Siheyuan, my new life

Seeing Xiao Yushui's embarrassment, the deaf old lady greeted the salesperson cheerfully: "Girl Hongmei, bring something to the old lady."

The four sales assistants who were chatting happily raised their heads when they heard the call. One of them, a middle-aged female sales assistant in her forties, immediately smiled and said, "Oh, it's you, old lady. I was so busy chatting that I didn't notice you. Please don't be offended, old lady."

Now the salesperson in the supply and marketing cooperative is one of the eight major members. Since the capital city has taken the lead in implementing the ticket system, corresponding tickets are required to purchase many commodities, and the channels for ordinary people to obtain tickets are extremely limited. Those who have formal jobs are better off, as they will receive corresponding tickets together with their monthly salary. Those who do not have formal jobs can only collect some necessary tickets every month from the street office or neighborhood committee. There is also a prerequisite, that is, they must have urban household registration.

As a result, the salesmen working in the supply and marketing cooperatives became popular. Everyone knew the principle of "live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the water, eat by the water". In addition to being able to get the moon first and buy some popular goods first, these salesmen in the supply and marketing cooperatives also had the opportunity to buy some so-called "defective products". Therefore, as long as there was someone in the family working as a salesman in the supply and marketing cooperative, those aunts and uncles would come to them from time to time to seek help.

The middle-aged female salesperson was obviously very familiar with the deaf old lady, which was why she was so enthusiastic. Otherwise, she would not have said a word.

The deaf old lady said with a smile: "Hongmei is so sweet, no wonder your mother-in-law always praises you in front of us old sisters. Today, the old lady will buy some snacks for her good granddaughter, please help."

The middle-aged female salesperson was called Xiang Hongmei. She was one of the first salespersons at the Nanluoguxiang Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Her husband's family lived in the nearby Tianshui Hutong. Over the years, she knew the people there quite well. The old lady in front of her was a frequent visitor to the Nanluoguxiang Supply and Marketing Cooperative. She used to bring a chubby boy to buy things here almost every two or three days. She was also very generous. Whenever there was something new in the supply and marketing cooperative, she would buy it for the little boy named Zhuzi first.

Xiang Hongmei had already heard some things about this deaf old lady from her mother-in-law. It is said that the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang was previously the private property of this old lady. After the peaceful liberation of the city of 1949, the deaf old lady actively responded to the call of her superiors and voluntarily donated most of her properties to the Military Control Commission. She was highly commended by the Military Control Commission and government departments. Therefore, this old lady's name was on the special care list of the street office, and she received a lot of subsidies every month.

Xiang Hongmei looked at the little girl that the old lady brought today and felt that she looked familiar. Then she realized that this girl was the younger sister of Zhuzi. Zhuzi often brought this little girl to buy snacks. However, this was the first time that the deaf old lady brought this little girl to the supply and marketing cooperative.

So Xiang Hongmei said with a smile: "Grandma, what do you want to buy for your eldest granddaughter today?"

The deaf old lady took out a stack of banknotes from her pocket and said with a smile: "One pound of each of these candies, one pound of each of the various cakes, and half a pound per bag."

Xiao Yushui gently pulled the corner of the old lady's clothes and said softly: "Grandma, you can just buy a few pieces of candy. I heard from my brother that these cakes are expensive. We don't want them."

The deaf old lady felt even worse after hearing this. The little Yushui in front of her was almost a replica of Xiaocui back then. She suppressed her sadness, reached out and gently patted the little Yushui on the head and said, "Little Yushui is such an obedient child. But grandma has money. Let's buy a little of each today and take them back to try. In the future, we'll buy whatever little Yushui likes."

While the old lady was talking to Xiao Yushui, Xiang Hongmei had already weighed the candies and cakes swiftly and packed them according to the old lady's request. She took the abacus next to her and calculated the amount of money: "Old lady, the total is 9.76 yuan, plus two kilograms of candy tickets and five kilograms of cake tickets."

The deaf old lady handed over a big black ten and some bills, then smiled and said, "Hongmei, please pick out two sets of suitable clothes for your good granddaughter, and get two pairs of shoes, socks, hair bands, soap, and facial oil. Her unreliable father doesn't know how to dress up his daughter. Such a beautiful girl is dressed sloppily and looks inappropriate."

Xiang Hongmei certainly knew He Daqing, the deputy director of the Red Star Steel Mill canteen who had the best cooking skills nearby. She smiled and said, "Old lady, what do those grown men know? In their eyes, as long as the children are not hungry or cold, it's enough. They won't even bother to dress up the children." As she spoke, she took a few sets of children's clothes and gestured.

In fact, few people would buy ready-made clothes for their children at this time. Ordinary families would just slightly alter the clothes that were too small for their older brothers and sisters. Even if they wanted to buy new clothes for their children during the Chinese New Year, they would mostly make them themselves out of a piece of cloth. At this time, Xiao Yushui was wearing an old blue dress that was originally a pillar. Although there were few patches on it, the slightly oversized clothes looked uncomfortable on the little girl.

These sets of children's clothing have been hanging on the wall in the Nanluoguxiang Supply and Marketing Cooperative for nearly a year, and today is the first time anyone wants to buy them since they were put up. Fortunately, the styles of the clothes have hardly changed at this time, so there is no question of them being outdated.

Xiang Hongmei quickly picked out two sets of clothes suitable for Xiao Yushui. She waved to a young female salesperson next to her, indicating that she should help Xiao Yushui try on the clothes. Then she leaned close to the deaf old lady's ear and whispered, "Old lady, these two sets of clothes were purchased before the ticket system was implemented. I will talk to the manager and ask him to take care of them." After that, she turned and walked into the office at the back.

With the help of the young saleswoman, Xiao Yushui changed into a pink dress with flowers. She stood in front of the deaf old lady timidly and said softly, "Grandma, Yushui has clothes to wear, so she doesn't need to buy new clothes." But the reluctance and entanglement in her eyes made the deaf old lady feel distressed. The old lady smiled and said, "Xiao Yushui looks even more beautiful in the new clothes. Well, your father and brother will not recognize you when they get home from get off work. They will all ask, whose beautiful girl is this?"

The young saleswoman helped the little girl to re-braid her hair, put on the newly bought hairband, and changed into new shoes and socks. The little girl who was sloppy just now suddenly turned into a beautiful girl with a delicate figure.

At this time, Xiang Hongmei came out from the back office and saw the little girl who had completely changed. She smiled and said, "Grandma, your eldest granddaughter looks like a fairy from heaven. She is so beautiful."

The deaf old lady also looked at the pretty little girl happily. She opened a bag of shrimp candies and gave a handful to each of the salesmen. She also stuffed Xiao Yushui's pocket full of candies.

A few sales clerks said a few polite words and took the candy and put it in their pockets. No one was willing to eat it, so they prepared to take it home to give to their children and the elderly.