Chapter 12: Taking You Shopping

Seeing her daughter’s troubled expression, Li Xiangqin burst into a laugh.

"It’s not like I’m asking you to copy her ten-tenths. It’s about absorbing her strengths. Everyone has a way of surviving that suits them; as long as you find the trick, you can live quite comfortably.

Being too rigid doesn't get things done, and being too slick makes people dislike you. These things take time to figure out, so don't rush it. In the future, just learn and observe more at work; maybe one day, it will all click for you."

Her daughter had a face that looked like it was easy to bully; she would have to teach her slowly.

Over there, Zhang Jianshe carefully finished washing the dishes and returned to the room, only to see a lump under the quilt on the bed.

Hearing the door open, Zhao Meijuan turned over, her eyes red as she looked at Zhang Jianshe.

"Third Brother~, am I too useless? I always make things difficult for you because of me."

Zhang Jianshe had been feeling a bit uncomfortable inside, but seeing Zhao Meijuan like this, his heart immediately softened.

"No, you’re in poor health; everyone knows that. My mother is just old-fashioned in her thinking; you don't need to pay her any mind."

"It’s still me dragging you down. If it weren't for me, Mom wouldn't have made you hand over your living expenses."

As Zhao Meijuan spoke, she looked at him pitifully.

"After paying the living expenses, you only have six yuan left. You still have to eat at the canteen at work; what will you do if it’s not enough?"

Hearing his wife show concern for him, Zhang Jianshe felt relieved.

"Didn't Mom say I could bring food from home? I won't eat at the canteen anymore... When I'm home, I'll do our share of the chores, and when I'm not, you'll have to do them yourself.

Of course, if you don't want to move, just go stay at your parents' house, and I'll pick you up after work. We can eat after we've had our meal, and if we don't eat at home much, Mom definitely won't nag us."

Listening to Zhang Jianshe’s considerate tone, Zhao Meijuan’s face tightened, but she immediately shook her head gently.

"You just focus on your work; don't worry about me. Mom is right, too. I’m a part of this family, and it’s only right that I help with some chores. You’re already working hard enough on your own; I can't add to your troubles."

"I knew it, my wife cares about me."

Zhang Jianshe looked touched, leaned down to kiss her, and handed her the egg left over from the morning.

"Eat it quickly, it’s not cold yet."

The moment Zhao Meijuan saw the egg, she thought of her mother-in-law’s ugly face. In the blink of an eye, Third Brother’s salary had been cut by more than half, and she had to go back to her parents' house three times a month, each time needing to buy five or six yuan worth of goods.

Without money, how was she supposed to go back to her parents' house?

While the couple whispered in their room, Li Xiangqin took the fabric coupons and industrial vouchers and dragged the Fourth Daughter straight to the department store.

According to her memories from her past life, industrial vouchers and fabric coupons would basically be useless by next year, but the prices of goods would generally rise quite a bit as a result.

Therefore, before that happened, she had to put those coupons and vouchers to good use.

The department store, as the name implied, had the trendiest and most complete selection of goods. If you wanted to buy a 26-inch bicycle, you had to come here.

The Fourth Daughter needed a way to get to and from work, and she needed two new outfits. Once her job was stable, they would have to consider looking for a suitor. Only by settling her marriage early could she truly feel at ease.

Standing in front of the department store, she felt as if a lifetime had passed.

"Mom, are we really going in?"

The Fourth Daughter was hesitant. The goods in the department store were complete and high-quality, but the prices were too expensive; she felt embarrassed even just browsing.

"Of course, we’re here to spend money today." Li Xiangqin pulled her straight through the front door and headed for the fabric counter.

It was summer, and the counter displayed several types of small-print Dacron, as well as a thinner blue twill cotton suitable for making pants and jackets.

"Comrade, may I ask how much that white-based orchid Dacron and the blue cotton fabric next to it cost per foot?"

The saleswoman stopped knitting her sweater only when she heard the inquiry. She glanced in the direction Li Xiangqin pointed and spoke lazily.

"Dacron is five yuan a foot, blue twill cotton is eighty cents a foot. How much do you want?"

Salespeople in this era generally had poor attitudes, and the scarcity of supplies gave them a sense of superiority.

Especially with Dacron, which was priced on the higher side; only those women who pursued fashion were willing to spend that kind of money.

But fortunately, they had several textile mills locally, so the supply of cotton cloth was sufficient and the price had always been very affordable.

For ordinary families, they lived by the motto: "New for three years, old for three years, patched for another three years." They saved wherever they could.

In their residential compound, many people were still wearing patched clothes.

Moreover, the width of cotton fabric at this time was less than ninety centimeters, which was quite wasteful. A jacket took about three feet, and pants about five; if you cut them together, you could save a little fabric.

The width of the Dacron was decent; a foot and a half was enough for a shirt.

Her Fourth Daughter had never worn a piece of Dacron in her life; she had to make it up to her.

Li Xiangqin looked at the light blue and moon-white Luo cloth on display. She would make a short-sleeved shirt for herself out of the light blue, and a dress for the Fourth Daughter out of the moon-white.

"Comrade, how much is the Luo cloth per foot?"

The saleswoman glanced at her. "Plain Luo cloth, one yuan and fifty cents a foot."

"I want three feet of the light blue Luo cloth, and six feet of the moon-white. Three feet of the white-based floral Dacron, and fifteen feet of the blue twill cotton."

As Li Xiangqin rattled off the quantities, the Fourth Daughter stared at her mother in shock. Buying so much—were they not going to live frugally anymore?

The saleswoman stood up and quickly cut the three types of fabric, calculating the cost.

"Thirteen yuan and ninety cents for the Luo cloth, twelve yuan for the blue twill, fifteen for the Dacron. That’s forty yuan and fifty cents total. Hand over the money and the fabric coupons."

Spending over forty yuan at once was equivalent to a month’s salary.

Although Li Xiangqin felt the pinch, she gritted her teeth, took out her handkerchief, counted the money, handed over the coupons, stuffed the fabric into her bag, and dragged the dazed Fourth Daughter away.

"Mom, why did you suddenly buy so much fabric?" the Fourth Daughter asked curiously as she took the cloth bag.

In the past, Mom would only be willing to make new clothes for the eldest nephew and Dad during the New Year. For everyone else, it was one outfit every two or three years.

"It’s getting hot. I’ll make you a Dacron shirt later, and a dress out of the moon-white Luo cloth."

Passing the shoe counter, Li Xiangqin stopped. She looked at the Fourth Daughter’s cloth shoes, which had holes in the toes, and took a liking to a pair of black leather shoes with buckles. When she asked the price, it was twenty-five yuan.

So expensive?

"Mom, it’s too expensive." The Fourth Daughter looked down at her toes, which were about to poke through, feeling embarrassed.

Li Xiangqin nodded. "Leather shoes are indeed a bit expensive. Let’s buy them when we’re a bit better off. How about those black corduroy cloth shoes? They have toggle buttons and fit well."

Before the Fourth Daughter could recover from her earlier shock, she saw her mother squat down, measure her foot length with a strip of cloth, and ask the attendant for a pair of size 23.5 shoes.

Li Xiangqin nodded with satisfaction. A pair of black corduroy cloth shoes for five yuan was very acceptable.

"Mom, you..." The Fourth Daughter nervously curled her toes. Was Mom going to buy her shoes too?