Chapter 1448: Chapter 1448

"Wow, just browsing around, I realized we need to buy so many things."

Li Xiaoli enthusiastically wandered around the various stalls.

"Starting independent university life really does mean buying a lot of things, but with so much stuff, I don’t even know what to buy."

Liu Mengting followed behind Li Xiaoli with a look of perplexity. She had always lived a worry-free life, never having lived independently before.

Li Xiaoli was even more clueless. Though she often lived alone, her brother arranged everything for her, leaving her bewildered by this dazzling array of little items.

"If you trust me, I can help you pick out the necessary daily items."

Liu Junmei enthusiastically suggested, "I’ve been living in school dorms independently since middle school, so I have a lot of experience."

"Why did you leave home so early?"

Li Xiaoli looked at Liu Junmei with surprise and curiosity.

"Because I’m a bad luck charm; being home would bring my mom bad luck, so I started living in school dorms early on."

Liu Junmei awkwardly smiled.

"Oh, sorry! I totally forgot about that."

Li Xiaoli stuck out her tongue and looked at Liu Junmei excitedly, "So what should we buy?"

"Let’s first go to a bigger stall; we can buy more things at once and get a discount."

Liu Junmei skillfully pulled Liu Mengting to a stall staffed by seven or eight students.

"What to buy, what to buy?"

Li Xiaoli tapped around, eagerly asking questions.

"Basins are a must; you need to buy three—large, medium, and small."

Liu Junmei stated with utmost seriousness.

Liu Mengting and Li Xiaoli gazed at Liu Junmei in confusion.

"Guys only need one, but we girls need to be more particular; the face-washing and clothes-washing basins should be separate."

Liu Junmei explained with a smile.

"That I can understand. The large one for clothes, the medium one for face, but what’s the small one for?"

Liu Mengting looked at Liu Junmei in puzzlement.

Liu Junmei opened her mouth, then leaned over to Liu Mengting’s ear and whispered something.

"There’s such a need?"

Liu Mengting blushed and looked at Liu Junmei, "I used to use bathtubs, so I never noticed."

"Here at school, having a shower is already a luxury, and the hot water supply is on a schedule, so you need to be prepared."

Liu Junmei gave Liu Mengting a side-eye.

"What do you mean? What’s it about?"

Li Xiaoli curiously pressed on.

"The small basin is used for..."

Liu Mengting hurriedly moved closer to Li Xiaoli’s ear and whispered.

"Ah! Yes, yes, girls must pay attention to personal hygiene; a special small basin is a must."

Li Xiaoli nodded repeatedly,

"What’s up with girls? I’m a girl too, tell me!"

Chen Cang quickly came over to ask.

Liu Junmei gave Chen Cang a speechless glance, blushing and refusing to respond further.

"Little Cang Cang, you really won’t need it."

Liu Mengting and Li Xiaoli looked at Chen Cang strangely, then ignored him too.

"Tang Ming, what don’t I need? Aren’t I a girl?"

Chen Cang gazed bewilderedly at Tang Ming.

"Ahem, I wouldn’t know."

Tang Ming coughed awkwardly; though he heard everything clearly, this was something he couldn’t openly discuss.

"Can’t you see? I’m a genuine girl."

Chen Cang looked down at herself, feeling a bit frustrated.

"Everyone needs to have a thermos; every boarding student needs to get hot drinking water at the Water Room."

Liu Junmei pointed to a pile of kettles, suggesting, "Though the dormitory has a water dispenser, for washing up and brushing teeth, there might not always be hot water."

"I want the red one, the bright red one!"

Li Xiaoli immediately grabbed a kettle, "How much is this, boss?"

"Twenty-five for one, no bargaining."

A short girl with glasses warmly approached.

"How do you do business without bargaining? There are five of us; if we buy five at once, can it be cheaper?"

Liu Junmei gave the girl a look of mock disapproval and seriously said.

"Five? That would be twenty apiece, making it a hundred total."

The girl selling the items quickly exclaimed.

Li Xiaoli exclaimed in surprise.

"Shh, keep quiet, let Little Mei do the bargaining."

Liu Mengting gave Li Xiaoli a look, knowing both she and Li Xiaoli were used to a wealthy lifestyle, but one has to be economical at school; you can’t buy a thousand-dollar thermos kettle, right?

"Twenty each should be reasonable."

Liu Junmei nodded continuously, smilingly looking at the girl selling the items, "But we still have many more things to buy, like basins, clothes racks, lunch boxes, shelves, mattresses; if you give us a further discount, we’ll buy the rest here too."

"Twenty each is already quite cheap."

The selling girl frowned slightly, glanced at Liu Mengting and the others, and gritting her teeth said, "Eighteen is the lowest price, it’s already at cost."

"Alright, then settle the kettles at eighteen each; make sure they keep the heat."

Liu Junmei promptly called Li Xiaoli and the others over to choose thermoses.

"I want the bright red one; I’ll take this."

Li Xiaoli held the kettle, opening the lid to inspect it carefully, looking very satisfied.

Liu Mengting, Tang Ming, and the others casually chose their preferred kettles, while Liu Junmei picked several with distinct care.

"It’s just a kettle, do you have to be that meticulous?"

Li Xiaoli looked at Liu Junmei speechlessly.

"I can’t help it; I’m naturally unlucky. If I don’t choose carefully, things can easily go wrong, so I have to be very diligent in my selection."

Liu Junmei smiled wryly, finally choosing a blue kettle.

"Brother Tang Ming, you pay first, we can split the bill later."

Li Xiaoli immediately looked at Tang Ming.

Tang Ming smiled, obediently taking out money to settle the bill.

Afterwards, the group bought all the necessary items at that stall, and when purchasing the mattress, the helpful vendor even offered to have it sent to the dormitory.

Tang Ming and Chen Cang helped carry two mattresses to Liu Mengting and Li Xiaoli’s dorm room.

"Little Mei, why aren’t you buying a mattress? They’re pretty cheap at just over a hundred."

On the way back, Li Xiaoli asked Liu Junmei curiously.

"I... I don’t like sleeping on mattresses; it’s not good for the back."

Liu Junmei smiled and didn’t explain much.

Tang Ming glanced at Liu Junmei, feeling something click in his heart, suspecting that Liu Junmei’s family’s financial situation might not be very good. He thought that if she got along well with Liu Mengting, he’d remind Liu Mengting and Li Xiaoli to take care of her a little.

The student vendor who brought the mattresses to the dormitory left.

Tang Ming and Chen Cang helped organize the beds, only to find that Liu Mengting’s dorm already had other residents.