When my sister was making clothes and shoes, I followed along and learned from her. I can do all of these things now, so I can prepare the patterns in advance and make them whenever I have time.
After walking around the house and seeing that nothing was wrong, Aunt Zhou went to the kitchen to cook. She couldn't take care of herself all the time, so she decided to cook something for herself. Otherwise, the women in the residential area would gossip behind her back, and they could even stir up trouble out of nothing.
The next morning, after finishing my training and having breakfast, I rode my bicycle out of the military compound. Little did I expect that Wang Xiu'e would see me as I left. Within an hour, all the women in the family quarters knew that I had ridden my bicycle to the city. Everyone was discussing when they would move out of the family quarters. Many people were eyeing our yard, and they all thought that their good grades since childhood were due to being neighbors with Aunt Zhou's family.
After entering the city, I didn't rush to the supply and marketing cooperative. Instead, I went to the West City Courtyard first, found the place my mother had told me about before, opened it, and looked around. It was true that half of everything was missing from what my father's ancestors had left behind. But even though it was only half, taking out any of these items could cause social unrest, so I decided to leave it at that.
Quickly put everything into the space. There aren't many things in the space right now, and there's room for all these large wooden chests. If there's not enough room in the west room, we can put them in the study.
After harvesting, I took a walk around the yard. Apart from the sweet potatoes still growing in the open space, there was nothing else there.
However, there was still some grain in the cellar, not much, about 200 jin. I didn't plan to touch it and left it here for Aunt Zhou and the others.
I planned to go to the courtyard near the hospital, and since I passed a supply and marketing cooperative, I quickly went in to buy some things. The staff there didn't give me any airs of superiority, but instead asked, "Young man, what do you want to buy?"
"Hello, comrade, I'd like to buy some things. My brother is getting married, and my parents can't come, so they asked me to come and get some things they need."
"And what about your brother?"
"My brother is in the army. He won't be back until two days before the wedding."
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"It's alright, sister."
"My surname is Cao, you can just call me Sister Cao."
"Oh, Sister Cao, my name is Mianmian, you can just call me Mianmian."
"Okay, Mianmian, what do you want to buy? I'll get it for you. If it's not at this counter, I'll take you to find one of my other colleagues later."
"Okay, Sister Cao, thank you."
"No need to thank me."
"Sister Cao, I need: two thermos flasks, two bars of soap, two bar soaps, two enamel mugs, two enamel basins, two spittoons, two towels, two pillowcases, two jin of White Rabbit milk candy, six jin of fruit candy, two cans of syrup, six jin of loose biscuits, two jin of peach shortbread, two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes, two bottles of Moutai liquor, two bottles of face cream, and a pair of Rolex watches."
"Can you make that decision?" Sister Cao asked quickly upon hearing that a watch was also required.
"Big sister, to be honest, my brother sent me three watch vouchers, saying there was one for me among them. If it weren't for my brother getting married soon and the family's money having to go to him first, I would have liked to buy this watch myself."
"Are you using it now?" Sister Cao asked.
"Sister, I'm afraid that won't work, but I'll exchange it for a ticket for a sewing machine."
Why?
“My fiancée, who is not yet married into the family, does not know how to use a sewing machine. Besides, I already have an old one at home.”
"Is that really possible?"
"certainly"
"Then why don't you keep it for yourself later?"
"I'm still so young. Besides, the man has to prepare the sewing ticket, not the woman."
“You’re right. Okay, I’ll take you to the warehouse later. There are defective products there, and many of them don’t require receipts. If anyone asks later, just say they are my cousin from my aunt’s side.”
"Okay, I understand, sis."
And so, Sister Cao took me to the supply and marketing cooperative's warehouse. I bought two of everything that didn't require a coupon. "Sister, most of what I just mentioned is available here!"
"Okay, take whatever you want. I'm going out now."
"Okay, sis, you go ahead and get busy."
"Once you've found the right person, just talk to Lao Yu about it."
"OK"
"Old Yu, this is my aunt's cousin. My aunt asked her to come over because my cousin is getting married."
"Okay, I understand." How could Lao Yu not know? Everyone knows the ins and outs here, so no one would ask any more questions. Besides, the director had already ordered these defective products in the warehouse to be disposed of.
Seeing Sister Cao leave, I quickly picked out what I needed: two thermos flasks, six bars of soap, six bars of hand soap, six enamel mugs, six enamel basins, two spittoons, six towels, six pillowcases, six bottles of clam oil, and six bottles of face cream. Seeing work gloves nearby, I also took 20 pairs, two pairs of size 36 cotton shoes, rain boots, and Feiyue sneakers. In the end, I took whatever I could use and put them aside. Finally, I even took two raincoats.
When he finally confronted Lao Yu to settle the score, he felt a little guilty. This was too shameless; the amount he'd gone to was too ruthless. Lao Yu, on the other hand, remained quite calm.
He was also a little unsettled, but there was nothing he could do. When it came to things that required tickets, he would buy as much as he could. After all, once the opportunity was gone, it was gone forever.
"It'll be 186.8 yuan in total," Lao Yu said after calculating the bill.
"Here's the money." He said, taking out the money.
Seeing that Sister Cao was busy, I took out the two bags and hid them behind my bicycle. I found a secluded place to store them in my space, and then rode my bicycle directly to the courtyard near the military hospital to store everything inside.
Then he rode his bike back to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought the rest of what he needed. When Sister Cao changed shifts at noon, he gave her a sewing plane ticket and sold it for 130 yuan. It was originally 150 yuan, but because Sister Cao had helped him in the morning, he asked for 20 yuan less!
"Hey girl, if you need anything next time, just come find me."
"Okay, big sister, I understand."
For several days in a row, I rode my bike around the city every day, and whenever I saw a supply and marketing cooperative, I would go back and buy a bunch of things according to the list. After all, these coupons could only be used here; they would become worthless pieces of paper elsewhere.
Whether it's useful or not, I'll just buy it and put it in my space. It won't break, right?
After spending most of my tickets, I stored the bicycle in my spatial storage. If anyone asks when I get back, I'll just say I sold it. Besides, I'm going to the countryside; what's the point of leaving the bicycle in the family quarters? I don't have a place to live here anymore. Leaving it in my city courtyard will just let it gather dust.
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