Chapter 273: Buying Melons

Chapter 273 Buying Melons

Li Zhen didn't look particularly sad. "There's no one else left in the family, just me. A few years ago, after my grandmother passed away, I started working at the medical clinic at Nalan Base."

Li Zhen didn’t reveal more, and Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t pry further.

Fortunately, Li Zhen didn’t stay long. After packing her things into a small bundle and throwing it over her shoulder, she left the house with Ye Xiaoxiao.

Before leaving, they bumped into several villagers who lived nearby. They were clearly close with Li Zhen, exchanging greetings in a language Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t understand.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "..."

Everyone at the base spoke Mandarin, so she had forgotten about the local environment.

This was a minority region, after all. Ye Xiaoxiao could only watch as Li Zhen conversed with them.

After the exchange of greetings, Li Zhen took Ye Xiaoxiao to the market.

Along the way, Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t shake the thought that Li Zhen must have another name—she had just heard something like "Lan... Zhuoma..." in the conversation.

It wasn’t until they reached the market that Ye Xiaoxiao got distracted by the goods there.

She spotted fruits—loads of fresh, sweet melons.

She couldn't resist. Of course, they were pricey, but she had to have them. She pulled Li Zhen along to haggle.

Li Zhen looked at the four huge melons Ye Xiaoxiao had bought. "You think we can haul all these back?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Your bike's got a basket."

Li Zhen: "That can only fit two melons. You're carrying the other two."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "No problem."

Li Zhen gave a resigned sigh. "Not checking out anything else? There’s plenty of fabric, fur, and dried meat here."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "...All I want is melon."

She wasn’t interested in anything else—she was dying for some vitamins.

Li Zhen: "You don’t need fur now, but come winter, you'll be glad to have it."

Ye Xiaoxiao went along reluctantly.

Not what she expected, the sheepskins here had been processed and looked clean and snow-white. Still, they weren’t moving.

"How much for one?"

Ye Xiaoxiao assumed the treated ones would be more expensive.

"A yuan tops. Any more is impossible."

Li Zhen was all about making money, but when it came to buying, she was an expert at bargaining.

"These things are lucky to sell at all. Every household has them."

Meanwhile, Ye Xiaoxiao stared at the sheepskins, lost in thought. If these could be transported out, they’d surely fetch a good price.

For example, sending them to Third Brother’s clothing factory to be made into garments.

"Let's check if there are any wolf pelts—they're the real deal."

Ye Xiaoxiao lowered her voice, "Wolf pelts?"

Li Zhen: "Yeah, plenty of grassland hunters bag wolf pelts, but it’s hit or miss."

Li Zhen led Ye Xiaoxiao deeper into the market, and they stumbled upon a stall selling wolf pelts.

Li Zhen handled the bargaining and finally bought two pristine wolf pelts for five yuan.

"Just wait till winter—you’ll see how cozy they are."

Ye Xiaoxiao knew the Ye family also had wolf pelts, but the wolf-pelt bedding belonged to her grandparents—she’d never even touched it, much less felt how warm it was.

Despite Li Zhen's strong recommendation, Ye Xiaoxiao eyed their haul doubtfully.

"You really think we can haul all this back?"

Li Zhen tied the wolf pelts to the bicycle's front crossbar. "This’ll do."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Just *seeing* that makes me sweat."

The two walked a bit further when Ye Xiaoxiao suddenly realized something.

"How come I’m the only one buying stuff? Nothing caught your eye?"

Li Zhen: "I’m... I’m good."

She was pinching pennies.

Ye Xiaoxiao glanced down, her gaze lingering on Li Zhen’s cloth shoes, which were threadbare at the toes.

Honestly, she felt Li Zhen could scrimp her whole life and still not save enough to dig a well in the desert.

But holding onto that dream was something precious in itself.

Spotting a stall selling cloth shoes not far away, she picked out two pairs.

"Let’s split a pair."

Li Zhen hesitated and didn’t respond.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I’ll pay—for showing me around the market."

She thought Li Zhen would agree without hesitation, but after a brief pause, Li Zhen shook her head firmly.

"I invited you to town myself—no need to pay me. Besides, this bicycle isn’t even mine."

This newfound principle felt *unlike* Li Zhen.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Then call it a gift. These your size?"

She pushed the shoes at Li Zhen.

Li Zhen froze for a heartbeat before clutching the shoes to her chest—they were her size. "Th-they fit."

Later, they came across stalls selling a mishmash of junk, mostly folksy handmade stuff.

Ye Xiaoxiao made a point to ask about the prices and fur production/output.

She increasingly felt that Third Brother could come to collect cashmere and sheepskins, since cashmere sweaters and coats were very expensive in the city.

Li Zhen didn’t know what Ye Xiaoxiao was thinking. Since it was still early, they needed to head back to the base soon.

They definitely wouldn’t make it back for lunch, but luckily, they had bought flatbread at the market.

It was really dry/stale when eaten.

They only got back to base at five in the afternoon.

Lu Hanchuan, knowing Ye Xiaoxiao had gone out, had been waiting there for two hours.

Head Zhao was under a lot of pressure. Seeing Lu Hanchuan’s stern and expressionless face, he didn't even get a chance to initiate a conversation.

Zhao Chunhua stood up and said to Yang Juan, "Xiao Yang, you stay here and entertain Regiment Commander Lu. I’ll go check the pharmacy."

Yang Juan was also on edge—Lu Hanchuan’s aura was too intense.

When Lu Hanchuan heard Zhao Chunhua’s words, he looked his way, his gaze ice-cold.

Fortunately, his tone was surprisingly gentle. "Head Zhao and Dr. Yang don’t need to accompany me. Please attend to your own matters."

Zhao Chunhua: "Alright, alright. Regiment Commander Lu, make yourself comfortable."

With that, Zhao Chunhua made a quick exit.

Though Yang Juan also felt uneasy, since Lu Hanchuan had said so, he could only silently pick up his book and start reading.

When Ye Xiaoxiao came to deliver the melons, she saw the awkward situation of Lu Hanchuan and Yang Juan sitting together without any interaction.

Seeing Ye Xiaoxiao return, Lu Hanchuan finally stood up.

Yang Juan also let out a sigh of relief.

If Comrade Ye hadn’t returned soon, Regiment Commander Lu would have worn a hole in the floor pacing.

"Where did Xiao Xiao go?" Lu Hanchuan asked.

Ye Xiaoxiao first handed the melon to Yang Juan. "I brought this melon for you and Head Zhao to share."

Only then did she answer Lu Hanchuan’s question. "Li Zhen and I went to town."

Lu Hanchuan: "The town is so far. How did you get there?"

He touched Ye Xiaoxiao’s face—it was a little sunburnt.

But Ye Xiaoxiao was excited. "Li Zhen gave me a ride on her bike. I still have melons in my room. Come with me."

She pulled Lu Hanchuan along as they walked out.

Yang Juan thanked Ye Xiaoxiao from behind before taking the melon to Head Zhao.

In the dormitory courtyard, Li Zhen had already sliced open a honeydew.

The light yellow fruit was very sweet. If it could be chilled in a refrigerator, the taste would be even better.

Ye Xiaoxiao grabbed a slice and gave it to Lu Hanchuan.

Lu Hanchuan didn’t dig into the melon right away but spoke rather seriously, “Next time you go out, call me to come along. It’s not safe on the road.”

Li Zhen took a bite of the melon and glanced up at Lu Hanchuan.

Seriously?

Come on!

What an overreaction! She’d always been fine traveling alone.