Chapter 120: Chapter 120

"Sister Wu, let’s go over and take a look!" Bai Ruxue thought, she’ll buy the fabric first and can ask about other things later.

"Sure! Let’s head to the warehouse!" Wu Yuxia led Bai Ruxue towards the warehouse. Bai Ruxue wasn’t new to this warehouse, so she followed Wu Yuxia skillfully.

The salesclerks at the various counters outside watched Wu Yuxia with a slight sneer but said nothing.

They all knew Wu Yuxia was acquainted with a young girl who had good stuff, and during New Year, they all got a fair share. So even though customers weren’t officially allowed in the warehouse, they turned a blind eye.

"Girl, this is the new Dacron fabric. Take it home and make shirts; short sleeves would be perfect. It doesn’t easily fade, and the smooth material feels cool and comfortable to wear!" Wu Yuxia introduced the fabric to Bai Ruxue.

Bai Ruxue looked over; she didn’t know much about fabric, but she did know about Dacron. Instantly, she liked it. Owning a Dacron shirt in this era was a prestigious thing, so she imagined the fabric wasn’t cheap.

But what she lacked least right now was money, and she had a bunch of fabric coupons!

With a wave of her small hand, she bought ten yards each of the four different colors.

Wu Yuxia was so happy that she couldn’t hide her smile.

This was newly stocked and expensive fabric; she was worried about not being able to sell it.

But now with Bai Ruxue buying forty yards at once, she had no worries about sales.

"Girl, I’ve packed all the fabric for you! This sack is on me! Here are a few fabric scraps too; I’ve packed them for you. The colors are quite nice! They’d make good decorations!" Wu Yuxia swiftly packed the fabric for Bai Ruxue.

"Thank you, Sister Wu! Here is the money and coupons! Please count them!" Bai Ruxue had prepared the money and fabric coupons in her pockets from the start, making it easy to hand them over.

"No need to count! I trust you!" Wu Yuxia accepted the money and pocketed it in her apron. "Let’s go, let’s head out!"

"Alright!" Bai Ruxue followed Wu Yuxia out, but as soon as they stepped outside, they saw two women in their forties arguing.

"What’s going on?" Wu Yuxia curiously looked over.

Bai Ruxue was even more curious; she was quite the gossip-loving type, standing right by the counter to watch the commotion.

"You two, stop arguing! There will be more cabbage tomorrow! Why quarrel over two heads of cabbage?" The saleslady at the vegetable counter tried to persuade them sincerely.

But the two women, whose eyes were red from arguing, showed no signs of stopping. "I was here first! Why is she grabbing my cabbage? The last two cabbages should be sold to me!" the woman in gray clothes shouted loudly.

"What are you talking about? I paid first! These two cabbages are mine! Let go! How shameless!" the woman in the checkered top continued unabated.

"If you hadn’t snatched it when I was getting my money out, do you think you could’ve bought it? This cabbage was originally mine!" the woman in gray hollered like a fishwife, yet unlike the woman in the checkered top, she didn’t resort to insults.

"Arguing over cabbages again! Stuff happens daily! Nothing new!" Wu Yuxia observed for a while, listened to their words, and then commented while turning back.

"Every day? Is the supply and marketing cooperative very short of cabbage?" Bai Ruxue asked thoughtfully.

"Yes indeed! Not just cabbage, but all kinds of vegetables are scarce. In this offseason, even potatoes have sprouted! It’s just some potatoes, cabbages, radishes, and a few dried vegetables that are rationed daily! Yet it’s uncertain if they can last until the summer vegetables come!" Wu Yuxia sighed as she spoke.

Urban folks couldn’t grow their own vegetables and relied on the supply and marketing cooperative.

But at times , every vegetable was scarce, and urban tables were filled with sour pickles, salted vegetables, and sauces.

Meat was hard to come by; people were having a tough time.

"Once it gets warmer, it should be better; with vegetables thriving, the supply will be ample!" Bai Ruxue said while watching the commotion from behind Wu Yuxia.

"Girl, you don’t know! The supply and marketing cooperative never has enough vegetables year-round! Only durable ones like potatoes, cabbages, and radishes are planted by every brigade! Other vegetables are scarce even in the summer! In the countryside, not an inch of land goes to waste on vegetables! It’s all used for growing grain! After all, vegetables can be forgone, but grain can’t be!" Wu Yuxia explained to Bai Ruxue.

"Is that so? Then vegetables must be perpetually scarce? City life isn’t so easy then, even with commercial grain, eating vegetables is a problem! Though villages don’t access commercial grain, at least they can grow their own vegetables in summer!"

In Bai Ruxue’s memory, that’s how it was; come summer, every household would set aside two or three plots for growing vegetables to feed the family! They’d plant things like string beans, eggplants, green onions, and tomatoes!

"No doubt! Everyone has their struggles!" Wu Yuxia stopped watching the arguing pair; they weren’t her responsibility, and she needn’t meddle. "Girl, do you have any other business?" She asked, turning to Bai Ruxue.

"Oh... I came because of the vegetables!" Bai Ruxue quickly corrected herself.

"Here for the vegetables? Are you buying vegetables? Radishes or cabbage? It’s best not to eat potatoes now; they’ve sprouted, and it’s toxic if not handled carefully!" Wu Yuxia said, "Today there might not be much left, but I’ll save some for you tomorrow; just come over and pick it up!"

"No, no! I’m not here to buy vegetables; we’ve got them at home. I was wondering if our brigade could cultivate a few acres specifically to supply your cooperative; could that work?" Bai Ruxue gestured with her hands as she spoke.

"Cultivate a few acres of vegetables? Exclusively for the cooperative?" Wu Yuxia widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Yes! Doesn’t... doesn’t work?" Bai Ruxue asked tentatively, her face full of uncertainty.

"Girl, are you serious? Can you make decisions? This is no small matter! Do you know how much grain could be produced from those acres? Our director has tried discussions, but no brigade has accepted our offer to grow vegetables for us!" Wu Yuxia said excitedly.

If this could be accomplished, she’d be the greatest contributor and surely benefit from any chance of promotion, earning favor with the director too!

Bai Ruxue suddenly understood, realizing the cooperative didn’t lack the idea but faced rejection. So did that mean their brigade couldn’t accept such a proposition either?

However, if she could use this to negotiate a tractor with the town head and use the proceeds from selling vegetables to swap for grain for the members, then it might just work out!

"Sister Wu, let me discuss this with the team leader when I return, and then I’ll get back to you!" Although she felt it should work, she couldn’t overcommit. If the team leader disagreed, she’d be in trouble.

"Alright! I’ll wait for your news!" Wu Yuxia was suddenly deflated as if doused with cold water.

As she thought, no brigade wanted to grow vegetables! This matter would probably disappear again.

"But Sister Wu, if the team leader agrees, I plan to use this to secure a tractor for the brigade!" Bai Ruxue revealed her objective. Googlᴇ search n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net