Chapter 23 23. Department Store
After Shi Da Ge and the other two had explained the situation, Shi Liu finally realized how powerful the production team leader was. To put it bluntly, he was practically a local tyrant. The reason her uncle's family lived so well was partly because her uncle had been a soldier, and partly because of the gifts from the educated youth.
Most of the educated youth in Shijia Village came from more developed cities and had some things in their hands. When they came to the village, they would basically give something to my uncle. Although it was just some food and drink, it would add up to some benefits.
After a while, Shi Liu suddenly remembered the red armband that had been bothering the original owner. Qian Guangzong's stepmother's surname was Bai, so they were actually a family. Shi Liu's eyes rolled around, and she decided she had to find a chance to take down this family. Otherwise, with her face, her life would be in danger.
A month passed by unknowingly. During this time, Shi Liu had asked around, but opportunities like those at the brick factory were rare. The transportation factory that she had been eyeing was even more popular, and no master was willing to teach an apprentice.
Shi Erge looked at the anxious look of the eldest sister and was deeply moved: "Eldest sister, don't bother working so hard. It's not that easy to find a temporary worker."
Brother Shi also comforted her from the side, "Big sister, just do your best and don't tire yourself out. Your most important task right now is to study and strive to graduate from high school and get a job in the factory."
Shi Liu's mouth froze. It was not easy to get into the factory. She was confident in her grades. After all, she was a top student at a prestigious university in her previous life. The key was that many factory recruitment information was only known to insiders. Country people like them who had no connections did not even have the opportunity to sign up, so how could they compete with others?
Brother Shi and his partner hadn't expected there were so many ways to secure a stable job. Brother Shi sighed and said, "It's all because I'm incompetent. If I were a worker, with my sister's grades, she could easily get into any company."
Second Brother Shi had more on his mind than eldest. If he'd initially let Shi Liu take the iron rice bowl exam just to give his younger sister some relief, now he had deeper expectations. Once his eldest sister got in, their family would be able to hear about any job openings. If Zhengyue and Dazhuang's grades were good enough, getting iron rice bowls was a matter of time.
"Big sister, study hard and strive to become a city dweller. As for us brothers, we're not cut out for studying, so I'll just wait and see how many good students emerge from the next generation." Second Brother Shi thought for a moment and then advised, "You should also maintain a good relationship with your deskmate. You might have to trouble her with your job search. It's hard to get vegetables in the city, so bring her some vegetables every time you go home."
Shi Liu nodded. "Second brother, I know, and we have a pretty good relationship now. Big brother, second brother, you've both received your salaries. Did mother tell you to bring anything back? If you need anything, let's go to the department store and buy it, otherwise it won't be available in the county later."
Daqiao County is so small that there is not even a department store. If you need anything, you can only go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy it. However, the products in the supply and marketing cooperative are often incomplete and out of stock from time to time.
Brother Shi smiled when he heard this and said, "Mom asked us to buy you a bottle of vanishing cream. If we can exchange it for industrial tickets, we can also buy you a big iron pot."
Speaking of the big iron pot, Shi Liu also smiled: "Mom keeps talking about the big iron pot we had before. I must buy her one this time." After that, she took out ten industrial tickets and handed them to her eldest brother.
Brother Shi took the industrial ticket without asking where it came from. In his eyes, his eldest sister was a capable person.
"I'll take you to the department store." When it comes to familiarity, Shi Liu is more familiar with Lin Shi. After all, Brother Shi and his friends have been going back and forth between the three places recently: brick factory, rented house, and small woods in the suburbs.
Brother Shi and his brother looked at the bustling department store and were so scared that they dared not move their feet.
Shi Liu didn't feel embarrassed after noticing it, but just felt sad. She thought that she must add some things for her two brothers later, and also for the third and fourth brothers. They were all brothers, so she would not favor one over the other.
Big Brother Shi couldn't walk anymore when he reached the shoe store, and Second Brother Shi wasn't much better off.
Shi Liu knew what they were thinking at a glance and said to the salesperson with a smile, "Sister, can you help me get four pairs of size 44 Jiefang shoes?"
"Okay." The salesperson was delighted by the sweet call of "sister" and quickly took out four pairs of new Liberation Shoes. "These four pairs are brand new."
Shi Liu took the shoes with a smile on her face: "Sister, thank you." Then she turned to her two brothers and said, "Big brother and second brother, hurry up and try the shoes to see if they fit. If not, change the size." It's strange to say, all the men in the family have size 44 feet, and all the women have size 36 feet.
Brother Shi's face flushed red, and he stammered, "No... no need, I have..."
Brother Shi Er also declined, mainly because he felt there was no need to buy it.
Shi Liu impatiently threw the shoes on the ground and asked the two to try them on themselves, then paid directly: "You can take a look at them as you please. I have already paid for these shoes, so don't argue."
Look what she found! White Rabbit Toffees! My old man used to say that people weren't honest in business these days. Many vendors were selling White Rabbit Toffees with industrial saccharin, so they didn't taste authentic at all. The only real authentic candies were from the 1960s and 1970s, when the factories were all state-owned and quality control was extremely strict. They were full of milky flavor.
"Sister, please help me weigh 3 jins of milk candy and 2 jins of fruit candy."
"Milk candy is 1.5 yuan per pound, and fruit candy is 50 cents per pound, but you need a candy ticket. Comrade, do you have any candy tickets?"
"Yes, here you go." She and Fatty exchanged these candy tickets. There were only 2 kilograms of candy tickets in total. It was a loss that White Rabbit Milk Candy didn't require tickets. Of course, the price was really expensive.
Then Shi Liu bought two kilograms of peach cakes. The peach cakes in Shan Province are crispy and taste great. It is said that people from other provinces will definitely buy one or two kilograms of peach cakes as specialties to take home when passing by Shan Province.
Passing by a wool market, Shi Liu bought three pounds of wool, intending to knit a sweater for her mother, Su Sanlan. The old lady had suffered a lot in her life. Although she was now in charge of the family's food and drink, she was reluctant to eat or drink at all. Any good things were either given to her daughters or grandchildren.
To be honest, Shi Liu would come to the department store to sign in from time to time, and she had no shortage of food and drinks. She even signed in for a rare sewing machine, but it was a pity that she couldn't use it openly.
Brother Shi and his friend were so frightened when they saw that their elder sister had bought a basket of things in the blink of an eye that they were heartbroken. They hurriedly pulled her away, one on each side. They couldn't stay in the department store any longer and didn't even bother looking at bicycles or radios.
(End of this chapter)
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