"Where's my skirt???"
The next morning, as Zhou Qiqi was getting ready to change and go out, she saw the empty clothesline in the backyard and let out a deafening roar.
She saw that red dress dangling on the rope last night, how come it's gone today?
That was her only new dress!
Shen Huaichuan sneezed and said nonchalantly, "It was windy last night, it probably blew it away."
He then stuffed ten ten-yuan bills into Zhou Qiqi's hand, saying, "It's okay, we'll just buy more if we run out."
Is the wind... strong?
Zhou Qiqi looked at the pink underwear that was still hanging properly on the rope next to her, her pink lips slightly pouting as she fell into thought.
Just as I was pondering this, a car horn suddenly sounded outside the courtyard gate; it was Qin Lei coming to pick me up.
"Never mind, I'm not wearing that today anyway."
She never liked keeping people waiting, and without bothering to investigate further, she hurriedly went back inside, downed half a cup of goat milk, slung her canvas bag over her shoulder, picked up Zhouzhou, and jumped into the car.
After getting into the car, she first thanked Qin Lei.
"Stone, thank you for your help!"
Today is Sunday, and he could have been resting at the military base, but he has to come and be her driver.
Qin Lei grinned, revealing two canine teeth.
"Sister-in-law, don't say that! There's nothing to do in the army anyway, I'd love to go to the city with you!"
"That's good!"
Zhou Qiqi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and she sat back down in her seat.
They noticed that Zhouzhou seemed to be trembling, and her gaze kept fixed on the direction of their own courtyard.
She quickly asked, "Zhouzhou, what's wrong?"
Zhouzhou couldn't speak, but her big eyes held a hint of fear. She simply shook her head, her little fists clenching the hem of her clothes.
Zhou Qiqi noticed that she was still holding a schoolbag in her hand. She picked it up and saw that it contained a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and other things.
"We're going to the city, what are you bringing all this for?"
Zhouzhou looked up suddenly, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Didn't Shen Huaichuan tell you?
Zhouzhou:
(；＞人＜)(＞人＜；)
"This guy is so insensitive..."
Qiqi pursed her lips, somewhat speechless.
"Your uncle is too busy to take you today, so I'm going shopping in the city. You can be my little helper and carry my bags."
Zhouzhou understood; they weren't going to have acupuncture. Her tense mood instantly relaxed, and she nodded gently.
It seems Zhouzhou doesn't like acupuncture either!
Zhou Qiqi had already made up her mind, so she didn't say anything more and took out a piece of fruit candy from her pocket and stuffed it into her hand.
"This was given to me by Aunt Hu Chunxiao. I don't like it, so it would be a waste to throw it away."
Soon, the three arrived in the city and headed straight to the clothing wholesale market near the train station.
In 1982, the reform and opening up had just begun, and the business environment was still somewhat immature and far from being developed.
G City, a medium-sized city in northern China, has only one clothing wholesale market, and people from surrounding towns flock here to buy goods.
However, the scale is not large, with only about seventeen or eighteen stalls in total.
Today happens to be Sunday, and the place is packed with people coming to buy goods; it's incredibly lively.
Zhou Qiqi led Zhouzhou to browse through several stalls, only to find that the clothes hanging on the shelves had a pitifully limited selection.
The tops were all kinds of batwing sleeves, pointed collars and fitted waist polyester shirts;
The pants were all Hong Kong-style flared pants, either blue or black;
Most of the skirts were floral sundresses with puff sleeves and square necklines, looking all the same.
She and Zhouzhou observed quietly for a while and found that most of the people who came to buy goods were picking out batwing-sleeved shirts and bell-bottoms.
These two items are incredibly fashionable right now. If you walk down the street, eight out of ten people will be wearing them; they've practically become a street style staple.
After figuring out the styles, Zhou Qiqi started looking at the various stalls.
After comparing several options, she finally settled on two of the most popular stalls, which happened to be right across from each other.
Choosing a wholesale stall is just like choosing a restaurant; you have to go where there are lots of people.
A restaurant with lots of people doesn't necessarily have to be the best to eat, but a quiet, deserted restaurant is definitely going to be bad.
Similarly, at wholesale stalls, the prices in crowded areas are not necessarily the cheapest.
If you rashly walk into a stall with few people, you'll be no different from a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
After much deliberation, Zhou Qiqi chose the stall on the left.
She instructed Qin Lei to wait at the door with Zhouzhou, while she quietly hid to the side, took out the coal ash and matchsticks she had prepared beforehand, and quickly tidied herself up, making herself look much more mature and composed, before slowly stepping into the shop.
The shop owner was a woman in her forties, tall and thin, who looked like a shrewd and capable person.
He had just seen off a group of customers and was sitting at the counter doing the accounts when he saw Zhou Qiqi walk in, and his eyes lit up immediately.
He greeted her warmly with a smile, "Little girl, are you here to pick up your goods?"
As she spoke, she looked Zhou Qiqi up and down, her eyes darting around.
"Okay, let's pick up the goods."
Instead of directly responding to the boss's words, Zhou Qiqi imitated Shen Huaichuan's usual cold and aloof demeanor, keeping a straight face, expressionless, and giving off an unapproachable vibe as she casually glanced at the clothes hanging in the store.
Upon seeing this, the proprietress's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately asked, "Where does the boss make his fortune?"
This sounds like they're asking where Zhou Qiqi's shop is. Most people would have given themselves away at this point.
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