Chapter 11: Grocery Shopping

Li Luo froze for a moment. "Deliver food? What food? Isn't it only nine o'clock?"

Xu Mei was also bewildered. "Don't you know? Auntie Wang delivers food to Big Brother Ling every day. The farm is incredibly busy every day, and everyone in the village who works with Big Brother Ling has to go deliver food."

Li Luo nodded, but she hadn't expected that Wang Xiumei would set such a massive trap for her before leaving.

So, she hadn't told her that she was supposed to deliver food to Ling Zhuoqun today, so that when she went to deliver it, she could conveniently badmouth her? There was no such thing as a free lunch!

"Sister, I want to play with Sister!" Xu Mei's son was drooling, stretching out both hands and flailing his legs, trying to get down. Xu Mei couldn't hold him back.

"Is this Yaya? She's dressed up like a little doll. Did you dress her up, sister?" Xu Mei glanced at Yaya from a distance and realized that the girl looked completely different from how she had seen her before.

When Auntie Wang used to look after her, she always looked filthy with matted hair, but now, her little face was rosy and she had her hair tied in two little buns. Aside from not being able to speak, she was perfect in every other way.

"Sister, you can just call me Luoluo. I'd like to ask a favor of you, if that's alright?" Li Luo put down her hoe and spoke sheepishly.

"Just for that 'sister' you called me, and since we're neighbors, just say whatever help you need," Xu Mei said decisively, patting her chest.

"Could you watch Yaya for a bit? I'm going to buy groceries and cook so I can deliver the meal to Brother Ling." Li Luo was, after all, hesitant to trouble others.

"That's nothing! Just bring Yaya over. My boy loves playing with her. If Auntie Wang didn't bring her out so often, our Hutou would be running to your house dozens of times a day," Xu Mei teased, stroking Hutou's little head.

"Then thank you, sister." Xu Mei's words finally put Li Luo's mind at ease.

Li Luo dropped Yaya off at Xu Mei's house and then took her basket to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy groceries.

Upon arriving, Li Luo discovered that most of the fresh vegetables had already been sold; everyone had gone to the market early to shop.

As soon as Li Luo appeared, several men waved at her. "Sister, over here! Our vegetables are very fresh and the prices are very cheap."

"A bunch of bok choy for ten cents, and these carrots are also cheap—three for ten cents. How about it?" The man winked at Li Luo, looking like a male peacock displaying its feathers.

Li Luo picked through a few stalls and found that the greens here were indeed much fresher than at the other stalls. She decisively pulled out her purse and took out a ten-yuan note.

The man hadn't expected Li Luo to be so generous. It was only about twenty cents worth of goods, but she had pulled out ten yuan at once, and he couldn't make change for such a large bill.

"Sister, how about you go somewhere else to change? I run a small business and don't have change for such a large amount," the man said with a simple, honest smile.

Li Luo nodded. She needed to buy some meat anyway. To nourish Ling Zhuoqun, since the farm involved heavy physical labor, they couldn't go a single meal without meat.

At the meat stall, Qiao Qian (Li Luo) cut a piece of high-quality pork shoulder, intending to make braised pork. Since there were eggs at home, she could braise a couple of eggs in it as well.

A jin of pork shoulder was only one yuan and fifty cents. Li Luo paid readily and then bought a few green peppers from the man for fifty cents.

Passing by the small grocery store, Li Luo saw Golden Monkey milk candies. Weren't these her favorites when she was a child?

So, Li Luo decisively ordered Golden Monkey milk candies and Bear biscuits. To her surprise, these two items were even more expensive than the meat; a jin of them cost five yuan.

However, she had money on her, so she pulled out another ten-yuan note and handed it to the shopkeeper.

Seeing how generous Li Luo was, the shopkeeper rounded down the price for her.

As she was heading home, Li Luo saw a plump woman being kicked out of a clothing store.

"Bah! Your fabric quality is poor, and you won't even let people speak up? I only tried it on, and the seam just split open. Are you trying to blame me for breaking it?"

Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian stood with her hands on her hips, looking as if she were ready to pick a fight with the shop owner.

"Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian, have you no shame? Don't you know what your body looks like? I recommended a size to you, but you insisted on choosing one size smaller. Now that you've ruined the clothes, you're trying to turn the tables?"

"Don't say another word! Pay me back!" The shop owner was also loud-mouthed and refused to be intimidated by Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian.

"Hmph! The fact that I even looked at your clothes is an honor to you. Not only do you give me inferior clothes, but you also want me to pay for them? Impossible!"

"I'm telling you, after today, I'm going to be the wife of the farm owner. When that time comes, I'll buy this whole shop and kick you out on the street. Let's see how arrogant you are then!" Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian spat at the shop owner and turned to leave.

Watching from the outside, Li Luo felt that the quality of the clothes in this shop didn't seem poor as Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian claimed. In fact, it was much better than the clothes from her own era, which would pill after just a couple of wears.

At the very least, they were all pure cotton, which would be breathable and comfortable in the heat of summer.

She knew how to use a sewing machine; she could sew a few pieces of clothing for the child and Ling Zhuoqun in the future.

Just as she entered, she was nearly knocked back two steps by Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian's large, sturdy frame. Her nose felt sore from the near-collision, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.

Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian, who was already full of rage, became even angrier when she bumped into someone. "What kind of shrew is this? Are you blind? You almost ran me over!"

Seeing Li Luo's pure and lovely appearance, and seeing the tears brimming in her eyes, the contempt in her gaze deepened. Li Luo's attire clearly didn't look like that of a country girl. "Oh, look at this, some pampered young lady from out of nowhere."

"You actually know how to buy groceries? And you come to a clothing store to get clothes made? Why don't you go to the department stores in the city?"

From a distance, Li Luo felt that the bitterness in Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian's tone was as strong as if she had knocked over two vats of vinegar.

"I have money to buy clothes, unlike certain people who try to dodge the bill after ruining someone else's clothing," Li Luo retorted directly, refusing to tolerate Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian's foul mouth.

"You! Who said I don't have money! It's just that the clothes didn't fit me, and the quality was too poor. How can you blame me!" Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian insisted the quality was bad, trying to absolve herself of all responsibility.

"Heh! You say my clothes are poor quality? I don't accept that!" Seeing someone speak up for her, the shop owner's confidence surged. She reached out and picked up the garment Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian had torn.

She pulled and tugged at the fabric forcefully.

The shop owner's actions drew a crowd of onlookers.

It was visible that although the garment deformed during the pulling, it returned to its original shape perfectly afterward. It was clearly not the case that the quality was so poor that it broke during wear, as Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian had claimed.

The eyes of the public are discerning. Now that the shop owner had proven it, Li $\text{\'{A}}$ilian was undeniably in the wrong.