Seeing Luo Shu pull out so much money all at once, Aunt Chen was stunned. She had deduced they were children from a poor family by looking at their clothing; she hadn't expected them to be able to produce that much money. Indeed, appearances can be deceiving!
"That settles it then! You girls just call me Aunt Chen from now on, and don't hesitate to ask if you need anything— and there's no need to be polite with me." Aunt Chen said, smiling as she took the money, then pulled out two yuan from her pocket to give back to Luo Shu.
Luo Shu took the money and nodded with a smile, "My name is Luo Shu, and this is my sister, Luo Shan. We'll be in your care, Aunt Chen."
"No trouble at all! No trouble at all! Hehehe..." Aunt Chen waved her hands dismissively, still laughing. With this money, she could now buy some extra meat to nourish her old man.
"Aunt Chen, we've got to pick up our brother, so we'll be heading out now," Luo Shu said. Now that they had found a place to stay, it was time to purchase some household items, or else they would have to endure the cold and hunger come evening.
"Alright! Alright! Alright! Be careful on your way," Aunt Chen said as she saw Luo Shu and Luo Shan out, watching them disappear at the end of the alley before closing the door. "Such good children," she murmured.
"Sis, should we go to school now?" Luo Shan asked. To her, all of this still felt like a dream.
"There's still time. Let's first buy some quilts and daily necessities." They still had over two hours before Luo Zheng got out of school—there would be plenty of time to get these things before picking him up.
After asking passerby for directions, Luo Shu and Luo Shan quickly found the sale spot.
In this era, aside from a few large cities where department stores were common, most people did their shopping at sales venues. However, many goods at these places required ration tickets—a fabric ticket to buy cloth, a cotton quilt ticket for cotton quilts, and even bicycles needed their own tickets.
They approached the quilt counter, where a middle-aged woman was sitting, busily knitting.
When she heard someone approach, the middle-aged woman merely glanced up at Luo Shu and Luo Shan, before returning to her knitting.
Luo Shu frowned and asked, "Comrade, how are the quilts sold here?"
"Do you have a cotton quilt ticket?" the middle-aged woman asked, looking up with a hint of arrogance. Judging by their clothes, she assumed they couldn't afford a quilt—why waste her time with them?
Luo Shan, feeling uncomfortable, tugged at Luo Shu's sleeve and whispered, "Sis, maybe we shouldn't buy it after all." She felt uneasy just stepping into the sales venue, unsure of where to put her hands and feet.
"If we don't buy, what will we cover ourselves with tonight? Wait here for me, I'll be right back," Luo Shu said before she headed out of the store.
"Sis, wait for me!" Luo Shan hurried after her. Stepping outside, she found that Luo Shu had already disappeared. She had no choice but to wait on the side for Luo Shu to return.
Luo Shu turned into an alleyway and walked to a secluded corner, withdrawing a stack of tickets from her storage space that her grandfather had kept there.
When she had first taken over the space from her father, she had asked her grandfather why he kept so many worthless tickets. He merely smiled and said they were a memento. She had never expected that there would come a day when she would actually need these tickets. Indeed, the world works in mysterious ways.
Walking out of the corner, Luo Shu headed back toward the sales venue.
Before she could emerge from the alley, suddenly five men sprang from a side alley and blocked her path.
"Hand over the money, or my knife might 'accidentally' find you," the bald man leading them said, playing with a dagger and threatening her in a sleazy tone.
"I don't have money," Luo Shu uttered coolly, sweeping her gaze over the five men. How could they know she had money?
"Who are you trying to fool? I saw with my own eyes you exchanged ginseng for five hundred bucks," a bucktoothed man behind the bald man said.
Luo Shu looked at the bucktoothed man and recognized him immediately as one of the Jimin Pharmacy's clerks, and snorted coldly, "Instead of being a decent clerk, you choose to be a robber. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Enough of the crap, hand over the money," the bald man said impatiently.
"I have no money!" Luo Shu looked coldly at the six people in front of her, calculating her chances of winning. If it were before, she would have handled these men without much effort, but her current body was weak, and she did not have the assurance of certain victory.
"Don't blame us for being rough if you're so uncooperative, bitch. Brothers, charge!" the bald man waved his hand at the people behind him.
The group hurriedly rushed towards Luo Shu. In their eyes, Luo Shu was a frail woman, and they didn't need to put in much effort to deal with her. They all charged at her just to intimidate her, for her failure to recognize the situation.
Seeing the group charging at her, Luo Shu frowned and stepped forward to meet them.
Dodging a dagger thrust by one of them with a side-step, Luo Shu landed a punch in the man's stomach and with a sweep of her leg, she kicked another person who was sneaking up behind her, sending him flying.
"This chick knows kung fu, everyone be careful," the bald man warned loudly. He hadn't expected this unimposing girl to be tough.
The group also realized that Luo Shu was not easy to deal with, so they dared not take her lightly anymore.
Luo Shu barely managed to fend off the attacks of the group; however, as time passed, she felt her strength waning. This couldn't go on, she had to find a way to escape.
"Swish!" A knife in the bald man's hand slashed her arm, and blood immediately began to flow.
Luo Shu bit her teeth and continued to parry with the attackers. As more blood flowed, her complexion grew paler and paler.
"Stop!" A cold shout came from behind the crowd.
Then, Luo Shu saw a tall man in a white shirt standing in front of her, blocking her path.
Seeing the white-shirted man who had suddenly appeared, the group was momentarily stunned.
"I told you to mind your own business, or we'll deal with you too," said the bald man, though fearful of the white-shirted man because of the strong aura he exuded, but thinking of those five hundred bucks, he grew bolder again. Besides, he had more people on his side than the other did.
"Scram!" the white-shirted man shouted coldly.
The bald man and his group were startled by the other's shout, involuntarily taking two steps back.
Steadying their nerves, the bald man pointed at the white-shirted man and threatened, "Don't push your luck, or you'll face the consequences. Brothers, attack! Whoever grabs the money gets a share." After all, no one else was around; once they got the money and took care of these two people, who would know it was them.
The white-shirted man slightly curved his lips, a chilling light flashing in his long almond-shaped eyes, and in a flicker, he charged towards the bald man and his group. Then, the area was filled with screams, and in just a moment, the ground was covered with bodies.
Luo Shu stared at the man before her, her eyes filled with disbelief and deep surprise. It was him!