Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 85 - 83: Plastic Cloth (Part 2)

"How come you’ve forgotten your brother-in-law’s kindness in just a few days? That piece of fabric with the small white floral pattern on a white background, I told your sister to have my mother-in-law bring it back for you, didn’t you promptly send the money back to me?" Xue Jialong was speaking more and more disagreeably, his facial expression turning unpleasant, realizing there might have been something going on between Yunfeng and his mother-in-law.

"Haha, I didn’t see it, probably my aunt thought the fabric suited someone else better." Shen Yunfang actually wanted to say, it must have been your wife stirring trouble, not allowing it to be given to me, otherwise your mother-in-law wouldn’t dare to so blatantly deduct what you openly said you’d give me.

It seemed that she had really offended her cousin.

"It’s okay if we didn’t buy the fabric, your brother-in-law here has some good stuff that I’ve kept for you, come into the room and take a look." Xue Jialong tried to regain his composure, then decided to give his sister-in-law the few towels from Shanghai he was holding.

Xue Jialong was angry not really because of the things, but because, if you wanted something, you should just say it openly. Being a son-in-law, wouldn’t he give that much face to his mother-in-law? There was no need to be sneaky and do things behind his back.

At this moment, he believed what his mother said, some people in the countryside really handled things poorly.

He attributed all the issues to his mother-in-law’s personal behavior, still full of trust for his wife.

The moment Shen Yunfang heard about good stuff, her eyes lit up. She stopped caring about the plastic fabric and followed Xue Jialong to his office under the watchful eyes of a few salespersons.

Having entered the office, Xue Jialong took out four plastic-wrapped packages from his desk cabinet, "Take a look, genuine cotton terry cloth towels from Shanghai, defective products from the department store sale, slight imperfections but priced at less than half."

Xue Jialong took the initiative to unfold a towel for Shen Yunfang to see, fearing she, like his wife, wouldn’t have the eye or knowledge for good things and wouldn’t appreciate them.

Shen Yunfang’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the pink and white checkered towel, touching it and feeling the soft and delicate pure cotton—a quality product indeed.

"It’s really nice, brother-in-law, where’s the flaw, and how much is it?"

Xue Jialong felt satisfied inside. Just looking at Shen Yunfang’s expression, he knew she recognized the value of the item. Hmph, his wife complained about the absence of any patterns on the towel.

"These all have some loose threads on one side, but that’s not a big problem. Just need a patch with a cloth."

Shen Yunfang looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a spot with loose threads on one edge. If left unaddressed, it would certainly be no good over time, but the issue wasn’t major and could be mended.

"How much for each?"

"In the department store, the original price for each is fifty-two yuan, twelve industrial coupons, but now they’re going for twenty yuan each, no industrial tickets needed." This price was already very cheap, but his wife still found it expensive and refused to take any. "These are extra-long and wide, measuring one and a half by two meters."

When Xue Jialong got these towels, the first thing he thought of was to keep them for his own home, so he went home excitedly to show off to his wife. However, Shen Yunfeng didn’t want them at all and found them too expensive.

It was indeed a bargain, "Brother-in-law, I’ll buy all four. Here’s eighty yuan." Shen Yunfang immediately took out eighty yuan from her pocket and slapped it on the table.

Good things are hard to come by. When you find them, you have to seize the opportunity and never let it go. With the quality of these towels, not to mention anything else, they would easily last ten or twenty years—the quality is superb.

Now it was Xue Jialong’s turn to be taken aback. He had thought Shen Yunfang might only want one or two, but she had taken all four at once.

"Alright, that’s decisive."

Shen Yunfang happily looked at the four packages she had taken, noticing all four towels had the same checkered pattern but came in different colors—one pink, two red, and one blue.

"Hehe, what decisiveness? We lack everything at home, so I had no choice. Brother-in-law, if you ever get more good stuff, you must think of me too. If I’m not around, just save it for me, I come by every month, and I’ll definitely not default."

Shen Yunfang said joyfully.

"Alright, from now on, I’ll keep an eye out for you," Xue Jialong said, of course, unable to promise everything. Having worked for such a long time, he knew what a family needed most. He decided he would start setting aside more for her in the future.

After Shen Yunfang had put the towel blanket into her own basket, she turned her head and began to ask about the plastic sheeting again. freewebnoveℓ.com

Xue Jialong went outside even more directly, carrying the plastic sheeting from the supply and marketing cooperative back with him. He also brought a ruler, "How much do you need? I’ll measure it out for you right now."

Shen Yunfang looked at the thickness of the roll of plastic sheeting and frowned, "Brother-in-law, is that all?"

"What do you mean that’s all? There’s at least ten meters here, and you think it’s not enough? What do you need so much plastic sheeting for?" Xue Jialong asked, surprised.

Shen Yunfang just frowned and remained silent.

"Alright, I’ll stop asking. How much more do you need? I’ll try to find a way," he said.

"Brother-in-law, how many meters are there in this entire roll?" Shen Yunfang felt the thickness of the plastic sheeting.

"One hundred meters."

"Then give me the whole roll," Shen Yunfang said unceremoniously.

"A whole roll? That’s a lot," Xue Jialong hesitated for a moment. Getting the roll wasn’t hard, but these industrial rolls were expensive, and he couldn’t afford it, "Yunfang, you have to understand that if you take so much, the cost of using industrial rolls is significant, and I can’t help you with that."

Shen Yunfang’s brows furrowed again. She had forgotten about that, agh, she still wasn’t used to this.

"However, it’s not impossible to get without using industrial rolls," Xue Jialong said, as he noticed her frown and couldn’t help but speak up. Seeing her eyes light up, he felt brighter too, "But that way, we can’t go through the books, and the price will have to float up a bit."

That was putting it nicely; plainly speaking, it meant the price would be higher without a receipt.

Shen Yunfang understood and, smiling with pursed lips, said, "Brother-in-law, I don’t mind if it’s expensive, just get me some."

Then she remembered she didn’t have much money left and quickly added, "But without a receipt, it won’t be outrageously expensive, right?"

"Ha, it won’t be too outrageous. I estimate it’ll be around fifty to sixty cents per meter, is that okay?" Xue Jialong laughed.

Shen Yunfang did the math; that would be sixty yuan. She still owed her brother-in-law a finder’s fee, not just for this time, as he had provided her with many good things in the past. She felt she needed to show her gratitude. Added to the cost of the towel blanket she just bought, she was left with less than one hundred yuan in her hands.

Still, she had to buy what needed to be bought. She believed these items could create more value for herself.

"Fine, then I’ll trouble you, brother-in-law," Shen Yunfang nodded, "Hey, brother-in-law, since you’ve brought all these, don’t take them back; I’ll just buy them right now."

Thus, Xue Jialong had no choice but to measure it for her, saving a bit over thirteen meters, he rounded it down to thirteen meters.

Shen Yunfang also took five pickle jars, two liquor jars, and some other odds and ends.

This time, she made three yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative but spent a total of one hundred and four.

The big expense amazed Xue Jialong; that was no small amount, amounting to almost a month’s salary for him and his wife. He would have to ask her when he got home: wasn’t her little aunt all on her own now? How does she have so much money?