Unlike Li Qingmei, Qiu Jianshe had seen a lot of the world. As for such large-scale consumption places, he had only been to a supply and marketing cooperative in a town. Now that he had entered this huge department store, he was so embarrassed that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
Qiu Jianshe was pressed to the point of no return, so he reluctantly pointed at the Forever watch and said, "Let's take this one. This one is already eighty, and the others are too expensive."
In fact, Qiu Yuling still had a ticket for a Shanghai watch. Knowing that Qiu Jianshe was reluctant to part with it and didn't dare to choose it, she called out to the waiter, "Comrade, I have a ticket for a Shanghai watch. Give me the all-steel one."
"The salesperson just said that one piece costs 120 yuan. It's too expensive. It's enough to cover our family expenses for a long time..." Qiu Jianshe grabbed Qiu Yuling, trying to make her speak and withdraw the purchase order.
The people in the department store had an impression of Qiu Yuling after the last incident. They knew she had the ability and didn't mind having too much work. After hearing this, they stopped, as if waiting for her decision.
"It's alright, comrade. Just issue the invoice as I just said. I'll go over and pay."
Since Mr. Qiu was so conflicted, she simply took full control.
Little Tunan was also dazzled by the colorful scene, and rushed towards the candy counter, crying loudly.
"Oh, this little girl is really strong. Well, Yuling, I'll take Nannan over there first. The kid is anxious to get over there." Li Qingmei was almost unable to hold her granddaughter because of her flailing legs.
By the time Qiu Yuling brought her father to pay the bill and put on her watch to go back, Li Tunan's saliva was almost flowing like a waterfall.
Qiu Yuling was amused and anxious, "It's not like I'm short of you, it's not that serious." But she still collected half a pound of sugar tickets and weighed some of various kinds.
"That's too much! Didn't you tell the baby not to eat so much candy?" Li Qingmei stopped the girl in a low voice.
"It's okay. You and my dad eat them too. Sometimes when we go back to the farm, we put a few in our pockets and give a few to the kids when we see them."
After thinking about it, it seemed that there was not much more to do, so he let go of his hand and concentrated on protecting his granddaughter, fearing that she would bounce violently and get trampled by others.
Since they were already there, Qiu Yuling also bought a lot of fabrics for the old couple, thinking that when Li Qingmei was free, she could make new clothes for each of them.
"You really don't need this. Your father and I have more clothes than we can wear. You young people should make a couple more sets. And Nan Nan is growing fast, so make one for the baby..."
Qiu Yuling didn't listen to what they said. "I still have some material. I'll take it over and make one for grandma. It's for me and Nannan. Don't worry about it. I'll make it myself when I have time."
I couldn't persuade her, and she still let her spend money.
After wandering around and finishing all these things, it was already time for dinner. Little Tunan had all kinds of snacks and candies, but the adults hadn't eaten anything and were already starving.
Director Qiu simply didn't even think about cooking. He waved his hand and took the whole family, young and old, to a restaurant.
Qiu Jianshe's smile never faded. Sitting in the state-owned restaurant, he whispered to the baby's mother, "It's like a dream. I never thought I, Qiu Jianshe, would be able to live like this."
When you enter a department store, you can browse freely. You only buy expensive things and don't choose the right ones. When it's time to eat and there's no time to cook, you just eat out. You can't even get your clothes patched up, but you have to make new ones...
"I still remember the days when our whole family wore one coat. It feels like the previous life. Hehe, my daughter is right, my blessing is yet to come..." He is content and satisfied, and feels that his life nowadays couldn't be more satisfying.
Li Qingmei no longer has the explosive temper she had when she was young, and now she is as patient as she can be with her little granddaughter.
She took out a handkerchief, wiped off the saliva that overflowed from eating candy, and turned the bib for the baby in a different direction, "Who said it wasn't? I thought this is how my life will end. I fooled them until they grew up and passed them off to others. We still have to work hard for our grandchildren.
Who could have imagined that there would be a day when we could eat and drink without having to work? We are not workers, but we are no worse off than those workers’ families…”
For fear that the people at the neighboring table might hear them, the two of them lowered their voices as low as possible. Strangely enough, they could actually hear each other.
When Qiu Yuling brought the food over, what she saw was a scene that looked like a meeting between underground workers.
"What are you talking about?" When she was standing by the window waiting for the meal to be served, she saw the three of them huddled together and whispering to each other.
"Nothing, I said I would serve it, but you insisted that I sit and wait with your mother." Qiu Jianshe hurriedly got up to take the tray.
Qiu Yuling ordered a rather rich meal, including almost all the dishes served today. Steamed pork with rice flour was 28 cents per portion, stir-fried pork liver was 50 cents per portion, braised pork was 80 cents per portion, and vegetable and tofu soup was 10 cents per bowl.
I ordered two servings of mixed noodles and a bowl of noodle soup. The mixed noodles were 20 cents and the noodle soup was 10 cents.
Qiu Jianshe and Li Qingmei had mixed noodles, while Qiu Yuling and her son had the soup noodles.
The old couple complained that it was too expensive and that they ordered too much, but in the end they finished everything. For just two dollars, the whole family was full and satisfied.
Qiu Yuling joked that it was quite worth it.
Li Qingmei raised her eyebrows. "What's the point? Just once is enough. The money from this meal is enough to buy three pounds of pork. If converted into fine grains, it can buy more than ten pounds..."
That's not how it works! Qiu Yuling couldn't convince them. There were always unbreakable barriers in this area.
However, there has been progress. They have now learned not to spoil the fun. Although they still feel regretful, they don't complain about it endlessly like before.
The situation outside is indeed different. There were still people coming to the restaurant before, but now there are at least twice as many as before.
During the meal, people at the surrounding tables were talking about all sorts of things, and some people even dared to bring up some things. However, there were still more educated youth among the diners, and most of them were talking about the upcoming college entrance examination.
Qiu Yuling made a rough estimate in her mind. Without mentioning those workers who were delayed and of appropriate age, she only looked at the two grades of students in the high school department of Zaohua School. There were two classes this year, with a total of about sixty people.
This is because the benefits at Zaohua Factory are good, and everyone wants the kids to come here and finish their studies so they will have a chance to be recruited. That’s why there are so many.
In rural middle schools, for example, the entire junior and senior high schools combined only have about fifty or sixty students. It's even more uncertain whether any of these students will make it big.
But if Zaohua can send one or two students to prestigious universities in this college entrance examination, then in the future, students will flock to Zaohua School just for its own brand, without having to use the factory's name.
With something on her mind, Qiu Yuling sent her parents and children back to Liushu Lane and then changed her route to look for Principal Sang.
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