying looked at Zhou Yunmei, then glanced at Luo Zhiyong.

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Luo Zhiyong then asked Zhou Yunmei, "Mom, will you be alright here by yourself if we all go?"

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Zhou Yunmei grimaced and said, "What’s there to be afraid of? I’m not a child. I’ll just sit here without moving until you return. Just come back quickly after you’re done shopping."

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Luo Zhiyong and the others hesitated, feeling uneasy about leaving Zhou Yunmei alone, as she seldom went out.

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Eventually, Luo Honglan sighed and said, "Otherwise, Mom, I’ll stay here and keep you company."

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Zhou Yunmei knew that Luo Honglan came to the county town wanting to look around and buy some trinkets, so she shook her head, "No need, you go with them. Haven’t you always wanted to buy one of those hair clips for Miss Fang? Go with your brother and sister-in-law, they’ll help you pick one out."

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"Well... I’ll be off then," Luo Honglan didn’t want to stay there, so she didn’t insist further.

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"Go on, go on, come back quickly," Zhou Yunmei waved them off, urging them to leave.

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Fang Pingying and the others repeatedly warned her not to wander off since they had no phones at that time, and it would be very difficult to find each other if they got separated.

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As a precaution, Fang Pingying gave Zhou Yunmei 50 cents, saying that if they really got separated, Zhou Yunmei would have money to take a ride back.

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Once Zhou Yunmei saw the money, her eyes lit up, and she immediately accepted it, promising that she wouldn’t wander off.

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Seeing this, Fang Pingying and the others were relieved and began to ask around where the wholesale market was.

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There were quite a few people around the train station who knew the place, and it was easy for Fang Pingying and her group to find someone to ask.

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The entrance to the market was not very conspicuous; at a glance, it looked just like a small lane. It was only after passing through the small lane that they could find the wholesale market.

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The goods in the wholesale market were indeed much cheaper than those sold outside, and there was a greater variety of things—food, clothing, playthings; basically, everything you could name.

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Fang Pingying and her companions found the place that specialized in glass jars without much difficulty.

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Even though the styles were not as pretty as the ones from decades later, Fang Pingying was still very satisfied. The small jars she wanted were 15 cents each, a bit pricey, but Fang Pingying felt it was still within her acceptable range.

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Thinking that there were about ten large jars of bean paste at home that needed to be divided into small jars—roughly thirty small jars— it would cost 4.50 yuan in total.

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The shopkeeper selling the jars was also very nice. Seeing Fang Pingying buying so many jars at once, he guessed that she was doing business and even gave her an extra jar, saying with a smile, "Miss, come back and buy from here next time."

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"Sure, boss, remember to give me a discount next time. If the business goes well, I’ll be back often," Fang Pingying smiled in response.

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The boss was also attentive, knowing that the jars were made of glass and fragile, he used specially designed small mesh bags to hold the jars together, with a thin layer of paper padding between each jar.

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With two small mesh bags to carry thirty small jars, it didn’t take up much space, and Fang Pingying could easily carry them on her own.

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"Sister-in-law, let me carry one," Luo Honglan smiled and offered to take one of the bags from Fang Pingying’s hands.

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Fang Pingying shook her head, smiling and saying, "No need for you to carry it. Haven’t you always wanted to come to the county town to buy pretty things? There’s everything here, buy whatever you like, let your brother pay for it."

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