The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

After lunch, Jiang Furong took Grandma Jiang and Jiang Xiaocui to the living compound to "go shopping".

When you go to a strange place, you should try to see the local customs and culture. Whether you are visiting relatives or traveling, the purpose is almost the same.

Grandma Jiang walked out of the door and started praising her a few steps later:

"Look at how magnificent this house is!"

"What's the purpose of painting the tree with lime? To prevent frost? Oh wow, you really know how to think of something!"

"The gravel road in this big yard is so smooth, spacious and clean, just like in a movie!"

"Dapeng should stay here for the rest of his life!"

Seeing that no one was around, Jiang Xiaocui laughed out loud: "Mom, you praise everything you see."

"I've never been out of the house in my life and have never seen the world." Grandma Jiang was in a good mood and smiled at everything she looked at.

Jiang Xiaocui smiled and said, "My brother is so nice here, you can rest assured from now on, right?"

Grandma Jiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, absolutely don't worry! Half of my life's wish has been fulfilled."

Grandma Jiang’s greatest wish is to let Jiang Dapeng become a city dweller.

Jiang Xiaocui's expression was a little unnatural: "I'm afraid half of my wish won't be fulfilled."

She is divorced and has no children. She left her hometown in middle age and I am afraid she will live out her life alone.

Grandma Jiang scolded, "You're here to make me unhappy again, aren't you?"

Jiang Xiaocui muttered, "You were the one who said it first."

"Ah, you have such a bad mouth, can't you forgive me?" Grandma Jiang sighed, "Look at your brother, he never talks back! It would be great if you could be like him!"

Jiang Xiaocui curled her lips: "What's good about that? I can't even beat him in a fight, and if I can't win an argument, I'll be so angry!"

These words contained a lot of information. Jiang Furong was very happy listening to them. Her aunt was also a person who never gave up.

Grandma Jiang couldn't help but pat Jiang Xiaocui's arm: "You, you've suffered so much because of your mouth. You're still laughing, Furong is watching, and you don't even act like an aunt!"

Jiang Furong smiled and said, "Grandma, I think my aunt is pretty good. She speaks her mind, doesn't hold anything in her heart, and has no worries."

Grandma Jiang nodded: "You don't have any worries, do you? Your aunt left all the worries to me. Do you still remember when we were little..."

Jiang Xiaocui quickly interrupted: "The service center is just ahead, right? Furong, take me there to see if there are any nice floral fabrics. I'll make you a dress."

"We have floral fabrics, ten cents a foot." Jiang Furong had recorded the prices of goods in the service center, so she could answer immediately. However, the floral fabric didn't look good. "I have clothes, so I don't need to make them. Aunt, the department store is over there by the door, and this is where they sell groceries."

Zhang Haiyan was sitting at the counter, braiding her hair out of boredom. She looked up and saw Jiang Furong coming in through the door curtain. She stood up happily and said, "Furong, are you in Captain Fu's car yet? Did you pick up the person?"

Jiang Furong smiled and nodded: "I got it! This is my grandma, and this is my aunt. My aunt wants to come over here to see the floral fabric."

Zhang Haiyan opened the counter and walked out of the counter. As if she had met an old acquaintance, she called out to them enthusiastically: "Grandma Jiang, Aunt Jiang!"

At that time, cloths were placed upright on the shelves at department store counters. The salesperson would take down the cloth that you liked.

Due to the limited supply, people are reluctant to buy goods that have been touched and soiled by others. Therefore, even if the salesperson takes the cloth down for you, it will be placed on the counter. If you don’t buy it, you can only look at it with your eyes and cannot touch it with your hands.

Zhang Haiyan wanted to take care of an acquaintance, so she took the initiative to cross the counter to serve: "Auntie Jiang, whichever one you like, I'll get it for you."

"Grandma, this is my classmate Zhang Haiyan," Jiang Furong introduced. "She works here."

Grandma Jiang happily agreed repeatedly: "Oh, I'm sorry to trouble you."

Zhang Haiyan smiled and said, "I just work here. This is what I'm supposed to do."

Grandma Jiang looked so satisfied: "The people in the army are just great!"

He spoke in a pleasant manner, and treated people warmly and attentively. Grandma Jiang had never been treated this way before in her life, and her face was beaming with joy.

Jiang Xiaocui looked at the counter and saw that there were only seven or eight pieces of cloth. Only one kind was small plaid cloth, and the others were white cotton, white Dacron, green Dacron, and blue, green, and gray khaki.

"There's so little floral fabric?" Jiang Xiaocui was a little surprised. "It would have been better if we had gone to the Commercial Bureau's Supply and Marketing Cooperative after getting off the train in the provincial capital."

Zhang Haiyan explained, "Aunt Jiang, the cloth we have here is imported from the Commerce Bureau, and we sell it cheaply. If you've ever bought cloth from the provincial supply and marketing cooperative, you'll know. This plaid cloth has only been in stock for three days, and on Sundays when there are a lot of people, you don't even need to bring it up, it's sold out in no time."

"Really?" Jiang Xiaocui looked at the number written on the small board on the roll of cloth. "It's cheap, only 1.1 cents. I have a Dacron short-sleeved shirt, and the cloth cost 1.8 cents a foot. Then I'll calculate the size and see how much cloth I need to make two pieces of clothing."

Zhang Haiyan was embarrassed: "Sister Li is away because of something, and I don't know how to calculate."

Only skilled old workers and professional tailors can calculate.

Jiang Xiaocui waved her hand: "I can calculate it myself."

Then he stared at the ceiling with his eyes, muttering to himself, "One foot two, two feet one, put it together here, put it together there, if it shrinks, I have to subtract an inch, blah blah," he calculated to himself.

Jiang Furong whispered, "My aunt can make clothes. She thinks the clothes I'm wearing are ugly and wants to make me new clothes."

Zhang Haiyan's eyes widened and she gave him a thumbs-up. "Having someone at home who can make clothes means we can save a lot of money. How long does your aunt plan to stay here?"

Before they could finish their whisper, Jiang Xiaocui had already made up her mind: "Take down that dark blue khaki, and that black cotton cloth. Oh, do you have any thread?"

"Yes, let me look for it," Zhang Haiyan lowered her head and looked around at the counter. "I don't know where Sister Li put it. I remember the sewing kit and scissors were together."

Jiang Furong was a little confused when she saw that he was really going to buy it, so she quickly stopped him: "Auntie, are you really going to make clothes for me? I don't need them, I'm fine with this."

Jiang Xiaocui rolled her eyes at her and said, "Look at your classmates, they're so stylish!"

Jiang Furong thought, doesn’t that person have a job and an income?

However, people are poor and have low aspirations. They cannot make harsh remarks without money, so they can only laugh.

At this time, Sister Li came back from her work. Seeing that it was Jiang Furong who brought her relatives to buy cloth, she immediately recommended it to Jiang Xiaocui: "How about you buy this piece of army green khaki cloth? It's very rare. We don't charge cloth coupons for the remaining cloth here. It's more than a foot long, enough to make half a pair of pants."

Jiang Xiaocui picked it up and gestured towards Jiang Furong: "I don't think military green looks good on a girl."

Sister Li pulled at her collar and gestured, "Use white thread to crochet a fake collar like this and sew it on. The little girl can crochet an extra circle of lace. It will look so beautiful when turned inside out. If it gets dirty, just take it off and wash it. You don't have to wash the gown over and over again."

Cotton cloth will shrink and fade after being washed with water. It will become lighter with each wash, and will look very old after being washed twice.

"This collar is really nice. I'll think of some patterns when I get home." Jiang Xiaocui studied it briefly and then started digging through her pockets. "Okay, then I'll take both the dark blue and army green ones. Do you have any plaid or white Dacron fabric scraps? If you have any, I'll take them all."