RYEY – Chapter 203 The Thief’s Expensive Cashmere Coat

After dinner, Cheng Qiao approached a staff member at the state-run restaurant and spent two yuan to buy four bathing tickets. Actually, a single bathing ticket only cost twenty cents, but according to black market prices, doubling the cost wasn’t unusual.

Cheng Qiao took out the spare clothes, towels, and soap for Li Huan and Xuhui from her basket, then led Little Cheng Li and Li Le into the women’s bathhouse.

It was Li Le’s first time bathing in a public bathhouse. Seeing everyone naked in the thick mist, he felt a bit embarrassed.

“Lele, help me bring over that washbasin.”

The bathhouse had several round wooden basins for children. Everyone was considerate—those without kids didn’t touch them.

Li Le brought over a basin. Seeing that Cheng Qiao had only her underwear and shorts on, she had no choice but to undress as well. They locked their clothes in a locker, the key strapped to their wrist, and entered the bath area.

“You wash first, I’ll help Little Cheng Li.”

Little Cheng Li was used to bathing in the large bath in Cheng Qiao’s space and had never been to a public bathhouse before. Excited, he wiggled and flailed his arms and legs, nearly slipping.

“Don’t move around! You’ll hurt yourself if you fall, and then we’ll have to go to the hospital for shots and medicine.”

Cheng Qiao quietly scolded Little Cheng Li. He bared his tiny teeth and smiled foolishly at her. Unable to resist her affection, Cheng Qiao cupped his face and kissed him hard.

Little Cheng Li hugged her neck, pressing his little cheek against hers, enjoying the warmth of their mother-and-son bond.

After a while of affection, they finally started bathing, not noticing Li Le beside them, standing under the shower, washing her body while shedding tears, quietly grateful that her second brother had married such a good wife.

After bathing, the five of them emerged smelling fresh and clean. Xuhui held Li Le’s hand, constantly asking if there was a soaking pool in the women’s bathhouse.

Li Le didn’t understand. What was a soaking pool? Xuhui explained that it was a large pool, but with so many people inside, the water looked grimy.

Li Le shuddered. From Xuhui’s description, that pool was dirtier than the river in Xiangyang Village. Luckily, the women’s bathhouse didn’t have such a pool, or no one would dare enter.

Back at the inn, Cheng Qiao took out the clothes she had washed in the bathhouse to hang them out to dry. Unexpectedly, Li Huan had also washed their clothes and, smiling, hung them up too.

“Mom, can’t men wash clothes?”

Xuhui asked as he watched Cheng Qiao hang up the clothes.

“Why do you ask that?”

“I washed clothes with Dad in the bathhouse, and the men nearby made fun of us for being sissy.”

“What do you think yourself?”

“My dad isn’t sissy! He can shoot, kill wild boars, catch bad guys. Those self-important men are the real sissies.”

“Xuhui, I’m proud of how you’re growing up.”

Hearing Cheng Qiao’s praise, Xuhui smiled, then went with Lele to coax Little Cheng Li to sleep.

In the end, it was Li Huan and Cheng Qiao who slept with Little Cheng Li on the joined beds, while Xuhui and Lele took the makeshift bed.

The next morning, Li Huan appeared at the state-run restaurant with the whole family. Each had a cup of soy milk, two pancakes, and a large bowl of white rice porridge.

Li Huan let Cheng Qiao eat first. He held Little Cheng Li and fed him the porridge, which had sugar Cheng Qiao had brought. Little Cheng Li ate happily.

After breakfast, they entered the largest local department store. The variety of goods amazed not only Xuhui and Li Le but also Li Huan, whose mouth dropped open in astonishment.

“Qiao, now I understand why this place is called a department store. There must be over a hundred types of goods here.”

Cheng Qiao smiled, gesturing with her hand, “Buy whatever you like. I’m treating you today.”

“Oh…”

Xuhui and Li Le clapped happily, their eyes scanning left and right, unsure what to choose among so many items.

“Mom, can I buy this?”

Xuhui’s eyes lit up when he saw a military cap. He had noticed a student wearing one during enrollment and thought it looked impressive.

“Comrade, help me get a set of this outfit for the child, and also this hat.”

Cheng Qiao noticed a small military uniform set and had the clerk fetch it. The clerk glanced at Xuhui and brought a slightly larger set.

“Mom, this…”

Xuhui was startled. He only wanted the hat and couldn’t afford a full set. Despite his young age, he could recognize many characters. That uniform cost over thirty yuan—too expensive.

“You’ll be starting school soon. We need to go properly dressed for class, okay?”

Hearing Cheng Qiao’s words, Xuhui lowered his head and obediently tried on the uniform, tears welling up in his eyes. It felt good to have a mother.

Next, they bought clothes for Li Le, Little Cheng Li, Li Huan, Li Mu, Ye Jun, and Cheng Liguo. Everyone looked at Cheng Qiao, as she was the only one left without new clothes.

Cheng Qiao didn’t really want to buy anything. She had plenty of clothes and usually rotated just two sets. Buying more felt wasteful, but with three pairs of eyes on her—including Little Cheng Li’s—she relented.

Li Huan decided to buy her a beige cashmere coat. Cheng Qiao hesitated—the color would easily get dirty, and it was ridiculously expensive. The coat cost 120 yuan, enough to buy a bicycle.

Yet Li Huan, Lele, and Xuhui all insisted it looked good on her. Even the clerk felt it was perfect for her—the fair skin, expressive eyes, and the coat were a perfect match.

Li Huan took the money from his pocket and handed it over. He knew their family was wealthy; whether it was 120 yuan or 12,000 yuan, it was no problem.

The group returned fully loaded, startling the inn’s staff. Cheng Qiao smiled and extended her hand, holding a few White Rabbit candies.

“For me?”

“Thank you.”

Yesterday, Cheng Qiao had cleaned with rags and brooms. The staff had been very patient and helpful, so she offered candies as a token of gratitude.

“We’ll stay another night and catch the early train tomorrow.”

Cheng Qiao also took out four yuan—two for rent, two for two beds.

“Two yuan is enough. The makeshift bed rents for one yuan per use, not per night.”

Cheng Qiao admired the staff’s honesty and handed over two pastries, making the staff blush but unable to resist the treats.

After coaxing Little Cheng Li to take a nap with help from Li Huan, Cheng Qiao decided to visit the grocery store from her previous life to see if she could buy the land there.