"Mother, you too. You're glowing. I think, if we go out during the day, it's best to wear a veiled hat."
Gu Qingcheng had also seen some ladies and noblewomen of status on the street wearing similar attire in their carriages.
Hu Lanfang felt it was better to be cautious and didn't object.
Gu Qingcheng was already beautiful in modern society, known as the campus belle at school. She was 172 cm tall, with fair skin, a pretty face, and long legs – a campus goddess who was the dream lover of countless boys.
Because of her good looks, Gu Qingcheng often attracted all sorts of suitors. Some wrote love letters, some threatened her, and some even stalked her...
Gu Qingcheng hadn't expected that the original owner had a good foundation too. Her appearance was about seven or eight parts similar to her modern self, like a miniature version of herself. If the nutrition was sufficient, she believed her height would increase, her face would fill out, and her beauty wouldn't lose to her modern self.
She had already experienced the troubles of being too beautiful once and didn't want to go through it a second time, especially in a society where the law completely favored the wealthy. They were ordinary citizens with no self-protection capabilities, so it was better to keep a low profile.
"Ha, you two understand self-protection quite well. That puts my mind at ease!"
Gu Chaobei listened to his wife and daughter's conversation and smiled good-naturedly. He had now changed into the modern pajamas Gu Qingcheng bought for him. They were fluffy and brown, making him look like a brown bear, adorably clumsy.
Gu Qingcheng had also bought these long-pile pajamas for herself and her mother. She chose a light blue for her mother and pink, a color favored by young girls, for herself. Together, the three of them formed a pajama family outfit.
"Mom, I'm hungry and want to eat instant noodles. Dad, do you want snacks? Chocoleze? Potato chips? Shazi Melon Seeds?" Gu Qingcheng listed them out. "Yay, I see, there's still durian in the freezer, want some?"
"Durian, forget it. You two eat it. I'll go outside to avoid it."
Gu Chaobei quickly pinched his nose and walked out. He went to the adjacent hot spring room to smoke a cigarette and enjoy himself. The cigarettes, of course, were also bought by Gu Qingcheng. However, although Gu Qingcheng bought a pack, she only gave him one, saying he could have at most one a day from now on. It was truly hardship, having his cigarettes controlled by his daughter.
"Qingcheng, how many 'cool points' do you have now? Don't spend them so carelessly. We have to live here for a lifetime, especially you. You'll definitely live here longer than us, so you must save enough supplies for your own expenses."
Hu Lanfang, as a mother, always had endless worries. Anyway, she and her husband would die before their daughter. If her daughter didn't have enough supplies, she wouldn't be able to close her eyes in peace.
Gu Qingcheng's heart felt a mix of sweetness and sadness upon hearing her mother's words. She suddenly felt that suffering a bit these past few days was nothing. At least she was still with her parents, and they loved her so much. Unlike Gu Xiaohua, who was neither loved by her father nor mother, and whose grandmother even schemed against her, using her as a pawn.
Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry. The system was very generous today. It rewarded me with 1000 cool points, plus what I earned along the way. In total, I have 1600 cool points now."
"Wow, that's great! That's enough for over 40,000 yuan worth of supplies. Qingcheng, exchange for more food and drinks, especially those medicines and daily necessities. There's nothing here, which is very inconvenient. If you have money, stock up. They won't spoil anyway, so it's best to hoard enough for several generations."
Gu Qingcheng was both amused and exasperated. "Mom, let's focus on the present. Don't worry about stockpiling. I have my own plans. Let's eat durian first."
Gu Qingcheng opened the box of high-quality frozen dried Golden Pillow durian she took out from the mall. She and her mother each got a box, with two pieces of durian meat in each. This kind of durian was quite expensive, costing over 80 yuan for two boxes, but the quality was good. The flesh was plump and golden. Scooping a spoonful into her mouth, the rich durian aroma lingered on her tongue. For those who dared to eat it, durian was delicious. For those who didn't, like Gu Chaobei, it smelled worse than rotten eggs, the aroma was overwhelming, and they couldn't avoid it fast enough.
To avoid making Gu Chaobei wait outside for too long, mother and daughter quickly finished the durian. Gu Qingcheng put the packaging box back into the supermarket space. There was a trash can there, and once thrown in, the garbage was automatically cleared. This was something she discovered gradually during her use. As for where the trash was taken, it wasn't her concern.
Gu Qingcheng bought a bottle of air freshener from the shelves and sprayed it a few times into the air. Soon, the strong durian aroma had faded considerably.
"Dad, you can come in now," Gu Qingcheng called out, opening the side door.
Gu Chaobei had just finished his cigarette. However, he was cautious and didn't throw the butt on the ground. He held it in his hand, extinguished it, and handed it to his daughter. Gu Qingcheng threw the cigarette butt into the supermarket's trash can. They tried their best not to leave any modern items in this era. Otherwise, it might lead to a funny incident where archaeologists in thousands of years dug up plastic bags. If they could avoid changing history, it was best not to alter it wantonly. After all, they still had family, relatives, and friends in modern society. If they drastically changed history, would it have negative impacts on their loved ones? The so-called butterfly effect had to be guarded against.
"Dad, we've satisfied our durian craving. What about you? What do you want to eat?" Gu Qingcheng wouldn't shortchange her father.
"A whole hot pot!" Gu Chaobei said, then chuckled humorlessly, not expecting much.
"No problem." Gu Qingcheng readily agreed.
It turned out that the living area of the 'Mountain Cat' supermarket sold retro charcoal hot pots, and even in a yin-yang style. The hot pot problem was solved, and all the necessary ingredients were available in the supermarket. As long as she had cool points, she could eat whatever she wanted.
Gu Qingcheng took out a 28-cm diameter yin-yang charcoal hot pot and put the leftover charcoal from the barbecue into the charcoal compartment. Gu Chaobei lit the charcoal. Gu Qingcheng then started preparing the ingredients.
Her mother was from Hunan and liked spicy food, so she made a spicy soup base for her mother. The method wasn't difficult. The supermarket sold ready-made seasoning packets containing wild chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. She just needed to heat oil in the pot, add chopped green onions, ginger slices, and garlic to sauté until fragrant. Then, stir-fry the hot pot base slightly, add a little pepper powder, fermented glutinous rice, rock sugar, chicken bouillon, and MSG, and then add the high soup sold in the supermarket. The spicy hot pot base was complete.
She and her father couldn't eat spicy food, so she made a mushroom soup base, which was also simple. She removed the roots from shiitake mushrooms and white jade mushrooms and sliced them. She sliced the king oyster mushrooms and set them aside. She sliced pork and put it in cold water with a few Sichuan peppercorns. After the water boiled, she removed the pork and washed it with warm water. She put the blanched pork and various mushrooms into the hot pot, added enough water, threw in slices of green onion and ginger, added 4 spoons of salt and 2 spoons of chicken bouillon. She covered it and boiled on high heat, then simmered on low heat for over half an hour. The resulting mushroom broth was the mushroom soup base.