Chapter 15: 14. monkey stamp Chapter 15: 14. monkey stamp After extinguishing the kerosene lamp, Luo Shu walked to the bedside and took out a bottle of spray from the space, spritzing it around a few times.
The spray contained a sleep-inducing drug, a little inhalation guaranteed no awakening for six hours. Furthermore, this drug was extremely beneficial for the human body, as it could improve the physique during sleep.
Lying in bed, Luo Shu once again allowed her consciousness to enter the space. As long as she kept the time within six hours, Luo Shan and the others wouldn’t notice anything.
Arriving at the edge of the Spiritual Spring, Luo Shu set an alarm on her phone, then slowly stepped into the Spring. If nothing unexpected happened, she could at least unblock two meridians today.
Time passed slowly until the alarm rang, and Luo Shu exited from her cultivation, letting her consciousness return to her body. Today’s harvest was quite substantial, one more meridian unblocked than she had anticipated. At this rate, in no more than a week, she would be able to unblock thirty-three meridians and generate Inner Qi within her body.
Glancing at Luo Shan and her siblings who were still sound asleep, Luo Shu picked up her clothes, walked into the small partition she had made the day before, took a quick bath, dressed, and left the room.
The weather in March was cold, but the streets were bustling.
The sides of the street were lined with stalls selling breakfast and farmers who had come to town early in the morning to sell vegetables.
“Little girl, want to buy some greens? Mine are big and fresh.”
“Come and have a look at these radishes, only ten cents per pound.”
“How about some sweet potatoes? They’re delicious whether eaten raw or cooked.”
After buying some vegetables, Luo Shu walked up to a meat stall, took out a three-pound meat coupon, and handed it to the middle-aged uncle selling pork, “Uncle, I’d like three pounds of meat.” In this era, buying pork also required meat coupons. However, with economic development, meat coupons would gradually phase out of the market in two years.
“Luo Shu, what are you doing here?” A surprised voice came from behind Luo Shu.
Turning around, Luo Shu saw a pretty girl in a red cotton-padded jacket, with two braids, looking at her in astonishment.
After searching her memory, Luo Shu immediately recognized the young girl in front of her. The girl’s name was Li Chunhua, from the same village as the original host. Li Chunhua’s parents’ job was to help the village’s collective sell vegetables.
Every morning, Li Chunhua’s parents would go to the village collective to pick up vegetables to sell in town. At this time, the farmland belonged to the collective, and it would not be privatized and distributed per capita until three years later.
“I came out to buy vegetables,” Luo Shu said indifferently. The last thing she wanted now was to encounter people from Luo Family Village.
“I heard you and your siblings were kicked out of your house. Where are you staying now?” Li Chunhua asked. She had a good relationship with Luo Daya and her sisters, and if she could find out where Luo Shu was staying, she could tell Daya when she got home.
“What does it have to do with you?” Luo Shu took the meat handed over by the middle-aged uncle selling pork and stepped towards the breakfast stall up ahead.
Li Chunhua’s eyes rotated, and she lifted her foot, intending to follow Luo Shu.
“Chunhua, come and watch the stall; Mom is going to the latrine,” He Dani called out to Li Chunhua. Chunhua’s father had caught a cold yesterday and wasn’t feeling well, so he hadn’t come with them today. Worried about her going alone, he had asked Chunhua to accompany her mother instead.
“Coming!” Li Chunhua could only stop in her tracks, helplessly responding before turning back to their vegetable stall. Luo Shu’s life seemed to be going well; she was buying meat and breakfast, and even the clothes she wore were new. She must tell Daya and the others about this once she got back.
By the time Luo Shu had returned home, Luo Shan and Luo Zheng were already up.
Luo Shan was bustling in the kitchen while Luo Zheng was reading a book in the room.
“Xiao Shan, Xiao Zheng, come eat breakfast,” Luo Shu placed the fried dough sticks and soy milk on the stone table in the courtyard and shouted towards the house.
Luo Zheng put down his book and walked out of the room, his eyes lighting up when he saw the fried dough sticks and soy milk on the stone table, “Fried dough sticks and soy milk, I saw Liu Xiao in my class eating them before, and they smelled so good. Big sister, you’re the best!”
“Sister, why did you buy these? They’re expensive,” Luo Shan said, wiping her hands on her apron as she walked up to Luo Shu. She knew her sister had sold the ginseng and got five hundred yuan, but even with money, one shouldn’t spend it .
“Sister has money; you two just eat,” Luo Shu handed the soy milk and fried dough sticks to them.
Luo Shan took the fried dough sticks and soy milk, hesitated for a long time, and finally said, “Sister, I want to get a job.” She was already sixteen, and many girls in the village her age were already working. She was part of the family too; how could she always rely on her sister to support her?
“Let’s talk about this matter later,” Luo Shu said, rejecting the idea without a second thought. In her eyes, Luo Shan might not be considered young in this era, but she was still a child who wasn’t quite grown up. She felt that the most important thing for Luo Shan was to learn something useful now; at the very least, she must learn to read.
“Sister, let me share some of the responsibility,” Luo Shan persisted. Her sister had to pay rent and support Xiao Zheng’s schooling; how could she add to her burdens?
“Xiao Shan, let’s not talk about this anymore. Starting today, you’ll start learning to read with me and Xiao Zheng,” Luo Shu said quietly, her tone leaving no room for argument.
“Second Sister, just listen to Big Sister,” Luo Zheng said, swallowing the fried dough stick in his mouth. He felt that his big sister had changed a lot since the fever the other day, but he liked this new version of her.
Luo Shan looked at Luo Shu, nodded, and agreed, “Okay!” The way sister furrowed her brow looked so scary!
After breakfast, Luo Shu went into the house to get the radish meatballs she had made yesterday, and said to Luo Shan and Luo Zheng, “I’m going out for a bit, stay at home and don’t wander off.” Luo Jiansen and Wang Liying surely wouldn’t let things go easily. It was best not to run into them before the household registration was sorted out.
The post office was located in the center of the town, not far from where Luo Shu and her family lived. She had passed by there when she went out to buy groceries in the morning.
Walking into the post office, Luo Shu approached the only service window, “Comrade, I would like to send some items to this address.” She handed over the letter so the clerk could check the destination.
“That will be twenty cents, young lady. You need to attach stamps to your envelope. Go over there and have a look to choose which stamps you want,” the postal worker indicated a glass display case nearby.
Luo Shu nodded and walked over to the glass case displaying the stamps, her eyes brightened immediately at the sight. Monkey stamps! A set of such stamps could sell for around one and a half million in the future. Because her grandfather didn’t have a hobby of collecting stamps, her own space didn’t have any monkey stamps. But now that she had the chance, she naturally couldn’t let it slip by.