My Happy Daily Life After Being Reborn-Chapter 41 - 25 Sales Clerk

41: Chapter 25 Sales Clerk

41 -25 Sales Clerk fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

In the middle of the night, Lin Xiaoguai was awakened by the urge to pee.

Just as she was about to enter the space to relieve herself, a hand stretched over from beside her.

A drowsy voice sounded in her ear, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

She tensed up, “I need to go to the bathroom.” A wave of relief washed over her heart—thank goodness…

Hearing this, Shen Chi, somewhat groggily, opened his eyes, “I’ll accompany you.” As he spoke, he was already sitting up and turning on the light.

In the dead of night, he couldn’t rest easy letting his wife go to the bathroom alone.

Lin Xiaoguai shielded her eyes from the sudden light while Shen Chi had already gotten out of bed and helped her up.

Lin Xiaoguai was actually just beginning to show her pregnancy, and her belly wasn’t very noticeable yet—if she wore loose clothing, it couldn’t be seen at all.

Yet, Shen Chi was particularly anxious.

After taking care of her physiological need, Lin Xiaoguai quickly fell back into slumber.

Shen Chi, however, couldn’t sleep anymore.

With the moonlight shining in through the window, he quietly observed his sleeping wife.

His life, although only a small part had passed, had already seen twists and turns that others might never experience in their entire lives.

He had felt resentment, and he had felt hatred, but having survived several brushes with death, he could slowly laugh them off.

Without those experiences, there wouldn’t be the person he was today.

Usually, when people encounter hardship and miraculously survive without being defeated, they are considered resilient and responsible by society.

But no one would think that such people can be very self-oriented.

Having been through so much suffering, he always wanted to treat himself a bit better, even better.

Because he was so hurt, he was always guarded against others.

Shen Chi was the typical example.

So, when people thought that a principled man like him used such means to forcefully marry Lin Xiaoguai, it was because he liked her too much.

But in fact, he loved himself too much.

How could he not marry such a nice, heart-stirring girl?

The only difference with Shen Chi was that he saw himself very clearly.

But he discovered that he was actually better than he thought; this woman sleeping peacefully beside him was someone he truly wanted to protect.

It wasn’t just about wanting to possess her; he was willing to give for her.

It wasn’t superficial care, but the desire to integrate her into his flesh and blood, to accept his all and give her everything he had.

He reached out and gently straightened her somewhat disheveled hair, pressing down how his feelings somewhat exceeded boundaries.

This woman had to become utterly his.

In the latter part of the night, Shen Chi’s gaze never left Lin Xiaoguai, as if he wanted to etch her into his heart and blend her into his very marrow.

And it was in this time that he made a decision he hadn’t reached in months past.

He had to bring her to his side soon.

Early in the morning, Lin Xiaoguai woke up.

She was taking a nap every afternoon now and thus kept her habit of rising early.

Shen Zhangming had bought back some youtiao (fried dough sticks) from outside, and Lin Xiaoguai had fried an egg for each person.

With white rice porridge, it was enough to satisfy the whole family for a meal.

“How come someone’s selling youtiao?” Luo Yufang inquired as she sipped her porridge.

“It’s the Wang Family from behind us selling them.

They’ve just opened up, and I happened to come across them, so I bought some.” Shen Zhangming was in a good mood.

Now, it wasn’t just their family doing business, which made him feel a bit more secure.

“These youtiao are not well leavened, they are not crispy enough,” Lin Xiaoguai took a bite and commented out of habit.

It was a good thing she had only torn off half.

“Of course, others can’t compare to our Wanwan,” Luo Yufang was incredibly proud of her granddaughter-in-law’s culinary skills.

“Sister-in-law, why don’t you eat more?” Shen Xiu expressed concern.

Lin Xiaoguai shook her head, “Youtiao are hard to digest, it’s better for me to eat less.”

Hearing her say this, Shen Chi, who initially wanted to pick a stick of youtiao for her, had to give up the idea.

“Chi is seldom back, Wanwan, why don’t the two of you go out for a stroll?

Buy whatever you like,” Luo Yufang suggested, seeing the unresolved issues between her grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

Without waiting for Lin Xiaoguai to refuse, Shen Chi readily agreed and added, “Then we won’t be back for lunch.”

Seeing how eager her grandson was, Luo Yufang couldn’t hide her smile, “Alright, have a meal outside, and pick something nice to eat.”

Without even letting them wash up the bowls, Lin Xiaoguai and Shen Chi were hustled out by Luo Yufang.

Shen Chi seemed to have a plan already, and he took her hand and walked in a certain direction.

It wasn’t long before the two arrived at the county city’s department store.

“What are we doing here?” Lin Xiaoguai furrowed her brows slightly, unless she remembered incorrectly, everything here was ridiculously expensive.

“Of course, we’re here to shop,” Shen Chi said decisively, taking her hand and leading her in.

He actually wanted to put his arm around her, but if someone saw it, they would gossip.

He didn’t mind, but his wife was a bit shy.

The department store at this time didn’t have much to offer.

The clothing styles were just a few, and the only things that attracted the Chinese were those foreign goods.

Unfortunately, most of those overly advanced items from abroad weren’t suitable for the current era.

Although in Lin Xiaoguai’s eyes, those dresses were as conservative as could be, the patterns were not something people from this era could accept.

It wasn’t that they didn’t like them.

They were just too afraid to wear them.

Like the clothes sold by her family before, typically people would choose their timing carefully, sneaking in to buy them.

Lin Xiaoguai remembered something: when her mother passed away that year, she was very ill.

Thinking of how her mother always wore dull clothes and never had even one brightly colored, nice garment, she felt heartbroken, so she took out her saved pocket money, hoping to buy a small floral fabric to make a shirt for her mother.

At the time, her mother was particularly panicked, repeatedly refusing, saying, “No, people will laugh.”

People of this era were more or less the same, longing for everything bright and colorful, yet only daring to let others know through hints, never admitting it outright for fear of being labeled “corrupt.”

It was an age when human nature was suppressed to the greatest extent.

“I want to buy a watch; you pick one for me,” Shen Chi led her to the watch counter.

“…Why do you want to buy a watch?” After all, for people at this time, a watch wasn’t a necessity.

“Wearing an alarm clock during drills is too troublesome.” What he didn’t say was that those little rascals were always sneakily setting the alarm clock ahead.

If not for his ability to judge the time of day from his childhood experience working in the fields, he would have been fooled countless times.

What relieved Shen Chi was that Lin Xiaoguai didn’t think he was wasting money, nor did she try to dissuade him.

Conventionally, men should like women who were thrifty and could manage a household, but Shen Chi was an exception.

He felt that he could earn money, and if his wife made him happy, he wouldn’t mind spending a lot on her.

It was the nagging that he found irritating.

“What price range are you thinking of buying?” Lin Xiaoguai glanced around; the current styles of watches were just a few, nothing like the dazzling array of future times.

“You decide,” Shen Chi glanced around; the most expensive was just over two hundred, which didn’t exceed his budget.

When he said that, Lin Xiaoguai did just that.

It didn’t take long before she selected a Seagull brand watch, priced at one hundred sixty-five yuan, with a silver-white face and a black leather strap.

She faintly remembered that this model was considered classic.

Shen Chi took one look and thought it was good, immediately paying for it and putting the watch on his wrist.

They went to the second floor where the clothes and shoes were sold.

Shen Chi originally planned to buy a couple of outfits for Lin Xiaoguai, but she refused, saying, “It won’t fit once my stomach gets bigger.”

Shen Xiu had already taken the clothes that were left for her in the old house’s new room; she was just making do with them now, planning to make her own after the baby was born.

By that time, the domestic atmosphere should be much more open.

Passing by a counter, Shen Chi suddenly stopped.

Lin Xiaoguai, puzzled, turned to look and saw that they were selling leather shoes.

“Shall I buy you a pair of leather shoes?” Shen Chi’s statement was less of an inquiry and more of a decision since he was already standing in front of the counter asking the sales clerk to bring out the shoes.

The sales clerk was somewhat reluctant.

When this man and woman had come up, she had already looked them over.

Although the man was handsome and the woman pretty, the man wore a half-worn, ill-fitting sweatshirt, and the woman wore a blue, short-sleeved Mandarin jacket with new but ordinary fabric—not the look of wealth at all.

And in her private thoughts, she didn’t want to believe that someone good-looking would also be wealthy.

Seeing the sales clerk not moving after some time, Shen Chi frowned and looked at her, his eyes growing colder; he repeated his previous request: “Bring out these leather shoes.”

Reluctantly, the sales clerk brought out the shoes.

Seeing Shen Chi reach for them, she said sarcastically, “Be careful, you can’t afford them if you damage them.” In her mind, she had already pegged the couple as poor window-shoppers.

Shen Chi’s forehead vein throbbed.

Where did this idiot come from?

He had visited many city department stores, but he had never encountered such an outrageous case.

He had forgotten that at the moment he was wearing clothes left at home from previous years—cheap and worn out, and a bit short, too.

It was no wonder he was looked down upon.

Lin Xiaoguai was somewhat speechless.

She knew that staff at state-owned institutions at this time liked to judge by appearance, but did they really have to encounter the very same thing just by chance?

Why was it all right when buying the watch before?

“What size is your foot?” Shen Chi turned and asked.

“Size thirty-six.” Seeing that he was determined to buy and the sales clerk next to her was looking disparaging, Lin Xiaoguai didn’t intend to argue and obediently answered.

Shen Chi looked at the sole of the shoes, size thirty-seven, and said to the clerk, “Please bring a size thirty-six.”

The sales clerk couldn’t hold back anymore, “Why do you want to change sizes if you’re not buying?” Her tone was very unpleasant.

Shen Chi raised an eyebrow and, out of the corner of his eye, spotted a thin man in work clothes.

He turned and asked, “Are you in charge here?”

“My name is Xu, and I’m the manager here.

How can I assist you?” While saying this, Manager Xu gave the sales clerk a harsh look.

Ever since this niece of his came, the store hadn’t had a peaceful day.

How could his honest older brother have raised such a sneaky and opportunistic daughter?

Shen Chi caught his expression, unexpectedly didn’t tattle, but instead, holding up the leather shoes, repeated his earlier request: “Please bring a size thirty-six.”

The sales clerk glared, ready to speak, but Shen Chi beat her to it, “This sales clerk seems to have some trouble with her legs.

I don’t want to trouble a disabled person, so I have no choice but to ask Manager Xu to condescend to help.”