Married to a man in Northwest China, the delicate wife with a soft waist is spoiled rotten by the ro

Chapter 42 Going to the Market in the County Town
“You bunch of cowards, you may be afraid of Director Qi, but I’m not. This isn’t the old society anymore. One thing is one thing, and I don’t believe that our women’s affairs can involve men’s work.”

We've all been in this compound for five or six years now. I won't even mention that bitch Ji Sisi, and that ingrate Huang Qiaomei—she came to the compound in the same car as us, so we've lived together for five years! Five years!

Wang Cuicui spread her five fingers, expressing her resentment, "You all saw it just now, right? Out of so many people, only three have a high school diploma, and two of them are newcomers. They're both incredibly difficult to deal with. Once they have jobs, they'll definitely look down on us even more!"

The others exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness.

You don't seem to care. Your husband is just the one in charge of buying things for the hospital. What does that have to do with you?
One was the director's bride, and the other was the institute chief's wife.

They're not crazy; they wouldn't have bothered to mediate if it weren't for the bigger picture and their past friendship.

"At worst, we can just take a longer route. Anyway, Ji Sisi and we don't live together anymore."

"Yes, there's no need to get so angry. Getting angry will only make you sick. Sister Qiaomei said that the requirements were set by the leaders and she has no right to make the decision. As for whether she has any ulterior motives, why don't you go and ask the people in Huaihua Commune? Don't overthink it."

"Let them look down on us. We're not living by their noses."

Seeing that no one spoke up for her, Wang Cuicui became even angrier. She glared at the group of people.
-
Today is the day we all go to the market together. On the first of every month, the compound rents a bus specifically for family members to use for shopping. We go there before 8 a.m. and return at 1 p.m.

Ji Sisi walked to the gate of the courtyard as the sun rose. The blue and white bus was already parked at the gate. The bus was not big and had a sign for bus number 21 on the left.

The bus was bustling with activity. There were no seats left, so those who arrived later had to stand. All the space except for the seats was occupied by baskets, with seven or eight baskets stacked together like Russian nesting dolls.

A familiar face to Ji Sisi asked her, "Sisi, why aren't you carrying a basket?"

"I haven't bought one yet. I'll go to the county town to buy one later."

Ji Sisi replied that this was indeed part of her plan. In addition, she needed to buy some groceries, finalize the menu for the wedding banquet, and also get newspapers. The newspapers would help her quickly understand the era and would be very helpful for tomorrow's exam.

"Shufen, this is none of your business. Director Qi took Sisi to the city to buy things before he left. I heard that the car was so full of stuff."

The others followed suit.

Zhang Shufang suddenly realized and smiled憨厚ly, "That's true, but Sisi, you must also be from Kyoto, right? I heard that Director Qi graduated from Kyoto University and his family is also from Kyoto."

Ji Sisi found an empty spot near the car window and opened the window to let in some fresh air.

"I'm not from Kyoto. Oh, and I haven't gotten to know my sisters-in-law properly yet."

Ji Sisi cleared her throat. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Ji Sisi. I'm from Jianghai City, Haihe Province. I'm eighteen years old this year and graduated from Jianghai High School. I hope you sisters-in-law will take good care of me in the future."

After seeing Ji Sisi's introduction, the others also began to introduce themselves.

There were more than thirty people on the bus. After going around once, Ji Sisi remembered most of them.

When it was Wang Cuicui's turn, she snorted coldly, turned her head away, and refused to look at the others, sulking to herself.

Guo Xiaolan also took the opportunity to introduce herself.

The car started during the introduction, and Zhang Shufen sat very close to Ji Sisi, trying to strike up a conversation with her the whole way.

Zhang Shufen asked curiously, "You're from Hainan Province, how do you know Director Qi? The two provinces aren't even close."

"Our elders know each other, and it was an arranged marriage between us when we were children." Ji Sisi didn't say much more, and she couldn't find a better excuse to appease them.

Zhang Shufang's eyes widened, her round eyes filled with surprise. "Really? I thought you two were in a free-love relationship because of Director Qi's cheap look. I never expected it to be an arranged marriage. It's rare to see a couple like you two have such a strong bond from the start of a childhood betrothal."

Sitting next to Zhang Shufang, Li Yulian had a big smile on her face.

"If you ask me, it's normal. Sisi is so beautiful. Who wouldn't be happy to marry her? The two of them are such a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman."

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly changed, and everyone was praising how well-matched Ji Sisi and Qi Yan were.

Ji Sisi leaned against the window, the wind rushing in and ruffling her hair. She raised her hand to tuck the stray hairs behind her ear, her fair and delicate face flushed pink from the teasing. She pursed her lips, her smile shy.

Zhang Shufang tilted her head to admire the beauty and exclaimed, "I couldn't quite put my finger on the way Director Qi looked at Sisi before, but now I understand. It's like the candied sweet potatoes I make—sweet and with a stringy texture."

Upon hearing Zhang Shufang's description, Ji Sisi burst out laughing.

With someone to chat with, Ji Sisi felt that the two-hour drive wasn't so unbearable.

The car was parked at the station, about one kilometer away from the supply and marketing cooperative and the grocery store.

As we got off the bus, the driver stood up and emphasized, "We're leaving at 1 a.m., so all you ladies should come back early."

Ji Sisi followed the group to the state-run vegetable store, which supplied the freshest vegetables every day. If you went late, you would only get what was left over.

A group of people had a very clear goal and headed straight for the vegetable store.

When Ji Sisi arrived, a long queue had already formed. Zhang Shufen, who was fast, was in the middle of the queue.

Ji Sisi also joined the queue. She glanced at her watch; it was ten o'clock.

When she was almost at Ji Sisi's place, she glanced at the time again. It was almost eleven o'clock. Just buying groceries had taken an hour.

Ji Sisi put the vegetables into the net bag and hurriedly ran to the meat stall across the street.

Meat was more popular than vegetables. By the time it was Ji Sisi's turn, there was no pork left, only a pile of offal and a pile of big bones.

"Comrade, you're too late. What do you want? I can pack these together for you, and it'll only cost you one yuan per pound."

The butcher pointed to a pile of offal and asked Ji Sisi.

Those behind Ji Sisi, seeing that only these people remained, all showed expressions of disdain.

Seeing that Ji Sisi was really looking at it seriously, someone spoke up, "Lady, these are just some offal. They don't taste as good as meat, and you need meat coupons for them. You don't really want to buy them, do you?"

Ji Sisi looked over and saw a middle-aged woman around fifty years old with small, single-eyelid eyes, wearing a factory uniform from a state-owned factory.

The woman verbally advised Ji Sisi not to take it, but her eyes were fixed on the pile of internal organs.

"If you don't want it, then leave. If you want to buy meat, come earlier tomorrow. There's no meat left today."

The salesperson was impatient. Not many people wanted to buy offal, especially pig intestines, which took a long time to sell, and sometimes they wouldn't sell at all. But it was a pity to throw them away.

The sales clerk was annoyed that such a small thing extended her working hours.

(End of this chapter)