Chapter 82: Save When Possible

Gu Yan’an set down the luggage one by one. Lan Mo fetched a basin of water, added a bit of hot water from the thermos, and handed him a new towel.

“You must be exhausted after such a long journey. Here, wash your face first.”

“Momo, is my face very dirty?”

Lan Mo chuckled. “Not dirty, but your beard has grown quite a bit.”

Gu Yan’an scratched his head uneasily. As soon as he got off the train, he had hurried to the People’s Hospital with his luggage, only to find that Lan Mo wasn’t there. After asking around, he learned she had gone to Xianshui Town Hospital. So, without stopping, he took a bus straight to Xianshui Town Hospital.

He had carefully tidied his clothes and hair several times before getting off the bus, but there was nothing he could do about the stubble on his face. The razor he had brought with him had broken its blade. Next time, he would definitely buy a couple of extra razors as backups. No woman would like a man looking unkempt, and he himself hated looking this way.

Gu Yan’an said awkwardly, “The razor I brought with me broke, so I haven’t shaved these past few days.”

Lan Mo smiled and opened her suitcase, pulling out a new razor along with its box, which contained four spare blades.

“Take it, it’s for you!”

Gu Yan’an really wanted to ask her why she had a man’s razor. Was it bought specifically for a family member?

Lan Mo seemed to read his thoughts and said with a smile, “I saw it while shopping and bought it for you.”

Hah, after telling so many lies, she had even started to believe them herself.

Actually, she had just dug this razor out of her space. She remembered it was a birthday gift from a live-streaming saleswoman. That girl had given her all sorts of random things—eyebrow razors, eyebrow trimmers, nail clippers… several of each. She even said these razors could shave anything, including leg hair, and told her to use them without worry.

That girl must have had something wrong with her head. Razors were obviously for shaving beards. Using them for women’s leg hair—what was she thinking! But now, giving it to Gu Yan’an was a good way to put it to use.

Gu Yan’an had no idea about the razor’s origins. He truly believed Lan Mo had bought it especially for him. Happily, he took it, shaved his beard clean, and transformed back into that handsome, spirited young man.

“Momo, the razor you bought works really well. It shaves very cleanly. Thank you!”

Lan Mo forced a smile. “Really? Then hurry up and wash your face! We’ll go to the cafeteria to get food later.”

After washing his face, Gu Yan’an hung the towel on the rack to dry. He poured the dirty water from the basin into the small ditch outside the room, then quickly opened his travel bag and pulled out all sorts of Xinjiang specialties.

“Momo, I bought these especially for you. See what you like to eat, and I’ll have someone buy more for you next time.”

Gu Yan’an took out the food items one by one. Lan Mo counted them—raisins, almonds, dried apricots, walnuts, red dates, milk blocks… He had even bought a large piece of that famous nut cake.

Lan Mo smiled, shaking her head. “Comrade Gu Yan’an, are you running a wholesale business? How do you have everything?”

“I didn’t know what you liked to eat, so I bought a little of everything.”

“Thank you! Actually, I can’t eat this much. Just leave the nut cake and almonds. You should take the rest back for your family.”

The legendary sky-high-priced nut cake—she had never bought it before and didn’t know what it tasted like.

Today, thanks to Comrade Gu Yan’an, she could finally try the nut cake.

“I bought some for them too. I already asked a friend to take it back. This was specially bought for you.”

Seeing Gu Yan’an so insistent, Lan Mo had no choice but to accept it. At most, she could give him some delicious food in return when he left.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go to the cafeteria to get our meals!”

“Momo, give me your lunchbox. I’ll bring the food back for you.”

“No need, let’s go together!”

After all, her colleagues in the office already knew that Comrade Gu Yan’an was her boyfriend.

If she hid and didn’t go out, others might think they had just done something shameful. Dating should be done openly and honestly, accepting everyone’s blessings.

After dinner, the two chatted for a while about their respective work. Lan Mo then handed Gu Yan’an the bucket she had never used before, asking him to fetch water for a bath.

“Momo, if I use your bucket, what will you use? I’d better borrow a bucket from one of your colleagues!”

Of course, she would bathe in her space. But every night, she would carry a bucket of hot water to the bathhouse, go through the motions, then go into her space to bathe before coming out.

“Comrade Gu Yan’an, I’ve only used this bucket to fetch water and wash clothes. I have another bucket. Hurry up and go take a bath. Dr. Ouyang usually goes to bed early.”

After Gu Yan’an finished bathing and washing his clothes, Lan Mo quickly handed him his quilt. “You should go to bed early too. We can talk about anything else tomorrow!”

“Alright, you should also go to bed early! I’m taking the train tomorrow evening, so I might need to rush back to Haishi before noon.”

Rushing over in such a hurry—was it just to bring her food?

“Did you buy a train ticket for tomorrow? Is it a seat ticket or a sleeper ticket?”

Gu Yan’an was taken aback. Should he tell the truth or lie? Well, a white lie is still a lie. Better to be honest.

“I’m taking the caboose of a freight train back tomorrow. Since I know someone, riding the caboose doesn’t cost any money.”

To save money, of course, he would continue taking the caboose back to Jingshi. It was tiring, but it saved a lot of money. The cotton had probably been reloaded by now, so he needed to leave early tomorrow.

Lan Mo looked at Gu Yan’an with a strange expression. Seeing how haggard he looked, it turned out he had been enduring train rides nonstop!

She knew what a caboose was like. How had he endured such a long journey?

Could it be that to save on travel expenses, he had been enduring like this the whole way?

Didn’t his workplace cover his travel expenses?

Even if they didn’t reimburse him, wasn’t he quite well-off himself? Why was he treating himself so harshly?

“Comrade Gu Yan’an, are you short on money? Why didn’t you try to buy a sleeper ticket for such a long journey?”

“It’s not about being short on money. I just want to save wherever I can. The money saved can buy you lots of delicious food.”

Lan Mo was speechless. “Comrade Gu Yan’an, health comes first. Money isn’t saved by cutting corners—it’s earned. You should spend it when necessary.”

“You really don’t need to buy me so many delicious things. Could you buy a sleeper ticket tomorrow? I can see you’ve lost at least ten pounds since you left this time.”

Gu Yan’an also knew Lan Mo was worried about him, and he was very happy. To keep her from worrying, he verbally agreed quickly. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. Tomorrow I’ll ask someone to help buy a sleeper ticket.”

Anyway, she wouldn’t see what train he actually took back, so he couldn’t let her worry too much.

Lan Mo closed the door, lay on the bed, and didn’t know what she was thinking.

She heard his friends had all returned early, but this Gu Yan’an had made a special trip just to see her.

To save money, he specifically took the free caboose. She didn’t even know what to say about that.

Sitting in the caboose for an hour or two wouldn’t be a big deal, but the problem was he had to sit there for several days. Could he really endure it?

Riding in the tail of a freight train—the feeling was hardly more comfortable than death.

The last carriage would sway and rock terribly at every turn.

If the people inside weren’t used to it, they could really get their last meal shaken out of them.

She wondered how he had managed to endure these past few days.

Lan Mo entered the space and first went to feed the Heavenly Silkworms.

The silkworm babies were growing day by day, eating more and more. They needed fresh mulberry leaves every few hours.

Now even the bamboo trays seemed almost too small. It looked like she had to separate half of the Heavenly Silkworms and give them a new home.

These bamboo trays and tripods also didn’t seem to be enough. Tomorrow she would go find that silkworm-raising uncle and exchange for some more.