Chapter 8

Qiao Changhai gladly accepted his daughter’s marriage, but he was still worried.

The man’s conditions were so good that he offered a dowry of 500 yuan. Qiao Changhai was worried that his daughter’s dowry was too little and would be looked down upon by her husband’s family.

Qiao Changhai tossed and turned, unable to sleep due to worry, and left the house before dawn. He returned only after Qiao Baozhu had finished her breakfast, holding a small black rag bag.

“Dad, what were you doing out there so early in the morning?”

Seeing her adoptive father coming back, Qiao Baozhu picked up the thermos and poured some hot water into the washbasin.

Qiao Changhai rolled up his patched sleeves, watched his daughter adjust the water temperature, and washed his face happily.

“I didn’t go far. I just went to a few neighbors nearby to ask if anyone had any unused cloth coupons. I took them all back.”

It turned out that her adoptive father went out before dawn to collect cloth coupons for her.

Qiao Baozhu then remembered that in this era, you needed a ticket to buy anything.

The most in need of cloth coupons were those of the well-off families in the city, but those in poor living conditions had cloth coupons but no money, so they would sell them for money.

Her family lives in a shantytown, and her neighbors are among the poorest people in the city.

Clothes are new for three years, old for three years, and mended for another three years. They are like family heirlooms, passed down from the older to the younger, and then from the younger to the younger.

Some families are even worse off. The whole family only has one decent set of clothes, and whoever has to go out wears it.

Therefore, many families would exchange cloth coupons for money. After all, filling their stomachs is the most important thing.

Bao Huihua brought a bowl of hot noodle soup from the kitchen, then sat down at the dining table with a smile on her face, stretched her neck, and watched Qiao Baozhu open the small rag bag with curiosity.

Don’t be fooled by the tattered bag’s inconspicuous appearance. It actually contains a thick stack of brand new bills.

Qiao Baozhu widened her eyes and exclaimed in a low voice, “Dad, why did you collect so much?”

Qiao Changhai picked up the bowl and took a sip of the hot soup. As the hot soup entered his stomach, he felt refreshed all over his body.

He waved his hand dismissively, “Not much, only sixty-four feet of cloth coupons and twelve kilograms of cotton coupons in total.”

“That’s not a small amount of money. How much did they give you?”

It had only been a short time since Qiao Baozhu was reborn, and she had long forgotten the prices of goods in this era.

Qiao Changhai was not surprised by his daughter’s slowness, but he regretted not teaching her these chores before.

“As for cloth coupons, they are sold at 20 cents per foot outside, and 18 cents for acquaintances. The current price of cotton is 1.01 yuan per pound, and cotton coupons are between 80 cents and 1 yuan. When you collect cotton coupons from acquaintances in the future, don’t be stingy and give them 90 cents.”

Qiao Baozhu couldn’t help but smack her lips. Just with the little money in her hand, her adoptive father had spent 23 yuan.

Her monthly salary on the farm was only 32 yuan, and these cloth coupons accounted for more than half of her salary!

Doting on her, her adoptive father doted on her too much…

Qiao Baozhu looked at the neatly stacked bedding in the room and shook her head repeatedly: “No, this is too much. We don’t need so much!”

“Dad, I have enough clothes to wear. Captain Shen’s clothes were all issued by the army. It’s a waste for you to exchange so many cloth coupons.”

“Why not sell it on the black market for a high price, or I can go back and make you two a couple of sets of cotton-padded jackets and trousers.”

Hearing that his daughter was thinking about them, Qiao Changhai grinned happily.

He patiently told Qiao Baozhu his thoughts.

“According to our customs, the man needs to prepare cloth for the wedding. The poor ones need 33cm or 66cm, the good ones need 99cm, and the even better ones need three turns and one ring.”

“As for the woman, she needs to prepare bed sheets, quilt covers, curtains, new quilts, new mattresses and new clothes.”

“The previous educated youth Zhao was poor, so he probably only prepared 13 feet of cloth. Your mother and I prepared four quilts and made two sets of clothes for you two. We will also buy you two some pots and pans, stools and dining tables, and you can slowly live a decent life.”

Qiao Baozhu lowered her head and remained silent. In her previous life, her adoptive father did exactly that.

On the surface, Qiao Changhai emptied his family’s savings to prepare this little dowry for his daughter.

But secretly, Qiao Changhai bought a house for the couple out of his own pocket, renovating the house and buying furniture, spending thousands of dollars on everything.

Later, Qiao Baozhu found work for Zhao Haiyang and did small business on the black market, and all the money was taken by Qiao Changhai.

Even Qiao Baozhu herself could not have imagined that her adoptive father, who wore patched clothes and ate pancakes with pickles every day, was actually a low-key millionaire.

In her previous life, she was selfish and stupid. She was loved by her adoptive parents like a treasure. But in order to gain the approval of her biological parents, she ignored the attention of her angry husband. She gave without limit and exhausted her adoptive parents.

In this life, she would never spend a penny on that family. She would never let her adoptive parents worry about her. She would work hard to earn money and give them the best life in their later years.

Qiao Changhai had no idea what his daughter was thinking, and he continued chattering.

“Now the marriage has changed. The man has given a dowry of 500 yuan. Although our family is poor, we can’t fall behind others. The dowry fabric must be at least 99 feet.”

One zhang is 10 feet, and nine zhang and nine is 100 feet of cloth.

Qiao Changhai had prepared four new quilts and bought another six feet of cloth. They would be placed in the new house for the neighbors and the groom’s colleagues to see. Qiao Baozhu would be proud and no one would look down on her in the future.

“I don’t care what others think of me…”

No matter what Qiao Baozhu said, Qiao Changhai refused to sell the cloth coupons.

Seeing that she kept nagging, Qiao Changhai simply pushed Qiao Baozhu and her daughter out of the door.

“Go, go, go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some cloth. Stop sitting here and nagging others.”

Qiao Baozhu, who was pushed out of the door by her adoptive father, stomped her feet with a helpless look on her face.

Her foster mother Bao Huihua tugged at her sleeve. Qiao Baozhu lowered her head and saw Bao Huihua fiddle with her fingers quickly.

“Child, listen to your father. Let’s go buy cloth quickly while there are not many people in the morning.”

The foster mother pointed to the sky again, meaning that it was getting late.

Qiao Baozhu forced a smile helplessly, her eyes fell on the patched clothes on her adoptive mother, and she had a plan in mind.

I can take this opportunity to pick out some fabrics for my adoptive parents and make some new clothes…

I want to make a winter coat and a set of two-jin thick cotton-padded jacket and trousers for my adoptive mother. I also want to make a three-jin thick cotton-padded jacket and trousers and two pairs of thick cotton shoes for my adoptive father.

After making up her mind, Qiao Baozhu took her adoptive mother and walked quickly towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

Her family lives in a shantytown in the city, just twenty minutes away from the supply and marketing cooperative.

The supply and marketing cooperative had just opened, and there weren’t many people there early in the morning.

Qiao Baozhu looked at the place where fabrics were sold and found that there were quite a few types of fabrics.

Before she could open her mouth, the salesperson from the supply and marketing cooperative suddenly covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and screamed at Bao Huihua with raised eyes.

“You stinky beggar, you’re here at the supply and marketing cooperative again?”