Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Before Wang Chengpeng could speak, Wang Zidong stopped him.
"Pengzi, these shoes are way too expensive!"

"A pair costs twelve yuan and fifty cents, which is almost half a month's salary for an ordinary worker. Those rubber-soled shoes are still the best to wear."

Although he was trying to persuade Wang Chengpeng, Wang Chengpeng could see a fleeting hint of affection in Wang Zidong's eyes.

Upon hearing Wang Zidong's words, the saleswoman's expression became somewhat awkward:
"Comrade, these are both good-looking and comfortable to wear, and the price... well, it's a perfect match for the quality."

"If you think it's too expensive, why don't we go and take a look at the old rubber-soled shoes again?"

"Although they may look ordinary, those who actually do the work know that it's still more practical to wear those durable and slip-resistant rubber-soled shoes."

These white shoes... would be perfect for wearing to college.

Thinking this, Wang Chengpeng waved his hand and said:

"Comrade, I'm planning to buy three pairs of these shoes, could you give me a discount?"

Upon hearing that Wang Chengpeng intended to buy three pairs of white shoes, the sales clerk's eyes lit up, and she grinned, saying:

"Three pairs? Even if you charge twelve yuan a pair, that's a discounted price that no one else offers."

Nodding, Wang Chengpeng gave over his, Zhu Hong's, and Wang Zidong's measurements, saying:
"Okay, then take three pairs."

Wang Chengpeng's magnanimous demeanor made Wang Zidong, who was standing to the side, click his tongue in amazement.

"Pengzi, you've gone too far! There aren't many people in our entire county who can afford those white sneakers."

Wang Chengpeng, however, said dismissively, "You always need to buy a pair of shoes that will make a good impression."

At this point, he pointed to the rubber-soled shoes he had looked at earlier and asked the salesperson:
How much does a pair of these rubber-soled shoes cost?

"Four yuan and eighty cents a pair, you can get a two-mao discount with your work ID." The salesperson said, pointing to a notice posted on the wall, "New regulations from the county to guarantee working conditions for the working class."

Wang Chengpeng pulled out a technician's work ID from Dapeng Sugar Factory from his pocket, waved it at the sales clerk, and said:
"Will this work permit for the village-run enterprise be accepted?"

The sales clerk took the work ID and ran his rough fingers along the cover bearing the national emblem.

The document's inner page features a black-and-white photo of Wang Chengpeng, the embossed marks of which gleam faintly in the sunlight.

The words "Dapeng Sugar Factory" and "Technician" in lead print make this work permit look extremely substantial.

"Workers, you've worked so hard!" The saleswoman suddenly straightened her back, her voice unconsciously rising an octave. "We, the working class, lead everything, this discount is a must!"

He turned around, pulled a red lacquered wooden box from under the counter, took out a stack of stamped coupons, and said:

"This year, the county trade union has made a special provision that all employees of state-owned factories who purchase labor protection supplies can enjoy the 'three advantages' policy—priority, quality, and preferential treatment!"

Wang Chengpeng exchanged a glance with Wang Zidong and then spoke:

"Okay, then we'll take eleven pairs. Remember to pick out the good quality ones for us."

"Eleven pairs?" The sales clerk's voice trembled slightly. You should know that Wang Chengpeng's spending on shoes alone is probably equivalent to more than half a year's salary for an ordinary worker.

As he checked Wang Chengpeng's shoes, he replied:
"Don't worry, these shoes are all of the best quality."

"If any problems are found, bring the purchase invoice within seven days to exchange it!"

When the four of them came out of the shoe store, each of them was carrying several large boxes. Although they were tired, they all had smiles on their faces.

Wang Meiyan, panting as she carried two shoe boxes, still felt she hadn't bought enough and muttered:

"How come we've already bought so much stuff and it's almost overflowing? We still have so much to buy!"

Wang Chengpeng also felt that carrying such a large pile of things while buying other items wasn't a good solution. He glanced at the bicycles parked outside and said:

"How about this, we put the things on the bicycle first, and Zhu Hong watches them while we go buy other things?"

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's suggestion, Zhu Hong's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly shouted:

"Okay, that's settled."

"Don't worry, with me watching over things, there won't be any shortages."

Some people are just naturally averse to shopping, and Zhu Hong is one of them. He'd rather avoid the crowds.

Since Zhu Hong himself had no objections, the matter was settled.

However, when distributing the items, Wang Zidong looked at the extra pair of white shoes he had received and was somewhat puzzled:
"Pengzi, you gave me an extra pair of these shoes."

In order to get the discounts that only workers could enjoy, Wang Chengpeng also bought the rubber-soled shoes that Wang Zidong wanted.

Now that we're loading things onto the bicycle, we naturally need to divide them up.

Despite being reminded by Wang Zidong, Wang Chengpeng showed no intention of taking the shoes back.
"That's right, these shoes were bought for you."

"You're going to college soon, so you should prepare a decent pair of shoes. Consider these shoes a gift for getting into college."

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Wang Zidong was immediately taken aback:
"If I can actually get into university, I'll just keep the shoes, but I'm not sure if I can actually go to university."

Seeing Wang Zidong's lack of confidence, Wang Chengpeng said with amusement:
"It's not certain that you can get in, but that doesn't mean you can't get in either."

"Take these for now, and give them back to me if you don't get into university."

"Look at our situation. We still need to buy other things later. Where are we going to put these shoes?"

Since Wang Chengpeng had already said that, Wang Zidong naturally couldn't refuse anymore. He immediately took the shoebox, but in his heart he was thinking that if he didn't get into university, he would have to return the shoes.

After packing their things, the three of them wasted no more time and headed straight for the nearest clothing store.

State-run stores also knew that the Spring Festival was a good time to sell things, and they displayed all kinds of nice clothes in their stores.

There are clothes for winter, and clothes that can be worn right away in spring.

As the three people pushed aside the cotton curtain and walked in, a female sales clerk with braided pigtails came forward, holding a feather duster in her hand.

"What's on your mind, comrade?"

"These are all new Shanghai goods that arrived this year, and they are all in high demand styles."

Because he had bought too many things before, Wang Chengpeng didn't dare to buy much this time, and only bought a cotton-padded coat that he could use immediately.

These cotton-padded coats are not only filled with cotton, but the fabric is also windproof and warm; just touching them feels incredibly cozy.

Seeing that Wang Chengpeng had bought a lot of clothes, the sales clerk, although unable to offer a discount, gave each of the three a pair of woolen gloves and gave Wang Meiyan a woolen scarf as a separate gift, making the little girl beam with joy.

Holding the clothes, Wang Chengpeng, though still somewhat reluctant to stop, knew that if he bought any more, he really wouldn't be able to carry any more, so he immediately said:
"Let's go buy some more candy and then head back."

"If we still need anything, we'll go to town to buy it tomorrow."

The scene describes the group going to weigh candy, all of which were the best candies available at the time. After passing through the crowded department store area, the three of them turned into the sweet-smelling grocery counter.

Glass jars were piled high with colorful candies, and the queue in front of the counter was very long—at the end of the year, who wouldn't buy a couple of pounds of candy to sweeten their mouth?

"Brother! I want that kind of candy, I heard it's really delicious!"

Wang Meiyan's entire face was almost pressed against the glass as she pointed to the White Rabbit candy on the top shelf.

The candy wrapper shimmered with tiny silver light under the lamp, and the milky white candy inside was plump and looked incredibly tempting.

Wang Chengpeng pinched his younger sister's face, which was red from the cold, but he was thinking about an embarrassing incident from last year.

Last year, Wang Chengpeng's family didn't have such good treatment. They had never even seen a candy wrapper, let alone eaten candy.

Wang Meiyan was so greedy that she actually picked up discarded fruit candy wrappers at the market and licked them, which made Wang Chengpeng feel heartbroken whenever he thought about it.

Thinking this, Wang Chengpeng handed the candy coupon to the sales clerk:
"Comrade, give me three catties of White Rabbit candy, three catties of sorghum candy, and five catties of assorted fruit candy."

The sales clerk, a girl with round cheeks, deftly tore off the kraft paper bag and began wrapping candies for Wang Chengpeng:
"You have to buy milk candy together, two pounds of Cuban sugar with one large White Rabbit candy – that's the new rule."

Seeing Wang Chengpeng's generosity, she turned and began to recommend him:

"Do you want some red shrimp crispy candy from Beijing?"

Upon hearing the words "Red Shrimp Crisp Candy," Wang Meiyan's eyes widened. It was a rare treat she had only heard of on the radio, and even city kids might not have tasted it.

Seeing the longing in Wang Meiyan's eyes, Wang Chengpeng smiled, patted her head, and said to the sales clerk:

"Alright, then give me another three catties of red shrimp crisp candy."

"Take less White Rabbit milk candy, just half a pound."

Wangjia Village produces its own sugar, and given the difficulty in obtaining it, Wang Chengpeng could only manage to buy half a jin of White Rabbit milk candy.

The sales clerk said while busy:

"One pound of red shrimp crisp candy requires twelve sugar coupons, plus half a pound of Cuban brown sugar."

With the Chinese New Year just around the corner, Song Wenxin specially delivered a large number of receipts, which would be virtually impossible for Wang Chengpeng to use up even if he wanted to.

After handing over the money and tickets, the sales clerk smiled and turned to take out a tin can from the bottom of the counter.

With a crisp "bang" when the lid is opened, a sweet and savory aroma immediately wafts out.

Wang Meiyan stood on tiptoe and saw red and white sugar cubes lying in the jar. Each cube was wrapped in wax paper with a shrimp pattern, glistening oily in the dimly lit counter. Her mouth watered.

The salesperson was quite efficient, and the copper scales used to weigh the sugar jingled loudly.

The White Rabbit milk candy hung heavily on the scale, the sorghum candy gleamed with an amber light, and the assorted fruit candies even had a few rare coconut flavors mixed in—those were specially grabbed from the sample jar by the salesperson.

"Here, an extra tip!" The round-faced girl handed over another small bag of rock sugar. "Take this home and make orange peel tea; it's the most effective remedy for colds."

Seeing Wang Meiyan's longing gaze, she grabbed a few more fruit candies from the jar and handed them to her:

"Here, eat on the way."

Wang Meiyan couldn't wait to get back; she immediately peeled a piece of fruit candy, stuffed it into her mouth, and mumbled indistinctly with her cheeks puffed out:
"Sweet! Even sweeter than the wedding candy that Accountant Li's family received last year!"

Seeing Wang Meiyan's happy expression, Wang Chengpeng vaguely recalled the little girl who used to pick up candy wrappers and lick them, but that image vanished in an instant.

Although it has been less than a year since his rebirth, he has indeed used his abilities to change his family's life.

Those days of being poorly clothed and starving are long gone for them.

Because they had bought so much stuff, even though it was still early, the group lost interest in continuing to shop and immediately headed back.

Just as they were about to leave, Wang Meiyan was drawn to the electronics counter.

There was a television set on, playing the "Little Trumpet" program, and the area was crowded with children watching.

Seeing the longing looks on the faces of the city children, Wang Meiyan couldn't help but say to a city child wearing a corduroy jacket beside her:
"I have a TV at home too!"

The child looked her up and down, then pursed his lips.
"Nonsense! Where would you country folk get a TV? You probably don't even have electricity, do you?"

"Hmph, I don't believe you, but I have one at home." Wang Meiyan's face turned red with anger. "It's bigger than the one you're looking at now! It can receive quite a few channels."

On the display case was a twelve-inch television set, and Wang Meiyan was not lying.

The child glanced disdainfully at Wang Meiyan, who was dressed plainly, his eyes filled with disbelief:

"It's even bigger than this TV set. You country folk are just good at bragging. Don't you know how much a TV set costs? You couldn't afford one even if you sold yourselves."

After saying that, he ignored Wang Meiyan and focused on watching the TV in front of him.

Looking at Wang Meiyan's mouth, which was so swollen it could practically hold an oil can, Wang Chengpeng began to lecture her in a low voice:
"Xiao Yan, although you didn't lie, you forgot to be humble."

"It's good that we have a TV, but we can't show it off, you know?"

Wang Meiyan nodded with a wronged expression, but her eyes were soon drawn to the red shrimp candy that Wang Chengpeng handed her—she had been wanting to try this new treat for a long time!
After meeting up with Zhu Hong, they packed their things carefully before embarking on their journey home.

Looking at these abundant items, Wang Chengpeng rode his bicycle, his heart filled with endless emotions.

Last year during the Spring Festival, their family wasn't so fortunate. I remember that the Wang family only managed to buy five feet of cloth.

In the end, because their clothes were decent enough, they refused to give them any food, so they never got to enjoy the lively life they have now.

Thinking this, Wang Chengpeng subconsciously looked at the sun hanging in the sky, thinking to himself that in the first year after his rebirth, his family's life was finally getting better and better.

Just then, Wang Zidong seemed to notice that he was somewhat distracted and asked him:

"Pengzi, what are you thinking about? Don't ride your bicycle into the ditch."

"It's nothing," Wang Chengpeng smiled. "It's just that life is getting better every day."

Wang Zidong nodded in agreement, and said with considerable emotion:

"Who says otherwise? We didn't have such good days in previous years."

"Speaking of which, we have to thank you for proposing the method of making sugar from beets, otherwise our Wangjia Village would not have the good life we ​​have now."

After riding and stopping frequently, the three of them finally made it back to Wangjia Village at three o'clock in the afternoon.

As the bicycle passed the village entrance, a group of old men smoking pipes under the old locust tree stood up in surprise, forgetting to tap their pipes.

"My goodness!" Wang Degui squinted his dim old eyes, pointing with his pipe at the New Year's goods tied to the bicycle. "Did you bring the supply and marketing cooperative back?"

Then, as if remembering something, he said in a deep voice:
"But with Xiao Peng's abilities—only these few things truly deserve it!" (End of Chapter)