A Day’s Excursion in the County Town

Getting off the car, the sun was blazing overhead. Even though Lin Xia wore a baseball cap, she still found the heat unbearable.

She dared not underestimate the sun’s power, so she pulled along the obviously overexcited Ren Jie, slung her backpack across her chest, and the two headed straight for the book city.

They didn’t dare enter any official chain bookstores, since the books there were always sold at full price and never discounted.

So they flagged down a taxi and went straight to the street near the county’s experimental high school.

These small, private bookstores often offered discounts.

Five minutes later, Lin Xia and Ren Jie stopped in front of a privately run bookstore. A red sign stood at the entrance, proclaiming: “To thank our loyal readers for their enthusiastic support, we are offering a 40% discount for the next five days.”

Lin Xia was delighted. Even though the place was packed with people, her enthusiasm was undampened. She dragged Ren Jie inside.

After squeezing and jostling through the crowd, the two finally fought their way to the romance novel section—a treasure trove.

Ren Jie was in her element, immediately grabbing Qiong Yao’s “Outside the Window” and becoming utterly engrossed.

Seeing Ren Jie comfortably tucked into a corner of the bookshelf, Lin Xia was satisfied and moved to the bestsellers section to pick out books.

Annie Baby’s novels, “Farewell, Vivienne” and her essays “August Unending,” were placed prominently in the middle of the shelf. Lin Xia picked them up, flipped through them—the style was distinctive.

Alright, she’d buy them.

Beside them were Han Han’s “Triple Gate,” “Below Zero,” and “Racing Towards Youth.”

She’d buy those too.

Guo Jingming’s “On the Edge of Love and Pain,” “Left Hand Reflection, Right Hand Years,” and “The City of Fantasy.”

Bought.

Haruki Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood.”

Added to the pile.

After collecting about ten modern literature books, Lin Xia moved to the classical literature section. Though a few people stood there, they were clutching romance or martial arts novels.

Lin Xia selected “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” picked out a few novels by Yi Shu, grabbed some English extracurricular readers and math problem books, and bought two practice workbooks for her brother. Finally, she carried a stack of books to the cashier.

The shop owner’s face lit up with joy—just one girl, and she’d bought nearly thirty books.

Lin Xia bought so much that she bargained with the owner for a while, ultimately getting everything at half price. So many books, and the total didn’t even exceed four hundred yuan.

She stuffed the books into her backpack and called Ren Jie.

Ren Jie was still absorbed in her book and reluctant to leave.

Seeing her unwillingness to part with “Outside the Window,” Lin Xia took out money and bought it for her.

Now Ren Jie was satisfied, hugging the book with joy.

Taking a few steps, she saw Lin Xia’s backpack bulging with books and was startled, quickly offering to help lighten the load.

Lin Xia agreed, handing her five or six books.

She’d had Ren Jie bring a backpack precisely for this purpose.

After buying the books, it was already eleven o’clock. Lin Xia found a small spicy hotpot restaurant, settled Ren Jie in a seat with her book, and took her own backpack into the restroom.

Ren Jie had been so absorbed in “Outside the Window” that she hadn’t noticed how many books Lin Xia had bought. Lin Xia placed about twenty books into her spatial storage, kept only two in her backpack, and stuffed her light jacket inside as well.

That way, the backpack still looked full, but was much lighter.

The two ordered two bowls of wide noodles and more than ten skewers of vegetables, savoring the meal.

After eating, they began shopping.

“Xia Xia, this spicy hotpot is so delicious. I wish our little town had it too. Then we could eat it every day,” Ren Jie said.

Lin Xia laughed, “Spicy hotpot’s good once in a while, but eating it every day would be unbearable. Haven’t you heard about its ten dangers?”

“What dangers?”

“First, the ingredients aren’t always fresh. Sometimes they're processed, like using formaldehyde to improve the texture of seafood, animal blood, tofu, and so on.”

“Uh, what’s ‘formaldehyde’?”

“Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a strong, irritating smell. The World Health Organization has classified it as a carcinogen and teratogen. It’s a recognized allergen and a potent mutagen. So you really shouldn’t eat too much of this stuff, understand?”

Ren Jie shrank back, alarmed. “If it’s so dangerous, why do so many people eat it?”

“Silly, because it tastes good. Just like me—I know it’s not healthy, but I still enjoyed it just now.”

The county town was far more bustling than their little village. Shopping was a woman’s nature, and the two happily wandered from one store to another.

After the clothing shops, they headed for the supermarket.

Ren Jie went on a spree, buying nearly a hundred yuan worth of snacks. Lin Xia was more restrained, buying only sixty yuan's worth.

Looking at her huge bag of snacks, Lin Xia felt like crying.

Are all girls really like this?

With so much stuff, they couldn’t continue shopping. So, clutching their goods, Lin Xia hailed a taxi, and the two headed for the bus station and began their journey home.

When they got back, Lin Xia’s mother was visiting neighbors, and her father was next door watching people play mahjong. Lin Xia lugged her pile of snacks upstairs.

She dumped the snacks on the table and collapsed onto her bed. The only thing she felt was exhaustion.

She was so tired, even her fingers didn’t want to move.

After lying there for half an hour, she felt a little better.

Dragging herself up, she went to the bathroom, and when she came out, her hands were full of books.

She left the youth novels in her spatial storage, only placing the reference books on her desk. Whenever she wanted to read extracurriculars, she could just retrieve them from the storage.

After arranging the books, Lin Xia took a shower, grabbed some of her favorite snacks, tossed the rest into Lin Hui’s room, locked her door, and went to sleep.

When she woke, dusk had fallen. Lin Xia washed her face, and heard Lin Hui calling outside, “Sis, dinner’s ready!”

“Coming.” She opened the door and went downstairs in one fluid motion.

“You little rascal—you played all day and only now came home, didn’t you?”

“You’re no different!” she retorted confidently.

Lin Xia was so annoyed she laughed, responding with mock menace, “Yes, your sister played all day, and bought you three extracurricular workbooks. If you don’t finish them this semester, forget about weekends next year!”

“Mom, big sis is being a tyrant! Aren’t you going to stop her?”

Her mother firmly sided with Lin Xia, “Your sister’s doing it for your own good, you little brat. What do you know?”

“Dad—” Lin Hui sought an ally.

Unfortunately, he picked the wrong person.

Mr. Lin, outnumbered, just smiled and tried to smooth things over, “A real man doesn’t fight with women. I support your sister too, ha—”

Mother Lin smiled with satisfaction, “That’s more like it.”

Lin Xia achieved her goal, “After dinner, come upstairs with me. I’ll check your homework and see how your preparation’s going.”

“No way—” Lin Hui protested.

“Resistance is useless. Otherwise, you won’t get any of the snacks I brought home today.”

“You—”

“Well?”

“When I grow up—”

“And?”

“When I grow up, I’ll be sure to treat you well, buy you lots of good food.”

“Rare indeed… hmph!” Though she said so, she couldn’t help but smile.

And so it went.