Gu Jiaojiao picked out two bolts of fabric—one suitable for making a quilt, and one for making clothes.
Speaking of which, the quilt at her house really did need replacing.
And then there was Leng Yuan. He didn’t have many clothes, just a cotton-padded jacket and a military greatcoat.
In this day and age, a military greatcoat was a rare item. She had no idea where Leng Yuan had gotten it.
But seeing her husband’s two meager outfits made her heart ache, so she planned to make a new set of clothes for everyone in the family.
All this fabric was defective, so it wasn’t expensive. It was sold for fifty cents a meter.
If this were sold at the supply and marketing cooperative, it would cost at least eighty cents a meter.
Gu Jiaojiao took the two bolts of fabric.
Chen Xiaoli was stunned. "Jiaojiao, you’re buying way too much."
Hearing this, Gu Jiaojiao also felt she might have bought a bit too much and quickly came up with an excuse.
"Sister-in-law, after I married Leng Yuan, we didn’t get anything new. We don’t have enough of anything at home."
"Now that I have the chance, I want to furnish our home a bit."
Chen Xiaoli felt that was perfectly reasonable.
Even the poorest people would prepare a wedding quilt when they got married, and it was true that Gu Jiaojiao and Leng Yuan hadn’t prepared anything back then.
The total for Gu Jiaojiao’s two bolts of fabric came to twenty-four yuan and thirty cents, but Chen Sanmei rounded it down for her, knocking off the odd cents.
Even so, both Chen Xiaoli and Chen Sanmei couldn’t help but click their tongues in amazement. Twenty-four yuan was just too much money.
That was a month and a half’s salary for an average worker, gone just like that.
Chen Xiaoli felt she didn’t even spend that much in an entire year.
She picked out a cheaper option where the material was a bit stiffer, costing thirty cents a meter.
In the end, she only bought enough for a quilt, spending one yuan and sixty cents.
Chen Xiaoli paid and asked about cotton. "Sanmei, does your factory have any cotton? I’d like to buy some."
Chen Sanmei shook her head.
"Sis, cotton is in short supply right now. On top of that, the harvest was bad this year, so things are tight here too. I really can’t help you with the cotton."
After speaking, she couldn’t help but feel indignant on her sister’s behalf.
"If you ask me, it’s a good thing we don’t have any. That sister-in-law of yours is nothing but trouble. How long has she been back, and she’s already causing such a fuss? I’m telling you, you can’t just keep putting up with it."
"Worst comes to worst, just separate the households. Your husband is a hard worker, and you’re diligent too. If you two are together, how could your lives possibly be bad?"
Few families separated at this time, but it wasn’t unheard of.
The principle of a large tree sprouting new branches is an eternal one.
Gu Jiaojiao didn’t think much of the idea itself, but hearing it come from Chen Sanmei surprised her.
’It seems there are clear-headed people in every era.’
It wasn’t that Chen Xiaoli had never considered it, but she felt things hadn’t reached that point yet.
Xu Chongfeng never let her be mistreated; she just couldn’t stand watching Xu Wenwan freeload, acting like a little princess every day.
But her father-in-law and mother-in-law were willing to support her, so there was nothing the younger generation could say.
If the elders didn’t bring up separating the household, and the younger generation did, it would surely cause a huge commotion.
"We’ll see when the time comes."
"Just remember to keep an eye out for cotton for me. Let me know if you get any."
Chen Sanmei grunted in response, exasperated that her sister wouldn’t stand up for herself.

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