Chapter 21 Sandals
"You are such a heartless person, you are wrongly accusing me!"
Li Dongmei felt wronged, God bless her, she really didn't have that idea, how could she bear such injustice, so she went up and slapped Xia Ruhai's face.
Li Dongmei was also of similar build, and although there was a huge difference in strength between men and women, they still fought back and forth.
Xia Zhizhi said to Li Dongmei after a while: "Mom, although my dad is not very capable, he has provided us with food and drink all these years, and he is considerate to you. You can't really abandon us, I can't live without you!"
Then he advised Xia Ruhai: "Dad, my mother has her own salary and doesn't need to rely on men for food. She just said a few words to other uncles. If you beat her like this, if my mother really doesn't want to live with you, where can you find another wife who brings salary!"
Xia Zhizhi kept persuading this and that, and she was busy all the time.
Xia Jianguo, the three siblings of the Xia family, originally wanted to persuade them, but was accidentally hurt by Xia Ruhai. Xia Zhizhi hit him again: "Don't get in the way here!"
He swiftly hid in the corner.
Xia Lanlan hid in her own room, opened the door a little, and observed secretly.
Xia Fangfang kept shouting this and that, but no one paid any attention to her. She just kept crying with her mouth wide open.
After fighting for a while and both of them were injured, Xia Ruhai became even more angry. He raised his leg and kicked Li Dongmei, sending her back several steps and causing her to fall on the wooden stand where the washbasin was placed. The stand fell apart with a clang, and Li Dongmei broke the basin into pieces with one kick.
Xia Ruhai was about to go forward, but Xia Zhizhi rushed over and gave him a big slap.
She screamed at the top of her lungs: "Dad, do you want to beat my mom to death? If you beat my mom to death, our family will be broken up!"
While Xia Zhizhi was beating Xia Ruhai, Li Dongmei had already climbed up from the ground. She came over and grabbed Xia Ruhai's ears, leaving several bloody marks on his face, making him grimace.
Xia Zhizhi slapped her again: "Mom, which man doesn't beat his wife nowadays? My dad is already very good, so you should also be quiet!"
After they calmed down physically, Xia Zhizhi began to persuade them earnestly: "Dad, Mom, you see, I'm about to graduate, and my eldest brother will be working soon. When he joins the Public Security Bureau, you will be the family of the Public Security Bureau. If you make a fuss at home every day, how can your eldest brother be respected outside? Wouldn't that delay his future?"
Xia Ruhai spat out a mouthful of blood, and Li Dongmei wiped the blood off her face without saying a word.
She advised Xia Ruhai: "Dad, you and my mother have been married for so many years, don't you know what kind of person my mother is? She dresses up beautifully to make you look good. Those gossiping women behind her must be jealous of my mother. If my mother hadn't married a good man, would she have the energy to dress up every day?"
Then he advised Li Dongmei: "Mom, don't be angry with my dad. He beats you because he cares about you and is afraid that you will be snatched away by someone else. If he didn't care about you, he would care about what you wear and what you put on every day. Don't you think this is reasonable?"
He forced their hands together and said, "Mom and Dad, we must unite as a family and love each other. Everyone must use the standards of the police family to regulate their words and deeds. We must not embarrass my brother. From today on, I will start to supervise you. You must make our family a police family with unified words and deeds and civilized qualities!"
From today on, if she sees anyone in her family looking unhappy, she will give them a big slap.
After beating him, he held his hand and said earnestly: "Do you know how sad I am when I hit you? But if I don't hit you, you won't learn your lesson. This is all for your own good. We must live in harmony every day and set a good example for the family of cadres. This is all for the future of our Xia family!"
The Xia family was miserable, but they couldn't beat her. They couldn't report to the police and have Xia Zhizhi arrested just for this small matter!
You can only be careful in what you say and do to minimize the chances of getting beaten.
As the weather gradually got warmer, Xia Zhizhi asked Li Dongmei for money again and bought two dresses, one in lotus color with short sleeves, a white triangular collar, a row of buttons in the middle, and two belts at the waist that could be tied into a bow at the back. It looked simple and elegant.
The other one is a beige dress with small floral patterns, long sleeves and a round neck. After she bought it, she added a circle of lace to the collar, cuffs, hem and waistline, making it look simple, fresh and playful.
After wearing it to school, Li Ling and several other classmates whose families were relatively well-off immediately went to the department store to buy a few more in different colors. They then came back to have small lace edges added to them. After a while, this type of skirt could be seen everywhere in the school.
In the past few months, she has been to almost every part of Yang City. She met two girls at the post office and they got along pretty well. They would occasionally go shopping in department stores together and study skirts and accessories. When they had free time, they would go to the black market to sell goods. Her life was very enjoyable.
Today is the weekend, and Fang Yuan had made an appointment with her to go out and play together. Xia Zhizhi got up early in the morning, put on her lotus-colored dress, tied her hair into a high ponytail with a fabric bow of the same color as her dress, then braided the ponytail into seven or eight thin braids that dangled behind her head, and wore a pair of transparent plastic sandals on her feet.
Now the chemical sandals in the supply and marketing cooperative counter cost 3.5 yuan a pair and you had to get a receipt. The styles were uglier than hers. She sold 100 pairs to Uncle De for 4.6 yuan a pair.
The next day, I saw Li Ling wearing a pair of bright red shoes. I said to her happily, "I'm lucky. I bought the last pair of red shoes. I spent 6 yuan. They bought other colors for 50 cents cheaper, but they are not as good-looking as mine."
Good guy, you can buy a pair of decent leather shoes with another three dollars, but chemical products are quite expensive nowadays. Although this pair of shoes is indeed a big premium, it’s hard to buy what you like even if you have money.
Xia Zhizhi expressed her understanding.
The next day, Xia Zhizhi wore the transparent pair of shoes to school. Li Ling took a look at the pair on her feet and thought they looked nice, so she spent another 5.5 yuan to buy another pair, saying that she would switch between them.
Soon, these shoes began to appear on the feet of other female classmates from wealthy families.
But after all, there were only 100 pairs, and some people didn't get to buy them. They sighed and complained. Xia Zhizhi went to order 200 pairs more, charging 20 cents more for each pair. As a result, the students who came later said that these shoes were the last batch and the price had increased by 30 cents per pair. What a good guy, he really was not as smart as the buyer.
Xia Zhizhi and Fang Yuan agreed to meet at the entrance of the state-owned hotel.
Fang Yuan had a small round face, single eyelids, a small nose, and canine teeth when she smiled. She had her hair cut short to the ears, and pinned it behind her ears with a pink bow hairpin. She wore a pink top with small floral patterns, and following Xia Zhizhi's advice, she tucked the hem of her shirt into her black pants, and wore a pair of pink sandals that matched hers.
When Xia Zhizhi arrived, Fang Yuan was queuing to order. When he saw her, he waved and said, "Zhizhi, here, what do you want to eat?"
"Sweet bean milk, a vegetable bun and a fried dough stick." Xia Zhizhi gave her the bill and found a seat at a table.