When he arrived at the county supply and marketing cooperative, Zhang Guoqing took out all the receipts in his pocket and looked for them at each counter one by one. When he got to the cloth counter, he remembered that Jiaojiao had not given any requirements.
"Comrade, what kind of winter clothes do you lesbians buy? Could you please recommend some?"
"This thick, army-green material is the best-selling material. It can be used to make clothes for both men and women," the saleswoman with long braids said. She then glanced at him furtively, then thought for a moment and reminded him, "Today we have defective cloth shoes and wool that don't require a ticket. Hurry, or they'll be gone."
"Okay, comrade, thank you very much for your reminder. I want this army green one."
After getting the invoice and paying, he took the fabric away. He rushed to the counter selling defective products first. There were quite a lot of people around. It seemed that there was no problem with the wool, except for the color difference. The color difference of the dark color was really invisible if you didn't pay attention. The quality was really fine. He remembered that when he was in college, Zhou Jiao bought a beautiful sweater knitted with two gradient colors. No wonder she bought so many today.
"Comrade, can you help me figure out how much yarn is needed for a sweater that a 167cm lesbian and I need?"
"You want 1.2 jin (approximately 1.5 catties), and a tall, thin woman like me needs 8 liang (approximately 1.5 catties). We don't have much left, so hurry up and buy."
"Could you please bring me all the dark blue and gray ones, and also all the bright red and maroon ones?"
Zhang Guoqing thinks that this one has better color, fewer flaws, almost none, and is real wool yarn.
The salesperson looked at him curiously. No one else wanted to buy everything at once. How many people were there in this family? "Comrade, the total weight is 8 kilograms. The original price was 12 yuan, but now it's 6 yuan. No ticket is required. The total is 48 yuan. Are you sure you want all of them?"
He looked at the other defective items to see if there were any necessities. "And please take two pairs of cloth shoes, both size 44. Also, take five towels."
He looked around and saw that there were too many people around, and he didn't want to squeeze in with the old women. "That's it, please count the tickets."
The salesperson was now certain the man really wanted the item: "Two pairs of cloth shoes originally cost 6 yuan a pair, and the towel is 0.80 yuan, so together they're half price, 8 yuan, plus the yarn is 48 yuan, for a total of 56 yuan."
After taking the order and paying, he returned to pick up the goods. The salesperson said to him seriously, "Look at this: eight pounds of wool, two pairs of shoes, and five towels. I've checked them for you, and the defects aren't serious."
After the salesperson opened the item and inspected it, he picked it up and placed it in Zhang Guoqing's cloth bag. Fortunately, the bag was large. It took Zhang Guoqing an hour to spend all the money he had on the receipts. The prices were not high, and most of them were small items. He also filled up another cloth bag he had brought with him.
He later directly issued the invoice, paid at the end, and then went to the counter to pick up the goods. The sales clerks on the first floor laughed at this. Zhang Guoqing had no choice but to explain that his wife was in confinement and the invoice was about to expire, so he took a day off to come here. In the spirit of less trouble is better than more trouble, explaining will make people understand. Otherwise, if things go wrong in the future and he is targeted, it will be all over.
It's not timidity, it's caution. It's better to prevent problems before they happen than to wait until they happen and then regret it. In the end, with the help of several kind salespeople, the problem was solved within a short time. Zhang Guoqing expressed his gratitude repeatedly. People in this era are the most simple and honest.
He went upstairs, grabbed two cans of malted milk, put them in his bag, and then hurried off, looking incredibly embarrassed. He secretly decided not to come to the supply and marketing cooperative for at least a few months, waiting until everyone had forgotten about it and there was something new to talk about. He saw several girls and women grumbling about it behind his back.
After strapping the two cloth bags to the rear rack of his bicycle, Zhang Guoqing thought about the steamed cornbread at home and, with all his heart, headed for the state-owned restaurant across the street. These days were great; you could park your bike outside and no one would steal it. However, he still went in, carrying the two cloth bags as usual.
There were very few people in the restaurant, only one or two people eating noodles. I knew the waitress, Sister Huang, from junior high school. She and Zhou Jiao also came to have a bite to eat. She was daydreaming.
"Sister, look and see if there is anything to eat. Your brother is starving to death." Zhang Guoqing shouted at her as soon as he came in.
"Where's your wife? Why didn't she come with you? I haven't seen her for a long time." Sister Huang looked behind him and said, "There will be steamed buns this afternoon, as well as your favorite braised pork, and you're lucky, there will be braised beef in soy sauce. A cow from the production team fell into a ditch and died."
"Give me two buns and a portion of noodles first, and pack up the rest later." Zhang Guoqing touched his belly. He couldn't eat too much. "Jiaojiao gave birth last night. I didn't dare to let her out because my belly was so big these past few months."
Sister Huang stared at him closely, winking exaggeratedly and baring her teeth. "You are really good, kid. You are so young to become a father. I am already a 22-year-old maid, and my Jiaojiao is only 16 or 17 years old. You can do it."
Zhang Guoqing rolled his eyes at her, this frivolous young woman, "You should marry my buddy sooner rather than later. He's doing well now, working at the township grain station. He's been waiting for you for so many years, and now the flowers have faded. The lunatic is 25 years old now. Last time, his mother came to ask me, how are you guys doing now?"
Sister Huang and her best friend Cheng Feng are a couple. After they confirmed their relationship, there were always many problems, either the house problem or the betrothal money problem. Sister Huang has a mother who has high standards. She always feels that her daughter is from the county town and it is not easy to find someone from the countryside. Fortunately, Cheng Feng's family conditions are not bad. He entered the township grain station in the first half of the year. He fell in love with Sister Huang.
"It's already decided. We're getting married at the end of the year. It was confirmed two days ago. Jiaojiao will be out of confinement at the end of the year and we'll be able to attend the wedding. I might have to transfer to the state-owned restaurant in the village, so I'll be closer to you then."
"Okay, the madman finally saw the bright moon through the clouds. Congratulations to you two."
He checked to see if anyone was around, then whispered, "Sister, please buy me some good wine from the master chef. The more the better. You won't be able to buy it back in the village. Last time, he wouldn't give me even a pound, and I opened my mouth and it was gone. A jar of at least 5 pounds is needed. This is better than the wine at the supply and marketing cooperative."
Sister Huang smiled and winked secretly, then took Zhang Guoqing to the back kitchen. When they saw the chef, Zhang Guoqing first giggled, touched his head habitually, and grinned at Sister Huang, signaling her to speak quickly. Didn't he see that the chef was grinning and glaring at him as if he was about to hit him with a soup spoon.
"You kid, there's no need to make faces. The last time I got that wine, I stole it from an old friend. That guy gave birth to a son more than 20 years ago and saved up 5 jars of wine as if they were treasures. Now they're all gone." The master chef looked like he saw a ghost. He was so worried that his heart was pounding.
"Then he only has one son in his life. Master chef, you are not honest. You are eating all the food for yourself. I will ask your wife. I can smell something bad." Zhang Guoqing started to criticize him.
The master chef had no choice. If soft tactics didn't work, this brat would resort to rogue tactics. Last time, he stole 2 kilograms out of the last 3 kilograms. There was nothing he could do about him. He could only glare at Sister Huang. It must have been her who informed on him. He only brought it here specially because there was braised beef today.
"Okay, 2 jin at most, no more, I'll just give you a 5 jin jar."
This bad boy will go after his wife if he doesn't give him any wine. Everyone knows that his wife is afraid that drinking too much will be bad for his health. If she knew that he didn't bring any wine home, she would definitely give him a hard time.
"The chef has some wine, and I want some too! I want to be filial to my father-in-law." Sister Huang blurted out anxiously, "At noon, bring back two large jars. Last time, they weighed 5 kilograms, and this time they weigh at least 10 kilograms. Xiaowu, we'll find some ourselves."
Zhang Guoqing glared at the master chef, pretending to be sad, and accused him, "I'll tell the master's wife that you secretly hid 20 kilograms of wine and drank it yourself, and didn't give me a drop."
He secretly exchanged glances with Sister Huang and made a gesture, "Master Chef, think about it, if Master's wife comes, only one catty will be left. The other 19 catties are all mine. Take a look."
"Oh, I knew your ancestors were up to no good. 5 jin. Just 5 jin, no more." The chef saw him leaving and immediately followed him. He was really worried that the old woman would find out and not even 1 jin could be kept. He had secretly hidden these 20 jin at an old friend's place. He had just secretly moved it here today.
"Xiao Wu, I found it. It's a 10-jin package. Haha, Master Chef, I found it. Will you accept it?" Sister Huang shouted happily.
"You guys are really good at this, and you still need some tricks. Is that necessary? But don't tell my old woman. Take this jar away, out of sight, out of mind."
"Master Chef, you can't drink it all at once, or I'll tell Master's wife. She's worried about you. One jin at a time at most. Sister Huang is supervising."
Enough joking, I still have to remind you that this old man drinks without restraint and I'm afraid he'll end up in trouble.
"I see. You're the only one with so many tricks. I'll help you pack and carry it for you."
"Sister Huang, get something to pack this jar. Take it back and pack it for my father." Zhang Guoqing reminded Sister Huang to get a bottle. "Master chef, give me a pound of braised beef. Pack it together."
Sister Huang shook her head. "No, this jar is sealed. It's hard to ride a bike with it open, and my dad doesn't drink. Go eat the noodles first. They'll get mushy soon. Go back early so Jiaojiao can rest assured."
Seeing that she really didn't want it, Zhang Guoqing didn't hesitate. He himself didn't like drinking, and he had a collection of good wines in his space. It was just that he remembered that his father loved to drink this wine. Last time, he treasured it for a long time and only finished 2 kilograms. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through so much trouble.
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