Chapter 17 Selling lipstick.
In the dimly lit screening room, the screen showed an exciting and heroic scene. The changing light and shadow made the atmosphere more tense, and everyone present was immersed in the plot of the movie. Dabao and Erbao watched without blinking, but Su Yu, who was sitting next to them, was full of thoughts.
She didn't know what had changed. Previously, her aunt gave Dabao two White Rabbit candies as an apology. Now she came to work in the cinema, although she was only working as a helper for six months. This was something that had never happened in her previous life.
Moreover, her aunt had just asked her to write a letter to Lianzhou to help inquire about bicycle tickets.
Su Yu had no objection to her parents-in-law buying a bicycle for her sister-in-law to go to work. She had her own salary, and Lianzhou would send her money every month. Su Yu had never thought about the money her parents-in-law had, and she had long seen how much her parents-in-law loved her sister-in-law.
She was just surprised that her sister-in-law didn't write directly to her husband.
Whether in the past or in the future in her memory, she has always been dissatisfied with her sister-in-law's behavior of often writing directly to her husband without her knowledge, asking him for money or buying him rare things such as watches.
Obviously, she and Lianzhou are husband and wife, but He Susu behaves as if she doesn't take her, her sister-in-law, seriously at all.
Su Yu couldn't help but sigh. She had naturally agreed to He Susu's request just now, thinking that she would write a letter to her husband when she got home to ask for help in asking for bicycle tickets.
During this time, Su Yu lived comfortably at her mother's house, her two children were taken care of by her mother, and her work went smoothly. But she found that it was impossible to keep a distance from He Susu.
Just like when she took her children out to see a movie, she ran into He Susu accidentally. Later, when He Susu worked in the county town, the probability of running into her was even greater.
Fortunately, there was still a year and a half before the educated youth He Susu liked went to the countryside, and before that, He Susu was relatively normal. Su Yu thought, just let things take their course in the future.
After figuring it out, Su Yu focused her attention on the movie playing, so that the two children would not ask her questions that she would not be able to answer.
He Susu never thought that her words would make the third sister-in-law think so much. She did plan to write to the third brother to tell him about the bicycle ticket, but since she met the third sister-in-law now, it would have the same effect if she told her.
It can be considered as respecting the third sister-in-law.
She stayed at the ticket counter for the entire afternoon, and clearly lamented that the cinema business was better in the afternoon than in the morning.
At 5:30 in the afternoon, Sister Chen came over on time to take over the shift: "Susu, are you feeling well after today's day?"
"It's been pretty smooth." He Susu smiled and stood up to give her the seat at the ticket counter. She put the key to the cinema in her pocket and took the aluminum lunch box. "Sister Chen, I'll go home first. I'm afraid I'll miss the ox cart in the village if I'm late."
Sister Chen also knew that she relied on this bullock cart to go to and from get off work, so she nodded to show her understanding: "Okay, then you go back first, and see you tomorrow."
When He Susu returned home by ox cart, she naturally received greetings from her family in the evening.
"Susu, is it okay for you to work at the cinema today?"
"Little sister, are you tired of working in the cinema?"
"Aunt, is it fun to work in a movie theater? Are there endless movies to watch?"
He Susu answered one by one: "My work at the cinema went smoothly today. Collecting movie tickets and showing movies were easy tasks and not tiring at all. There is a small room in the cinema with a coal stove for heating up food. My eldest sister even came to see me at noon and brought me some fried pork slices with chili from her factory cafeteria."
As for the children's questions, she mercilessly broke their expectations, "There's nothing fun about working. I basically just stand in front of the ticket counter. There's no way I can watch a movie."
The He family's elders were delighted to hear this, and they finally put their minds at ease after feeling anxious all day.
The children sighed, it seems that working in a movie theater is not that happy.
After dinner, He Susu went to the yard, picked up the broom and prepared to sweep the floor.
He's mother saw this and said, "Susu, you usually say that you can walk around and sweep the floor after a meal to help digestion, but you are so tired after a day's work, so don't sweep the floor."
Guifang took the initiative to say: "Yes, aunt, let me do the job of sweeping the floor." She has always felt bad since her aunt took over the job of sweeping the yard.
He Susu was also stunned for a moment. Sweeping the yard after dinner every day had almost become a habit, and she didn't react for a while. Thinking back to when she was so lazy and did nothing before, time really changes people imperceptibly.
In fact, I have already earned 1 diligence point by washing lunch boxes at noon, so it won’t hurt to take a break now. He Susu hesitated for a while but still insisted: "I am used to sweeping the yard, it’s okay."
It is always better to earn 2 diligence points a day than 1 point. After accumulating more, you can redeem whatever you want in the shopping system.
There was nothing they could do, so He's mother and Guifang had to let her do what she wanted.
The next morning, He Susu got up at the same time as before. After breakfast, she packed her lunch into an aluminum lunch box. Before leaving, she returned to her room and put on her apricot lipstick in front of the mirror.
She also took out the remaining three lipsticks from the shopping system storage compartment and put them in her clothes pocket.
Putting on lipstick is also a form of publicity in the cinema. Female comrades who come to watch the movie will see the beautiful lipstick on her lips and may ask her about the lipstick, so that she can sell the lipstick.
After taking a bullock cart to the county town, He Susu arrived at the entrance of the cinema and took out her key to open the door. She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was just past nine thirty, and it was still early for the official working hours.
She inspected the three screening rooms one by one. Sister Zhang had cleaned them last night. The chairs were neatly arranged and everywhere was clean.
There was still some time before the first movie started, so He Susu returned to the ticket counter and sat down. Soon, customers came to buy tickets.
After a whole morning, He Susu clearly felt that when female comrades came to buy movie tickets, they would more or less look at her lips, and would enthusiastically compliment her by saying, "Comrade, your lips are very pretty, and you look very healthy."
But I don’t know if they didn’t know about lipstick or were too embarrassed to do so, but no one asked her.
During this time, I also met the village party secretary's third son who brought Liu Zhiqing to watch a movie.
Liu Zhiqing didn't know He Susu, but Fang Guozhi did. He smiled politely when buying the movie tickets. At the end, Liu Zhiqing walked forward to the screening room, and he deliberately fell behind a few steps: "Susu, don't tell anyone about our visit to the cinema when you go back."
He Susu understood that it was time to go to work, and she didn't know what excuse the two of them had come to the county town. The gossip she heard last time said that the village party secretary and his wife were dissatisfied with this matter. If they knew that the two of them were coming to watch a movie, they would probably be angry again.
She nodded in agreement. She would go home directly after get off work anyway, so she had no time to gossip.
"Thank you." Fang Zhiguo thanked her and hurriedly went after his object.
He Susu could still hear their conversation from a distance.
Liu Zhiqing: "Do you know that female comrade?"
Fang Zhiguo: "I don't know when He Susu from our village came to work at the cinema."
Liu Zhiqing: "What did you just say to her?"
Fang Zhiguo: "Just said hello, didn't say anything else."
After lunch, He Susu left the door of the cinema ajar and slept on the table. She didn't know if she had performed too well yesterday, but the director didn't show up today, and she was the only staff member in the entire cinema.
In the afternoon, He Susu met an acquaintance again and could only say that the county town was too small.
"He Susu, you actually came to work in the cinema?" Zhu Yun took a rare break and asked her good sisters to watch a movie together. Unexpectedly, she met an old classmate.
Zhu Yun was He Susu's high school classmate. After graduation, her parents used their connections to get her a job at the textile factory union. When they were in high school, even though they were in the same classroom, He Susu and her were just nodding and greeting each other.
At this moment, He Susu smiled: "Long time no see, I just came to work yesterday."
"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've met since graduation, and you look in good spirits," Zhu Yun exclaimed.
Noticing the other person's eyes falling on her lips, He Susu thought to herself and said, "It's just that I put on lipstick to look better. I thought about dressing up for work."
When they were in school, He Susu was recognized as the most beautiful in the class and even in the whole school. Now seeing that she looks even better with lipstick, Zhu Yun was also a little moved: "I remember Xu Xiaoqing from my class brought a lipstick to school, saying that she asked a relative to buy it in Shanghai. We haven't seen it in the supply and marketing cooperative here."
He Susu took out all three lipsticks from her pocket and said, "We don't have any here. I asked someone to buy them in Shanghai and send them to me. I like all three of these different colors."
Zhu Yun's eyes lit up immediately after seeing this, and he shamelessly said, "Susu, since you have three lipsticks, can you give me one? I also want to try this lipstick."
After work, Zhu Yun had extra money in her hand, and she was confident. At her age, she really loves beauty. It's rare to come across lipstick from Shanghai. Even though she usually has an average relationship with He Susu, she couldn't help but ask.
He Susu said readily, "Sure. I have four lipsticks anyway, so I'll ask someone to help me buy more later. The lipstick I put on this morning is at home, and I haven't used these three yet. You can see which color you like."
Fortunately, there was no one queuing to buy tickets at the back, so it was convenient for her to sell lipstick.
Zhu Yun immediately picked them out and finally chose the tea-red lipstick: "I want this one. How much is it?"
He Susu estimated the price based on the diligence points required for redemption in the shopping system: "Six yuan for a lipstick. Even though it's so small, it can last for several months."
Zhu Yun felt a little pain in her heart when she heard the price, but she didn't hesitate when she thought about the blind date she had next month. "Okay, I want this tea-red lipstick."
Just now He Susu introduced three lipstick colors to her.
She immediately took out six yuan from her pocket and gave it to He Susu. Looking at the exquisite lipstick in her hand, she still felt that it was a good deal. After all, she didn't have any connections in Shanghai to help her buy lipstick.
Her good sister was watching from the side and was very attracted by the lipstick. Seeing Zhu Yun really paid for a lipstick, she couldn't help but ask: "Comrade, I also like this lipstick, can you give me one?"
He Susu was delighted, but she pretended to be conflicted for a while before she reluctantly said, "Since you are Zhu Yun's friend, okay. Which one do you want?"
After hearing this, the good sister said happily: "Thank you, comrade, I want the apricot-colored one." When Zhu Yun was looking at lipstick colors earlier, she took a fancy to the pink one, thinking that she would look good in this color.
She also quickly took out six dollars and gave it to He Susu.
He Susu put the newly acquired twelve yuan into her pocket and then asked them, "What movie do you two want to watch?"
Zhu Yun and her good sister chose the nearest movie, paid the money, and walked happily to the screening room with the movie tickets.
At 5:30 in the evening, Sister Chen came on time to take over the shift. He Susu packed up her things and walked to the supply and marketing cooperative to take a ox cart home.
After getting off the bus at the entrance of the village, He Susu thought that she had to reward herself for the twelve yuan she earned today, so she found a deserted place, opened the shopping system, and exchanged a pound of pork first.
She saw the discounted products again. Two kilograms of river shrimp originally required 2 points of diligence, but now only 1 point of diligence can be exchanged.
There is a continuous river in the village. In the past, our family had little meat money, so when my eldest and second brothers really wanted meat, they would go to the river to catch fish. They also caught river shrimps, which tasted very fresh and sweet as long as they were willing to fry them with oil.
Before I saw it, I had no idea there was such a thing as river shrimp. But once I saw it, I remembered the taste and immediately became greedy. He Susu generously exchanged 1 point of hard work for two kilograms of river shrimp.
She carried it home and asked her sister-in-law, who was in charge of dinner tonight, to fry two kilograms of river shrimps.
Zhao Miling looked at the basket of river shrimps and said, "These shrimps are quite big."
He Susu: "Well, when I was leaving get off work, I passed by the door of the supply and marketing cooperative and saw someone selling a bucket of river shrimps, so I simply bought two kilograms. Sister-in-law, please add more oil to fry them, so that they will be more fragrant."
Zhao Miling nodded: "I'll go pick some more onions, ginger and garlic to stir-fry together."
When the He family got off work, He's mother saw two kilograms of river shrimps and didn't say much, because they were cheap. But her daughter bought another kilogram of pork. She couldn't help but complain, "Susu, why did you buy meat again? You've only been working for two days and you're already spending money."
After all, I feel sorry for my daughter.
He Susu said indifferently: "I happened to meet my classmate on my way to work this morning, so I asked her to help buy a pound of pork to satisfy my craving. Besides, I bring my lunch to the cinema every day, so buying a pound of meat will make it easier for you to prepare lunch for me."
For example, at lunch, there was no pork at home, so He's mother could only scramble eggs for her as a meat dish. He Susu ate it and always felt that it was a bit bland.
After hearing this, He's mother didn't say much. She said her daughter was tired from work and had to eat some meat for lunch.
Perhaps Zhu Yun and her good friend each bought a lipstick and started a good start. The next day, He Susu put on lipstick as usual and sat at the ticket counter to work. A female comrade came to buy movie tickets and stared at her lips for a while, then asked politely and boldly: "Comrade, are you wearing lipstick?"
He Susu didn't expect that there would be business coming to her so soon. From what she said, she knew that she knew about this lipstick. She nodded: "Yes, I look better after putting on lipstick."
The female comrade asked: "Lipstick is hard to buy. Comrade, if you have extra ones, could you give me one?" When she said this, she actually didn't hold out much hope.
He Susu also hesitated for a while before taking out a lipstick from her pocket: "I do have an extra bright red lipstick, which I asked someone to buy for me for six dollars. I'll give it to you if you want it."
The female comrade took it and looked at the color of the lipstick, and said happily, "Yes, yes, thank you very much, comrade." She paid six dollars neatly.
So He Susu sold all three extra lipsticks she redeemed from the shopping system, earning a total of 18 yuan. Add the 15 yuan she earned from selling three bags of milk powder to Zhou Xiaoqian, her own royalties, and the change she had saved, and she had almost 40 yuan.
He Susu was quite happy because she had extra money and was not worried.
She also discovered something in the afternoon.
When a customer was buying a movie ticket, he casually asked, "Comrade, can you buy me another serving of melon seeds?"
He Susu was confused by the question: "We don't sell melon seeds here."
The customer asked his friend in confusion: "Last time we went to the movies, we seemed to have sunflower seeds for sale. I think I have to eat some sunflower seeds to enjoy the movie."
Friend: "We came to watch a movie at night last time. Maybe they only sell melon seeds at night."
The two chose the nearest movie showtime, bought movie tickets, and walked to the corresponding screening room.
He Susu remembered this incident. The two customers' memory could not have been wrong. There were indeed melon seeds for sale at the cinema in the evening.
The director would not come at night, so Sister Chen would stay here alone. Even if she fried some melon seeds and brought them here to sell, no one would notice except the customers. As for those customers, it was a good thing to have melon seeds to eat, and they would just think that this was a business expansion of the cinema, and no one would report it.
When the shift was handed over at 5:30 pm, He Susu paid special attention and saw that Sister Chen did bring a package. She had thought that she had brought dinner, but now it seemed that it was probably filled with roasted melon seeds.
He Susu didn't say much, pretending she didn't know. It was Sister Chen's business to take the risk of selling melon seeds. She had four children and her mother-in-law needed someone to take care of her. Even if both of them had jobs, they probably wouldn't have enough money to spend, so it was normal for them to do some business secretly.
In the following days, He Susu worked at the cinema as usual. This job was not busy. She stood at the ticket counter, writing down the movie ticket information and collecting money, and then went to show the movie according to the showtime. There were few customers for a short time after the movie started, and sometimes she felt it was quite leisurely after getting used to it.
However, she rode a ox cart to and from the county town every day, which attracted the attention of the villagers.
Not to mention the many things to do in the fields, the villagers are very tired after working all day, but the gossiping aunts are still there. In the past, the girl from the He family at the head of the village didn't like to work and didn't go to work, and they talked about it many times; now she goes to the county town all day, and they can't help but gossip about it.
"Have you noticed that the girl from the He family at the head of the village rides a bullock cart to the county town every day? I've run into her several times."
"It costs at least four cents a day. It's because the He family indulges her. I don't know why she goes to the county town. She always goes there empty-handed and comes back empty-handed."
"She used to stay at home but now she's going to the county town. She just doesn't work and doesn't come to work. If it were my daughter, I would have scolded her to death."
Some people couldn't help but be curious and ran to ask He's mother: "I see your daughter goes to the county town every day recently. What does she do?"
He's mother had heard some of the rumors, so she replied proudly, "Susu has been working at the cinema recently. It's tiring to go to the county town every day."
How tiring it must be to ride a bullock cart back and forth every day. The person who asked the question couldn't help but twitch his lips after hearing this. He was surprised but still praised: "Your Su Su is really amazing. After becoming a worker, you can get wages and receipts every month, and you will enjoy a good life."
He's mother told the truth: "She just went to work as a temporary helper for six months."
Susu hasn't been to work for half a year, and the villagers will know it sooner or later. It's better to say it now to avoid jealousy.
The person who asked the question did feel better after hearing this, but smiled and advised: "It's not bad to work for six months, at least you can earn six months' salary."
Soon, everyone in the Qinghe production team knew that the little girl of the He family in the village went to the county town every day to work in the cinema. For a while, there were many voices of envy, but no one said that He Susu didn't work, didn't go to work, and was lazy.
About a week later, He Susu came home from get off work and found that not only her second sister-in-law Qian Chunhe, who was responsible for cooking, had returned, but her mother was also at home, with a very happy look on her face.
Mother He: "Susu is back. Your third sister-in-law brought Dabao and Erbao back to see us this afternoon. They just rode a bullock cart back to the county town. Dabao and Erbao have grown a lot fatter and whiter. I've been so worried about them. Even though I haven't seen them for more than a month, Dabao and Erbao are still very close to me. They also care about how your father and I are doing recently, so that we don't have to work so hard."
As she said this, her face was full of smiles.
Among so many grandchildren, He's mother loves Dabao and Erbao the most. The third daughter-in-law brought Dabao and Erbao back and treated her with laughter and chat as usual. She also explained that she lived in her mother's house for the convenience of going to and from work, and she would bring Dabao and Erbao back often when she had a break.
When the third son's wife showed weakness, He's mother felt relieved and didn't care much about the quarrel between her and her before.
He Susu was also happy to see her mother so happy: "Dabao and Erbao are very well behaved. You were so good to them in the past, so they will naturally remember you."
"Our children are all very well behaved." Mother He sighed, and she took out a letter and gave it to her daughter. "Your third sister-in-law came back and gave me this letter. It was sent by your third brother. He bought the bicycle tickets from his comrades in the army, and he also sent us two hundred yuan to buy bicycles. He wrote to your third sister-in-law and sent this letter to her as well. Your third sister-in-law read the contents of the letter to me just now, and there are words for you in it, so take a look for yourself."
Among her three sons, she loves the third son the most. The third son is also the most ambitious. He usually remembers to send money back home every month and loves his younger sister Susu very much. For example, this time he sent money back to buy a bicycle, which made He's mother very satisfied.
"Third brother is always quick to act." He Susu took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a bicycle ticket and two hundred yuan. She unfolded the letter and began to read.
In the letter, the third brother said that he was happy that she had found a job in a movie theater and hoped that she could cherish the experience brought by her first job and make good use of it. He was very supportive of her family's plan to buy her a bicycle to make it easier for her to get off work. In addition to the bicycle ticket, he also sent her another 200 yuan for the bicycle.
The rest of the content was about expressing concern for his parents' health and the situation at home, and he also briefly said that everything was fine in the army.
He Susu couldn't help but sigh: "Third brother is so good to me."
Her monthly salary is 18 yuan, and 200 yuan is enough for her to earn for more than ten months.
He's mother urged her: "Since you have the bicycle ticket and money, you should hurry up and buy a bicycle. It will be more convenient and free for you to go to get off work."
He Susu: “I know.”
When the He family got off work, they learned that the third son had sent back two hundred yuan for them to buy a bicycle. Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe, who knew about it earlier, had the same reaction. This way, Zigongzhong wouldn't have to spend such a large sum of money.
The next day, He Susu took a bullock cart to the county town in the morning, went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative, found the bicycle counter and asked: "Hello, comrade, when will the bicycles be available?"
The salesperson said coldly: "I don't know, just wait."
Bicycle tickets are hard to come by, and bicycles are even harder to come by. The most popular and quietest counter in the supply and marketing cooperative is probably this counter. Bicycles, sewing machines, and radios are three major items that are always out of stock. When customers come and ask when they will be available, the answer is that they don’t know.
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