Reborn as a Tough Army Wife-Chapter 46 The Mealtime Turmoil

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

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Luo Honglan still had the nature of a child. While Fang Pingying was busy buying jars, she looked around and had already set her sights on what she wanted to buy.

The teenage girl didn’t have high demands; what she bought was nothing more than some hair ties, hair clips, and a few cheap snacks.

Luo Honglan was extremely satisfied with her purchases, chuckling delightedly to herself.

Luo Zhiyong watched her laugh and softly said to Fang Pingying, "Do you see anything you like? You’re only a few years older than her, you should like the same kinds of things. How about I buy you a set too?"

"What do you mean a few years older, I’m five years older." Fang Pingying playfully scolded Luo Zhiyong, but she felt sweet inside. No matter their age, women like being pampered by their men as if they were little girls, "Besides, I don’t lack anything, no need to buy now. We can talk about it later."

Moreover, Fang Pingying had also looked around and realized that the county was indeed much more developed than the town. Individual entrepreneurs in the town were still quite rare, and many people would rather endure hardship at the co-op to buy things than to shop at privately-run stores, always feeling that private goods weren’t as good as those from the co-ops.

But people in the county seemed to have already accepted individual entrepreneurs. Last time Fang Pingying saw those small supermarkets, which even appeared quite upscale.

On the contrary, when she passed by a state-run co-op just now, she found it sparsely occupied. The customers were either chatting inside the counters or idly knitting, obviously bored.

And Fang Pingying also found out that these privately-run shops offered a wider variety of goods than the co-ops.

Like those selling ready-made clothes, Fang Pingying noticed that the co-op’s garments were mostly old-fashioned and the colors dull, but the clothes in some of the shops here had more modern styles, which the owners said were brought in from the Southern regions.

Clothes weren’t only clearly sorted by size, but even the same style of clothing came in various colors. Most followed the fashion trend, no longer baggy but nicely cinched at the waist, accentuating the figure. The details on most garments were also made with care, with collars and sleeves looking quite refined.

Fang Pingying memorized the styles of those clothes, thinking of making her own clothes in those styles when she got back, confident they wouldn’t be worse than the ones for sale.

After everyone finished shopping, they didn’t dawdle and went to meet Zhou Yunmei at the spot where she had remained earlier.

But when they arrived, Zhou Yunmei was nowhere to be seen.

Luo Honglan immediately became anxious, "Sister-in-law, Mom is missing, what should we do?"

"No worries, she probably just stepped away for something, let’s wait here for her." Fang Pingying thought Zhou Yunmei, being an adult, had promised fervently not to wander off earlier. She guessed that something urgent, like a sudden need to use the restroom, must have come up.

Luo Zhiyong thought the same and comforted Luo Honglan not to worry, suggesting they wait around a bit longer.

But after nearly half an hour passed by with no sight of Zhou Yunmei, Fang Pingying and Luo Zhiyong also started to worry. Even if it was a restroom break, she should have been back by now.

With no other choice, the three of them spread out to look for her.

The three decided that Luo Zhiyong would go to the right, while Luo Honglan and Fang Pingying would head down the street to the left, agreeing to reconvene here afterwards, whether they found her or not.

Before splitting up, they heard two young people walking from the opposite direction, laughing, "That old lady was really amusing, haggling over the price even for a meal."

"Yeah, if she’s got no money, she shouldn’t eat. She was so loud, obviously someone who doesn’t come to the city often," another added with a laugh.

Hearing this, Fang Pingying’s heart sank, and she immediately suspected they were talking about Zhou Yunmei. novelbuddy.cσ๓

She immediately turned and caught up with the two young people, and after asking where the eatery was, the three of them rushed toward it.

Sure enough, from a distance, Fang Pingying and the others saw a familiar figure standing at the shop entrance, cursing loudly, with a flushed face and thick neck, and even gesticulating. Wasn’t it Zhou Yunmei, whom they had been searching for all around?

Fang Pingying and the rest hurried over to ask Zhou Yunmei what had happened.

Before Zhou Yunmei could speak, someone who had been watching the commotion told Fang Pingying about what had occurred.

It turned out to be a fast-food restaurant that served rice steamed in clay pots. Many people working in the county would come here for lunch because the prices were considered cheap, and steamed clay pot rice was a novelty. Many passers-by would also be tempted to eat here.

Zhou Yunmei, feeling bored alone, thought about taking a walk around the area.

When she arrived in front of this shop, she had never in her life seen rice steamed in such small clay pots and found it intriguing. She stood there watching people eat, and even asked them from time to time how the rice tasted.

The diners didn’t know her and naturally found her annoying. The more good-natured guests simply ignored her, while others, annoyed, called the owner to deal with her.

The owner didn’t want to drive her away directly. Seeing her asking so carefully, he guessed she wanted to eat as well, so he let her sit down and brought her some food.

Zhou Yunmei had only had a bowl of rice noodles in the morning and had been running around all morning. She was hungry and thought the rice in the clay pot, with its red oil, looked particularly fragrant. Indeed, she was really tempted.

But she still had some sense left. After the owner put down the bowl, she didn’t start eating right away but asked the price of the meal instead.

The owner said with a smile, "My dear, just eat your fill. With so many people eating here, we won’t overcharge just you."

With that assurance, Zhou Yunmei felt relieved and really let herself go while eating.

She alone had two bowls of the small clay pot rice, and when she asked for a third bowl, the owner suggested tactfully, "Auntie, how about I scoop you some from our big pot instead, so you don’t have to eat this clay pot rice?"

"No need, I love this clay pot rice. I can’t get it at home, so I must have my fill today." Since the owner hadn’t explained clearly, Zhou Yunmei thought no matter how much she ate, whether from the big pot or the clay pot, it would all cost the same. She definitely wouldn’t be foolish enough to pass up good food for something unappetizing.

Finally, after Zhou Yunmei had eaten her fill, the owner came to collect the money, saying that one serving of food plus five bowls of clay pot rice amounted to 90 cents in total.

Zhou Yunmei refused to accept this. She thought that when the owner said it wouldn’t be expensive, it would at most be the same as the 50 cents she spent on rice noodles in the morning. How could it be so much?

She immediately started bellowing, "What? You have the nerve to ask for 90 cents for this lousy meal? I think even 50 cents is too much. At my home, I would give you no more than 20 cents at most."

The owner, naturally displeased inside, still kept his temper in check because many customers were watching. He continued to explain with a smile, "Auntie, this isn’t your home; this is the county. Everyone else pays this price for their meal. Honestly, our food prices here in the county are not considered expensive. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the other customers."

Zhou Yunmei didn’t care how much others paid or what was considered reasonable; she only cared about what she believed it was worth.

Completely disregarding the owner’s gentle tone, she continued to kick up a fuss, "Everything costs the same? From what I saw, the table next door just paid six cents, for the same dish I had."

The owner could no longer hold back and brought over the bowls that the guests at the next table had finished but not yet cleared away, counting for her to see,

"Look carefully. They only ate two clay pots of rice, while you had five. Each bowl costs ten cents, and subtracting the first one that came with the dish and won’t be charged to you, you owe an extra 40 cents. I did not make a mistake."

He paused and then continued, "Moreover, auntie, I did remind you just now to not have the clay pot rice. If you wanted more, you could have had it from the big pot in the shop, free of charge. You insisted on having the clay pot rice, so since you ate it, there is no reason not to pay for it."