The final battlefield was the category of industrial goods. Two vacuum flasks were bought, one for each room. Three mirrors were purchased, one for each woman.
Flashlights, door locks of various sizes, hinges, latches, screws, screwdrivers, storm lanterns, kerosene lamps, and for both types of lamps, their lampshades and wicks.
Finally, kerosene. There were quite a few kerosene coupons, enough for five catties.
Tian Jing looked at Li Zhengguo. Li Zhengguo quickly bought a small plastic bucket to hold the kerosene; he had only brought one kerosene bottle.
Wen Jianshe really wanted to pry open his comrade's brain to see what had possessed him.
No, what kind of intoxicating potion had this little sister-in-law fed him? He bought a new plastic bucket just to get kerosene?
After getting home, it would have to be poured into glass bottles anyway, and the plastic bucket filled with kerosene would be unusable.
He pursed his lips tightly, holding back his words. He feared that if he spoke, these two people might even buy baijiu and pour it out to fill with kerosene.
Tian Jing: "..." You're overthinking it, I'm not that foolish.
Tian Jing nudged Li Zhengguo, "Go ask at the tobacco and alcohol counter if they have Maotai. Buy as many bottles as you can."
Then, Li Zhengguo returned with two bottles of the white porcelain, red-labeled Maotai, with Wen Jianshe trailing behind him, looking constipated.
"What's wrong with him?" Tian Jing asked Li Zhengguo in a low voice.
"Ignore him."
Li Zhengguo didn't want to say that Wen Jianshe thought buying eight-yuan Maotai wasn't cost-effective and that buying three-yuan Fenjiu would be better. Could three-yuan Fenjiu fetch over a hundred thousand yuan at auction in the future?
"Oh." Tian Jing looked down at the remaining industrial coupons in her hand. She bought a pair of women's rain boots in size 38 and a pair of men's rain boots in size 44. The rest was all spent on wool yarn and knitting needles.
The coupons were gone, and she only had a few jiao left of cash. Only then did Tian Jing stop.
Li Zhengguo took the toilet paper out, then put the various food items into the bamboo basket. Tian Jing watched as the white sugar and rock sugar were placed on top of the sanitary napkin boxes. Well, they were new, unused, and clean.
Tian Jing also requested that the soy sauce, vinegar bottles, and oil bottle be placed in the bamboo basket. The other items were clothing, and if these bottles leaked, everything would be ruined.
Finally, the ceramic basins were sandwiched between the cotton, wool, and fabric.
When the enamel mugs were handed to Tian Jing, the saleswoman at the fabric counter gave her a fabric tie. She strung together the handles of all the enamel mugs, and they clanged as she carried them.
Tian Jing waved to the saleswomen at the store, "Sisters, goodbye."
"Goodbye."
The saleswomen quite liked this generous girl, who had spent over two hundred yuan in the blink of an eye without even frowning.
Wen Jianshe clutched his chest. Over two hundred yuan. How could she be so extravagant?
He pretended to forget what he had just said, but Li Zhengguo wouldn't let him off. He kicked his leg, "Hurry up, buy some more fabric. We have to head back."
He had no choice but to kick him. He was carrying two iron vacuum flasks in one hand and the five-catty kerosene bucket in the other. He couldn't even take the opportunity to hold Tian Tian's hand.
"You two wait here. I'll go to the office to find someone." Upon reaching the warehouse area, Wen Jianshe used this sentence to fix the two of them at the entrance of another warehouse.
Putting down what he was carrying and the basket on his back, Li Zhengguo took out fifty yuan and gave it to Tian Jing, "Keep this three hundred and fifty yuan. If the Tian family insists on this amount, it will be enough."
Tian Jing took the money and looked up at him, "Don't you think I'm extravagant?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't this money yours?" Li Zhengguo reached out to stroke her yellowish, fine hair, then immediately withdrew his hand.
"I should thank you. If you hadn't come to the Li family, we wouldn't have known how to get through this winter."
"But, Li Min's face," Tian Jing hesitated. They hadn't gone to the pharmacy yet.
"Dr. Yang has ointment. I told him I didn't have any. We'll go buy it quietly in a couple of days."
Tian Jing stroked her chin, her eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down.
Li Zhengguo was startled, "What are you looking at me like that for?"
"Heh heh," Tian Jing's smile was mischievous. "I just wanted to see what kind of person you really are. Such a devious thing doesn't seem like something you'd do, but I like it."
Li Zhengguo chuckled foolishly. Tian Tian saying she liked it, he selectively forgot the word "devious." In any case, she liked something about him.
Wen Jianshe returned with a middle-aged woman. "Sister Tang, these are my comrades and his little wife. They are buying items for their wedding. Please help them."
"You're welcome." Sister Tang was a bit aloof. Since Wen Jianshe hadn't introduced them thoroughly, she just nodded to Li Zhengguo and opened the warehouse door.
"Come in and see. What's piled up at the entrance is it."
Most of these fabrics were cotton. The usual problems were that the seams were too prominent, the patterns at the seams were mismatched, or they had become moldy due to improper storage.
Tian Jing chose a bolt of blue floral, red floral, black with red flowers, and dark blue with yellow flowers. There was no other choice; among these clearance items, most of the cotton fabrics were floral. Sudansx.com
Wen Jianshe's eyelids twitched. This little sister-in-law bought fabric by the yard at the store, and now she was buying it by the bolt in the warehouse.
Sister Tang also showed surprise. "Normal fabric is six mao per chi and requires coupons. These clearance items are half price and don't need coupons. A bolt is forty chi, which is twelve yuan per bolt."
Tian Jing took out the fifty yuan she had just received and handed it to Sister Tang. "Sister Tang, please give me another two yuan worth of fabric."
Her decisiveness made Sister Tang smile. "Alright."
She took the money and pulled out a bolt of black wide-wale corduroy from the bottom.
"This fabric, at the same price, I'll give you seven chi. It's enough for your husband to make two pairs of pants."
"Thank you, thank you Sister Tang."
Corduroy was popular not only because of its thickness but also because of its width.
Normal fabrics were 90 centimeters or 1.2 meters wide, while corduroy was 1.45 meters wide. When folded in half, the width was enough for the front and back pant legs.
The two, laden with their purchases, bid farewell to Wen Jianshe.
Wen Jianshe waved at their retreating backs. Should he notify the others in the dormitory who were in their class? Old Li's demeanor was too terrifying; he was utterly without limits in doting on his wife.
Grandpa Song was also startled by the two. "Why buy so many things?"
"We lack everything at home," Li Zhengguo replied and then hurried to load the cart. All the items were taken out again and arranged according to size and volume.
The storm lanterns, kerosene lamps, and lampshades, as well as the vacuum flasks and kerosene, had to be placed on the outside and handled with great care.
The items in Tian Jing's bamboo basket were also moved out. The bottles and jars could be squeezed between the grain bags.
Finally, the two vacuum flasks fit perfectly into the bamboo basket and were given to Tian Jing to carry. She was also given the lamp and lampshade, which were wrapped in fabric.
As they bid farewell to Grandpa Song and set off, the sun was already setting in the west. The two of them hurried along. They wouldn't reach home before dark, but they had to try their best to speed up. The sooner they got home, the more reassured their families would be.
Although Tian Jing had good stamina, she was small and took small steps. She was essentially taking three steps to Li Zhengguo's two.
After passing the Five-Mile Slope bend and reaching Wang'er Production Team, the closest to Kushan Mountain, it was already completely dark.