After a while, he touched his chin and asked softly, "How is your health?"
Hearing this, Zhou Yunwan stopped and turned to look at him. "It's not a big deal, just a superficial wound. It will probably heal in a few days."
Although Zhou Qitao and his wife had not returned many times in the past decade, in order to prevent them from discovering clues, Zhou Qifeng and his companions did not dare to leave obvious wounds on the original owner. They beat him but did not kill him.
But the original owner's skin was as thin and tender as hers, so any marks left on it accidentally would be difficult to remove. When she was washing her body yesterday, she had checked it carefully, and most of them were just bruises from beatings and pinching marks, which would heal after a while.
"That's good." Shen Yanli was relieved a little. The doctor had mentioned it to him before at the health center, so he had an idea in his mind. The scars on the body could heal, but what about the scars in the heart?
In order to avoid mentioning her sad story, Shen Yanli did not ask any more questions. At this time, her soft voice sounded in his ears again.
"While we still have time, shall we go to the supply and marketing cooperative?"
There are several supply and marketing cooperatives in the county town. If you want to go, you must go to the largest one, which has the most complete range of things. Zhou Yunwan went back to get the money, asked the lady downstairs for directions, and then walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative.
As expected, it is the largest one in the county, with two floors and a very large area, so there are many people. As soon as she entered the door, Zhou Yunwan was almost stunned by the scene in front of her. Looking around, there were densely packed black heads, which made people feel like they were suffering from claustrophobia.
...
...
The things sold on the two floors are different. Now that you are here, you must take your time to visit each floor.
However, every shelf was packed with people, and there was almost no place to stand. After walking a few steps, Zhou Yunwan felt herself drowned in the crowd, being pushed forward, shoulder to shoulder with the people around her.
As she stumbled, someone bumped into her suddenly, causing her to lose balance instantly and almost fall to the ground. It was not until a tall figure came over, held her arm, and stood sideways to block the crowd that she was given space to breathe.
"Follow me closely."
A familiar voice sounded in her ears, Zhou Yunwan cast a grateful look at Chen Yanli, and then walked slowly forward next to him as he said.
With him acting as a meat shield, the situation of being pushed around was indeed alleviated. However, there were too many people and they had to stop after walking two steps. Although this gave them time to pick out items, the constant walking and stopping led to physical contact very easily.
When her forehead hit his back for who knows how many times, she boldly grabbed the hem of his clothes, pinching the fabric with her fingertips, keeping a proper distance. Every time her fist touched his body, she knew it was time to stop.
Such restrained behavior was not considered crossing the line. At most, it was a helpless act to deal with the sudden situation, so she did not notice the stiff back of the person in front of her, or the obviously disordered pace.
Rubbing her forehead with her free hand, she concentrated on looking at the merchandise on the shelves. The supply and marketing cooperatives of that era were like treasure chests, basically having everything, revealing a style and taste unique to that era.
Most of the items sold on the first floor were food. Zhou Yunwan bought some local specialties and planned to move to the second floor, which sold daily necessities such as cloth, hairpins, and enamel washbasins, as well as cultural supplies such as pencils, exercise books, erasers, etc.
Compared to the crowded first floor, there were obviously fewer people on the second floor. Soon, she was attracted by the several batches of materials on the fabric counter. The colors were rich, but the types were relatively few. They were mainly plain cotton and twill cotton, with a thick texture and good warmth retention performance.
Speaking of which, the original owner didn't have many decent clothes. If he wanted to keep warm, he had to put on two more coats. They were bulging like a ball and were so ugly, not beautiful at all. She had long wanted to buy two pieces of cloth to make two new sets of clothes, but she had to go to Beijing in two days, and it was too late to find someone to make them temporarily.
Thinking of this, she set her eyes on the only two pieces of women's ready-made clothing hanging not far away. The apricot floral fabric was considered very fashionable in that era, and the tailoring and details were also acceptable, so she began to think about buying them.
So she pointed to the one at the back and asked the salesperson, "How much is that?"
Inside the tall counter, one of the female sales clerks in uniform glanced at Zhou Yunwan casually. She was pretty, but from her clothes, she knew she was a shabby country girl. Guessing that she couldn't afford it, she ignored her and went to greet other customers.
Zhou Yunwan was stunned at first when she didn't get a response. She thought she didn't hear clearly, so she raised her voice and repeated it again, but the saleswoman still ignored her and even muttered disdainfully: "You're asking if you can afford it? It's a waste of time."
Zhou Yunwan heard these words clearly, and immediately realized that this was blatant discrimination from the other party. She was furious. It was true that salesgirls in every era have this kind of snobbish look that looks down on people!
Zhou Yunwan also lost her temper: "Whether I can afford it or not is my business, but serving customers is your responsibility. If you keep this attitude, I will complain to you."
As soon as these words were spoken, several women who were selecting fabrics nearby looked over.
The saleswoman seemed to have not expected her to be so tough, and her face changed. After being persuaded by her colleagues, she reluctantly put down the cloth in her hand, and the corner of her mouth pulled out an arc that was about to smile: "My dear sister, I'm not lying to you, this dress is a high-end product, 85 yuan a piece, you may not be able to afford it."
"If I can't afford it but still want to watch it, isn't that a waste of my time?"
She did not apologize, but instead emphasized again how expensive the dress was in order to make Zhou Yunwan back out.
Before Zhou Yunwan could say anything, an old lady next to her said, "Why is it so expensive? The money from this one piece is enough for me to make several sets of clothes."
It's no wonder that the old lady reacted so exaggeratedly. These days, the average worker only earns 30 or 40 yuan a month. Spending two or even three months' wages to buy a piece of clothing, not to mention the country people, even the city people would shake their heads when they heard it.
Moreover, Zhou Yunwan's dress and appearance make her look like a country girl. No matter how pretty she is, it's useless if she has no money. How can she afford such expensive clothes? So someone helped the salesperson and said, "It's no wonder the salesperson didn't want to bother with her. She looks so shabby, it's hard to believe she can afford it."
"That's right. Asking but not buying is a waste of time."
Listening to the laughter and sarcasm from the people around her, if it were in her previous life, Zhou Yunwan would have thrown money in their faces to make them look down on her. However, in this life, she was really short of money, and the only money she had was the pension from the original owner's parents.
She can buy the ready-made clothes for a while, but what after that? She still has to live in Beijing, and the prices there will definitely be higher than here. What will she do if she runs out of money?
The most important thing is that she didn't need to make an impulsive purchase just because of the salesperson's bad attitude, which simply gave her an extra sales boost.
Although this is the truth, she just can't swallow it.
She didn't do anything wrong, but these people actually spoke for the salesperson. They are so stupid!
Just when she was extremely angry, a slender, bony hand reached out, with a few banknotes and cloth coupons sandwiched between its fingers.
Then, a low and hoarse voice sounded above her head, "Pack up the ready-made garment she just liked."
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