B5SB -Chapter 344 Defective Fabric

The next day, Gu Yihan had just finished breakfast when she saw Auntie Zhang walking in, rubbing her hands nervously, a worried look on her face.

Carefully, she said, “Xiaohan, I heard you started working at the service station?”

Gu Yihan noticed Auntie Zhang’s uneasy expression and nodded. Curious, she asked, “Auntie, what’s wrong with you?”

Auntie Zhang’s shoulders immediately slumped as she saw Gu Yihan nod.

With a hint of disappointment on her face, she said, “Now that you’ve gone to work, does that mean Deputy Director Fu won’t come anymore?”

Gu Yihan frowned slightly at her words, confused. She didn’t understand how her going to work had anything to do with whether Ren Ling came or not.

Auntie Zhang, seeing that Gu Yihan didn’t respond, assumed that Fu Ling would no longer visit the residential compound. Her heart sank instantly.

She had been basking in the joy of earning money over the past two months, and now it was suddenly gone.

Sniff…

Why was she so unlucky?

Gu Yihan noticed the ever-changing expression on Auntie Zhang’s face and suddenly had a thought. She tried to stifle a laugh.

“Don’t worry, Auntie. Me going to work doesn’t conflict with Deputy Director Fu coming to the residential compound.”

At these words, Auntie Zhang suddenly lifted her head, staring at her in disbelief, trembling as she said, “Re…really?”

Gu Yihan met Auntie Zhang’s astonished eyes, smiled, and nodded firmly, “Really. Deputy Director Fu will come at the end of the month.”

Auntie Zhang’s face lit up, and she began spinning around in excitement while rubbing her hands together.

“Xiaohan, you don’t know… I was so upset last night hearing you went to the service station. I couldn’t sleep a wink. I was worried that the shirt factory would stop collecting designs.”

Gu Yihan shook her head with a smile. “Fu Ling wouldn’t give up on such an excellent designer like you.”

Hearing this, Auntie Zhang blushed and modestly said, “I’m not as good as you say.”

Gu Yihan smiled, thinking it wasn’t an exaggeration.

She had the eye of a visionary, but couldn’t draw, while Auntie Zhang could both draw and design new styles according to the current national conditions.

Seeing Gu Yihan pick up her satchel and sling it over her shoulder by the sofa, Auntie Zhang politely said, “Xiaohan, thank you, and since you’re busy, I’ll head off first.”

With that, she didn’t wait for a reply and happily turned to leave.

…

Gu Yihan arrived at the service station and first greeted Liu Yufang, whom she knew well, and politely smiled at a few other sales clerks she wasn’t very familiar with.

Back at her own counter, she checked the stock and casually took a feather duster to clean the invisible dust.

Soon, a steady stream of military wives came in to buy things.

“Comrade, I’d like a bar of Lighthouse brand soap.”

Gu Yihan quickly put down the feather duster and replied, “Three mao six, one soap ration ticket.”

“Comrade, a towel, please.”

“Eight mao, one industrial coupon.”

“Comrade, I’ll buy a thermos.”

“Four yuan two mao, six industrial coupons.”

…

Seeing the line in front of Gu Yihan, Liu Yufang quickly went out to help record the sales.

An hour later, after finishing, they looked at each other and smiled.

“Xiaohan, did you memorize all the prices in just one day?”

Gu Yihan nodded with a cheerful smile. “I used to work as an accountant, so I’m sensitive to numbers.”

Liu Yufang looked at her in surprise, then leaned close and whispered, “Then why didn’t you work as an accountant?”

Gu Yihan smiled. “It doesn’t matter. I do whatever assignment I’m given.”

Liu Yufang opened her mouth, thinking about how the new accountant had arrived just two days before Gu Yihan. She thought that Master Lu hadn’t done anything special for her.

Sighing, she patted her shoulder sympathetically. “We just follow orders without feeling wronged.”

Gu Yihan looked at her puzzled but nodded with a smile.

Suddenly, a rough male voice boomed, “Liu Yufang, during work, who told you to leave your post?”

Liu Yufang was immediately startled and turned around, smiling awkwardly at him. “Director Chen, I… I just…”

How unlucky—she had only been chatting for a moment when the “big devil” caught her.

If she said she was helping Gu Yihan, he definitely wouldn’t listen, since Director Chen was stubborn and only believed what he saw with his own eyes.

Gu Yihan noticed she hadn’t finished her sentence.

Her brows furrowed slightly, but she quickly smiled and explained, “Director Chen, Comrade Liu was just worried I wasn’t familiar with the prices and came to lend a hand.”

Director Chen glanced at Gu Yihan with a faint look, nodded lightly, and said, “Don’t leave your post without permission.”

Then he turned and walked away.

Seeing him leave, Liu Yufang thought that Master Lu was more considerate.

She hurriedly said, “Xiaohan, I’m leaving first. Let’s go home together after work.”

Gu Yihan watched Liu Yufang’s retreating figure and couldn’t help laughing.

Qin He rolled her eyes and sneered, “So stupid.”

Gu Yihan glanced at Qin He, who was lazily dusting with a feather duster.

Qin He saw Gu Yihan looking and coldly said without expression, “She always gets caught when she leaves her post. Caught every time, yet she keeps doing it—no memory at all.”

Then she turned her back to Gu Yihan and continued dawdling with the feather duster.

A small smile flickered in Gu Yihan’s eyes. She realized Qin He deliberately kept a cold face and treated people with indifference.

“Rustle… rustle…”

Yang Yue was busy tearing fabric, glancing at the idle Gu Yihan and dawdling Qin He.

She sighed—some people were busy to death, others idle to death.

Feeling Gu Yihan’s occasional glances, Qin He raised her eyes to glance at her coldly, then turned to Ma Ning at the meat counter. “Sister Ning, save me half a jin of meat.”

“All right, I’ll set it aside for you,” Ma Ning replied cheerfully while chopping meat.

After finishing, Yang Yue remembered her family had said Gu Yihan was Master Lu’s wife.

She quickly leaned over the counter and whispered, “Xiaohan, do you want defective fabric?”

Gu Yihan looked toward the voice and saw a plump, round, doll-like face.

When the eyes smiled, they became like two lines—very amusing. After thinking for a moment, she quietly asked, “What colors?”

“White pure cotton and black carded fabric.”

Thinking of the fuzzy shirts Lu Huailin wore, Gu Yihan smiled and walked two steps toward Yang Yue.

“I’ll take sixteen chi of each.”

Yang Yue looked at her in surprise. She hadn’t expected Gu Yihan to be so generous.

While calculating on the abacus, she quoted, “White pure cotton, three mao per chi; black carded, one yuan fifty per chi. That comes to 28.8 yuan, no ticket needed.”

“Fine.”

Gu Yihan took out 28.8 yuan from her satchel and handed it to Yang Yue.

Yang Yue’s eyes fell on the satchel hanging on the counter. She thought, What a bold person—so much money, just casually in the bag. Not afraid of losing it, how reckless.