At the military's group wedding, my best friend and I swapped husbands.

The two girls quickly ran inside.

The supply and marketing cooperative was small, with a long row of counters and shelves behind them displaying various goods.

Fabrics, enamel mugs, thermos flasks, soap, matches... a dazzling array, but not many in quantity.

The counter was crowded with people, mostly middle-aged women, who were picking out fabrics.

Lin Weiwei squeezed to the counter selling fabrics, her eyes shining as she looked at the colorful fabrics.

"Wanwan, look at this floral print, it would look so nice as curtains!" She pointed to a piece of fabric with a blue background and white flowers.

Su Wanwan also took a liking to a piece of light yellow cloth: "This should make a good tablecloth."

As the two were looking around, the salesperson came over: "Comrade, are you looking to buy cloth? Do you have cloth coupons?"

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan were taken aback.

They didn't have cloth ration coupons.

"You can't buy it without a ticket," the salesperson said, turning to attend to other customers.

The two were a little disappointed, but there was nothing they could do.

As Lin Weiwei left the supply and marketing cooperative, she sighed, "Everything requires ration coupons..."

"That's normal," Baisian said. "Supplies are tight."

"Let's go," Bai Rongbei said. "The building materials are standing in front."

After walking for about ten minutes, we arrived at the building materials station.

It was a large courtyard filled with materials such as cement, sand, bricks, and wood, and several workers were unloading the goods.

Bai Rongbei went inside, spoke a few words to a manager, and handed over a form.

The person in charge glanced at the list, then at Bai Rongbei's officer's ID, and nodded: "Commander Bai, the materials are all prepared and over there."

He pointed to a corner of the yard, where there was a small pile of cement, a few bundles of tar paper, some nails and wire, and two chamber pots. They were not flush toilets, but ordinary ceramic squat toilets, which were much more advanced than dry toilets.

"This chamber pot..." Lin Weiwei squatted down to examine it, "...is made of porcelain!"

"Hmm." Bai Si'an also squatted down to inspect it. "The quality is alright. With a water seal bend, it should work."

Workers helped load the materials onto the vehicle, filling the back seat and trunk of the jeep to the brim.

After buying the materials, Bai Rongbei checked the time: "We still have some time. Is there anything else you want to buy?"

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan exchanged a glance.

"I want to buy clothes," Su Wanwan said. "Weiwei and I only brought two sets of clothes to change into, which isn't enough."

"To the tailor shop?" Bai Si'an asked.

"Tailor shops are too slow," Lin Weiwei said. "Aren't there any ready-made clothing stores?"

Bai Rongbei thought for a moment: "Department stores have them, but they're expensive and require tickets."

"Let's go take a look first," Su Wanwan said softly. "What if... they don't require tickets?"

The four of them then headed towards the department store.

The department store is located in the city center. It's a three-story building and is considered the most impressive building in the city.

It was much larger than the supply and marketing cooperative, with several counters selling clothing, shoes, hats, daily necessities, stationery, and more. There were quite a few people there.

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan headed straight for the clothing counter.

There were a few pieces of clothing hanging in the counter, mostly military uniforms and Lenin suits, in monotonous colors, mainly gray, blue, and green.

But there were a few different ones, ethnic costumes, hanging inside, brightly colored and embroidered with exquisite patterns.

"Look at that!" Lin Weiwei pointed to an Atlas silk dress.

The skirt was red and yellow with intricate patterns that shimmered under the light.

Su Wanwan also took a fancy to a light purple one, embroidered with white flowers.

"Comrade, may I try on these two dresses?" Lin Weiwei asked the sales clerk.

The sales clerk, a young woman, glanced at them and asked, "Do you have remittance certificates?"

"What coupon?" Lin Weiwei didn't hear clearly.

"Remittance certificates," the salesperson said. "This is imported material; you need to use remittance certificates or foreign exchange certificates to buy it."

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan were dumbfounded.

Their family didn't like them at all. They couldn't even get a single foreign exchange certificate at home, let alone a remittance certificate.

Bai Rongbei walked over, glanced at the dress, and asked the sales clerk, "How much?"

"This red one is forty-five. The purple one is forty," the saleswoman said. "No cloth coupons needed, but you must use remittance certificates."

Forty or fifty yuan was an astronomical sum in those days. An ordinary worker's monthly salary was only thirty or forty yuan.

Upon hearing the price, Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan quickly waved their hands, saying, "It's too expensive, too expensive. We won't try it."

They turned to leave, but Bai Rongbei spoke up: "Wait."

He looked at the sales clerk: "I'll take both. I have remittance certificates."

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan were both stunned.

Bai Si'an was also taken aback for a moment, pushed up his glasses, and didn't say anything.

The sales clerk looked at Bai Rongbei in surprise: "Comrade, you really want it?"

"Hmm." Bai Rongbei took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out a few remittance certificates and some money, and handed them over.

The sales clerk took the receipt, counted it carefully, and nodded: "Okay, I'll issue you a receipt."

She issued the receipt, took down the two dresses, and handed them to Bai Rongbei.

Bai Rongbei took it, turned around and handed it to Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan: "Try it."

Su Wanwan held the red dress, her hands trembling slightly: "This... is too expensive..."

"Wear it," Bai Rongbei said. "From now on, you need to have a decent set of clothes when you go out."

Lin Weiwei also held the purple dress, her eyes brimming with excitement, but she still politely thanked Bai Rongbei: "Thank you..."

"Go try it on," said Bai Si'an. "There's a fitting room over there."

In the corner of the department store, there was a small fitting room separated by a curtain, just big enough for one person.

Lin Weiwei went inside first with the red dress, while Su Wanwan waited outside.

A few minutes later, the curtain was drawn back, and Lin Weiwei came out.

She usually wears shirts and pants, and is quite casual, but now that she's changed into this Adras silk dress, she looks completely different.

The dress was fitted at the waist, which made her waist look slim and her legs look long.

The red and yellow patterns made her skin look even whiter, and her face was flushed with excitement.

She awkwardly tugged at her skirt: "How is it? Does it look good?"

Bai Si'an pushed up his glasses, looked at her for several seconds, and then nodded: "Yes, it looks good."

Su Wanwan smiled: "Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!"

Lin Weiwei looked at herself in the glass of the counter and was satisfied: "This dress is really beautiful!"

She twirled around, her skirt billowing in the air.

At this moment, several customers nearby looked over and whispered among themselves:

"This dress is so pretty..."

"Is it Atlas silk? It's quite expensive..."

"That girl's clothes suit her really well..."

Lin Weiwei heard this and, feeling a little embarrassed, quickly said, "Wanwan, you should go and try it!"

Su Wanwan took the purple dress and went into the fitting room.

A few minutes later, the curtain was pulled open again.

Bai Rongbei was taken aback when Su Wanwan came out.

The light purple dress she wore accentuated her gentle and graceful appearance.

The dress was embroidered with white flowers, simple yet exquisite. She was a little shorter than Lin Weiwei, but her proportions were excellent; the dress length was just right, reaching her calves and revealing her slender ankles.

She was a little shy, her head down, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her skirt.

Lin Weiwei was the first to exclaim, "Wanwan! You're so beautiful!"

Su Wanwan blushed: "Really...really?"

Bai Rongbei nodded: "It suits you very well."

With just that one sentence, Su Wanwan understood the affirmation, and felt a sweet warmth in her heart.