Chapter 21

“What do you think you’re doing here? Of course, I’m here to buy things. Could it be that I’m here to see you?” Wu Xiaodong, who was behind Xia Qingning, retorted directly.

Hearing that she was here to buy things, He Shanshan was even more unhappy. Her face stretched long, and she asked:

“What are you buying?”

“It’s none of your business what I’m buying. It’s definitely not buying your pig intestines.” Wu Xiaodong retorted again.

One of the saleswomen at the supply and marketing cooperative was pregnant, so they hired He Shanshan as a temporary worker and assigned her to the area selling pig offal. She hated the smell, but she couldn’t help but do it. This was a job opportunity she had worked hard to get.

She knew that Wu Xiaodong was mocking her, but she couldn’t refute him. She could only roll her eyes at him angrily.

Xia Qingning ignored her and went directly to the area selling daily necessities. She said to the saleswoman inside:

“Comrade, get me an enamel basin…”

“What are you buying an enamel basin for?” Before she could finish, she was interrupted by He Shanshan. She said confidently, “We have a basin at home. You’re not allowed to buy it.”

They did have a basin at home, but they used it to wash vegetables, dishes, and faces… Every time Xia Qingning washed her face, she had to wash the basin several times.

He Shanshan had her own separate face basin, but the original body didn’t. Now, she wasn’t allowing her to buy one. Xia Qingning’s delicate eyebrows narrowed in displeasure, and she asked coldly, “I’m spending my own money to buy my own basin. What’s it to you?” Then she turned to the saleswoman inside and said, “Get me the best quality one.” As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Qingning thought of something, “Oh, no, get two.”

“You…” He Shanshan didn’t expect the usually timid Xia Qingning to dare to talk back to her. She was speechless for a moment. When she realized what was happening and was about to lash out, she heard Xia Qingning say to the saleswoman, “Get me some face cream, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and two towels.”

Seeing her buy so many things at once, He Shanshan’s face was about to turn green. She didn’t dare to say she wouldn’t sell them to her in front of the other saleswomen.

She was furious, and then suddenly realized: Wait, where did she get the money to buy so many things?

She thought about it for a while before she realized. She looked at Xia Qingning with wide eyes and asked anxiously:

“Did you get paid?”

“Does it matter to you if I got paid or not?” Xia Qingning glanced at her and ignored her. She went to the counter selling fabrics.

There were many fabrics on display, all kinds of materials and colors, neatly arranged.

Now, Xia Qingning had money, but she only had two cloth coupons, not enough to buy even a meter of fabric. She hesitated for a moment and said to the saleswoman, “Get me one yard each of the blue floral and light purple floral Dacron.”

Dacron was bright in color and soft in texture, perfect for making headbands.

He Shanshan couldn’t stay calm when she saw her buying such expensive fabric. Her mother, Wang Mingfang, had promised her that when Xia Qingning got paid this month, she would buy her the red Dacron dress from the department store.

Now, Xia Qingning had bought these things and spent all the money. What about her red dress?

She wanted to wear that dress to a blind date.

Thinking about this, she couldn’t care less about anything else. She rushed from the counter to Xia Qingning and shouted loudly, “Don’t buy it, don’t buy it. You’re not allowed to buy anything.”

Xia Qingning glanced at He Shanshan, who was furious, and didn’t argue with her. She turned to a woman in her forties at the counter and said, “What’s wrong with the saleswomen in your supply and marketing cooperative? Are you not going to sell things to customers?”

The woman looked sharp and capable. It was clear she was a leader there.

From the moment He Shanshan stopped Xia Qingning from buying an enamel basin, the woman’s face had been bad.

Now, seeing her being so rude to the customer, she directly reprimanded her, “He Shanshan, what’s wrong with you? Even a temporary worker should have some professional ethics. If you don’t want to do it, you can leave tomorrow.”

“No, no.” He Shanshan was in a hurry and blurted out, “This is my… sister-in-law. She can’t use her salary to buy these things.”

“Why can’t she use her salary to buy these things?” Xia Qingning seemed to be amused by her words and asked back, “My salary, I don’t buy what I want, should I buy what you want to buy?”

He Shanshan, whose thoughts had been exposed, became angry and shouted at Xia Qingning, “Shut up.”

“You should be the one to shut up.” The woman beside her immediately reprimanded He Shanshan, her eyes full of warning, her face was already extremely ugly. She said coldly, “Don’t cause trouble here. Go sell your pig offal.”

They were a people’s store, and they should serve the people. How could she allow a temporary worker to run wild under her nose?

Under the woman’s stern gaze, He Shanshan reluctantly shut her mouth. She walked back to the counter silently but with an immense amount of anger.

“You want two yards, right?” The woman turned to Xia Qingning and said.

“Yeah, one yard each of the blue floral and light purple floral.” Xia Qingning replied.

“This fabric is much more expensive than cotton. It takes at least four yards to make a dress. Two yards won’t be enough.” The woman kindly reminded her.

“Qingning Jie, don’t you have cloth coupons? I have some here.” Wu Xiaodong quickly said, about to give his cloth coupons to Xia Qingning.

“No need. I’m not making clothes.” Xia Qingning waved her hand and said.

“Okay, one yard is one yuan and five cents. Two yards is three yuan.” The woman measured it with a ruler, skillfully picked up the scissors, and with a flick of her wrist, cut two pieces of fabric and wrapped them up.

He Shanshan watched from afar. Thinking that three yuan was gone like that, her heart ached. She wished she could glare a hole in Xia Qingning with her eyes.

That was the money she was going to buy a red dress with!

“Comrade, do you need anything else?” The woman asked Xia Qingning.

Xia Qingning was about to say no, but she thought for a moment and said, “Get me two popsicles.”

“We have three flavors of popsicles: banana for three cents, mung bean for four cents, and milk for five cents. Which one would you like?” The woman asked.

Xia Qingning knew that He Shanshan was definitely watching her. She came here today on purpose to spend money in front of her. She smiled and said generously, “Let’s get the most expensive one.”

She dared to ask for the most expensive one! He Shanshan stared at Xia Qingning, her fists clenched tightly, her fingernails digging into her flesh.

“Two enamel basins for four yuan and sixty cents, daily necessities and toiletries for one yuan and eighty cents, face cream and shampoo for one yuan and forty cents, Dacron for three yuan, and popsicles for one cent. That’s a total of ten yuan and nine cents.” The woman finished calculating and said to Xia Qingning, “I’ve written out the receipt for you. Go over there to pay, and then come back here to pick up everything.”

Xia Qingning responded, “Okay,” then walked to the cashier, took out a handful of change and two cloth coupons from her bag, and handed them to the cashier.

He Shanshan watched her hand over the money, trying to control her urge to grab it. This was the money she was going to buy clothes with! She was so extravagant, spending over ten yuan in one go!

When she got home, she would definitely tell Wang Mingfang to confiscate all of Xia Qingning’s salary, not leaving her a single cent.

Xia Qingning paid and went to the side to pick up her purchases. She put everything into a mesh bag and handed one of the popsicles she had just bought to Wu Xiaodong:

“Here, Little Dong, Jie treats you.”

Wu Xiaodong didn’t expect he would get one too. He was a little surprised and said with a wide smile, “Thank you, Qingning Jie.”

He took the popsicle, tore off the wrapper in front of He Shanshan, put it in his mouth, and enjoyed it, nodding his head.

He Shanshan watched this scene, her teeth almost grinding together. She couldn’t even afford to buy a milk-flavored popsicle. Xia Qingning actually treated someone in front of her. It was infuriating.

Looking at He Shanshan’s angry and suppressed expression, Xia Qingning was very satisfied. Seeing that she had achieved her goal, she walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative with Wu Xiaodong.

Wu Xiaodong rode ahead, the things he had bought hanging on the handlebars. Xia Qingning sat in the back seat, tore off the outer wrapper, and the popsicle was cold and refreshing. She took a bite, and besides the coldness, there was also the smoothness and sweetness of the milk. It was delicious.

“Qingning Jie, why are you different now?”

Wu Xiaodong, who was riding in front, suddenly asked. Xia Qingning was so different today. He even doubted if this Qingning Jie was the same one he knew before.

“Is there? What’s different?” Xia Qingning casually replied. Of course, she knew she was different. She and the original body weren’t the same person.

“Everything is different.” Wu Xiaodong said. After thinking for a moment, he continued, “But you look really good now.”

Xia Qingning smiled, feeling a little guilty. She didn’t want to discuss this topic with him anymore. After a moment, she said, “Little Dong, I have something to ask you.”

“What is it, Qingning Jie?”

“Can I take your bike to and from work every day? I’ll pay you.” Xia Qingning said.

Her home wasn’t close to the textile factory. It was really time-consuming and tiring to walk back and forth after a hard day’s work.

She had also thought about whether she should buy a bicycle, but she would be going to join the army after working at the factory for another month. She wouldn’t be able to take it with her, so it wouldn’t be worth it.

Besides, she didn’t know how to ride a bicycle now. It would take a while to learn if she bought one. After thinking about it, it was the most cost-effective to take Wu Xiaodong’s bike.

“Of course you can.” Wu Xiaodong readily agreed, “You don’t need to pay. Just buy me a popsicle every week. And go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy it and eat it in front of He Shanshan. Haha…”

Xia Qingning listened to his jokes and liked this cheerful little brother more and more.

They soon arrived back at the courtyard where they lived. Xia Qingning jumped off the bike and said “Thank you” to Wu Xiaodong before walking home.

She had only walked a short distance when she saw Mai Miao running towards her in a hurry. She excitedly pulled her towards home and said enviously, “Qingning, come home and see what good things Jingzhe Ge bought for you.”