Chapter 44 : Selling the First Basket of Apples

It was the same enthusiastic Sister Liu as before. When she saw Su Mo, she called out, “Sister Su, you’re here? What are you buying today?”

“Sister Liu, I’m here to buy cotton and cloth to make a cotton jacket.” Su Mo said with a smile. “I need 5 jin of cotton, 13 feet of cotton cloth, and 7 feet of khaki cloth.”

“Okay, no problem. I’ll get it for you after I help this comrade.” Sister Liu said with a smile, then quickly helped the aunt get her things, collected the money, and gave the receipts.

“Sister Su, what color khaki do you want? A pair of army green ones came in a few days ago, and we still have some left. How about it?”

These days, military green cloth is the best-selling color. Miss Su is also very lucky and always manages to get the fashionable items every time she comes.

“Okay, then military green.” Su Mo didn’t have any specific requirements.

“What color of cotton do you want? For a cotton-padded jacket, a white lining looks good, but it won’t last long. A floral lining will last longer and look better.”

“Okay, then I’ll follow your recommendation, big sister. I’ll take one with floral patterns.” Su Mo was very straightforward.

Sister Liu’s eyes almost squinted with laughter, and she quickly went to the fabric counter to get the two kinds of cloth.

“This floral cotton is a little more expensive than white cotton. It costs 29.5 cents per foot, so 13 feet is 3.835 yuan. The khaki is 0.465 yuan per foot, so 7 feet is 3.255 yuan. The total is 7.09 yuan, plus the 20-foot cloth coupons.”

“Okay, I also want another 5 kilograms of cotton.”

“Cotton is 1.15 yuan per pound, so 5 pounds is 5.75 yuan, plus 5 pounds of cotton coupons.”

Su Mo handed over the cloth coupons, cotton coupons, and 15 yuan, and Sister Liu gave her 2.16 yuan in change.

When she got married, the commune gave her 16 feet of cloth coupons. Later, Lu Changzheng gave her another 10 feet. She used 3 feet to buy pillowcases for the wedding, and now she had used up all 20 feet. Suddenly, only three feet of cloth coupons were left.

It’s so difficult to get dressed these days!

The cotton at that time wasn’t as tightly packed as it is in later years, so 5 jin of cotton still had some volume. Sister Liu took a large net bag and filled it with cotton for Su Mo.

“Sister Su, do you need anything else?”

Su Mo thought about how when she was helping Lu Changzheng pack, he didn’t have any thick clothes, so she asked, “Do you have any wool?”

“Yes, do you want pure wool or blended yarn? Pure wool is 16.3 yuan per pound, and blended yarn is 13.94 yuan per pound. Which one do you want? Sweaters made of pure wool are warmer, softer, and more comfortable.”

“I want pure wool.” Su Mo said. Lu Changzheng always wanted to give her the best of everything, and she didn’t want to give him the lesser option.

“Are you weaving it for yourself or for your lover?”

“For my lover.”

“With his physique, the medium-thick thread would probably weigh 2.5 kilograms.”

“Then I’ll take 2.5 jin.”

Sister Liu smiled and narrowed her eyes. “What color do you want? We have black, gray, and navy blue.”

“I want the gray one.”

“Okay, two and a half kilograms of wool is 40.75 yuan, and eight industrial coupons.”

Su Mo handed over the money, and Sister Liu wrapped the wool in a piece of newspaper and placed it in the net bag. Then, she took out a few knitting needles from the corner.

“These knitting needles are a little defective, but they still work. Since you get along well with me, I’ll give them to you.” She said as she wrapped them up and placed them in the net bag.

Su Mo is always straightforward and generous when buying things, which Sister Liu really likes. If there were more customers like Su Mo, she would definitely be the model of the year. Not to mention the bonus, the honor alone would be quite glorious.

Knitting needles are not worth much, so she just gave them away.

“Thank you, Sister Liu,” Su Mo said with a smile.

“There are a lot of things. I’ll help you take them out and put them away,” Sister Liu smiled and helped Su Mo take her things out.

Seeing that the large bamboo basket on Su Mo’s bicycle was full, Sister Liu was a little surprised. “Oh, Sister Su bought a lot of things.”

Su Mo smiled and explained, “I didn’t buy these. The production team distributed some apples this year, and my family asked me to deliver them to a relative. But the relative isn’t here today, so I have to take them back.”

As she spoke, she lifted the covering cloth, took out two apples, and handed them to Sister Liu.

“Sister Liu, let me give you some fresh fruit. I picked it yesterday.”

When Sister Liu saw the big, red, juicy apples in the basket, her eyes widened.

“Oh my god, in all the years I’ve worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, I’ve never seen such fresh and juicy apples. They look delicious!”

Sister Liu took an apple from Su Mo’s hand, leaned in, and smelled it. It had a strong fruity aroma and was of excellent quality.

Sister Liu’s eyes brightened, and she leaned closer, whispering, “Sister Su, do you have many of these apples at home?”

“And some more.”

“Could you give some of your apples to me?” Sister Liu whispered.

“This, this is not good,” Su Mo pretended to hesitate.

“My child is sick and asks for apples every day. I see that your apples are juicier and of better quality than those from the supply and marketing cooperative. Just consider it a favor and give some to me,” Sister Liu said sincerely.

“Well, how many do you want, big sister?”

“How about you just give me this whole basket so you don’t have to carry it back?” Sister Liu asked carefully.

“Is that so…” Su Mo seemed very conflicted, but after a moment, she said, “Well, then okay.”

“Then Miss Su, come with me. My home is just behind the supply and marketing cooperative, very close,” Sister Liu said, waving to her colleagues and leading Su Mo home.

“Sister, I won’t take advantage of you. The apples sold at the supply and marketing cooperative are more than 40 cents per pound. Your apples are of good quality, so I’ll give you 50 cents per pound.”

Sister Liu’s house was indeed just behind the supply and marketing cooperative. It was only a five-minute bicycle ride away, a bungalow with a yard.

Once they arrived, Sister Liu closed the courtyard door, took out a bamboo basket, and began moving the apples from Su Mo’s basket into the new one, one by one. After transferring them, she shook the basket.

“This basket weighs about 50 kilograms. How about we calculate it as 50 kilograms?”

Su Mo nodded, and Sister Liu quickly counted out 25 yuan and gave it to Su Mo.

As she escorted Su Mo out, Sister Liu added, “Sister Su, if there are people in your team who don’t like to eat apples, you can send them to me. I have a lot of relatives, so I can send them here and there. No matter how many there are, I can deliver them all.”