Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder — I Rise to Female Lead Through Hard Work-Chapter 27: Department Store

"Don’t you need to go back to school to prepare lessons?" Yi Roujing smiled and found a topic, "Isn’t there a class in the afternoon?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I’ll take you around." Ding Ancheng looked at Yi Roujing and said, directly ignoring her question.

Yi Roujing pursed her lips, really not cute.

"Let’s call home first." On the way to the first floor, Yi Roujing looked at the room they just registered.

"Anmin and I already called earlier." Ding Ancheng replied.

Window shopping in the seventies was quite different from later times, but similar to her previous life, Yi Roujing always attracted a lot of attention on the street.

Yi Roujing could quickly accept her current identity because she looked the same as her original self, but Yi Roujing wasn’t surprised. After all, encountering the same appearance in a transported book was not that surprising.

Of course, people passing by were not just looking at her; Ding Ancheng was also extremely handsome, and the two of them walking together attracted even more attention. Yi Roujing pretended not to notice and focused on the roadside scenery. After all, different eras have different flavors.

Compared to the monotonous streets of the commune, the county town was several times more bustling. Along the road, factories lined up, with the county government in the center of these factories. The two-story building was freshly painted white, with both the enclosing walls and the building itself looking newly constructed. There was even a guard at the entrance, surrounded by state-run restaurants, guest houses, and schools, all of which were fully equipped.

And the most magnificent and bustling place among them was — the Department Store in Huaixi County, about three hundred meters from the county government. It was even more impressive than the government building, being three stories high with a lively crowd constantly coming and going, all smiling and carrying various items in their hands.

People carried canned fruits and malt milk in green mesh bags, colorful yarns, and even large items loaded on carts such as televisions and refrigerators. Quite a number of onlookers were present, as such big items were not affordable for the average household. For example, in the Dingping Production Team, it seemed only the captain’s family had a black and white TV, which attracted many visitors during leisure times.

However, having seen high-resolution LCD TVs, Yi Roujing didn’t care much about it. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the children holding milk candies.

When passing by them, Yi Roujing distinctly caught a rich milky aroma, wrinkled her nose, and thought it smelled delightful. This era’s milk candies were highly pure without many additives, and she wanted to eat some.

"Let’s buy some milk candies and a can of malted milk." Ding Ancheng suddenly suggested.

"Huh?" Yi Roujing turned to look, a hint of delight in her eyes, then earnestly nodded, "Oh, let’s bring it home for everyone to share and nourish their bodies."

Ding Ancheng’s lips curled slightly; he hadn’t realized she was such a little glutton before—her eyes were almost glued to those kids earlier.

"Right, we’re going to Mr. Wang’s house tonight, let’s buy some things too." Yi Roujing said.

Ding Ancheng nodded; such social etiquette was something he understood.

As soon as Yi Roujing entered the Department Store, she familiarized herself with the layout of the counters. The first floor sold watches, bicycles, sewing machines, radios, mantel clocks, and other large items, along with various electrical appliances; the second floor was half dedicated to selling cookies, malted milk, milk powder, canned foods, and other high-end snacks, while the other half sold pens and stationery. The third floor was for clothes, shoes, and fabrics.

"Want to buy an outfit?" Looking at the clothes in various colors and styles, Ding Ancheng asked Yi Roujing.

"No need, I have plenty of clothes." Yi Roujing replied without even thinking but caught sight of brightly colored scarves before she turned away.

"Have you met Mr. Wang’s wife?" Yi Roujing asked.

Ding Ancheng nodded.

"Does she wear scarves?"

Being asked, Ding Ancheng was taken aback; he really hadn’t noticed, "Seems like she does, I think."

Yi Roujing picked out three scarves: one with red and gold edges, a white background with blue flowers, and one with a black background and red flowers. To be honest, they were quite tacky, with unrefined patterns, and what’s more, expensive, costing a whole one and a half per scarf.

"Comrade, why is this one not on the display?" Yi Roujing stopped Ding Ancheng from paying and looked at the scarf placed on the side of the saleswoman’s seat, which was blue with a hint of yellow.

"It got some color on it, and there’s some snagging, a defective product, no one buys it." The saleswoman said.

"Could you include it as a bonus?" Yi Roujing asked with a smile.

"How about it? If I gave it to you, they’d dock my pay." The saleswoman refused.

"Five yuan, include this defective one." Yi Roujing asked the saleswoman.

The talk about docked pay was certainly just a trick by the saleswoman; it wasn’t damaged by her, and she had already intended to sell it at a discount. Five decimeters was a reasonable price, so the saleswoman nodded and agreed, even throwing in three palm-sized fabric remnants.

"Comrade, can you also include some needles and threads? I need to fix the snagging, right?" Yi Roujing asked sincerely.

Yi Roujing’s request was actually not unreasonable, and she hadn’t expected to sell that defective scarf for five decimeters. How much were needles and threads worth anyway? The saleswoman generously took out two needles and some threads.

Yi Roujing chose three colors of embroidery threads: pink, yellow, and green.

"Thank you, comrade!" Yi Roujing thanked with a smile.

"Serving the people." The saleswoman showed a good attitude towards customers as straightforward as Yi Roujing.

On the second floor, Yi Roujing went to the stationery counter to buy some lovely floral paper, choosing two different colors; afterward, she bought milk candies and malted milk. Considering their visit later that night, she also bought canned fruits and peach crisps.

All these things, together with the scarves, cost ten yuan, a large banknote was gone in an instant. Things were really not cheap, Yi Roujing once again felt the high cost of snacks and scarves in this era.

"Here, eat." Ding Ancheng handed a milk candy to Yi Roujing. Unperturbed, she took it, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. The rich milky taste filled her mouth instantly, delightful and sweet, lifting her spirits despite the lavish spending, although it wasn’t her money spent.

Back at the guest house, as Yi Roujing entered the room, Ding Ancheng headed back to school.

"Wow, why did you buy all these things?" Ding Anmin saw the items in Yi Roujing’s hands and her eyes widened with surprise, although she was more distressed by the cost, "Elder brother is really good to you."

Yi Roujing found it amusing and handed a candy to Ding Anmin, "It’s for the whole family, not just for me."

"Milk candy, I’ve never tasted the flavor of milk candy in my life." Wang Qiushuang couldn’t help but swallow her saliva, especially when the milky aroma was present by her nose. Her eyes looked at Yi Roujing expectantly.

Ding Anmin grabbed all the items and held them in her arms, giving Wang Qiushuang a sidelong glance, definitely not planning to share. "These are for my safekeeping, we’ll have mom put everything away when we get back home." Ding Anmin said to Yi Roujing.