Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

"What method? Tell me about it."

Li Zhenhe was anxious because he had a lot of cloth coupons left.

Back then, when his colleagues were looking for various coupons, Li Zhenhe specifically kept cloth coupons.

The purpose was to buy more floral fabric for Zhou Caixia.

But when I get busy, I forget about it.

With only a few days left before the cloth ration coupons expired, Li Zhenhe was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

One reason was that he felt bad about wasting the fabric, but another reason was that Li Zhenhe felt guilty for not using the fabric coupons on Zhou Caixia.

Now that Liu Jia said he had a solution, Li Zhenhe was naturally interested.

While asking the questions, Li Zhenhe even moved closer to Liu Jia.

Under the big tree.

As usual, the two began to discuss their plan.

"Before we discuss this method, I need to ask you something first: what do you think of Zhou Caixia?"

Liu Jia suddenly changed the subject.

Li Zhenhe raised his eyebrows. "That goes without saying. In my eyes, Caixia is a girl who is one in a million, no, one in ten million."

"If that's the case, why are you still leaving things between you and Caixia like this? Don't you want to marry her? Why don't you find a matchmaker to propose?"

Liu Jia's questions left Li Zhenhe speechless.

"Well, Caixia said we should see how things go for a while first."

Liu Jia was speechless.

"Brother Li, I usually think you're quite shrewd, so why are you so slow to warm up when it comes to matters of the heart?"

"What does 'slow to warm up' mean? I don't understand."

Liu Jia rolled his eyes.

He briefly explained what "slow to warm up" meant, and then started urging Li Zhenhe again.

"Since you like Zhou Caixia, then hurry up and settle this marriage. Zhou Caixia is a young woman, you can't expect her to say that you should find someone else to propose to me, can you?"

"No matter what, people should be more reserved. But you actually took it seriously. If that's the case, I wonder when you two will get married."

"Actually, my idea is that we use the wedding as an excuse to buy fabric. If you really get married, then we'll be genuinely shopping, right?"

As Liu Jia spoke, Li Zhenhe pondered.

After a while, Li Zhenhe suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Sanzi, I was so foolish. How could I not have thought of that? It was my fault for not considering things thoroughly."

"It's not about who's right or wrong right now. Actually, I just thought of this myself. In the next few days, you should think about the engagement. Let's spend some of the cloth coupons we have."

Li Zhenhe nodded his head vigorously, like someone pounding garlic.

“I understand. In this way, we will split into two groups. The cloth coupons actually used for the engagement will be spent at the Hongxing Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and the extra ones will be used at other supply and marketing cooperatives.”

Liu Jia gave a thumbs up.

"That's exactly what I mean. Just use it for the Hongxing Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Anyway, your colleagues will have to give you a share, right? We'll take the rest elsewhere."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and go! We should spend our cloth coupons as soon as possible so we can have peace of mind."

As he spoke, Li Zhenhe stood up.

After Liu Jia got up, he also patted the dirt off his clothes.

"Let's go shopping at the nearby supply and marketing cooperative!"

The two hit it off immediately and rode their bicycles southwest.

Because he frequently delivered baskets to supply and marketing cooperatives in the surrounding area, Liu Jia knew that there was another supply and marketing cooperative twenty miles away.

It's morning now; even if you ride your bike for twenty miles, it won't be past noon.

Moreover, on the way to the supply and marketing cooperative by bicycle, Liu Jia and Li Zhenhe could discuss things, thus killing two birds with one stone.

So the two of them kept talking the whole way.

"Sanzi, are we only buying summer fabric? Do we also need to buy fabric for winter clothes?"

Li Zhenhe turned his head to look at Liu Jia as he rode his bicycle.

"I have about the same amount of cloth coupons as you. I have a large family: my brother, my sister-in-law, my father, my mother, and me. Buying some summer cloth and some winter cloth should be enough, right?"

Thinking about how he would spend all his cloth coupons on Zhou Caixia, Li Zhenhe started making plans again.

We need to make clothes for Zhou Caixia. We can't just make summer clothes and ignore winter clothes!

"Should we buy some pure white cloth? The supply and marketing cooperative has recently introduced a new material that is very breathable and is white."

"I even made a special inquiry and found out that one foot of cloth ration coupons can be exchanged for two sizes. The women at the supply and marketing cooperative said that they are suitable for making summer jackets, as they are especially cool."

"Buy more of that kind of fabric, and use the rest to buy some floral fabric. Caixia is young, so she should wear something festive."

Liu Jia started to purse his lips after hearing that.

"You can say this to me, but you can't say it in the village. Otherwise, everyone will say that you've forgotten your mother after you got married."

Li Zhenhe grinned after hearing this.

"Anyone who says that is just jealous. So what if he's good to his wife? It's only natural!"

Liu Jia smiled but didn't say anything.

Back then, I doted on Guo Xiaoyan and listened to everything she said.

Back then, there was no disdain from those gossipy women in the village.

Liu Jia still remembers that when he was walking down the street, some people would whisper behind his back.

He said that he only had eyes for his wife, just like a wild sparrow in a tree who forgets his mother after marrying a wife.

Looking back on that time, all I can do is sigh.

He was divorced from Guo Xiaoyan and was free, but those memories could not be erased.

"By the way, are the prices at these supply and marketing cooperatives about the same?"

"They're all the same, 33.5 cents a foot, that's the price for pure white cloth."

"Okay, as long as it's not too different."

They knew that although they had a lot of cloth coupons, they couldn't buy cloth with just the coupons; they would have to pay money.

A grown man needs seven or eight feet of clothing to make a set. If there are four grown men in the family, and we're being generous with the amount, it would be thirty-two feet.

And if we calculate it as three feet to one meter, then it's less than eleven meters.

Liu Jia was glad he had come up with a good idea.

If you weren't using the guise of buying a dowry for your wedding to shop, and instead bought more than ten meters of fabric at once, even the sales clerks at the supply and marketing cooperative would be stunned.

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the Construction Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

As soon as Liu Jia entered, he saw eight large characters in front of him.

"Develop the economy and ensure supply."

Upon seeing those familiar words, Liu Jia's lips instinctively curled upwards.

In fact, in this day and age, the internal structure of state-owned supply and marketing cooperatives across the country is pretty much the same, only their scale is different.

This was the case in most areas during the planned economy era.

These five large single-story brick houses had their glass doors and windows cleaned very thoroughly.

The counters were set up just like those at the Red Star Supply and Marketing Cooperative, slightly too high, so short children couldn't see what was inside.

Liu Jia glanced at it briefly and then followed Li Zhenhe directly to the bedding section.

Many fabrics are displayed here, and the shelves also emit a peculiar smell.

Liu Jia didn't have a thorough understanding of the fabrics in front of him.

You can tell the difference between pure cotton and polyester fabric.

Compared to Liu Jia, Li Zhenhe knew more.

"The polyester fabric is quite good, how about we get some of this?"

Li Zhenhe turned to look at Liu Jia.

Liu Jia looked up. "Is it sturdy?"

"Sturdy, definitely sturdier than cotton cloth."

The person who answered Liu Jia's question was not Li Zhenhe, but the salesperson across from him.

Seeing the salesperson looking in their direction, Liu Jia simply picked up the conversation.

"Hello, ma'am, we need to buy some fabric. Could you recommend some?"

"What kind of fabric are you buying? Is it for making clothes, or bed sheets and blankets? We also have cotton fabric here for making cotton-padded jackets and trousers for children."

After finishing her sentence, the salesperson looked at the back and said, "If it's a gift, give this kind of silk one; it's the most fashionable right now."

Liu Jia found it strange.

This woman in front of me is quite the talker.

“No other sales clerks in the supply and marketing cooperatives are as enthusiastic as you, sister. You are such a kind person. My brother is getting married and the bride’s family said they wanted more fabric, so we have to buy more.”

"How much do you want? Isn't the entire supply and marketing cooperative's fabric enough for you? Just tell me what you want, and I'll sell it to you."

The salesperson picked up a ruler and was about to measure the fabric on the spot.

"The kind my brother just mentioned, I need..." Liu Jia said, stretching out his hand and raising his finger.

"One, two, three, four, I need four bodies, how many do you think I need?"

The after-sales staff on the other end were completely stunned!

"Are you sure you want this much? The groom wants to buy four sets of clothes? That's way too much!"

The salesperson's loud voice immediately attracted the attention of many people.

Li Zhenhe suddenly became nervous, and his palms began to sweat.

Liu Jia, however, remained calm.

"It's not for the groom to wear, it's for the groom to buy a set for his father-in-law, and he also has to make a set for each of his three brothers-in-law."

Liu Jia spoke louder than the salesperson.

In the blink of an eye, the chatter behind him grew louder.

"Good heavens, this bride's family is really greedy. The bride's dowry doesn't even include the groom, she also has to make clothes for her father-in-law and brothers-in-law. What kind of nonsense is this?"

"That's right. Things are getting more and more unreliable these days. In the future, we won't even be able to afford to get married."

"The woman's demands are outrageous; we don't see anything like that in our village!"

"I guess there's something wrong with the man, otherwise why would he agree to such harsh conditions?"

Liu Jia kept rolling his eyes.

Li Zhenhe's face turned ashen with anger.

What nonsense are these people spouting!

Buying some fabric and having them nag so much is such a hassle!

Li Zhenhe coughed heavily and raised his eyebrows as he spoke.

"This wasn't what the woman asked for; it was my own idea. Weddings are joyous occasions, and everyone should share in the happiness."

As soon as Li Zhenhe said this, the surrounding area immediately erupted in chaos.