Chapter 85 : Crazy scramble for cotton-padded clothes

When everyone heard this, they relaxed.  

A sister-in-law who wasn’t very familiar with Song Shiwei hurried forward, trying to get on her good side

“Well, Tingyue’s wife, I heard you arrived a long time ago, but I’ve never had the chance to meet you. I know it’s a bit shameless of me to ask, but my family’s situation is really tough!”  

“We have five children, and our cotton-padded jackets are so patched up that they’re too thin to keep us warm. My eldest and second sons have frostbitten arms, and since they’ve grown taller, their jackets don’t fit anymore. I… I really have no choice but to beg you. Can you sell me a few more? Sister-in-law, please, I’d be so grateful…”  

As she spoke, her eyes turned red, and she started crying.  

Everyone in the compound knew about her family’s situation. Raising so many children was truly difficult.  

It was fair to say that no family in the entire compound was struggling as much as hers!  

Someone with a kind heart spoke up “Weiwei, didn’t you say you could get more? Why don’t you let Sister Jia buy them first? Let her have priority!”  

Sun Meimei and Jian Qiu exchanged glances.  

“We won’t take any this time. Let them have it first!”  

“Yes, sister-in-law, you take them first!”  

But some families who were also in urgent need of warm clothing weren’t willing to back down.  

Even though Song Shiwei had said she could bring more, who knew when she would go again? And what if the factory ran out by then? If this was the last batch, they might not get another chance!  

Besides, five yuan for a cotton-padded jacket was like a gift from heaven. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of this deal first?  

“No, I don’t agree. Our family is struggling financially too. Why should she get to buy first? There are only ten jackets, and she has five children, she’s going to take them all!”  

“Yeah, who knows if there will be more later? Even if you say there will be, what if the factory has already cleared its stock?”  

“Exactly! I have four kids at home. I need at least two or three jackets!”  

—

Listening to everyone arguing, Song Shiwei smiled helplessly.  

“Dear sisters-in-law, I can assure you that there will be more of these cotton-padded jackets. How about this, everyone who wants one now can take one each. I’ll go again in the next few days and bring back more for everyone!”  

Hearing this, the sisters-in-law were still a little anxious, but no one argued anymore.  

“Okay, I’ll take one for now. Weiwei, bring me three more later!”  

“Me too, Weiwei! Bring me five more later!”  

When one of the sisters-in-law said this, the others who knew her well were immediately surprised.  

“Five more? You only have one child. Why do you need so many?”  

The sister-in-law blushed slightly and smiled awkwardly “This cotton jacket is too cheap. I want to bring a few back home for my parents and my brother and sister-in-law when I visit for the New Year!”  

After hearing this, it was as if a light bulb went off in everyone’s heads.  

Realizing this was a great opportunity, they started shouting one after another:  

“I want six!”  

“I want four!”  

“I want five!”  

“I want three!”  

“I want six!”  

Song Shiwei smiled and agreed, “Okay, okay! I’ll bring them all for you!”  

Somehow, the sisters-in-law managed to find a notebook and pen, and they had her write everything down carefully, afraid she might forget anyone’s order.  

The commotion even attracted other residents from the staff quarters. When they saw that Song Shiwei could get such affordable cotton-padded jackets, they immediately got excited.  

“We want some too!”  

“I’ll take two!”  

“Me too!”  

In the crowd, Zhou Xiaoyani looked a little embarrassed. Her family’s cotton-padded jackets had been worn for years, especially her own, which had been refashioned from Sun Weidong’s old jacket.  

She couldn’t help but wonder, how did Song Shiwei manage to have such great connections? She even knew the director of Qingshi Garment Factory!

For a moment, I felt a mix of emotions jealousy, envy, and just a sour feeling.  

Another person who had the same thought was Jiang Fengqin. She had made a big fuss at their house last time but got nothing out of it, so naturally, she didn’t have a good impression of Song Shiwei.  

But there was one big difference between Jiang Fengqin and Zhou Xiaoyan, she had a bold personality and never hesitated when it came to anything!  

And this cotton-padded jacket was obviously a great deal. Anyone who didn’t take advantage of it would be a fool.  

So, she immediately came over with a smile.  

“Hey, Song Shiwei, I want four too! Please write them down for me!”  

Song Shiwei looked up and saw that it was her but didn’t say anything.  

After all, selling these cotton-padded jackets was a profitable business. Whether the buyer was a friend or an enemy, as long as the money was handed over, there was no reason to refuse.  

So, she wrote it down for her.  

When Zhou Xiaoyan saw this, she couldn’t sit still anymore.  

But she still hesitated. Only after most people had left did she finally step forward and say, “Uh… please write me down for three!”  

Then she ran off immediately.  

Song Shiwei: “……..”  

If you didn’t know better, you’d think a dog was chasing her.  

Once everyone had finished placing their orders, Song Shiwei asked Xiao Zhang to help carry their family’s seven cotton-padded jackets home.  

As soon as the two little ones saw them return, they were so excited that they clung to her like little octopuses.  

“Mom! Brother! You’re back!”  

“Mom, why did you take so long? I missed you so much!”  

Xinxin said this while rubbing her fluffy little head against her.  

Her cute behavior melted Song Shiwei’s heart.  

She quickly took out the new hair ties and hairpins she had bought for her from her bag.  

When Zhou Xinxin saw them, she instantly lit up.  

“Wow!! New hair ties and hairpins! So pretty! So pretty!!”  

Several beautiful and adorable hairpins lay in Song Shiwei’s hands. Some were plastic, shaped like little flowers, while others were colorful metal hairpins in red, yellow, green, and blue.  

She had seen Xiao Yueyue from the compound wearing similar ones before. Yueyue had boasted that her mother had someone bring them from a big city.  

At the time, Xinxin had been extremely envious. She never expected that she would have her own now!  

“Yay! I have new hairpins too!!”  

She immediately asked Song Shiwei to help her put them on so she could go out and show them off to her friends!  

Seeing how happy she was, Song Shiwei felt joyful too. She carefully re-braided Xinxin’s hair, which had become messy from sleeping, using a new hair tie and secured it with a small hairpin.  

She styled her hair in a trendy, intricate braid, making her look like a little princess.  

Zhou Xinxin was so happy she nearly cried.  

She was already an adorable child. Before this, she only had two red hairbands, and when one broke, she tied it back together and kept using it.  

Even when Song Shiwei wanted to style her hair nicely, she didn’t have the accessories to do so.  

Now that she finally had new hair ties and hairpins, she was determined to make her hair look beautiful!  

It was the first time Zhou Xinxin had ever seen such a pretty hairstyle. She happily hugged Song Shiwei and showered her with kisses.  

Even Zhou Cheng, Zhou Lin, and Zhou Wei were amazed at how pretty their little sister looked.  

“Wow! Xinxin, you look so pretty!”  

“Yeah! My sister is the most beautiful girl in the whole compound!”  

“So pretty!”  

Hearing her brothers praise her, Xinxin became even more excited. She held her head high and ran outside.  

“I’m going to show Xiao Yueyue and the others! My mom bought me new hair ties and hairpins, and she even braided my hair into a beautiful style!”  

Watching her run out like a proud little peacock, Song Shiwei couldn’t help but laugh.  

Zhou Xinxin was overjoyed, but Zhou Wei seemed a little upset.  

He felt like he didn’t get a gift.  

How could Song Shiwei not notice? She exchanged a look with Zhou Lin.  

Zhou Lin understood immediately!  

Holding back his laughter, he pulled out two big bags from his bag  

“Ding ding ding ding! Look what we’ve got here!”