Chapter Seventy: A Family of Three Visits the Department Store

“Great, let’s make a pinky promise.”
Huanhuan immediately burst into joy and reached out her hand.
“Pinky promise, one hundred years without change. Whoever breaks it is a little puppy.”
“Pinky promise, one hundred years without change. Whoever breaks it is a little puppy.”
Chen Huajiang naturally extended his hand, linking his little finger with Huanhuan’s, and recited the phrase together.
With the ceremony complete, Huanhuan finally relaxed, her smile blossoming like a flower.
“Daddy’s still the best,” she said, wrapping her arms around Chen Huajiang’s head and planting a kiss on his cheek.
Chen Huajiang grinned so widely that his gums showed, utterly delighted.
This was the first time since his rebirth that Huanhuan had kissed him. If he counted his previous life, it was the first time since the divorce.
After the divorce in his previous life, the older Huanhuan grew, the colder she became towards him, never showing such affection.
Just for that one kiss, Chen Huajiang felt he could buy out the entire department store’s stock of schoolbags and it would be worth it.
But Lin Jiayin, on the other hand, was dissatisfied. She didn’t give Chen Huajiang a pleasant look all the way until bedtime.
“Honestly, is it really necessary? It’s just a schoolbag.”
Chen Huajiang wrapped his arms around her as he spoke.
But as soon as he touched her, Lin Jiayin pushed him away.
“This time it’s a schoolbag, next time a bicycle, then a TV, and after that, something else. If we buy everything she asks for, how can our family keep up?”
Lin Jiayin spoke in a muffled voice, her words tinged with nasal discontent, clearly making her dissatisfaction known.
In these times, most people, regardless of gender, believed in raising children frugally. Spare the rod, spoil the child; children must be obedient—this was the mainstream view.
The old saying goes, 'raise sons strictly, daughters richly,' but this notion only began to gain traction in society two thousand years later.
Truth be told, even if people wanted to raise their children well, few had the resources to do so.
“We can manage. The pressure gives your husband motivation to earn more.”
“If not for Red Flag Factory firing me, I’d still be muddling along, never understanding your hard work or the importance of self-reliance.”
Chen Huajiang smiled, wrapping his arms around Lin Jiayin again, spouting his crooked logic.
Yet, his words made Lin Jiayin pause; her body stiffened slightly, and she stopped trying to push him away.
She was curious about Chen Huajiang’s changes and couldn’t quite understand them. After all, since their marriage, she knew her husband’s character inside out.
Had it not been for parental matchmaking, if she’d known what kind of person Chen Huajiang was beforehand, she might never have married him.

Old habits die hard, yet Chen Huajiang had suddenly improved. As his wife, Lin Jiayin felt both joy and a touch of doubt.
Was her husband’s change genuine? Was it permanent or just temporary? Or—could he be possessed by a spirit?
Superstition still had a strong foothold in these days.
“Why don’t we try a bit harder and add another child? Huanhuan could use a companion.”
Holding his wife, Chen Huajiang spoke, a hint of restlessness in his voice.
“Don’t—don’t be ridiculous.”
At that, Lin Jiayin stiffened, instinctively pushing her husband’s hands away.
She turned to face Chen Huajiang, her expression stern. “The policy is strict now. It’s not like a few years ago when people could get away with it. Haven’t you learned from my cousin’s experience? You might be brave, but I’m not.”
Lin Jiayin’s cousin, Lin Jiafeng, was a nurse in a nearby township. Earlier that year, she became pregnant by accident and tried to keep it secret, hoping to deliver the baby in secret later.
But she was discovered, and the very next day, the health station forced her to terminate the pregnancy.
Back then, Chen Huajiang didn’t care about the matter. Because of the Red Flag Factory incident, his attitude toward Lin Jiayin was poor, and her frequent visits to care for her cousin made him furious.
“I was only joking.”
Seeing his wife’s serious face, Chen Huajiang could only smile awkwardly.
He’d made the mistake of thinking as he had in his previous life. The year eighty-five was a turning point; before that, family planning existed but wasn’t strictly enforced.
That’s why among the post-eighties generation, many born before eighty-five had siblings, while those born after eighty-five, especially the nineties, were almost all only children.
After this conversation, Lin Jiayin turned over to sleep and deliberately placed her pillow between them.
Chen Huajiang lost interest and slept until dawn.
The next morning, after breakfast, Chen Huajiang went to the Red Flag Factory kindergarten to ask the teacher for leave.
At nine o’clock, the family of three headed to the city center department store to buy Huanhuan her Big-Faced Cat schoolbag.
Chen Huajiang carried Huanhuan on his shoulders, gazing at the department store with a touch of melancholy.
This place would last about fifteen more years. In ninety-five, it would be restructured into a department mall, persist for another five years, then in two thousand, be acquired by Suguo and become a Suguo supermarket.
“What’s wrong? Why are you spacing out?”
Lin Jiayin tugged at her husband’s arm, baffled at his dazedness upon arrival.
She felt embarrassed; Chen Huajiang stood at the entrance, gawking at the building like a country bumpkin visiting the city, drawing the attention of passing customers.
“Let’s go.”
Chen Huajiang smiled, not bothering to explain. There was no way to explain such things.

Soon, the family entered the department store. The first floor was filled with sweets, pastries, and all kinds of snacks.
Passing the sesame candy section, Huanhuan tugged at his hair, pointing and saying, “Sesame candy, sesame candy!”
Clearly, she had her eye on it.
“One pound of sesame candy, please.”
Chen Huajiang walked over and addressed the saleswoman behind the counter.
She glanced up at him, then continued knitting her wool sweater unhurriedly.
Chen Huajiang frowned, waiting over a minute; she still ignored him, busy with her knitting.
He was thoroughly annoyed by this, disgusted by her behavior.
“Excuse me, comrade, one pound of sesame candy!”
Chen Huajiang raised his voice, expressing his displeasure.
As soon as he spoke, Lin Jiayin tugged his arm, giving him a reproachful look.
His raised voice drew the attention of other salespeople behind nearby counters and customers in the hall.
“What are you yelling for? Can’t you see I’m coming?”
The saleswoman hurried over, her face sour.
She wrapped the sesame candy in kraft paper and weighed it, purposely shorting the measure by slanting the scale’s lever.
Chen Huajiang didn’t bother to argue over her petty trick and laid fifty cents on the counter.
“Where’s your ration ticket? No ticket?”
Suddenly, the saleswoman glared and shouted at Chen Huajiang, raising her voice to pick a fight.
“You need a ticket for sesame candy? It’s not an appliance, not grain—what kind of ticket do you need?”
Chen Huajiang was furious, slapping the counter in anger.
She was clearly making things difficult for him. True, many items still required ration tickets in these days, but it was much more relaxed now.
Tickets were only necessary for grain and appliances. Items like clothes, pots, snacks, and schoolbags could be bought without ration tickets.