He Wenyao asked tentatively, "Will there be more exchange meetings in the future?"
“Of course, it’s so boring to stay cooped up all winter. We can all learn and improve together, so why not?” Xie Yuyao picked up a book and flipped through it, speaking matter-of-factly.
"I can't fall behind, but I'm not good at it, so please don't laugh at me." He Wenyao didn't want to be isolated by the educated youth team. He knew that it was hard to stand alone, so he made his unpleasant point clear upfront.
"Then take advantage of this time to care for him and ask Wenshan to help you get some nourishment. Nobody's born with a good foundation, right?"
Seeing that she showed no disdain whatsoever, and that her words instead made him feel ashamed.
He Wenyao blurted out his apology: "Thank you, educated youth. I was impolite before. I'm sorry."
Looking at He Wenyao, who wasn't completely hopeless, Xie Yuyao waved her hand with a smile, "It's all in the past, and besides, I didn't suffer any loss."
"Yeah, who can make our beautiful Xie suffer?" Xiang Wenshan said jokingly.
Because of the whistleblower incident, he became familiar with Zhao Honghui, and his relationship with Xie Yuyao was no longer as distant as before; they could exchange a few harmless jokes.
Xie Yuyao shook her head with a smile. Neither she nor Xiang Wenshan expected that He Wenyao, a man who cared so much about his reputation, would take the initiative to apologize.
From this day forward, the time spent accompanying the caregivers became study time. Regardless of who was accompanying them, these educated youth picked up their textbooks, studied diligently, and gained a lot.
At noon, Xiang Wenshan went to the hospital cafeteria and specially packed three boxes of dumplings and a bowl of lean meat porridge. Xiang Wenshan handed a box of pork and cabbage dumplings to Xie Yuyao: "Xie Yuyao, I didn't know what kind of filling you like, so I packed this for you."
"I'm not picky," Xie Yuyao said, taking the lunchbox.
This remark made the other three burst out laughing.
Xie Yuyao laughed sheepishly. It seemed that, perhaps, probably no one in the educated youth team was more picky about food than her.
She saw that Xiang Wenshan and He Wenyao were eating chive and egg dumplings, and before anyone else had even touched their chopsticks, she swapped a few with them, saying, "I want to try both flavors."
Both men understood her feelings and smiled slightly, everything unspoken.
Meanwhile, the poor injured Yu Wenbo could only drink the mushy lean meat porridge and watch them eat happily.
*
After the meal, Xie Yuyao said, "I need to go to the department store."
She noticed that Zhao Honghui's watch had a chipped edge. She would pamper her own man and not let him wear something flawed.
However, she had no vouchers for the watch, so she had to go to the black market to buy one. Since she was going to the black market anyway, she changed her appearance and started selling apples by carrying a basket on her back.
When we arrived at the large black market near the textile factory, the gatekeeper saw that they were apples and immediately bought them all for one yuan per kilogram.
Xie Yuyao also directly exchanged the watch voucher with them.
"From now on, we'll cover everything you bring. We also have bicycle and radio vouchers here, do you want them? We can give them back to you at a discount." The gatekeeper was trying to establish a long-term partnership with her, doing her a favor.
Xie Yuyao's heart skipped a beat. "How much?"
"A bicycle costs 30 yuan a ticket at market price, and a radio costs 20 yuan a ticket. I'll give you both for 30 yuan," the gatekeeper said sincerely.
"Then give me one of each." Having a bicycle will make going out much more convenient. As for the radio, it can be given to Zhao Honghui; he's sure to be interested in national affairs.
"Then you'll have to wait a bit. I'll have someone go ask the boss for it. It should take about ten minutes."
It must be that Qi Sange, right? Xie Yuyao recalled the two times they met.
The first time was at a small black market near the hospital, where she directly traded several dozen kilograms of rice with him. The second time was when Zhao Dayong led her to the courtyard to see Zhao Honghui and the others off.
Since Zhao Honghui knows him, she should sell a little more stuff.
"In that case, I'll go get another basket of apples."
"That's great! I'll wait."
So, Xie Yuyao made her way through a maze of turns, making sure no one was following her, then reloaded a basket of apples and laboriously carried it to the entrance of the black market.
After the successful transaction, she received bicycle coupons, watch coupons, and radio coupons, and also made a few dozen yuan extra.
Leaving the black market, she headed straight for the department store.
But as soon as they reached the second floor, they heard a mocking voice:
"Country folks should stay in the countryside. What are they doing coming to our city? They come here without even a ticket. Aren't they afraid of making a fool of themselves?"
Xie Yuyao felt absurd when she saw the saleswoman roll her eyes at her.
She was still wearing the same plain clothes she wore to the black market just because she was in a hurry!
Seeing the sales clerk's disdainful face, Xie Yuyao stood in front of the counter and loudly questioned, "So what if I'm from the countryside? Who says people from the countryside can't come to the city? Who says I don't deserve to come to the department store if I don't have a ticket?"
"Saleswoman, I suspect you are deliberately inciting class struggle. I'm going to report you to the higher-ups at the department store and have them thoroughly investigate whether you are a spy planted among the masses!" Xie Yuyao deliberately made a big accusation.
Having compared it to the service industry in my past life, I don't expect the salespeople here to be overly enthusiastic, but please don't treat customers like dirt!
The saleswoman, who had just been as proud as a peacock, panicked instantly. She hadn't expected Xie Yuyao to be so eloquent. Shouldn't a country girl be too ashamed to speak when faced with this situation?
"Comrade, I misspoke, I apologize! My attitude was the problem, please don't call us leaders!"
The saleswoman was panicking. If she were reported for this, being criticized would be a minor issue; what if she lost her job? Many people were eyeing that saleswoman position!
Xie Yuyao said seriously, "Everyone must be responsible for their words and actions. If everyone were like you, speaking ill of others and then offering a perfunctory apology, what order would our China have left?"
As more and more customers gathered around, they learned the whole story and all sided with Xie Yuyao.
They often suffered from the sales clerks' rudeness, but this time it was not only for Xie Yuyao, but also for themselves.
The saleswoman was on the verge of tears; she never imagined that her casual remark would bring such trouble.
She's said those things way too many times, and it's not just her; her colleagues have the same attitude. So why is it that she's the one who ran into trouble?
What kind of existence are department stores these days?
Nine out of ten salespeople there are arrogant and condescending, just like some luxury brand salespeople in a past life, who consider themselves superior.
What's even more outrageous is that when others use money and tickets to buy things, it's as if they're asking her to do them a great favor; it's not a normal transaction at all.
Xie Yuyao's attitude is "I won't offend others unless they offend me," but if anyone dares to bully her, she will never be a doormat and will make them suffer the consequences.
The commotion quickly attracted the attention of higher-ups. This middle-aged male leader, who possessed some wisdom in handling problems, kindly invited Xie Yuyao to his office.
The female sales clerk who caused the trouble also followed, and the other onlookers naturally dispersed.
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