Chapter 103: The Supermarket

Twenty minutes later.

Kong Jie and Zhang Dabiao arrived at the county seat nearest to the park. A drift-modified minivan was waiting at the entrance. Li Yunlong was outside, on the phone with Wang Lang, borrowing money.

Two large bowls of oil-splashed noodles and two bottles of Bingfeng soda were brought over. The two men, imitating the other diners, drank the Bingfeng through straws, their eyes shining bright. Then, with perfectly synchronized movements, they gave the noodles a quick stir and began shoveling them into their mouths.

The chef’s skills were actually quite mediocre, yet as they ate, the corners of their eyes turned red, and tears even began to fall. The owner watched them nervously, worried that these two men in tattered military uniforms were looking to cause trouble. A "dine and dash" wouldn't be the end of the world, but if they faked an illness to frame his restaurant for poor food hygiene, he’d be ruined. After watching for a long time and seeing them remain silent—even watching them use the last few noodles to mop up every drop of soup from the bowl—the owner breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He felt a bit bewildered. *They are eating with such gusto; could my cooking actually be that good?* He glanced at a young man who had frowned and walked away after eating only half his bowl, and cursed under his breath, "Spoiled brat, doesn't even know how to enjoy such delicious food."

Noticing several others using a kettle to pour out noodle soup to drink, Kong Jie and Zhang Dabiao exchanged glances. Zhang Dabiao stood up and brought the kettle over. Kong Jie, following the lead of the others, took two bowls from the disinfection cabinet. A while later, seeing the two men polish off six bowls of soup in a row, the owner’s eyes widened. *Are these two reincarnated gluttons?*

"What are you two doing?" Li Yunlong finally walked in. He was carrying a leather bag stuffed full of red banknotes, which Wang Lang had specifically sent someone to deliver.

"Commander, you should have a bowl too; this noodle soup is delicious," Zhang Dabiao called out.

"Good-for-nothing!" Li Yunlong reached out and smacked him on the head. He pulled out a banknote and handed it to the owner.

"Don't you have WeChat or Alipay?" the owner asked, accepting it reluctantly.

"What's that?" Li Yunlong frowned.

The owner pointed at the QR code. "Everyone uses mobile payments now; it’s hard to find change for cash."

Noticing Kong Jie and Zhang Dabiao both staring at him, Li Yunlong patted his leather bag and puffed out his chest. "I prefer cash." The half-open bag revealed a large stack of red bills.

*Nouveau riche! Country bumpkin!* the owner grumbled internally, though he spoke politely: "Are you guys here for a film shoot?"

"Film shoot?" Li Yunlong was puzzled.

The owner handed over some loose change. "Aren't you? Wearing those uniforms, you look just like you're filming a war movie."

"Oh, right," Li Yunlong said.

"Just don't make it one of those 'super-hero' dramas," the owner laughed.

"What's a 'super-hero' drama?" Li Yunlong asked.

"You know, hiding grenades in crotches, killing a whole company of Japanese soldiers with a single broadsword, taking down planes with a pistol, or doing stunts on bicycles in the middle of enemy lines," the owner complained. "It's like rubbing the audience's intelligence in the dirt."

"I heard martial arts masters can flip a tank with one punch," Li Yunlong frowned.

"You know that's just a fantasy, how could that happen in that era!" the owner retorted.

"Fantasy Park..."

"Damn, just mentioning that makes me angry," the owner said with a look of jealousy. "My daughter's university professor actually won a spot to go to the Fantasy Park; she's already a department head at such a young age..."

Li Yunlong walked out silently. Kong Jie and Zhang Dabiao were still drinking noodle soup.

"You two, get out here!" Li Yunlong scolded. "Have some self-respect. I'm taking you to a better place!"

"Where to?" the two stood up.

"Little Liu," Li Yunlong said, looking cheerfully at the driver Wang Lang had sent to deliver the money. "Take us to that, uh..."

"The supermarket?"

"Right."

Li Yunlong held his head high, hands behind his back, projecting an air of "I know everything." Kong Jie and Zhang Dabiao, meanwhile, were gasping in constant amazement.

"This place is so clean, it even reflects light."

"This mirror shows me so clearly—am I really this dark?"

"Why is that clothing so strange?"

"That must be for women."

Several women in the lingerie section looked at them as if they were perverts.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Li Yunlong reached out and smacked Zhang Dabiao on the head. He stole a glance, thinking that if he met Xiuqin, he could buy her a set. As soon as the thought occurred, he wanted to slap himself. *Li Yunlong, oh Li Yunlong, how can you have such improper thoughts!*

"This is a shopping cart; you can put anything you like in it," Little Liu explained.

Kong Jie reached out to touch it, pushed it back and forth on the floor, and said to Li Yunlong, "This thing is handy. It would be great for moving supplies to the front line."

"The wheels are too small; they’d get stuck easily," Li Yunlong critiqued.

"It would need some modifications," Zhang Dabiao added, rubbing his chin.

Little Liu coughed lightly. "Let's go inside and do some shopping."

"Right, shopping." The three looked at the dazzling array of goods in the supermarket, all quietly swallowing their saliva.

Before long, their shopping carts were filled to the brim. Most of it was food and drink, but there were also daggers, pens, notebooks, thermoses, teacups, razors, hot pot ingredients, spicy snack sticks, cheap clothing, and all sorts of other miscellaneous items. The three carts cost a total of about two thousand yuan. None of them had any concept of modern currency, but they were all amazed by this way of shopping.

This place was truly a fairyland!

...

Back in the *Drawing Sword* world, looking at the pile of goods, Kong Jie couldn't stop smiling. Zhang Dabiao stuffed a thick sausage into his mouth whole, feeling like his stomach was about to burst, but he still wanted more. Better to be a full ghost than a hungry one.

"Watch your image, and don't forget our main task," Li Yunlong reminded them.

"You don't need to tell us," Kong Jie said. "Hurry up and get the rest of the weapons, and we'll give the Japanese a big surprise tomorrow!"

"Who said anything about that?" Li Yunlong sat on the ground, crossing his legs. "You both signed the agreement. Your main purpose for going over there is to be in charge of the shooting range..."

Kong Jie immediately put down the Erguotou in his hand and said earnestly, "Then you go ahead. I will definitely lead the Independent Regiment well and make the Japanese cry for their mothers."

"Me too!" Zhang Dabiao swallowed the rest of the sausage and stood at attention.

Li Yunlong sneered. "You think I'm sending you over there to enjoy yourselves?" He looked directly at Kong Jie. "Old Kong, tomorrow is the first day; you go!"

Zhang Dabiao chimed in, "Right, Commander Kong, you go and keep an eye on things. It's not a hard job."

"I..." Kong Jie opened his mouth, stammering for a long time. He knew Li Yunlong had given him a massive gift, and it would be impossible to refuse. Eventually, he said, "One person can't handle it all!"

Zhang Dabiao nearly jumped. *He's trying to drag me down with him.*

"It's fine, I'll find you another companion!" Li Yunlong laughed. Seeing Li Yunlong look at him, Zhang Dabiao’s face turned green.

"I want to kill Japanese soldiers!" he shouted.

"What the hell are you thinking about?" Li Yunlong glared at him. "I have someone else in mind; they should be here any moment."

Just as he spoke, a soldier knocked at the door to announce that the new political commissar had arrived.

"Speak of the devil," Li Yunlong laughed. "Look, here he is."