The two nodded and walked together toward the kitchen. The kitchen was small, just a dozen or so single-story rooms. There were two water taps and four coal stoves inside. The area near the door was empty, clearly reserved for Xuemei and the others.
"We need to buy a coal stove, coal, a cabinet, an iron pot and a rice cooker, and a kettle. We can buy oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar at the general store; that's convenient." Cuihua pointed out the necessary items one by one, as if surveying a vast landscape.
"Mother, Father runs a general store, let's go buy from him," Xuemei suggested.
Cuihua smiled: "Xuemei, we don't have a stove or coal, but we do have pots, pans, and iron pots. We'll have Dongnan go get them later. You and I will clean up and put things away. The sooner we get it done, the better we can feel at ease."
Southeast nodded repeatedly, pushed out his bicycle and rode towards the general store. Xuemei and Cuihua took out the rags, buckets and mops they had brought and started cleaning. The two worked quickly, and since the room wasn't very dirty to begin with, they finished cleaning in twenty minutes.
Xuemei hung up the curtains again, took out the bedding from her luggage, and carefully made the bed and folded the blankets. Cuihua also took things out of her bag. Where should she put the two washbasins? Hmm, there's no place to put them. She needs to get a washbasin stand.
Two thermos flasks, let's put them on the desk for now. Towels, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, let's put them in the basin for now, we can solve that once we buy the shelf. Two tea mugs, two lunch boxes, let's just put them wherever we want. And a big bag of Fu Bao's clothes, shoes, and socks, let's just put them in the closet.
He took out a can of milk powder and malted milk powder, which Liu Jin had saved up from his monthly allowance to buy. Of course, he didn't buy it for Fu Bao, but for Grandma Yan and himself.
His mother likes to drink malted milk powder, and he likes to drink milk powder, but he doesn't know that the last thing his family has in abundance right now is malted milk powder and milk powder. There are so many people buying them that they can't possibly finish them all.
This benefited Fu Bao and Duo Duo. Grandma Yan was not biased at all; both children received a can of milk powder and a can of malted milk powder. However, Cuihua did not give Duo Duo's things to Tang Xiaoling. She decided to give the child the milk powder herself every day. Compared to Fu Bao, Duo Duo was indeed quite thin and weak.
Southeast returned with what she needed. Her father's general store was so innovative—open-style sales and management. Needless to say, it must have been Nan Nan's idea.
Also, my dad's place is so popular that there's a long line of people waiting to pay, so I didn't pay for the things I took today. I just asked the clerk to put it on the tab and pay for it all together later.
Xuemei put the pots and pans into the washbasin, waiting for the coal stove to arrive before boiling water to wash them. She regretted not bringing the stove she bought in the county town, but then she thought that it was such a long way, and it might fall apart if she carried it here.
"Mom, do you know where to buy a stove and coal? And if you have an electric kettle, it would be best to buy one too, it's so convenient!" Xuemei was thinking about the electric kettle.
"Wait until Aidang comes back tonight and he'll help you get it. He has a lot of connections and knows many people, so getting a stove won't be difficult for him. He probably doesn't have any electric kettles right now, so we'll talk to Yan Ge when he gets here and ask him to get a few more." Cuihua still trusted Yan Aidang and Yan Ge's abilities.
After putting everything away and locking the door, the group headed to the clothing store. Business was good, and the store was short-staffed, with only two sales clerks, Grandma Wang, and Nan Nan present.
Once they arrived, without any further instructions, Dongnan went to help Yan Xiaoqiang, while Xuemei and Cuihua ran into the clothing store. Sure enough, it was crowded. Due to the cold weather, most people were packed inside, and they had to squeeze through sideways to walk. Trying on clothes was out of the question.
Yan Xiaonan was holding a megaphone and announcing that everyone could buy the clothes first, and if the size was wrong, they could exchange them within a week, provided it did not affect the resale.
Everyone thought it was a good idea, since they could exchange the goods anyway, so they sped up their shopping. Xuemei stood by the door and watched as an old lady deftly took the clothes from the customer's hand, collected the money, wrote down the details, tied them with a rope, and handed them back to the customer.
The two sales clerks were also very enthusiastic in serving the customers. One handed the clothes to the customer, and the other tidied up the clothes that the customer had messed up. They were definitely not as bossy as the sales clerks in the department stores outside. Their sweet smiles made the customers feel happy, and they were very generous in paying for their purchases.
Yan Xiaonan was a porter, constantly running in and out to replenish the supplies. When Cuihua saw this, she quickly ran over to Grandma Wang and started working skillfully. Xuemei also went to Yan Xiaonan's side and followed her in and out, asking questions whenever she didn't understand, and she worked enthusiastically as well.
Time flies when you're working. Cuihua looked up at the clock on the wall; it was almost four o'clock. A large family was having dinner that evening, so she had to leave early.
Yan Xiaonan waved to her: "Mom, you take Sister Xuemei back first, I'll be done here soon."
Cuihua nodded and took Xuemei home. At the same time, Tang Jianjun also took his mother to the courtyard house. This morning, Tang Jianjun took his mother to a clothing store and bought a cotton-padded jacket and an overcoat, which cost more than 100 yuan. That was a discounted price given by Nannan, which made Tang's mother very distressed.
Tang Jianjun laughed heartily, saying that buying his wife a few clothes was nothing; money is earned to be spent, and what's the point of earning money if you don't spend it?
Tang's mother was confused by his reasoning. Besides, Nan Nan also supported Tang Jianjun's approach. With the cooperation of the two, Tang's mother picked out clothes in a daze, without even trying them on, and then grabbed her daughter-in-law and left.
He then took his wife to see his workplace. When Tang's mother saw the furniture factory, she was stunned. Good heavens, it was much bigger than the furniture factory in town! The neat buildings were two stories high, and the workshops were huge, especially the machines. She couldn't understand any of them.
A girl was directing people to do something in the warehouse. Tang's mother found it strange. Tang Jianjun explained to her that it was almost Chinese New Year and Nan Nan was giving out welfare to all the factory workers. Each person would receive five catties of cotton and ten catties of rice.
Mrs. Tang shook her head: "Old Tang, isn't Nan Nan being too generous? She's making people's appetites too big. What are we going to do in the future?"
Tang Jianjun shook his head: "Wife, you don't understand. This is where Nan Nan's intelligence lies. The discipline in our factory is very strict. Anyone who makes a mistake will have their wages and benefits deducted. But the benefits are really good. There is a full attendance bonus and a performance bonus every month. There is also an end-of-year bonus and New Year's gifts. If you were an employee of the factory, would you want to leave?"
Mrs. Tang smiled. She understood completely. If she wanted more money, she had to work hard and follow the factory rules. This was a virtuous cycle.
"Do you have any?" Mrs. Tang asked, pointing to the sorted bags.
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