Chapter 38

After work that afternoon, Xia Qingning went straight to the department store in Wu Xiaodong’s car. Maimiao was already waiting at the entrance, and the three of them went inside together.

The department store had three floors. The first floor sold bicycles, sewing machines, watches… these expensive items. The goods were good, but they cost hundreds of yuan each.

With Xia Qingning’s current financial situation, she couldn’t afford to buy things without considering the price. So, she didn’t stay on the first floor and went straight to the second floor with Maimiao.

Wu Xiaodong was captivated by a new radio model at the entrance and didn’t go up with them. He made an appointment to meet them at the entrance later.

The second floor was divided into a daily necessities section and a food section. Xia Qingning first went to the food section and bought five pounds of fruit candies. The candies were packaged in different wrappers with various flavors, making them colorful and attractive.

After buying the fruit candies, she bought a pound of Da Bai Tu (Big White Rabbit) milk candies. These were more expensive than the fruit candies, but they actually contained milk, and both adults and children loved them.

After buying the candies, she and Maimiao went to the cosmetics section. Maimiao was mainly there to buy cosmetics. A woman in their commune had bought an imported sandalwood powder there, which made her skin look white and rosy, and it was very effective, so she recommended it to them.

Soon, Maimiao found the sandalwood powder and bought a box of scented ointment and an eyebrow pencil.

Xia Qingning bought two bottles of moisturizing and hydrating anti-chapping cream, which was particularly effective for “red face,” and a bottle of Seagull shampoo. Finally, under Maimiao’s strong recommendation, she also bought the sandalwood powder.

After buying everything, they went up to the third floor. The third floor sold shoes, fabrics, and ready-made clothes. As soon as they went up, Maimiao went straight to the middle of the counter and, looking at the red dress on the mannequin, said to Xia Qingning:

“Qingning, come look, isn’t this dress beautiful? Several of our colleagues want to buy it.”

Xia Qingning followed her gaze and saw a red dress displayed in the most prominent position.

The dress was made of Dacron, with a round neck, sleeveless, and a large skirt. It had four large buttons on the chest and a wide black belt at the waist. There was a large leather flower in the middle of the belt.

By today’s standards, the dress wasn’t really that pretty, especially the leather flower on the waist, which looked bulky and outdated.

But the clothes in this era were very limited in style and color. People hadn’t seen many beautiful clothes, so a red dress with a little design like this, displayed there, was indeed eye-catching.

“Yeah, it’s okay.” Xia Qingning replied in agreement, but as a fashion design student, it was a bit of a lie to say that.

“Okay?” At that moment, a sharp and condescending voice suddenly came from behind. Then, a “humph” came from their nose and said:

“Such a beautiful dress, you say it’s okay. You’re a country bumpkin, you just don’t know good things!”

The two of them turned to see Zhao Cuilan standing inside the counter, looking at Xia Qingning with disdain.

Xia Qingning didn’t avoid her gaze. She even smiled and asked her:

“Auntie Zhao, you wouldn’t still be angry because you didn’t get to eat the loquats from the countryside yesterday, would you?” Then, she looked at the red dress and continued, “Four ugly buttons on the chest, and such a tacky belt. Saying ‘okay’ is being generous.”

“You don’t know anything. This is the latest style here. Can you even afford it? Just commenting here! Don’t be afraid of people laughing at you.” Zhao Cuilan sneered, rolled her eyes, and looked down on her with a disdainful expression.

Xia Qingning glanced at Zhao Cuilan and calmly asked back:

“Why would I buy it? It’s not pretty, and it’s not comfortable to wear. It sticks to your body when you sweat, and it exposes you when it rains. It’s stuffy and hot, not breathable at all…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Zhao Cuilan immediately interrupted her. Her arrogance disappeared instantly, and she even seemed a little nervous.

Everything Xia Qingning said was true. The dress looked nice, but those who bought it had reflected all the problems Xia Qingning mentioned.

Maimiao, who was standing beside her, was stunned. She looked at Xia Qingning with confusion and asked:

“Is that true? Several of our colleagues are saving up to buy it.”

Xia Qingning was about to speak when a figure in a pink dress suddenly walked over and looked at her with disdain, saying:

“That’s so funny. You should look at what she usually wears. She just wears those ugly clothes over and over for years. How would she know what’s good and what’s not?”

It was He Shanshan. Today, she had carefully put on makeup. Her dark face was covered in thick foundation. Her thick eyebrows were above a large area of blue eyeshadow. With heavy blush and thick lipstick, her entire face looked terrible to Xia Qingning.

“Wow, Shanshan, you look so fashionable today.” Zhao Cuilan quickly complimented her. Then, she didn’t forget to belittle Xia Qingning, who was standing beside them:

“Unlike some country bumpkins, they don’t understand but still pretend to.”

He Shanshan was flattered and, using her sturdy body, pushed Xia Qingning and Maimiao aside, saying disdainfully:

“If you’re not buying it, move aside. What are you blocking the way for?”

“What are you pushing for?” Maimiao and He Shanshan had always been at odds. Naturally, she was unhappy about being pushed and continued, “We saw it first, do you understand the concept of first come, first served?”

“What does coming first matter, are you buying it?” He Shanshan scoffed, asking disdainfully.

“How do you know we’re not buying it?” Maimiao replied, clearly a little lacking in confidence, but she didn’t want to lose face in front of He Shanshan.

“Then pay for it, twenty yuan.” He Shanshan stood there, arms crossed, looking at Maimiao with disdain. “Do you have it?”

Maimiao’s face changed instantly. Where would she have that much money? Even if she did, she wouldn’t be willing to spend it all on one dress.

“You don’t have money, yet you talk about first come, first served.” He Shanshan became even more smug. She looked at Zhao Cuilan and said confidently:

“Auntie Zhao, I’ll take this dress, get me a new one.”

Then she took two ten-yuan bills out of her pocket and deliberately waved them in front of Maimiao.

Looking at He Shanshan’s smug expression, Maimiao was filled with anger but couldn’t vent it. This was the first time she had been so speechless by He Shanshan. She was feeling depressed when she suddenly heard Xia Qingning say with certainty:

“Yeah, it’s good, the dress really suits your style.”

Hearing this, Maimiao felt even worse. He Shanshan was so arrogant, and she was still praising her. Just as she was about to retort, the next second she heard Xia Qingning say:

“Your makeup, paired with this dress, well, it’s… uniquely ugly.”

He Shanshan, who was waiting for her to be envious and praise her, was immediately taken aback. She shouted:

“Who are you calling ugly! I think you’re just jealous.” She rolled her eyes and asked Xia Qingning back:

“You say my makeup is bad, can you even do makeup? You say my dress is bad, can you even afford it?”