Zhang Hongmei put the matter aside and felt that she should still go and buy some things.

Yesterday, because of Liu Jingze, the girls' jobs weren't finalized, so this time we asked Lu Jing and the other girl to go out.

"Madam, where are we going?"

"I've changed my form of address. You can just call me Zhang Hongmei."

“That won’t do. It’s not respectful enough,” Lu Jing refused.

Zhang Hongmei was in a bad mood. Was this person who talked back to her really one of her people?

"If I say yes, then yes."

The two fell silent. Given her boss's request and her wife's instructions, Lu Jing decided to obey her wife.

"Okay, Zhang Hongmei, where are we going?"

"Go directly to the Overseas Chinese Store." Zhang Hongmei had many vouchers that Gu Chuanming had given her earlier, and she spent them all at the Overseas Chinese Store.

I didn't really like what was inside. I just walked around and bought all the chocolates.

The three of them went to the building again. They didn't need to buy fabric there, so they bought mostly stationery. There must be at least twenty children in the village, so they couldn't buy fewer. They also bought schoolbags, nice notebooks, and fountain pens.

"Comrade, how many of these pens are available?"

"Comrade, this is a limited edition gold pen. We have ten here."

"I'll take them all." These can be given to Annie and the others as gifts.

"Comrade, I want more. I wonder when you'll have any in stock?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know. Why don't you go ask the manager?"

Lu Jing winked at Lu Xing. "Zhang Hongmei, I'll go ask."

"Okay, if possible, could you order fifty?"

"Understood."

Zhang Hongmei watched as the waiter packed up all the things she had bought.

"Comrade, could you help us carry this downstairs in a bit?"

"Okay. Now?"

"Wait a minute, I'll go check the clock."

This is a wind-up clock that can be placed on a table or hung on the wall. Zhang Hongmei thinks that if there are enough, she should buy sixty, since there are a total of sixty villas built in the village. One for each family. If that's not enough, she can just give some back to a few families she's close to.

"Comrade, how much does your grandfather clock cost?"

"No tickets required, 35 yuan per unit!"

This price is really not low. "Comrade, how many units are there?"

The saleswoman had just seen Zhang Hongmei buy a lot of things, buying them in bulk, dozens at a time. She was secretly envious of Xiao Yang, who had been recognized as an outstanding employee this month. She never expected such a big spender to come to her shop again.

"Comrade, I checked the inventory, there are still twenty units left."

"That's not enough. Sixty clocks would be enough for everyone in the village." Zhang Hongmei thought for a moment, deciding to give three to the old lady's family, three to Liu Maocai, one to Wang Hongxi, one to Dashan's family, one to the old headmaster, and one to her own family—that would make ten. Suddenly, she realized the ominous meaning of giving a clock as a funeral gift. In the end, she abandoned the idea.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you, comrade. I won't buy the clock."

The sales clerks' smiles remained unchanged; since the work reforms, none of them dared to act as they used to.

Zhang Hongmei moved to the watch section. She took a fancy to a particularly elegant Hongqi watch.

"Comrade, I'll take this Red Flag watch. And this Plum Blossom women's watch, I'll take that too." These were gifts for Shi Tou and San Ya.

I wandered around the second floor again, but still couldn't think of anything to buy.

Lu Xing returned and said, "Zhang Hongmei, the manager said it would take at least a month. I paid a deposit of 500 yuan. Here is the receipt."

"Okay, let's go take a look on the third floor."

"Hongmei, have Lu Xing take them down to load the truck, I'll go up with you."

The three items were clothing and fabric. Zhongshan suits were still being sold! Zhang Hongmei smiled; she hadn't even had a chance to check the accounts yet. She wondered how much commission the school was giving her.

I only bought a few scarves after walking around. This one is wool, and it feels really warm. I also picked out a pair of leather boots for my mother. That's all.

Once we got to the first floor, we bought all the milk candies. We didn't order any pastries or anything else. We didn't buy much this time; we were just waiting for Liu Maocai's call.

Since there will be people around in the future, the space shouldn't be used too frequently. It's better to keep everything out in the open.

It was already midnight when she got home, and she was really hungry. The two elderly people were also waiting for her.

"Grandpa, you guys eat first, no need to wait for me."

"We don't have much of an appetite when it's just the two of us, but we can eat well when you're around."

Lunch consisted of steamed buns and stewed potatoes with meat.

"This stewed meat probably wasn't made by Aunt Li, was it?"

"The people I brought today visited two places. What did you think of the food?"

"It's alright! What do you think, Grandpa?"

"I couldn't taste any difference."

Zhang Hongmei ate half a steamed bun, a bowl of millet porridge, and quite a lot of garlic-flavored spinach. Turns out, this way of cooking it is quite delicious.

"Grandpa, has Chengzi brought a truck?"

"Yes, we'll drive it over the day before we leave."

"Oh! I'll call my third uncle tomorrow and ask what kind of machinery the village needs. I'll bring it back with me this time."

"Hehe, you've thought of everything."

"That's right, the autumn harvest is coming soon, and I don't know what kind of machinery the village has. I think we should bring a shredder or something."

"Dad, I'm going to see Er Lengzi tomorrow. That's Liu Baoguo."

"Go ahead, he's at the base."

"So, he won't be sent abroad again?"

"I don't know that. I also think Shouyi should have other plans for him."

"I'll go tell Aunt Li to stew some meat and bring it to Brother Er Lengzi tomorrow. He'll definitely like it."

"Hehe, it's alright now. We can eat meat two or three times a month at the base."

"That wasn't enough for Er Lengzi. One year during Chinese New Year, he ate three big bowls of braised pork all by himself. I really miss him. We used to go up the mountain together. He was very good at hunting and preparing the game."

Zhang Xingguo wanted to say that he was also very skilled at killing, but he really couldn't tell Hongmei this. It was better for the little girl not to know too much about bloodshed.

"Hongmei, what do you think about having Lu Jing as your personal assistant?"

"Okay. I have no objection. But why did you choose her?"

"Because she is older, her thinking should be very comprehensive."

"oh!"

"You don't want to?"

"No, it's just that when we went out just now, she rejected me directly because of a problem with how we addressed each other."

"Heh, so you're unhappy?"

"That's true to some extent, but on the other hand, it's also acceptable for someone to objectively tell the truth."

"You figured it out so quickly? I thought I'd have to talk to you about it."

"Grandpa, you really underestimate me? But I do feel awkward when they call me Zhang Hongmei."