After Han Chen and Xuemei bought the camera, they planned to go shopping in the department store and buy everything they wanted at once, so they came to the fabric group.
The fabric section was far richer than anything Xuemei had seen in the county town; it was a world of difference. The sheer variety of clothing, colors, and fabrics filled forty square meters. There was even a full-length mirror placed inside, and opposite it were two fitting rooms, one for men and one for women.
Xuemei leaned forward to take a look at a coat. This coat was very similar in style to the tweed coat the Lin family bought for her. Both were double-breasted coats with a front placket.
Xuemei walked over to the salesperson, pointed at the coat she had just looked at, and asked, "Comrade, how much is this coat?"
"This is a sheepskin coat. No cloth coupons are needed. It's 35 yuan per piece! The men's ones are more expensive, 40 yuan each!" The salesperson in the fabric group knew that Xuemei and Han Chen had just bought a camera from the electrical appliance group. Seeing that the clothes they were wearing were also nice, the salesperson spoke to Xuemei and Han Chen enthusiastically.
Xuemei was surprised for a few seconds. She knew the coats her uncle and aunt had sent them were expensive, but she hadn't expected them to be this expensive. However, she also grasped the salesperson's point: some clothes didn't require cloth coupons.
Xuemei paused for a few seconds, then asked, "Comrade, what clothes don't require cloth coupons?"
"Clothes made of wool sweaters, leather coats and the like don't require cloth coupons, but they are not cheap. For example, the wool cardigan with buttons behind you costs twenty yuan!" the salesperson replied.
"Okay, comrade, thank you. Let's take a look!" Xuemei said gratefully.
Xuemei and Han Chen went through the fabric group carefully from beginning to end. Finally, they discussed in a low voice and decided to buy a wool sweater for Yu Qing. Yu Qing and Lin Jianye spent more than 100 yuan on Xuemei and her husband. Xuemei felt really bad about it.
After the discussion, Xuemei said to the salesperson, "Comrade, could you please get me a medium-sized wool sweater with buttons?"
"Comrade, the total is twenty yuan!" the salesperson said after taking the clothes down and folding them.
When Xuemei was about to take the money, she heard Han Chen ask, "Comrade, how much is the cloth in the back?"
Xuemei looked in the direction of Han Chen's finger and saw a piece of emerald green Dacron cloth with yellow patterns. A little corner of the cloth was exposed, and the rest was covered by the blue and black cloth.
When Xuemei looked at the fabric, her eyes stayed on it for a long time, and Han Chen had noticed it a long time ago.
The salesperson came out from the counter, walked up to the cloth Han Chen pointed at and said, "You have a very good eye, young man. This is the last piece of cloth of this color we have. If you put it in this gap, you can still find it!"
The salesperson pulled the emerald green fabric out from the corner and said, "This is Dacron. It's beautifully dyed and has yellow patterns on it. It's a bit more expensive than regular Dacron. 90 cents a foot!"
Xuemei thought it was too expensive and shook her head at Han Chen. Normally, regular cotton cloth would only cost 28 cents to 30 cents a foot, and better quality would only cost 40 cents a foot. Now, the price had more than doubled.
Han Chen whispered, "Xuemei, buy it! This color will definitely look good on you. Then you and Qingya can each make a braid to wear. I've never seen you wear a skirt before."
The salesperson next to Xuemei also tried to persuade her, "Girl, let me be honest with you. This color of fabric is all we have left. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never find another store like it again. Besides, your partner has agreed."
Under the persuasion of the two, Xuemei hardened her heart and said, "Comrade, can you give me twenty feet?"
The salesperson took a tape measure and measured the remaining cloth. Then, he leaned over to Xuemei's ear and whispered, "Sister, this piece of cloth is just shy of twenty-one feet. I'll give you twenty feet of cloth coupons. You just need to pay me for the twenty feet of coupons later. You can quietly give me the remaining sixty cents. It won't be written on the invoice!"
Xuemei nodded and said softly, "Okay, big sister, thank you very much!"
After buying the cloth, Xuemei and Han Chen were left with only two yuan, thirty-four cents out of the two hundred and thirty yuan they had taken this morning. All the cloth coupons and industrial coupons they had brought from home had been used up.
Although it was already 12 o'clock, Xuemei and Han Chen were worried about taking their camera to the state-owned restaurant for dinner, fearing it might accidentally hit something. Therefore, Xuemei asked Han Chen to buy some vegetarian buns from the state-owned restaurant, while she waited at the department store counter with the food.
After Xuemei and Han Chen finished eating the buns, they carefully took their cameras to the nearby bus stop to wait for the bus. When Xuemei and Han Chen returned to the Lin family, it was already two o'clock, and only Feng Ru and her two sons were at home.
Feng Ru opened the door and said, "You two are back. Come in quickly. Your faces are red from the cold!"
As soon as Xuemei and Han Chen entered the living room, they put the things they bought on the floor. The two Lin Jin brothers slipped down from the sofa and stared at the two cloth bags on the table with curiosity.
Xuemei took off her cotton coat and scarf, then took out a small bag of wafer chocolate biscuits and a bottle of Coke from a cloth bag on the table and handed them to the Lin Jin brothers. She said, "Xiao Jin, Xiao Ren, these are for you two. Ask your mother how much you can eat!"
Feng Ru saw this and said disapprovingly, "Why are you two going out and buying them such expensive things? We have candy for them at home!"
"Sister-in-law, this was bought at the Friendship Store. The foreign exchange coupons were given by you and your brother. It's only right for us to buy some food for Xiaojin and the others!" Xuemei said, pulling Feng Ru's arm.
Feng Ru accepted Xuemei's words and said to Lin Jin and Lin Ren, "Don't fight over it yet. I'll divide it among you later. Especially that bottle of soda. Don't let it fall to the ground!"
Seeing that the two brothers had stopped fighting, Feng Ru then asked Xuemei and Han Chen, "Xuemei, Xiaochen, did you two have lunch outside? If not, I'll go get you some food!"
"Sister-in-law, we have eaten. I have something else to ask you. Xuemei and I bought a camera. Someone taught us how to use it a few times in the department store. I feel like I have learned how to use it, but I want to take a couple of pictures to try it out. You can watch from the side! Is there anything else that Xuemei and I should pay attention to when taking pictures with a camera?" Han Chen said.
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