Since Gu Yong is paying for it, there's nothing wrong with buying something expensive, right?
The mother and daughter were of one mind; they looked at each other and understood each other's thoughts.
After putting down the clothes I had chosen and tried on, I went upstairs.
Once you go up to the second floor, the space feels larger, and there are fewer people than downstairs.
The clothes are in a lighter color, the fabric is better than the ones downstairs, and the style is classic, elegant, and timeless.
Not to mention Dong Hongmei's daughter, even Dong Hongmei herself was immediately captivated.
The mother and daughter looked around briefly, and each of them took a fancy to a set of clothes.
Dong Hongmei had her eye on a beige trench coat. It was crisp and stylish, with a slight pleat at the waist that made her waist look slender. The length was just right, making her legs look long.
Wearing it instantly transforms one's aura.
Once Dong Hongmei put it on, she didn't want to take it off. She kept looking at herself in the full-length mirror, liking it more and more each time.
Her daughter also took a liking to a light yellow knitted long dress, which made her look much more demure.
The mother and daughter had never been to Hongzhuang before and didn't know the local customs.
However, when I asked about the prices of the clothes in the discount section downstairs, they weren't too expensive; in fact, they were cheaper than in the department store.
I reckon the upstairs boutique area, even if it's expensive, won't be too pricey.
Moreover, these clothes, you only realize how well they fit when you touch them and put them on.
The two of them tried to restrain themselves, and each of them picked out two more items. When they heard the amount at the checkout, they were stunned.
These four outfits actually cost over three hundred yuan.
Dong Hongmei blushed. She had come out to buy clothes and other things, and she only brought two hundred yuan with her. She figured that it would be enough to buy whatever clothes she wanted.
After all, two hundred yuan is a huge sum of money to buy clothes at this time.
Who would have thought that even a red dress wouldn't be enough?
Her daughter, being younger, couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing the exorbitant price, "Are you kidding me? These four pieces of clothing are so expensive? Are you running a rip-off shop?"
The cashier's smiling face instantly darkened: "Young man, you'd better watch your words! Our Hongzhuang Clothing Store is a well-known brand in Beijing, and this price is already discounted for you! You should know that the clothes you picked out—this knitted dress is all cashmere, the lace on this one is all imported, and this trench coat—there are only a handful of these in all of Beijing!"
"If you don't believe me, go to the Friendship Store or any state-run department store and see what prices those styles, which are not as good as our Hongzhuang, are priced at?"
The commotion immediately attracted the attention of several customers who were also looking at clothes.
Since marrying Gu Yong, Dong Hongmei has been pampered by outsiders and has become extremely concerned about her image.
Feeling embarrassed, she glared at her daughter before saying demurely, "Can't you give us a discount? We're practically family with your boss—"
The cashier glanced at Dong Hongmei, flashing a professional, fake smile that revealed eight teeth: "I'm sorry, our rule at Hongzhuang is that everyone pays the same price except for the regular discounts! If you don't like the clothes in the boutique area on the second floor, you can go downstairs to pick out some; they're the latest styles shipped from Guangzhou—"
Dong Hongmei hesitated for a moment.
Her daughter next to her exclaimed anxiously, "Mom, I don't want the ones downstairs, I only want these two!"
Dong Hongmei glared at her daughter, but ultimately couldn't bear to part with the clothes. She frowned and thought for a moment before tentatively asking, "I really am a relative of your boss. I'm her mother-in-law! Isn't your boss named Xu Ningyan? Isn't her husband named Jiang Zhiyuan?"
The cashier looked at Dong Hongmei suspiciously: "Are you our boss's mother-in-law?"
Dong Hongmei nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, even your boss will have to call me 'Mom' when he sees me—"
"Mom?" The words had barely left his lips when a strange woman's voice came from behind him.
Dong Hongmei turned around and saw two unfamiliar women standing behind her.
The older one looked somewhat familiar, as if I'd seen him somewhere before.
The cashier, however, saw the two and immediately stood up with a smile: "The boss is here!"
Dong Hongmei blushed immediately, feeling embarrassed.
However, having seen some of the world through Gu Yong's influence, she managed to maintain her composure: "You must be Xiao Xu? I'm your current wife, Gu Yong. My surname is Dong, you can call me Aunt Dong—"
Xu Ningyan looked at Dong Hongmei with a half-smile: "Aunt Dong? Didn't you just say that I have to call you 'Mom' when I see you?"
Dong Hongmei blushed and tried to save face: "According to seniority, although I am a stepmother-in-law, I am still a mother-in-law, so shouldn't you call me 'Mom'?"
Before Xu Ningyan could speak, Jiang Yuan couldn't hold back any longer: "My own mother-in-law isn't dead yet, when did it become your place to act like big shots? I divorced Gu Yong a long time ago, and our family has cut ties with him long ago. His biological father has nothing to do with us. What are you, a second wife, acting like such a big shot?"
Dong Hongmei's face turned pale. She remembered that she had seen a photo frame on Gu Yong's desk when she went into his study by chance once.
The woman in the photo frame is Jiang Yuan.
Gu Yong was furious and forbade her from entering the study again.
Dong Hongmei had a vivid memory of this, and now that she had finally met him in person, she couldn't help but take a second look.
She was younger than Jiang Yuan in front of her, with gentle features, while Jiang Yuan standing in front of her had very sharp eyes.
Unable to contain her initial weakness, she took a step back and whispered, "Big sister—"
Jiang Yuan felt annoyed: "Who's your older sister? Stop trying to claim kinship! My Xiaoyan only has me as her mother. You unimportant outsiders want to take advantage of my Xiaoyan and also want to be her elders? How can you be so shameless?"
"Looks like you and Gu Yong are truly birds of a feather; none of you are good-looking, but you all have such high and mighty dreams!"
Dong Hongmei's face turned as red as an eggplant, feeling as if Jiang Yuan had ripped off her face and trampled her on the ground in front of everyone.
An unprecedented humiliation!
It felt like she had returned to the days before she married Gu Yong, when she was bullied at will.
Dong Hongmei's eyes reddened, she loosened her grip on the clothes in her hand, snatched the clothes from her daughter's hand, stuffed them into the cashier's arms, and dragged her daughter downstairs.
Her daughter was still somewhat reluctant to leave, and even after being dragged to the bottom of the stairs, she couldn't help but look back longingly.
The mother and daughter rushed out of the red-dressed house and walked quite a distance before stopping.
Dong Hongmei was panting heavily. Her daughter, coming to her senses, couldn't help but complain, "Mom, why are you running?"
"If I don't run away, am I supposed to stay there and be humiliated?" Dong Hongmei poked her daughter's forehead in exasperation.
The daughter pouted, "Mom, really! Don't you always tell me to put up with everyone else in the compound? You say I'm different from them, and I have to carefully coax them so it will benefit me in the future!"
"It's your turn, why can't you bear it? If you hold back, apologize, say nice things to the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and humbly try to please them, wouldn't we get our share? Maybe they'll even give me those two pieces of clothing—"
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