The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 134 - 132: All is Good

The saleswoman grabbed a basket and flashed a corner of its contents for Lu Jingqiu to see—designs befitting the era, adorned with dragons and phoenixes, peonies, and a variety of colors like pale blue, red, purple, green, yellow, blush pink. Among them, a light purple pair of phoenixes and mandarin ducks caught Jingqiu’s eye instantly, along with that blush pink and pale blue one.

"How much for this set?"

"Thirty-five yuan per set, and it includes the lining. No tickets needed, miss. But this set is forty."

"Why is that?"

"The light purple, pale blue, and blush pink colors are in short supply. We only have two sets of each in this shipment."

Of course, the prettier ones are more expensive.

Lu Jingqiu looked back and forth, reluctant to part with any, but finally, she steeled herself and bought all three.

The woman lit up with joy, and without waiting for Jingqiu to say anything else, she threw in another lining and moved on to her sales pitch: "We’ve also got bed sheets, take a look. Do you like this color?"

With that, she presented a blush pink sheet, its color slightly deeper. Jingqiu felt the fabric—it was genuine silk with embroidered flowers. Tsk, all hand-embroidered, fine stuff indeed.

"These can be used for the back of quilts or as bed sheets."

"What’s the price?"

"Fifty."

Actually, they wouldn’t be making that many quilts, but seeing how rare and hard to come by the fabric was, it might be better to buy it as a spare.

Jingqiu handed over two hundred and ten yuan in a flash—that was for four or five sets. Her bamboo basket would definitely not be big enough to hold them all.

The woman told her to come to the counter later and that she would give her a woven bag.

Jiang Nanzhou watched the young woman accumulate so much and smiled helplessly: "Girl, you haven’t been taken for a ride, have you?"

"Not at all; these are all good things. Feel them for yourself."

Jiang Nanzhou looked closely and indeed, they were quality items.

Lu Jingqiu handed the items over to him and said, "You wait here for me; I’ll go get a woven bag from that woman."

It wasn’t long before Lu Jingqiu returned with a brand-new woven bag. The woman had come through, giving her a new one and evidently making a tidy profit.

Jiang Nanzhou packed the purchased sheets and quilt covers into the bag and shouldered it himself, then the two of them continued their shopping spree in the department store.

When it comes to marriage preparations—washbasins, Warm Pots, and the like—they could be bought at the last minute. The main priorities were cotton and fabric.

While Lu Jingqiu was considering all these small items, Jiang Nanzhou had his eye on the bigger ones.

Sewing machines, radios, bicycles—he looked at each item, and each time Jingqiu said that her family already had one, and she adamantly refused to let him buy them.

Jiang Nanzhou laughed: "But they belong to your family home. You can’t bring all that stuff to our place after we get married. If you did, I’m afraid Uncle Lu would flay me alive."

Lu Jingqiu chuckled: "I was thinking of buying a bicycle suitable for ladies in a couple of years, and it’s okay to buy a sewing machine—I can make clothes, taught by my mother. A radio?" Last year, her second cousin gave her one, but she gave it to her father.

After more discussion, it became clear they did indeed need to buy everything.

"Alright, I’ll get you a lady’s bicycle, and a sewing machine is a must. A radio is useful for both of us; it lets us hear news and information from the outside world. Do you want to also get a TV? The washing machine and fridge seem quite impressive."

Jiang Nanzhou was fascinated by these technological gadgets. He inquired about the prices—a TV was over four hundred yuan and required tickets, which were hard to come by for TVs. Washing machines were over five hundred, and fridges varied from over seven hundred to more than a thousand.

He noticed one TV covered in dust, but he could afford it; he only needed to find some more tickets later.

Lu Jingqiu only wanted what was most practical at the moment; a three-gear, single-action bicycle was already very good, and she never considered getting a television or a refrigerator.

There would be no harm in buying them a few years later; these things would only become cheaper and better.

Jiang Nanzhou had checked out the prices and then took Lu Jingqiu to the first floor, where he bought her a pound of White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a pound of peach crisps, and a pound of egg cakes for her to take to school.

"I’ll be back in a week, I won’t be able to finish all these."

"A pound doesn’t have that many, the egg cakes will be gone in a day or two. You’re too thin, you need to eat more and replenish."

Lu Jingqiu looked down at herself; with her curves, how was she thin? She had gained five more pounds than when she was in Ten-miles Village.

After shopping, they went to inquire about the cotton they had ordered days before at the cotton stall, and the sales clerk told her it had arrived.

She hurriedly paid with money and vouchers, and the sales clerk directly handed her a woven bag.

The basket she had brought was filled to the brim, and the two woven bags were placed on the beam in the front.

Jiang Nanzhou looked at the time; it was just after ten. With too many items, the two didn’t wander aimlessly and headed straight home.

Once home, Lu Jingqiu steamed a small basin of rice and had Jiang Nanzhou take a lunchbox to the cafeteria to get two dishes, while she made seaweed soup at home.

Aunt Cuihua outside saw Jiang Nanzhou coming and going and muttered a few words, "They’re not even married yet, and they’re not being discreet at all. Alone together like this, what will people think?"

Xu Miao saw her mother starting up again and covertly curled her lips, which her cheap little brother saw and tattled on her.

"Mom, Sister Three is making faces; I saw her."

Aunt Cuihua, feeling a rush of anger toward her third daughter, slapped her on the back and said, "You wretched girl, why come back here? Stay at school after registering; didn’t they give you a subsidy? Coming back here means eating our food."

"Mom, I’m your daughter, isn’t it normal for me to come home? Look, Sister Xiao Qiu came back too."

"She’s a university student; why don’t you get me one of those?"

"What’s so great about a university? At least I’m a junior college student, from the normal school. I can become a people’s teacher when I graduate, which is countless times better than your son who can’t do anything. You spoil him rotten, and he’ll grow up to be good-for-nothing."

"How dare you speak to your brother like that. I’ll show you what happens when you go too far."

"Mom, hit her. Sister three, you’ve gone too far. If you get married and run into trouble, I won’t have your back."

As Xu Miao ran away, she gave her little brother a disdainful glance, thinking about him having her back, scoff.

"You wretched girl, get back to school immediately."

Unable to catch up, Aunt Cuihua fumed. Over the past two years, each of her daughters had become sharper than the other, one causing trouble to get a job which the family could barely afford by spending a few hundred yuan.

The other was always sullen and hiding things for herself, but she wasn’t useless, having been admitted to junior college, making the family proud. Compared to the neighbors across the way, though, they could barely lift their heads in pride.

Lu Jingqiu was admitted to the West City University of Fine Arts, but her daughter? She only got into a junior college. How could that be the same? It was just depressing how people could be so different.

If she had known that going to the countryside could be so formative, she would have sent both her daughters there—saving on food and reforming them. Look at the Lu Family girl, once so unruly, but now so obedient, bringing so much pride to her family.

Her own family was always arguing over this or that. She truly regretted having so many children.

Seeing her mother’s face alternate between black and white, Xu Miao secretly stuck out her tongue and rolled back into the room, refusing to leave.

What does it matter if the school gives a subsidy? It’s just over ten yuan, and it’s not even cash. Her family wouldn’t give her a single cent. Hmph, if they don’t give her money, she won’t go.