Chapter 61: A Shopping Spree
After seeing Wang Guoguang off, Li Yi and Li Na both breathed a sigh of relief.
Mr. Wang’s status was truly extraordinary. Not only was he a figure of considerable importance himself, but his son was a big shot they couldn’t afford to cross—someone they simply couldn’t afford to slight.
“Sis Na, who is this old gentleman…”
Before Li Na could answer, Li Yi said, “He’s the elderly gentleman we rescued on the night of our engagement. His background is a bit complicated—I’ll explain it to you in detail later. For now, let’s just go shopping!”
“Okay!”
Li Yi then led Tang Xue and Li Na to the counter.
Because of the incident earlier, all the clerks at the supply and marketing cooperative knew these people weren’t to be messed with, so a seasoned clerk immediately came over to assist them.
Moreover, several veteran employees recognized Li Yi, knowing he was the wealthy man who had been coming to their supply and marketing cooperative every day lately to buy up supplies in bulk.
At the same time, everyone secretly mocked that fool Zhou Fengmei, who spent all day trying to seduce her boss and paid no attention to anything else.
If only she’d paid a little more attention to those influential big-spending customers—or even listened to what us ordinary sales clerks had to say—she wouldn’t have mistaken Li Yi for some ordinary peasant.
“Comrade, what can I help you with?”
Li Yi glanced at the red quilt cover that had sparked the earlier altercation and asked, “How many of these do you have in stock?”
He knew that for high-end goods like this, even the county supply and marketing cooperative wouldn’t keep many in stock.
The saleswoman counted carefully and said, “We have four in total!”
“I’ll take them all!” Li Yi declared boldly.
“All… all of them?”
“Yes, I’ll take them all. I don’t want to say it a third time!” Li Yi said calmly.
At those words, everyone in the room was stunned!
Is this the “peasant” that stupid woman was talking about—the one who can’t afford to buy anything?
What kind of judgment is that?
Not only did he buy them, but he snapped up all four at once—surprised? Unexpected?
It’s just a shame that stupid woman was taken away by the police. If she were here, I’d really love to see the look on her face.
Tang Xue was also looking completely astonished, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something, but Li Na held her back.
Then Li Yi spoke again: “Get me some more plain-colored fabric—the kind used for mattress pads!”
“How many do you need?”
“Enough for four mattress pads!”
Li Yi continued, “Oh, and cotton—two thick quilts, two thin ones, plus four mattress pads. How many pounds do you think that’ll be?”
The sales clerk seemed quite experienced in this area; after a quick calculation, she said, “About 28 jin should be enough!”
“Then let’s get 30 jin!”
“Alright!”
“Do you have any red wedding gowns here?”
“We don’t have those, but we do have fabric for making wedding gowns. Most people buy the fabric themselves and have it tailored!”
“Alright, then. I’ll take a set of fabric for a red wedding gown, plus two sets of plain cotton fabric, and some shoes…”
……..
Today, Li Yi showed everyone present exactly what it means to be extravagant and to spend money without a second thought!
Anything that could be used for the wedding—or anything he thought his bride might like—he had one word for it: Buy!
In less than half an hour, Li Yi had already spent over two hundred yuan, leaving everyone present utterly stunned.
If Tang Xue hadn’t felt that Li Yi’s behavior was truly a bit outrageous and forced herself to speak up and stop him, they would have genuinely worried that he might end up blowing through the entire 700 yuan in his pocket.
Even so, Tang Xue gained a whole new perspective on Li Yi’s spending habits!
Of course, she also gained a clearer understanding of her own standing in Li Yi’s heart.
Don’t get me wrong—Li Yi certainly didn’t hold back on spending today, but aside from a small amount on ordinary cotton fabric, the vast majority of the money went toward her.
But Tang Xue could see clearly that Li Yi didn’t even bat an eye when he was buying things for her!
She did the math carefully: from the dowry and gifts given by Dxmbang for their engagement, to the bicycle and various small gifts that followed, plus all the things he’d bought her today.
Even without counting the new house currently under construction, Li Yi had spent over 500 yuan on her.
That’s 500 yuan!
Given the income level of ordinary villagers, even if a family of four were all earning work points, it would take at least three years to save up that much money.
But Li Yi had spent it all on her like that, seemingly without a second thought!
If Li Yi didn’t like her, Tang Xue didn’t think she’d believe it. After all, no man would willingly spend money on a woman he didn’t like—especially not that much.
Unless he’s out of his mind!
But clearly, Li Yi is a smart man!
There was only one possible explanation for his actions: he liked her—truly, from the bottom of his heart.
With this realization, Tang Xue felt she really should give their relationship some serious thought.
Before, she’d thought she could give Li Yi a chance to pursue her, but now she felt she might try taking the initiative herself.
So, after leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Tang Xue took the initiative to sit in the front right seat of the mule cart, just a body’s length away from Li Yi.
Li Yi thought she had something to ask him, so after saying goodbye to Liu San’er, he spoke up: “Are you upset that I’m spending money recklessly?”
Tang Xue had originally intended to shake her head; after all, it was his money, and she had no right to tell him how much to spend.
But then she thought about how the two of them would be living together in the future. If he continued to spend money so recklessly, that wouldn’t be good, so she nodded immediately.
“Some things really aren’t worth buying!”
Li Na chimed in, “Exactly. Take bedding, for instance—who gets four sets of bedding for a wedding? Two new quilts is more than enough!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s just a few new quilts. I don’t think that’s a waste. Xiao Xue and I are only getting married once in our lives—we can’t just settle for something mediocre!”
Li Na shot him a look and complained helplessly, “What do you mean ‘making do’? Never mind the dowry—just the wedding supplies you’re buying would make so many girls green with envy!”
“Third Sister, are you jealous too?”
“Of course! A bicycle, a new house, and all these wonderful things—I’m so jealous my eyes are red!”
“Hahaha, then hurry up and find me a brother-in-law. When you get married, I’ll give you a matching set of the same things!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“Really?”
“Of course I do. When Big Sister and Second Sister got married, I was too young and didn’t have the means, but when you get married, I’ll definitely make sure you’re the envy of everyone!”
“Then it’s a deal—no backing out!” Li Na said with a smile.
“No backing out!”
Distracted by Li Na’s banter, Tang Xue forgot to mention anything else to Li Yi. By the time she remembered, they had already arrived at the sugar factory gate!