Chapter 152 Meeting Wang Yuyan at the Department Store

With 330 yuan in her pocket, Wang Yuqing rode Tang Wan's bicycle to the county town to exchange some tickets with Aunt Huang. Aunt Huang was happy to exchange with her, but they were all small receipts for daily necessities.

Although she had bought a lot of things for the family and her daily necessities were more complete, she wanted cloth coupons or meat coupons even more. As for grain coupons, even if she had grain coupons, she couldn't buy grain without a grain ration book; at most, she could go out to eat.

Aunt Huang had connections, but she was also in a difficult situation. She told the truth: "Oh, these cloth coupons and meat coupons are very hard to get. Everyone wants these two things, and very few people sell them. They are also extremely expensive. Moreover, if you are caught, you will be punished. In serious cases, you can even go to jail. I can only keep an eye out for you."

Aunt Huang asked again, "By the way, do you need industrial vouchers? I know people who have one or two industrial vouchers, but they can't gather enough to buy big items, and they don't have enough money to exchange for industrial vouchers."

Wang Yuqing wanted to buy a bicycle, but in those days, according to the local prices, a bicycle would cost 30 industrial coupons plus 160 yuan, plus supply coupons.

Supply coupons are the hardest to come by; even Aunt Huang couldn't get her hands on them.

As for industrial coupons, they cost 3 yuan each on the black market, and 30 coupons would cost 90 yuan. So, to buy a bicycle, you would need 250 yuan plus bicycle supply coupons.

Wang Yuqing gave up the idea of ​​buying a bicycle, then exchanged ten jin of flour with Aunt Huang, thanked her, and left.

Aunt Huang originally thought that Wang Yuqing was going through a hard life after marrying into the countryside, and that she would never have enough to eat or wear. But after seeing Wang Yuqing come to exchange tickets one, two, or three times, she realized that Wang Yuqing was living a very good life.

Not only that, she also became more and more beautiful. Her skin was noticeably better, and she looked more energetic. She seemed like a completely different person. It's easy to imagine how comfortable her life must have been after she went to the countryside and to the Ji family.

She found it funny that the Wang family was waiting for her to beg for food when she couldn't make ends meet.

Aunt Huang also praised her for being capable and looked at her with new respect. After all, she had set up a non-staple food team in the brigade and earned eighty yuan a day!

Although she has now taken over Lin Meili's position and her salary has increased to 44.10 yuan, it is still less than what Lin Meili earns in a day. However, she feels a little better when she thinks that a group of people earn it.

She even felt a little regretful, wishing she had let her youngest son marry her.

He's smart, capable, quick-witted, and handsome—what a pity!

She even deliberately told Lin Xuemei and Wang Jiandong about it.

Of course, she didn't mention exchanging tickets. She wasn't stupid; she just said that Wang Yuqing often visited her, bringing her many nice things. She was completely different from when she was at the Wang family; it was as if she had been reborn.

Lin Xuemei and Wang Jiandong didn't believe it. They didn't believe what Aunt Huang said, and they didn't believe that Wang Yuqing could live a comfortable life. At most, she would work to earn work points and work herself to the bone all year round to get a little bit of food. She also had four freeloaders in her family. How good could her life be?

She insisted on marrying into the countryside, and even came back to take her household registration halfway through. They want to see what she does in the future.

Although they were demoted to first-class workers, they still considered themselves hundreds of times better than the Ji family in the countryside. How could farmers compare to workers?

Aunt Huang said, "The daughter you look down on is quite remarkable now. She runs a food processing team in the brigade and earns in a day what you earn in a month."

They all knew about Wang Yuqing selling snails, but they just couldn't believe she could make so much money.

They didn't believe it until Wang Yuqing went to the department store to buy clothes and was spotted by Wang Yuyan.

Wang Yuqing originally intended to use the remaining 300 yuan to buy clothes made of 'Dacron' fabric at a department store, as Dacron is currently the most advanced fabric.

For this era, its novel design, vibrant colors, lightweight yet sturdy construction, and contrast with the plain blue, gray, and black colors worn by most people, made Dacron an instant market sensation upon its release.

Although it has its drawbacks, such as being too hot to wear in the summer and too cold to wear in the winter, it doesn't require cloth ration coupons and is made of materials designated by the military, making it highly desirable, especially for young men and women who are eager to buy one.

For example, Wang Yuyan.

Wang Yuqing also loves to wear pretty clothes, regardless of anything else, as long as she's comfortable and beautiful.

She plans to buy one for the whole family.

As soon as she entered the clothing counter of the department store, she ran into Wang Yuyan, who was haggling with the sales clerk, even resorting to playing the victim, trying to buy a white shirt and a green floral skirt for 26 yuan.

The salesperson shook her head and said, "It's twenty-nine yuan, not a penny less. If you want it, buy it; if you don't, others will have to wait in line to buy it."

Wang Yuyan refused to leave, her eyes red as she said, "I'm just a temporary worker in a factory, I haven't been promoted yet, where would I get so much money? Besides, I'm only twenty years old, and my parents are very strict. It's not easy for me to come up with twenty-six yuan. Please be kind and sell it to me, or I'll give you an IOU."

The salesperson looked disgusted and was about to speak when Wang Yuqing next to him burst out laughing.

Wang Yuyan and her two colleagues looked at Wang Yuqing. They didn't recognize her at first glance, but they recognized her on the second look. All three of them stared wide-eyed.

Wang Yuqing's transformation was truly astonishing. In the past, she was as thin as a rake, with sallow skin, dry hair, and a listless, lifeless appearance. She looked like an inconspicuous ugly duckling in a crowd.

However, now she seems to have been reborn, transforming into a stunningly beautiful woman.

Her skin became clean and fair, and her hair became smooth and shiny. Upon closer inspection, her facial features also underwent subtle changes, with a more defined outline, a full forehead, a high and straight nose, and red lips and white teeth.

Those eyes, which were once too timid to look people in the eye, are now bright and full of life.

She was already tall and thin, but now she has become much fuller. Although she is wearing old-fashioned men's work clothes, they seem to look good on her.

The tall woman tugged at Wang Yuyan: "That... it's about the time I hit you..."

Wang Yuyan frowned.

The tall woman quickly corrected herself: "Is this your second sister? She's changed so much. Shouldn't she be covered in dust and look like she's starving?"

The short woman was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses: "Oh right, I almost didn't recognize her. Didn't you say she married into a poor family in the countryside, and that her husband was so poor that he didn't know where her next meal would come from? You also said she would starve to death sooner or later. But I feel like she's doing quite well?"

Wang Yuyan realized that this silly second son was not only doing well, but was doing better than her. No wonder Aunt Huang often said that Wang Yuqing was living a very comfortable life. She hadn't believed it at first.

Although she really wanted to rush up and slap her a few times, asking her what she was laughing at, she was still traumatized by the last time she was beaten, and the person in front of her was acting like a madwoman, even hitting her parents. So, she was a little timid and asked, "You... what are you laughing at?"