Upon arriving at the office, Xie Yuyao recounted the incident to the visitor, concluding with righteous indignation: "Sir, I won't say she's some kind of hostile element, but please be the judge. Is that something a sales clerk who serves the people should say?"
She wouldn't escalate the situation over a few words, but the saleswoman must understand her mistake.
The manager, who identified himself as Li, was the department store manager. Instead of protecting the saleswoman, he severely criticized her and made her sincerely apologize to Xie Yuyao for her actions.
As compensation, he also gave Xie Yuyao seven feet of cloth coupons in the name of the department store.
In those days, the government issued cloth ration coupons to each adult, which amounted to about four feet of cloth per year. If there was a poor cotton harvest, the amount would be reduced.
It takes about seven or eight feet of cloth to make a set of clothes for an adult, hence the saying "new for three years, old for three years, and patched up for another three years".
Nowadays, the biggest worry for ordinary families when they have a new couple getting married is not having enough cloth to make new clothes.
Therefore, many families saved up their cloth coupons early on and were reluctant to use them. If they couldn't make it in time, they would borrow from neighbors, relatives and friends. Everyone helped each other, and that was how they managed to get by.
"You're too kind, but I can't take such a big advantage." Xie Yuyao refused the cloth coupons offered by Manager Sun, not wanting to be made to look like she was trying to extort money.
But she felt a little unsatisfied that it was all settled so easily. "I heard that department stores occasionally have defective goods that don't require receipts. Manager Sun, could you sell me some?"
Manager Sun was a little surprised by these words. He hadn't expected her to be so humble, to refuse the cloth coupons, and to know about the defective products.
"Of course, come with me." Considering that Xie Yuyao was quite understanding and didn't make things difficult for him, Manager Sun was happy to give her the green light.
Before leaving, he turned to the saleswoman and told her to go back to her workstation, warning her not to make the same mistake again.
Manager Sun led Xie Yuyao to an office on the third floor of the department store and said to a young man inside, "Xiao Jiang, take this lady to pick out some defective products. Let her choose whatever she wants, and try to offer her a discount."
"Yes, manager."
"Then take your time choosing. I have something to do, so I won't be able to join you," Manager Sun said politely to Xie Yuyao.
Xie Yuyao: "Thank you for taking care of me. You're busy."
After Manager Sun left, Xiao Jiang led Xie Yuyao to a storeroom at the far end of the third floor. The storeroom was filled with everyday items such as clothes, shoes, pots and pans, towels, bed sheets, and so on. Although some items had minor imperfections, they were all brand new.
Xie Yuyao wasn't very interested in these things. "Do you have radios or watches?"
"Of course, but these defective products cannot be used normally and need to be sent back to the manufacturer for repair by technicians. Unlike other items, which can still be used even with minor defects. Like that enamel basin, if there's a hole in the bottom, you can just patch it up."
Jiang Yongnian kindly reminded them that radios and watches are not cheap, and even defective products can cost double digits. Most importantly, if you buy them to be decorations, wouldn't you be losing money?
"It's fine, as long as it's cheap." Xie Yuyao became interested.
Alright, since she insisted, Jiang Yongnian didn't say anything more. "The radio and watch aren't here. Come with me."
Perhaps because valuable items were stored separately, Jiang Yongnian led her to another storeroom, which, judging from the lock, was clearly much more advanced than the previous storeroom.
Upon opening the warehouse door, one's eyes were met with rows of perfectly packaged boxes. Jiang Yongnian invited her to sit at a table and chair against the wall by the door, preventing her from approaching the items.
"Comrade Jiang, I want a men's watch."
"OK."
Jiang Yongnian picked and chose from the pile of items, finally taking out three exquisite little boxes and introducing them to Xie Yuyao one by one:
"This is a Plum Blossom brand watch. The three hands are not moving. I don't know what's wrong with it. The original price was 180. If you want it, you can take it for 60% off, 108, without a receipt."
"This is a Dongfeng brand. Since last month, it has been moving slower and slower, and the price has become cheaper. You can get it for two digits."
"This last one, the most high-end one, is a Swiss OPA watch. If it weren't broken, it would sell for over three hundred yuan at full price, and you'd need foreign exchange certificates to buy it. Unfortunately, it's already broken. If we send it back to the factory, the cost of the round trip would be enough to buy a new one. I'll give you one hundred yuan."
Xie Yuyao picked up all three watches and looked them over. "Do you have all three of these watches in stock at the counter downstairs?"
"some."
Just when Jiang Yongnian thought she would choose the cheapest Dongfeng brand watch, she didn't expect her to say, "I want this Oupa watch."
It seems she really intends to buy it as a decoration; with advanced industry abroad, the OPA brand is even more eye-catching.
"The radio originally cost 75 yuan, but if it breaks, you don't need a receipt; it's only 45 yuan." This also saves them the trouble of sending it back to the factory for repairs.
The watch and radio together cost 145 yuan.
Xie Yuyao was about to make a shallow statement when Jiang Yongnian stopped her: "These large items need Manager Sun's signature. Let's pay after he signs them."
So, Jiang Yongnian, with his watch in his left hand and a radio in his right, took Xie Yuyao to find Manager Sun.
Seeing what Xie Yuyao had chosen, Manager Sun was secretly amazed; he hadn't expected her to have so much money.
But nobody's money comes from thin air, so Manager Sun, out of good intentions, repeated what Jiang Yongnian had said earlier.
Xie Yuyao was grateful but insisted, "Thank you, Manager Sun. Comrade Jiang also reminded me, but I only like these two items. Is that alright with you?"
Sure! Why not? Especially this Swiss watch, if it doesn't sell, it'll just be a bad debt.
Manager Sun signed the document, Xie Yuyao paid the money, and both parties were quite agreeable.
"Take some other things too, like towels, pillowcases, soap, washbasins... Oh, and yarn. Since you're already here, take a lot back with you." Manager Sun was worried that Xie Yuyao would be scolded by her family for bringing back impractical items like watches and radios, so she wanted her to at least bring something useful.
At his urging, Xie Yuyao returned to the warehouse and bought a lot of odds and ends: soap, face cream, towels, pillowcases, thermos, enamel basins, and about ten kilograms of yarn with uneven dyeing.
Jiang Yongnian specially found a burlap sack for her and helped her pack the items inside.
Xie Yuyao dragged a full sack, bid farewell to Jiang Yongnian, and walked to the counter on the second floor.
The saleswoman who had been there earlier thought that the girl must have calmed down now that she had made a lot of purchases.
Xie Yuyao didn't make things difficult for her anymore, and asked politely with a normal expression, "Do you have a Swiss OPA brand watch and a radio? Please get me one of each."
"Yes, please wait a moment." The saleswoman was secretly surprised; could she afford it?
But no matter what she thought in her heart, she dared not speak so rudely as before.
She deftly took out two items: "A watch costs 330, and a radio costs 75. The watch also requires foreign exchange certificates."
This was no problem for Xie Yuyao. She had exchanged all sorts of coupons on the black market, including these foreign exchange coupons that she rarely used.
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