Wen Ci walked into the mall, which had just opened. The shopkeepers were all busy with their tasks in an orderly manner. As she passed by a clothing store, Wen Ci stopped and stood in front of the display window. Her eyes immediately caught sight of a dark-colored high-neck wool sweater worn on a mannequin. The style looked extremely fashionable for these era.

She thought it would be a good idea to buy it for Huo Jingyuan.

Wen Ci entered the store and noticed that each wool sweater had a clearly labeled price tag. Upon closer inspection, her eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

The price of each wool sweater was generally over one hundred yuan.

In these days, the average monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan, and Huo Jingyuan’s monthly salary and subsidies amounted to just fifty-four yuan. A single wool sweater was equivalent to two months of his salary.

Wen Ci pondered carefully. The 1980s were a time of great opportunity for making money, and she realized that earning money needed to be prioritized, or she might regret it later.

Wen Ci asked, “Can this wool sweater be cheaper?”

“This is an authentic Shanhai brand wool sweater, produced by a state-owned enterprise. We are the only exclusive store in the entire northwest region. We don’t offer discounts.”

Wen Ci: “…”

The salesperson in front of her was dressed elegantly, but there was a subtle tone of condescension in her voice.

Wen Ci raised her hand to brush her hair, subtly revealing the gold bracelet on her wrist. She smiled faintly and said, “Really, can’t it be cheaper? I’ll buy two at once.”

If she bought one for Huo Jingyuan, she might as well get one for herself too.

The salesperson glanced at the gold bracelet on Wen Ci’s wrist and scrutinized her a few times. Although her clothes were simple, it seemed she was actually quite well-off. The salesperson smiled and said, “Miss, if you’re buying two wool sweaters, I can give you a discount of ten yuan. How does that sound?”

“Ten yuan off each?”

“That’s possible.”

Wen Ci calculated in her mind. A total discount of twenty yuan was quite satisfying. She said, “Please get me this dark-colored wool sweater first, and I’ll pick another one…”

Wen Ci’s eyes scanned the other high-neck wool sweaters, and she selected a light pink one. She tried it on in the fitting room, and the pink color complemented her fair, delicate skin beautifully.

Standing in front of the mirror, Wen Ci was extremely pleased.

She asked, “Since my husband isn’t here, can I exchange it if the size is too small?”

“As long as the tag isn’t removed, you can come back anytime to exchange or return it.”

Wen Ci took out two hundred-yuan bills from her dowry and handed them to the salesperson. After receiving twenty yuan in change, she happily left the store with her bag.

She then bought many other items according to the list Huo Jingyuan had given her.

Wen Ci paid a worker to help her carry the items to the entrance of the guesthouse. She also bought a box of instant noodles for emergencies and paid the worker, saying, “Uncle, please help me carry these to the entrance of the guesthouse. Just make sure they don’t block the doorway.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it properly.”

Wen Ci accompanied the worker the entire time, as these items were quite valuable.

Suddenly, Wen Ci heard someone shouting breathlessly, “Robbery! That person stole my things! Can someone please help?”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the source of the voice.

The fleeing robber was holding a sharp knife in his left hand, with bloodstains on the blade, and a bulging leather bag in his right hand.

Seeing the knife in his hand, people quickly backed away.

In these days, robbers were extremely bold and often resorted to violence, even killing. Everyone thought it was better to avoid trouble and stay out of harm’s way.

As Wen Ci saw the robber running toward her, she calmly walked to the side of the road and stuck out her foot, intentionally tripping him.

The robber fell to the ground, and the leather bag flew out of his hand.