Lin Chuxia nodded without feeling guilty.
Xu Changping pondered for a moment, “In that case, hand this drawing over to our machinery factory. As compensation, the factory will give you three finished meat grinders. Since you drew the blueprint yourself, you should be aware that this drawing has certain flaws and is not sufficient to manufacture a perfect machine.”
Xu Changping was right; Lin Chuxia had only sketched out the basic principle of the meat grinder. She wasn’t formally trained and had only provided a rough description.
“Deal!”
Her objective was achieved. As for the blueprint, even without her, such a product would emerge before long.
Xu Changping promised to deliver the first finished product to her within a week, and Lin Chuxia was very satisfied with this efficiency.
After leaving the machinery factory, Lin Chuxia did not return to the Bun Shop but went to the Department Store in the county town.
Her life had been busy since getting married, and even though she had money, she hadn’t really taken the time to shop.
As things were getting busier, like today, it could happen again. People respect clothes first before they respect the person, so when going out on business, it’s important to maintain a proper appearance.
Lin Chuxia’s goal was clear; once at the Department Store, she went straight to the ready-made clothes counter, chose some clothes she liked, stated her size, and had them packed directly.
In one go, she bought three coats, several shirts for layering, and seeing a new trench coat from the south, she bought that too.
She also went to the shoe counter and bought two pairs of leather shoes and two pairs of cloth shoes.
The sales clerk initially didn’t pay much attention to her, but by the end, her eyes were shining brightly.
No wonder, encountering a woman who could spend so much was enviable.
Lin Chuxia couldn’t stop once she started shopping; no matter when, shopping was the best way for women to entertain themselves.
These clothes, compared to the haute couture in her villa, were plainer and less stylish, but being the ’best of the worst’ in the Department Store also had a sense of achievement.
After shopping for nearly everything from top to bottom, ready to head home, she passed by the watch counter. The most eye-catching pair on display caught her attention.
By this time, Lin Chuxia was already famous throughout the Department Store. Salespeople on all three floors knew that a woman who spent money like water had arrived today.
The watch sales clerk, seeing her carrying many bags, knew that the God of Wealth had reached his counter.
He quickly recommended, “These watches are new arrivals at the Department Store, fresh designs from the south, a pair of men’s and women’s watches. Would you like to have a look?”
Lin Chuxia actually needed a watch, so she tried on the women’s watch and felt pretty good about it.
The men’s watch design was really elegant, and remembering that Qin Yang’s watch had become old, buying a new watch would be a perfect birthday gift for him.
“Please make the bill for me.”
Fortunately, many things no longer required tickets these days; otherwise, buying so much at once, she wouldn’t know where to hunt for tickets.
The sales clerk efficiently made out a receipt for her, totalling 236 yuan for both watches.
Lin Chuxia paid the amount, wore the women’s watch on her wrist, and had the sales clerk nicely package the men’s watch, then left the Department Store.
…………
On the day Lin Chuxia returned to her parents’ house, she did not go to the Bun Shop. Now that the shop has Sun Lanlan, and the cooked food courtyard has Su Wensong, even if Lin Chuxia occasionally didn’t go, the shop’s work would still proceed orderly.
Lin Chuxia put on the same clothes she wore on her wedding day, a pair of half-new cloth shoes, and carried a net bag containing snacks from the grocery store and two bottles of white wine.
Riding her bike leisurely, she headed to Daqing Mountain Village.
Meanwhile, in Xiaoqingshan Village at the Li Family, Lin Jiayi changed into newly bought clothes, her face beaming with joy as she urged Li Guangyuan to hurry up and leave.
Once they were out the door, Old Mrs. Li couldn’t help but spit, “Such a family-ruining woman, a vixen truly.”
Li Hongmei eyed Lin Jiayi’s new clothes with envy, “Mom, when will you buy me new clothes?”
Li Dongmei chimed in from the side, “I want clothes like sister-in-law’s too.”
“What do you want? Didn’t you both just make new clothes? You always want this and that without considering if it’s in your fate to have them,” Old Mrs. Li said to her daughters but kept her eyes on the direction Lin Jiayi left.
Li Hongmei pouted, “Can clothes made from scrap fabric ever be the same as ready-made clothes? Had I known, I wouldn’t have taken the fabric; I would’ve wanted ready-made clothes too.”
Initially, they thought they struck a great deal with Lin Jiayi’s dowry but didn’t expect her to buy ready-made clothes so soon.
Li Dongmei agreed, “Me too.”
Seeing her mom’s displeasure, Li Hongmei continued, “Mom, you really should take care of sister-in-law. It’s not easy for my brother to make a bit of money selling vegetables. Her clothes cost over ten yuan, it’s just too heart-wrenching, and besides, she’s a married woman now, who does she dress up for every day like that?”
Old Mrs. Li knew this all too well, but her son was spellbound by that vixen – what could she do?
She always knew this bride exchange was trouble. If it were good enough, could they really match with the Li Family?
She needed to find a way to take control of her son’s money; otherwise, this vixen would ruin them sooner or later.
Lin Jiayi, unaware of Old Mrs. Li’s schemes, sat on the back of the bicycle discussing with Li Guangyuan what gifts to buy on their way home.
“Now that we’re making money from our business, we absolutely can’t be stingy. We’ll buy two pounds of snacks for my mom and two bottles of wine for my dad. My little brother can be skipped; he’s grown and doesn’t like sweets anymore.”
Li Guangyuan thought about the unsold vegetables from the night before, wondering how much was spoiled and whether the leftovers could still be sold the next day.
Subtracting the spoiled portion, and the rotten vegetables, it was like working for nothing that day.
Plus, buying the gifts for the Lin Family would mean working for nothing the whole week.
Yet, recalling his wife mentioning that they now had the capability, and they should go home to show her parents; he put aside those calculations and couldn’t help but think of his wife’s sister and brother-in-law.
He felt inferior upon seeing that man only once; hearing he was an office worker and a college graduate, they were worlds apart.
That was exactly why his wife’s sister caused such a drama to switch brides.
He thought again of his wife’s sister, seemingly honest and fairer than his wife. He hadn’t expected her to be so opportunistic.
Now that he was doing business, as his wife said, they would even expand in the future. He wondered if one day, when he became a boss, whether his sister-in-law would regret her earlier choice.
Imagining his sister-in-law crying and regretting, clinging to his legs begging for refuge, Li Guangyuan felt a rush of fiery motivation, as if all his efforts had found their purpose.
“Guangyuan, did you hear what I said?”
Lin Jiayi pinched him discontentedly, bringing Li Guangyuan back to his senses.
“What?”
“I was saying, I wonder if Chuxia is visiting her parents today. My brother-in-law hardly manages to visit twice a year, leaving my sister all by herself. I don’t know how she manages to live like that. No matter how capable my brother-in-law is, what good is it if they live apart? There’s no real affection. If my brother-in-law finds someone else outside, my sister wouldn’t even have a place to cry. She might be envying us now, living our lives together so harmoniously.”