Seeing Wu Tong’s delighted expression, Wu Yuan knew she liked it. "Go ahead and try it on." She had been worrying about what kind of clothes to buy for her sister, as there were pitifully few options available here.
"Okay!" Wu Tong nodded happily. This winter, she could also wear a down jacket.
She took off her coat, put on the down jacket, and immediately felt a warm sensation, "Sister, does it look good?" Wu Tong asked. Though it had a faint duck smell, she really liked it. Luckily, she had brought enough money with her this time to buy it.
"It looks good!" Wu Yuan smiled and nodded. Being young was an asset, as everything looked good on her.
"How much is this down jacket?" Wu Tong turned and asked the middle-aged female sales associate.
"One hundred and twenty. This down jacket is a rare item; even our store only got two, and the other one is bright red," the middle-aged sales associate said with a smile.
When Wu Tong and Wu Yuan heard this, they were both startled. One hundred twenty was not a small sum; it equated to two or three months of salary. Was it really worth it to spend so much on just one piece of clothing?
Wu Yuan, looking at the down jacket on Wu Tong hesitantly, finally bit the bullet and decided to buy it. She had never bought any clothes for Tongtong before, and although the jacket was expensive, Tongtong looked good in it. They should splurge just this once!
Wu Tong was also hesitating. She had brought a total of a little over two hundred yuan with her, which she had saved over the course of half a year by skimping on food and other expenses. To spend over half of that on a down jacket—was it really okay?
Looking down at the clothes on her body, she finally steeled her heart. Alright, just this once.
"I’ll buy it!" Wu Tong and Wu Yuan said simultaneously.
Wu Tong immediately understood Wu Yuan’s intention, "Sister, I’ll buy it myself, I brought money." Sister-in-law’s family only had her brother-in-law earning money, and that money also had to be sent back to their home village to support everyone. How could she spend her sister’s money?
"Tongtong, don’t be so polite with your sister. This is something your brother-in-law insisted on, he told me to buy you a piece of clothing no matter what. If you refuse, both he and I will be upset," Wu Yuan said earnestly with a straight face.
Wu Tong felt troubled, "How about we split the cost?" She knew it was a thoughtful gesture from her sister and brother-in-law, but it was just too expensive.
"No, I’m paying for it," Wu Yuan said stubbornly.
"Then I don’t want it," Wu Tong replied, taking off the down jacket and preparing to return it to the sales associate.
"You’re really going to make me angry," Wu Yuan said sternly.
"You two stop arguing already. Last time, Director Shen mentioned that I had a chance for a half-price purchase, I’ll give that opportunity to you," Luo Shu intervened upon seeing the standoff between the two.
"How could I possibly feel good about that!" Wu Yuan was somewhat tempted, but Luo Shu had mentioned that it was a one-time half-price opportunity. If she took it, wouldn’t Luo Shu have to pay full price for her clothes? That was not acceptable.
"I don’t really buy clothes, so if I wasted this opportunity, it’d be a shame," Luo Shu said with a smile. Of course, this "opportunity" was something she had made up. However, the Divine Doctor Family was also one of the shareholders in the shop, so if she really wanted this benefit, it was merely a matter of saying the word.
Besides, Meng Yujuan and Li Hui’s factory manufactured the down jacket. When they started their business and lacked funds, she had invested some money, becoming a shareholder. So, getting this deal done was as easy as pie.
"Well..." Wu Yuan hesitated, "Okay then, Sister-in-Law owes you one."
"You’re still being formal with me, let me go to the office and have a word with the director," Luo Shu said, pointing to the office before walking over.
Director Shen was drinking tea and reading the newspaper in his office. Hearing the knock, he turned to see Luo Shu standing at the door and immediately displayed a look of pleasant surprise, standing up and saying, "What brings you here? Please, have a seat!"
He walked over to the side, picked up a teacup, and began to prepare tea for Luo Shu. Her brother was one of the shareholders of their retail point, and whether he stayed or left was entirely up to his sister.
"No need to fuss. I just came to tell you that I’ve taken it upon myself to sell a down jacket at half price. Write it down, and I’ll have someone send you a replacement jacket tomorrow," Luo Shu said.
"That’s not necessary. We have an internal staff discount here at our sales point," Director Shen said with a smile. Although not half-price, a 20-30% discount was possible.
"Just follow the rules," Luo Shu said. Some rules, once broken, are like a breached dike, uncontrollable once they’ve begun.
"Then I’ll do as you say," Director Shen replied. He certainly didn’t dare to go against Luo Shu’s wishes.
When Luo Shu came out of Director Shen’s office, Qi Hui and Fang Jingmei had already picked out their fabric.
The middle-aged female sales Associate was waiting for Luo Shu to come over, as she had mentioned the half-price deal but couldn’t charge without the director’s approval.
Luo Shu approached, handed the voucher approved by Director Shen to the sales associate, and then turned to Wu Yuan, "Sister-in-Law, the voucher’s been approved; you can pay now."
"Ah!" Wu Yuan responded joyfully and followed the sales associate to the cash register to pay.
Wu Tong smiled gratefully at Luo Shu and signaled towards the stationery counter not far away, "Luo Shu, can you keep my sister busy for me? I’m going to buy some stationery for Xiao Yi and the others." Even though the down jacket was half-price, she didn’t feel right accepting it without giving something in return.
When Wu Yuan returned from paying, she saw Wu Tong approaching with the stationery and gave her a helpless look, "You girl, why do you have to be ? Do you need to be so formal with your sister?"
"Sister, I’m Xiao Yi and the others’ aunt, isn’t it right for me to buy them some stationery?" Wu Tong said playfully with a smile.
"I really can’t deal with you!" Wu Yuan laughed and flicked Wu Tong’s forehead, handing her the bag and then said to everyone, "I still need to stop by the bookstore to get Xiao Yi a dictionary."
"Alright!" Everyone responded in agreement.
The bookstore wasn’t far from the retail point, just about a hundred meters away.
Today wasn’t Sunday, so the bookstore wasn’t very crowded.
On Sundays, the bookstore was overflowing with people because most couldn’t afford to buy books and only had the chance to read in the bookstore on the weekends.
While the bookstore staff didn’t , there was nothing they could do since customers are always right. Over time, everyone knew it was best to avoid the bookstore on Sundays if they wanted to buy books.
The bookstore wasn’t very large, spanning just over twenty square meters. The interior was sparsely furnished, with a row of bookshelves and a long table in the center. The shelves and the table were filled with books, mostly textbooks but also some magazines suitable for young readers like Soul Mate, Flower City, and Youth Literature.