Chapter 9 - Buy One, Get One Free

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"Luo Shu, I have to leave first," said Lu Hanmo as he walked out of Jimin Pharmacy.

"Brother Lu, may I write to you?" Luo Shu looked at Lu Hanmo, a hint of hope in her eyes. She really wanted to be with him forever, but she knew that now was not the time. She needed to make herself stronger, to be worthy of him. This would take time, so only through writing letters could she keep him from forgetting her.

Seeing the hopeful look in Luo Shu's eyes, Lu Hanmo found himself unable to refuse her request. He took out paper and pen from his pocket and wrote an address for Luo Shu, "This is my current address."

"Thank you, Brother Lu!" Luo Shu happily accepted it, holding it tightly in her hand as if she were grasping happiness itself.

"Goodbye!" Lu Hanmo waved to Luo Shu and started walking ahead.

Luo Shu suppressed the urge to follow him, watching as Lu Hanmo walked further and further away until he disappeared. Only then did she turn around and head for the sales point. It wouldn't be long before they saw each other again, and next time, she definitely wouldn't let him go.

"Sister!" Seeing Luo Shu return, Luo Shan greeted her happily, but upon noticing the blood on Luo Shu's clothes, she asked anxiously, "Sister, are you hurt?"

Luo Shu shook her head with a smile, "It's just a minor injury; it's nothing." She had already taken Spiritual Spring, and her wound had healed.

"Maybe we should go back first," Luo Shan suggested worryingly, looking at Luo Shu's arm. How could it be a minor injury with so much blood?

"I said it's nothing; let's go inside," Luo Shu urged, pulling Luo Shan's hand toward the sales point.

Arriving at the quilt counter, the woman there snorted disdainfully when she saw them coming and continued knitting her yarn.

Luo Shu had seen her fair share of such people in her past life and naturally wouldn't bother arguing with them. She took out four Cotton Quilt Tickets and knocked on the counter, "Comrade, give me four quilts." They needed three quilts for themselves, and one to put on the kang (traditional heated bed).

"You have quilt tickets..." the middle-aged woman paused as she saw the tickets on the counter. She examined them carefully, then rolled her eyes at Luo Shu and turned to get four quilts from the cabinet.

"Sister, let me take them," Luo Shan offered, taking the quilts before Luo Shu could. Her sister was injured; how could she let her carry them?

"I've already hired a cart; you just need to carry them out," Luo Shu said. They had a lot to buy this time and couldn't manage it alone. So, she had hired a cart for the return trip.

With the tickets, Luo Shu and her sister quickly bought everything they needed, including a few sets of new clothes. They also purchased some fabric, planning to find a tailor to make a few garments.

As Luo Shu and her sister carried out their purchases, large and small, the woman at the quilt counter was nearly dumbfounded. It took her a long while to snap out of it and mutter, "What kind of people are they? They have money yet pretend to be poor, pah!"

Having transported all the items back to their newly rented house, Luo Shu asked Luo Shan to stay home and organize, while she went to Luo Zheng's school.

After not very long, a clear bell rang out, and soon, students emerged from the classrooms in a single file.

Standing at the school gate, Luo Shu immediately spotted her brother Luo Zheng. He was as dark and skinny as ever, the spitting image of malnourishment, but his eyes were very spirited.

She waved at Luo Zheng, "Xiao Zheng!" Although her soul was no longer the original Luo Shu, her body still shared the same blood as Luo Zheng's, and seeing him gave her an intimate feeling.

Seeing Luo Shu, a look of surprise and joy appeared on Luo Zheng's face, and he hurried over, "Big Sister, why are you here?" Normally this would be the time to cook dinner, the busiest time for Big Sister, so why was she free to come to the school?

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"Let's walk and talk," Luo Shu said with a smile.

When Luo Zheng heard that Luo Shu had hit Wang Liying and Luo Jiansen, and even rented a place outside, he was beyond surprised, but even happier to finally have a place of his own. He hadn't wanted to stay in that house for a long time, but he still lacked the means to leave, and his older and second sisters were still at home.

Upon returning home, he saw Luo Shan talking with Aunt Chen.

"Sister, Xiao Zheng, I've already prepared dinner, with help from Aunt Chen," Luo Shan said cheerfully upon seeing them return.

"Thank you, Aunt Chen. This is my brother, Luo Zheng; Xiao Zheng, this is Aunt Chen," Luo Shu introduced them to each other.

"Hello, Aunt Chen!" Luo Zheng greeted her politely.

"Good! What a nice child," Aunt Chen said with a chuckle. Seeing the three Luo siblings reminded her of her own children, who had moved out after getting married and hadn't visited her and her husband in a long time.

"Cough cough cough..." A violent coughing sound came from inside the house.

"I'll go check on the old man," Aunt Chen said, hastening into the house.

Luo Shu looked away, "Let's go inside too." She would go see Uncle Chen tomorrow to see if his illness could be cured.

The night darkened gradually, and the moon crept stealthily up the branches.

Wang Liying ate absentmindedly, her gaze wandering restlessly toward the door. Why hadn't those two damn girls returned yet? She needed to go check. If Luo Shu ran away, Wang Liying would not only lose out on the remaining hundred yuan but also have to give up the hundred yuan in her pocket.

"Where are you going?" Luo Jiansen asked in a stern voice. The doctor said his hand was fractured and would take three months to heal. Once that damn girl came back, he would beat her to death.

"I'm going to check on Luo Shu at Brother Lu's house. They're out so late; it's quite worrying," Wang Liying said with a worried expression. In front of Luo Jiansen, she treated the three Luo siblings even better than her own daughter, so Luo Jiansen had always been satisfied with her. Even if the Luo siblings complained, Luo Jiansen never believed them.

"Mother, that heartless girl beat you so badly, why worry about her?" Luo Daya, after swallowing her food, said indignantly.

"Exactly, what's the use of you being so nice to them? They've never treated you like a mother," Luo Erya chimed in.

"What are you saying? They are your sisters. If I hear you talk like that again, I'll beat you to death," Wang Liying scolded.

"Mother, we won't dare anymore," Luo Daya and Luo Erya said at the same time. Such dramas were often played out, and the mother and daughters had long since reached an understanding.

Luo Jiansen put down his chopsticks, looking at Wang Liying with a guilty face, "You've had it tough these years. Rest assured, once they're back, I'll make them kneel and apologize to you."

Wang Liying shook her head quickly, "Jiansen, I'm fine, as long as we have harmony at home, a little hardship for me doesn't matter. I'm going to check on them at Brother Lu's house, and bring those two girls back."

"Mother, we'll go with you," Luo Daya and Luo Erya said eagerly. They could already imagine what Luo Shu and her sister were about to face.

"I'll come too," Luo Jiansen sighed softly, standing up.