Free Web NovelChapter 1107: Chapter 980: Making Things Up
On the way back, passing by a department store, Zhang Guoqing stopped the car and asked Zhou Jiao to give him all the tickets except for the food coupons.
"In a moment, we’ll go find Brother Xiao Fei’s aunt. She told me several times that when buying things in the future, we don’t have to queue up, just look for her. It’s a kindness that’s hard to refuse, let’s at least give her some face."
Zhou Jiao was amused by his shameless words and laughed heartily.
"Do you think your man is bad? It’s hard being a person. Her little girl works under our mom, if you’re always too polite, she might worry that the relationship is too shallow."
Zhou Jiao quite agreed with this, but she had always been unwilling to trouble others, preferring to queue rather than enjoy convenience.
"From now on, when you want to buy something, just go to her. As long as it’s a normal transaction, you don’t have to worry about the other side taking advantage because of frequent interactions."
Zhang Guoqing said this considering that if he were ever away, his wife would have to queue alone, and that’s not good. Brother, you need to wake up to reality.
——With space in hand, everything is within reach.
Even though Zhou Jiao didn’t know his thoughts, she still shook her head, "Compared to having to socialize with her, I’d still rather queue up."
Zhang Guoqing selected some of the tickets to return to her. Hearing her say this, he burst out laughing. Being afraid of trouble to this extent is really extreme.
Getting off the car, the couple had just started to go through the employee passage when Aunt Fang came out ahead to greet them.
She hurried towards them with a laugh, "It really is Xiao Wu and Jiao Jiao, I thought I heard wrong."
Seeing the fiery enthusiasm of the other party, Zhou Jiao felt a bit nervous. Why did it always feel like a weasel visiting a hen with good intentions?
"Aunt, are you complaining that we haven’t come to bother you yet?" Zhang Guoqing also walked up quickly, "Haven’t seen you at the Big Courtyard for a while, have you been busy lately?"
"Come, let’s go to my office first. It’s been a while since I went there, are Grandpa and Grandma doing well recently?"
Zhang Guoqing gestured for her to go ahead, smiling, "They’re doing great. Grandpa Fang still fools around early every morning with his old buddies, and Grandma Fang is still chatting with her old friends about her precious grandson."
"Hahaha...Good boy, aren’t you afraid I’ll complain to the old man?"
"No problem, I’ll run away as soon as he glares, and Brother Xiao Fei will cover me from behind. Aunt, have you seen Brother Xiao Fei lately? He’s got another raise."
"I’ve heard you also got promoted; you wild boys are doing big things now."
Listening to Zhang Guoqing laughing as he talked, it seemed like he was a long-lost relative meeting again after ages, Zhou Jiao instinctively glanced around.
She guessed that the people in the surrounding offices could definitely catch the meaning of the conversation. These two really know how to brag, projecting a vibe like they are quite awesome.
Once in the office, Zhang Guoqing didn’t need her to greet them, directly pulling Zhou Jiao into a seat, he looked around the room and laughed, "This place is really nice."
"It’s just like this." Aunt Fang poured two cups of water and handed them to them, "Next time, Jiao Jiao don’t queue up downstairs, just come here, or give me a call, I’ll front the money for you, you can pay me back later."
Zhou Jiao took the cup and thanked her, smiling, "Occasionally is fine. If you open this door, wouldn’t everyone come to you and delay your work?"
"You’re a considerate child, no wonder my mom always talks about you. What do you want to buy this time? Enough tickets? I have quite a few on hand."
Zhou Jiao quickly replied to her, "I have enough, accumulated quite a bit, it’s sufficient."
Zhang Guoqing glanced at Zhou Jiao amusedly, then looked at Aunt Fang, "Really not being polite with you. This year, the family’s tickets have piled up too much, some are about to expire if not used."
Zhou Jiao knowingly laughed, "See, not queuing downstairs saves some, but having too much, then I have to come to you."
"No big deal, alright, wait a moment, I’ll go next door and ask if there are any scarce goods lately."
Zhou Jiao took the opportunity to put down the water cup she didn’t want to drink, stood up, "I’ll go with you, the money and tickets can be given directly to finance, we can’t let you be troubled, Aunt."
"It’s alright, I’ll front it first, we’ll sort it out later."
Zhang Guoqing handed the tickets and money over to Zhou Jiao and, disagreeing, complained, "Aunt, come on, take your niece-in-law out for a spin, it’s a respectable action."
Aunt Fang laughed, "Right, it’s respectable, but she’s my grand-niece, not my niece-in-law. Don’t worry, I’ll bring your wife back safe and sound."
Joking and chatting, the three of them left the room again. Aunt Fang, being a little head honcho, had some clout, asking casually and getting responses.
Having paid the tickets and cash, they don’t even need to go downstairs, someone would naturally package and bring things over to them.
"Sister Fang, the warehouse will again sort out a lot of flawed items next month."
Aunt Fang rolled her eyes at Sister Fang, amused, "Alright, let’s all go have a look first. Jiao Jiao, you two come with us, this is an employee welfare thing."
No need for her to explain, Zhou Jiao knew that every once in a while, department stores sell flawed items without tickets, just different from picking, flawed items also had several grades.
For example, a batch of blankets, a broken label is a flaw, uneven color is also a flaw, inadvertently scraped is a flaw;
Then for example a pockmarked enamel basin, a small chip and large area damage all belong to flawed items. Can someone without friends or family in the department store manage to buy these?
Thus, families with children working in department stores, supply and marketing societies are very popular, especially unmarried female comrades are prime dating prospects.
In the county, relying on neighbor Aunt Huang, Zhou Jiao has entered and exited the county’s supply and marketing society warehouse several times to pick flawed items, knowing some rules but never imagined the warehouse difference could be this stark.
When Aunt Fang mentioned that the department store downstairs also supplied goods to regulated supply and marketing societies, she suddenly realized. No wonder the Fang family siblings have the best conditions.
Of course, this doesn’t mean they embezzled or took bribes, even with the Fang family as backing, they’d long be ousted. Rather, it’s having legitimate flawed items, whether exchanged or privately traded, this income will not be less than a normal salary.
With this thought, Zhou Jiao didn’t take too much, promptly choosing a few useful items. Let someone else suffer financially even a little heartache, she doesn’t lack food or clothing, why bother?
Aunt Fang saw her just picking two towel blankets, two pieces of fabric, two basins, and two enamel cups, and laughingly tugged at her, hinting her to choose more.
Zhou Jiao blinked, then picked two more pillow covers, slightly shaking her head. She genuinely doesn’t lack items, these pairs are prepared for gifts at the end of the year.
If it was before, she might have considered it for Sister Zhang Meili’s sake, regardless, she’d provide a lavish gift for the eldest nephew, like imported bedding or fabric.
But now after living in this era for a while, besides having a more thorough understanding of prices, she understands what it means to look forward to the future. Especially with in-laws, a crying child gets cared for.
