Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Back

Lin Yue wanted to buy too much cloth, and some people around him complained in a low voice. The salesperson didn't say that she wouldn't sell it because it was too much. After all, two meters of cloth was not enough to make two sets of adult clothes. But she still said, "It's okay, but in this case, I can't sell you all the defective cloth, otherwise others won't have enough."

Lin Yue nodded and said, "I know, but I'm talking about two people. My companion is pregnant and doesn't dare to come here. She's now taking care of my two children in the back."

Everyone looked in the direction of Lin Yue's finger, and indeed saw a young wife standing outside the crowd, holding a baby in her arms, and a one-year-old child sitting in a basket on the ground. The young wife must have been very anxious, and kept leaning forward to look inside. When she saw the crowd looking in her direction, her face suddenly turned red, and she looked at a loss.

The salesperson who was speaking nodded, whispered a few words with another salesperson, and then said, "How about this, you take the sign first, and we can sell you five meters of defective cloth first. If there is any left at the end, we will sell you the remaining five meters. How about that?" As he said this, he gave Lin Yuechun a hidden look.

Lin Yue understood what she meant and agreed without hesitation, but he also made a suggestion: "How about we wait until the end and buy together. But you have to reserve the defective fabrics for us in advance."

This also saved the salesperson trouble, so naturally they agreed.

The rule that you can buy five feet of defective cloth for every foot of cloth you buy has turned most people away. Many people came here because they saw the excitement, but they didn't get any cloth coupons, so they could only leave in disappointment, looking at Lin Yue and the others with envy before leaving.

One of them was dressed neatly and was fair-skinned and pretty. The other's clothes were simple and had many patches like theirs, but her face was rosy and she looked like she had never experienced the world. She must have lived a good life. The people who came to buy cloth were all residents of several nearby villages. They immediately saw that these two were the wives of the chiefs who lived in the military compound. They did not dare to cause trouble and just took a quick look and left.

Lin Yue and Xu Xiaodi were still talking quietly and didn't notice other people's eyes. This was mainly because Lin Yue had just joined the army and hadn't realized the change in his status, and Xu Xiaodi was simple-minded and couldn't understand other people's eyes at all.

After everyone had left, the two of them walked to the counter.

Xu Xiaodi was used to being frugal, and this time she went out to buy cloth, on the one hand, to prepare clothes for the baby in her belly, and on the other hand, because her mother-in-law was coming to take care of her, she planned to buy some cloth to make clothes for her mother-in-law. She was reluctant to buy expensive cloth, and her eyes kept turning over several relatively cheap Shilin cloths, quietly calculating something.

Lin Yue, however, did not like Shilin cloth. She had a pair of pants made of black Shilin cloth, which looked good when she wore them, but the dyeing process at that time was not mature, so the color of the pants faded! Moreover, the weather here was getting cold, and Shilin cloth was too thin and not suitable for autumn and winter clothes. She wanted to persuade Xu Xiaodi to look at something else, but when she saw the blue Shilin clothes with patches on them, she immediately gave up the idea.

The salesperson let the two of them choose for a while without making any recommendations. After Xu Xiaodi chose a piece of blue serene and a piece of black serene, Lin Yue also chose a piece of khaki, which was a lighter color. Although khaki was more expensive, it was relatively wear-resistant and could be used as a coat in winter.

Seeing that the two had made their selections, the salesperson slowly pulled out another piece of cloth from under the counter. Judging from the pattern, it was a large strip of cloth with a light color. She smiled and said, "This large strip of cloth is also a defective cloth, but this pattern is rare, so the price is a little higher. It usually sells for 40 cents a foot, but this piece of cloth doesn't require a ticket, so it's 55 cents a foot!" She sold this cloth secretly, earning 5 cents a foot, and she has made a lot of money in the past few days.

Xu Xiaodi's eyes lit up instantly. Although this piece of large strips of cloth was expensive, it was wider, more than three feet long, so it was still more valuable than the flawed white cloth on the counter. Moreover, this color would look good for making clothes or bed sheets.

She lowered her head and thought for a long time, and it was obvious that she didn't want the defective cotton cloth. Lin Yue quickly reminded her: "Think carefully, this cloth is not suitable for making clothes for a newborn baby!"

Xu Xiaodi put down the large strip of cloth, and the disappointment in her eyes could no longer be hidden. She carefully picked at the fine cotton cloth and asked Lin Yue unwillingly: "There are so many black spots on this piece of material, it's not easy to make clothes!"

Lin Yue was unwilling to accept this. Just as he was about to say something, he heard the salesperson pointing at the two black lines in the middle of the large strip of cloth and said, "It's okay. This piece of cloth has some big flaws. There is no purchase limit. And opportunities like this don't come often. I've been a salesperson for so many years, and I may not come across such a defective cloth once every one or two years."

Xu Xiaodi was very conflicted. She wanted to buy both types of cloth, but she couldn't bear to spend the money. But she also needed to prepare clothes and bedding for the baby in her belly, which would require a lot of cloth. Finally, she said with great determination, "I want both types of cloth..."

Lin Yue was flipping the large piece of cloth in his hands. Seeing that the child was fooled so quickly, he quickly covered her mouth and spoke for her: "I want both kinds of cloth, two and a half meters of each, and I want the same!"

The saleswoman felt so heartbroken when she saw that she had lost more than one yuan in extra income in the blink of an eye. However, this was already a big customer, so she cursed Lin Yue in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She took the money and the receipt, and quickly cut the cloth for them.

I don't know if it's because she spent a lot of money, but on the way back, Xu Xiaodi was very excited. She felt dizzy and her feet were about to jump up when she walked. However, as she got closer to the military gate, her mood dropped rapidly like a roller coaster. No need to guess, this is because she felt sorry for the money.

Sure enough, as soon as they returned to the family building, Xu Xiaodi grabbed Lin Yue's sleeve and said in a trembling voice: "Lin, Lin Yue, I spent nearly twenty-four yuan just on buying cloth today..."

Lin Yue knew that she was used to being frugal, and this was the first time she spent money so lavishly, so he felt uneasy.

It was useless to comfort her now. Lin Yue thought for a moment and said, "This is just the beginning. Do you think it's easy to have a baby? There will be many places to spend money on children in the future! And how much did you spend on those cloth coupons you asked someone to exchange? We are lucky today. Although the defective cloth is more expensive, we don't need the coupons, so we still save money!"

Xu Xiaodi heard Lin Yue say this and thought about it. This was normal expense and inevitable. Thinking of this, she felt much better.

Lin Yue looked at her expression and said, "If you really don't need so much cloth, you can give it to me. I have a big family and I don't know if this cloth is enough!"

She thought to herself: Amitabha, Xu Xiaodi's behavior made her feel guilty. But in fact, Xu Xiaodi's spending today was not influenced by her. She originally said she wanted to buy two meters of cloth, and she wanted to buy all khaki cloth to make cotton padded jackets for everyone in the family in winter. When the time comes, she can share some of the defective cloth with Xu Xiaodi. It was Xu Xiaodi who said she wanted to buy more, and she didn't instigate it.

However, Lin Yue also understood the panic of a person who was used to being frugal after suddenly spending a huge amount of money. She and the children would also wear clothes with patches. The fabrics at that time were not as strong as those in later generations and were easy to tear. Patching was inevitable and almost became a feature of this era. But it was rare in the family compound to wear patches on top of patches like Xu Xiaodi and not be willing to throw away clothes even when they were washed white.

Everyone has different consumption concepts and family conditions. So Lin Yue didn't say much and tried to comfort her.

The afternoon in late September began to get colder. Zhang Yuandong finally finished his 20-day combat readiness training and hurried home in the evening breeze.

Zhang Anbang trotted up to him, put his hand on his shoulder, and shouted so loudly that the entire military region could hear him: "Don't be in such a hurry to leave if you have the guts. You're so proud of being praised, aren't you? Let's have another fight!"

Zhang Yuandong leaned to the side to release his strength, and said without turning his head: "If you are not as skilled as others, you should face the reality! You are the commander of the military anti-aircraft artillery regiment, what are you competing with me for?"

Zhang Anbang was so angry that he jumped to his feet. Seeing that Zhang Yuandong was about to turn around, he quickly trotted over from behind, not caring whether Zhang Yuandong paid attention to him or not, and asked, "Where are you going? This doesn't seem to be the way back to the family compound, right?"

Zhang Yuandong raised his chin and motioned him to look. In front of him was the school grounds, and a group of little radishes rushed out of the school.

A plane flew across the sky, leaving a long white line in its path. Lingling and a group of other children looked up and exclaimed in surprise. The little radishes discussed seriously, "This must be another American plane! Shoot it down!"

Ling Ling ran forward a few steps and shouted in the direction of the plane: "Pull the line of the plane, destroy the United States and have a good meal!"

Another group of people came out of the school gate. Zhang Jian heard Ling Ling's shouting and replied rudely, "Pull the line on the plane, your mother is laying an egg!"

The two of them had been at odds for a long time. Every time they met, they would have a verbal fight. Ling Ling would rush over and shout, "Pull the line on the plane, pull your mother..."

Before she could finish, Wanli rushed over and covered her mouth.

Ling Ling was so angry that she struggled and yelled incoherently: "Zhang Wanli, let me go!"

Suddenly, she felt her neck tighten and her body slowly rise. It turned out that someone was pulling her clothes up from behind. She struggled to look back and saw her father looking at her seriously with a dark face. She trembled with fear and immediately became obedient.

Zhang Yuandong didn't put Lingling down, and just carried her all the way home. Wanli, feeling the pressure, didn't dare to say a word, and followed him home obediently.

Zhang Jian saw Ling Ling being carried away, and he chuckled twice. He turned around and saw his father coming, rolled his eyes, and rushed over to complain: "Dad, Zhang Linghan wanted to scold me just now!"

Zhang Anbang rubbed his son's head and cursed, "You idiot, not only can you not beat a little girl, you can't even scold her in a fight. You really don't look like my son!"

Zhang Jian shrank his neck and asked in a low voice: "Dad, did you defeat Zhang Linghan's dad this time?"

Zhang Anbang slapped his son on the back in annoyance and said fiercely, "What are you fighting for? We are in combat readiness training, not a military competition. I am in the anti-aircraft artillery regiment, and Zhang Yuandong is in the infantry regiment. What's the point of comparing? Kids don't understand anything, don't ask nonsense questions!"

After that, he imitated Zhang Yuandong and carried his son home. But maybe because his son was too heavy, he felt his hands were a little sore halfway through the journey, looked around and saw no one, so he put his son down.