Chapter 30 : Dacron Shirt

When they returned to Comrade of Lu Changzheng’s house and changed clothes, it was almost five o’clock.

The two of them didn’t dare delay, quickly locked the door, got on their bikes, and hurried back.

“Let’s stop for a while when we pass the commune supply and marketing cooperative. I need to look for Xiaolan,” Su Mo said to Lu Changzheng.

“What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t Xiaolan take care of me when I was in the hospital a few days ago? I want to give her a gift to show my gratitude.”

“That’s fine.”

Lu Changzheng didn’t say it wasn’t necessary to give a gift, as he approved of how his wife dealt with people. She should thank those who helped her.

Since it was getting late, Lu Changzheng rode quickly. Normally, it would take about 30 minutes to get from the commune to the county, but Lu Changzheng made it in 20 minutes.

After Su Mo got off the bicycle, she glared at Lu Changzheng.

This fool, why was he riding so fast? Her bottom was almost shaking off.

Lu Changzheng was confused by the glare. What had he done to upset his wife?

Su Mo entered the supply and marketing cooperative and saw all the clerks sorting things. There were many items piled on the counters and floors, which must be new goods.

Su Mo’s guess was correct because the autumn harvest was nearly over, and the members who had been working for over a month were flocking to the cooperative to buy things like sheep that had been kept for the winter. The cooperative had to prepare enough stock to meet the demand.

The period between the end of the autumn harvest and the distribution of grain and money was the busiest time for grassroots supply and marketing cooperatives. Especially when brigades distributed money, the counters were often overwhelmed by the crowds.

The clerks looked up when they saw someone come in. When they saw Su Mo, Lu Xiaolan stood up and smiled, “Su Zhiqing, are you here to buy something?”

They were doing inventory today, and everyone was too busy to gossip, so she didn’t know that Lu Changzheng and Su Mo had gotten their marriage certificate.

“No, I’m here to see you,” Su Mo said with a smile.

“Hey, what do you want to talk about?” Lu Xiaolan put the items on the counter aside, marked them, and then came out to walk aside with Su Mo.

Su Mo took a kraft paper gift bag from her bag and handed it to Lu Xiaolan. “Xiaolan, thank you for taking care of me the past few days. This is a small gift for you. I hope you like it.”

“Oh, Su Zhiqing, you’re too polite. It’s no big deal to take care of you. You can take it back,” Lu Xiaolan said, waving her hands repeatedly. How could she accept it? What would happen if her third brother found out?

At that moment, Lu Changzheng also came over and said to Lu Xiaolan, “Keep it. It’s a token of your sister-in-law’s appreciation.”

Lu Xiaolan’s eyes widened. What? Third sister-in-law? That was fast!

Su Mo also took the opportunity to shove the gift bag into Lu Xiaolan’s hand and said with a smile, “Take it, it’s just a small gift, don’t refuse.”

Lu Xiaolan was about to speak, but was stunned by Lu Changzheng’s next words and couldn’t respond.

“Your third sister-in-law and I got our marriage certificate this afternoon. The banquet is on October 1st. You can come help then.”

“It’s getting late. Go do your thing, we’ll head back first.”

Once they left, Lu Xiaolan came to her senses.

Oh my God! He really is her third brother!

He moved so fast that in just a few days, he already brought his wife home.

It’s only been four days since she was discharged from the hospital, right?

I really admire him!

I don’t know much about Su Zhiqing, but she’s a real beauty, a perfect match for her third brother.

Lu Xiaolan looked at the gift bag in her hand. It looked high-end and exquisite. She didn’t know what was inside. It wasn’t heavy, but there were many people around, so it was hard to open it. She took it back to the counter and put it away, planning to look at it when she got home.

On the way back to the brigade, Lu Changzheng asked Su Mo, “Wife, what did you give Xiaolan?”

The bag looked very high-end, and Lu Changzheng was a little curious.

“It’s nothing, just a Dacron shirt,” Su Mo replied.

Lu Changzheng raised an eyebrow. Only his wife would say something like that.

His wife probably didn’t realize how difficult it was to buy Dacron outside Haishi. In Heijiang Province, it was probably only available in Harbin, and it would likely be sold out as soon as it arrived. You couldn’t buy it even if you walked slowly.

He wanted to ask why he knew all this, considering he was in the army.

One of his comrades loved fashion and, when visiting his family in Harbin, had seen some Dacron fabric for sale at the supply and marketing cooperative. He wanted to make a shirt for himself but struggled to get it. In the end, there was only one foot of fabric left, so the fool bought it, made a pair of underwear, and showed it off every day.

Su Mo had originally planned to give the Dacron shirt to Ya Shuang, but since she was about to marry Lu Changzheng, she felt it would be a bit awkward to give it to Ya Shuang. So, she decided to give away the Dacron shirt that the original owner had never worn and found a retro kraft paper gift bag in her space to pack it.

Although she herself wasn’t fond of Dacron, in that era, it was still considered high-end and difficult to obtain, even if one had money.

She was about the same height as Lu Xiaolan, and people were generally thin back then, so the shirt fit Lu Xiaolan perfectly.

—

The supply and marketing cooperative didn’t finish its inventory until nearly seven o’clock. Everyone packed up and hurried home. Lu Xiaolan did the same, picking up her cloth bag and the gift bag and preparing to leave.

At that moment, Sister Huang suddenly called out to her: “Xiaolan, what did your brother’s girlfriend give you? Can you take it out and show it to everyone?”

Several colleagues also stopped to look, curious, mainly because the gift bag appeared very high-end.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Lu Xiaolan had no choice but to stop and said with a smile, “I don’t know, it hasn’t been opened yet. I’ll take a look now.”

As she spoke, she opened the gift bag and pulled out a moon-white shirt with exquisite craftsmanship. It had four double buttons, small floral embroidery on the collar and cuffs, and a slim waist design.

Lu Xiaolan instantly fell in love with the shirt, and judging from the material, it seemed to be… Dacron!

One of the male colleagues, with a sharp eye, immediately exclaimed, “This is a Dacron shirt.”

The director of the county supply and marketing cooperative, who often wore a Dacron shirt, was also impressed by it.

The male colleague looked at Lu Xiaolan with envy. This Dacron shirt was so hard to buy, even if you had the money.

“Oh my, it’s actually a Dacron shirt,” Sister Huang said, reaching out to touch it, but Lu Xiaolan quickly pulled it away.

“Sister Huang, you haven’t washed your hands yet. This is a white shirt, don’t get it dirty.”

“Oh, I’m so excited. Your brother’s girlfriend is really generous, giving you a Dacron shirt. I heard that it costs at least 18 yuan to make one,” Sister Huang said, looking envious.

Secretary Lu’s family is really lucky.

“They’re not just a couple anymore. They got their marriage certificate this afternoon. She’s now my third sister-in-law,” Lu Xiaolan said. Her feelings toward Su Mo skyrocketed. This third sister-in-law seemed great, and they got along well!

Ms. Huang: …