Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Save Some Money
The counter was lined with several cans of fruit, including peaches, bayberries, and pears.
Xia Chuyi took two of each kind, which impressed the cashier with her bold and extravagant spending.
Beyond that, she also bought a tin of malted milk powder and some assorted pastries.
For Xia Chuyi, these foods were neither particularly tasty nor nutritious. But there was no helping it; these were the kinds of high-end gifts people liked to give during this era.
She bought them simply so her aunt and uncle could have something to give to others.
Because she didn’t have food coupons, she had to pay double the usual price for these items.
As she paid, she felt a pain in her flesh.
Especially when she thought about how the food coupons would soon be cancelled and the prices of goods would drop significantly, she felt an even greater pain.
Ah, but she still had to buy them!
Soon, after she had nearly finished buying all the gifts to take home, she finally made her way to the counter specializing in foreign goods—to pick out a gift for Huo Shiqian.
Ling County was small, and the foreign goods section of the department store had very few items.
Just a few bottles of alcohol, a few kinds of cigarettes, and that sort of thing.
There were watches too, but they weren’t foreign brands, they were Shanghai-made, simply displayed here for sale.
Seeing her carrying a large and small bag full of items, the cashier was quite enthusiastic.
He suggested this and that, but after looking around, she realized that the value of the things here were nothing compared to the watch Huo Shiqian had given her.
After some thought, she decided not to buy anything after all.
Otherwise, giving Huo Shiqian these “cheap” gifts in return, she’d always feel like she was repaying a diamond with a piece of glass.
And moreover, these “cheap” items would still cost her quite a bit of blood and sweat!
She was just a small business owner selling spiced meats, earning a hard-fought income, and this kind of frivolous spending just didn’t seem right.
Upon further thought, regardless of what she bought, the value of the gift couldn’t match the value of Huo Shiqian’s watch anyway—if there was anything of equal value, she couldn’t afford it!
So, closing her eyes and steeling her heart, she decided to simply knit him two sweaters by hand!
That would save her a good deal of money!
Yes, she was happily settled on that decision.
Having figured this out, Xia Chuyi went to the yarn counter.
After choosing black and grey yarn, she asked the cashier how many pounds would be needed for a sweater. Following the cashier’s advice, she bought enough yarn and also picked up a set of knitting needles.
Then, with the yarn and needles in hand, she walked to a corner where no one would notice and threw the yarn into the void.
What a joke it would be if her younger cousin saw the yarn and knitting needles—he would definitely ask whom she was knitting for.
The matter of her and Huo Shiqian had to be kept as secret as underground party activities, absolutely not to be disclosed.
After everything was sorted, she hummed a light tune and holding her purchases, went to wait for Zhao Xiaogui at the entrance.
“Xiao Gui, you didn’t buy anything?” Seeing that Zhao Xiaogui came out empty-handed, she asked curiously.
Zhao Xiaogui’s face was a picture of misery: “Sister, I want to buy a bike, but I don’t have enough money… and I need industry coupons too!”
Xia Chuyi was startled for a moment before she realized that Zhao Xiaogui was probably talking about buying a bicycle.
“Well, as for the coupons, I’ll think of a way later, but about the money…if you do well on your middle school exams, I’ll buy you one as a gift!” Xia Chuyi made a solemn promise to motivate her cousin to study.
“Really, sister? You’re not lying to me? But sister, where are you going to get industry coupons?” Back in those days, only those with government wages received a fixed allotment of industry coupons each month.