Chapter 190: Chapter 189: Delicately Refined Eyes and Brows

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the department store, and Ling Chengyan noticed a lot of changes. Each counter was much more stocked and varied, with plenty of side dishes, and the fabric and ready-to-wear counters had changed significantly, too. Fabrics now come in a wider range, and there were more ready-made clothes. Women’s clothing, needless to say, had more styles, and even men’s clothing had several new styles—stylish jackets, more formal blazer coats, in both long and short versions.

“Just get a short one,” Wang Liansheng said, a bit taken aback by the price tag.

Short wool coats were over 120 yuan. The long one was 195 yuan, nearly 200 yuan, which was almost three months of his salary.

Previously, Ling Chengyan had the vice company level benefits at the Automobile Company, but the travel allowance was high, so she could get a little over 100 yuan a month. Now, having transferred to the Special Service Company, although her rank increased, the lack of travel allowance meant her monthly stipend was actually less.

With so many children in their family, expenses were high… Wang Liansheng was reluctant to spend 200 yuan on a piece of clothing for himself.

But Ling Chengyan persisted, asking the sales assistant to bring down both the long and short versions for Wang Liansheng to try, even getting the khaki wool jacket for him to try on as well.

At noon, there weren’t many customers in the department store. Two sales clerks from the clothing section and others from the fabric and knitwear sections gathered to watch. One older woman directly complimented, “This comrade looks good in everything.”

The younger sales clerks whispered, “Looks a lot like that actor from ’The Chase’.”

“Yeah, yeah, this jacket looks really good on him,” another agreed.

“You girls better knock it off, don’t you see his wife’s right there!” warned an older sister, causing the young clerks to blush and disperse in embarrassment.

Ling Chengyan, with her sharp hearing, heard their whispers clearly but didn’t take it to heart, only giving Wang Liansheng a faint glance. She thought to herself that he indeed didn’t quite resemble the Wang family and was tidier than his shifty-eyed siblings.

Wang Liansheng had already taken off the jacket he tried on and smiled, seeking her opinion, “Actually, my old coat is still wearable…”

The cheapest short coat was 120 yuan, and he was rather hesitant to spend it. “With this money, it’s better to buy a few things for you and the kids. That plaid wool coat over there looks nice, why don’t you try it on?”

Ling Chengyan snapped back to attention, glanced at the brown and pink plaid coat, and frowned slightly, “Does it look good?”

She was more used to wearing solid-colored clothes, and even back in Great Qi, she usually wore black, blue, and other simply elegant colors. Plaid, and with a touch of pink, seemed too lively; she had never thought to try it before.

Seeing that she wasn’t too averse, Wang Liansheng quickly said, “It looks great; you have fair skin, this color will definitely suit you.”

Saying so, he motioned for the sales assistant to take down the plaid women’s coat and held it up against Ling Chengyan, letting her look in the mirror.

Ling Chengyan wasn’t plump, and with a changed demeanor, her figure was more upright with a cool aura. Despite the touch of pink, the plaid was neither garish nor overly extravagant, adding a bit of warm, soft color to her elegance, making it unexpectedly… not unattractive.

Ling Chengyan took a couple of glances and decisively told the sales assistant, “Write it up.”

The sales clerk was a bit stunned, pointing at the plaid coat in her hand and then at several men’s winter clothing. Ling Chengyan nodded, and the clerk immediately agreed joyfully, her pen swiftly jotting down items…

Seeing her order three men’s winter coats, Wang Liansheng hastily said, “No need, that’s too much! These two are just different lengths; there’s no need to buy both…”

Ling Chengyan gave him a look and nodded, “Then we’ll buy the long one and the jacket.”

Stating it as a fact, without room for negotiation.

Wang Liansheng opened his mouth but ended up saying nothing more.

Not opting for the short coat, Ling Chengyan turned aside and picked up two shirts… As for sweaters, there were only a few types of worsted wool on the counter. She thought for a moment and bought two catty of navy-blue wool and a few more catty each of scarlet, pink, and cobalt blue half-wool yarn, the navy being for Wang Liansheng, and the rest for the kids.

Zheng Xiaotian, besides running the shop, takes care of the child and was never seen without needlework. After staying in Huicheng for a while, she also learned to knit sweaters, always having knitting yarn at hand.

Having bought so much yarn, Ling Chengyan would have to ask her second sister-in-law to help knit them into sweaters and pants, or she could ask her to find someone skilled to help knit them, and she’d pay the labor fee.

Several large bags were filled with clothes and yarn. Watching his wife spend several hundred yuan without batting an eye, Wang Liansheng was secretly surprised and somewhat puzzled: How much savings did they have? Did this trip nearly deplete their household funds?

As fate would have it, the night after they purchased the winter clothes, it rained again. In the morning when Wang Liansheng got up, he retreated back inside the moment he stepped outside because of the cold.

He put on a wool vest before heading out to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Ling Chengyan handed him the jacket, “Wear this to work later.”

Wang Liansheng hesitated, “It’s not that cold yet…”

Ling Chengyan replied, “I heard the weather forecast last night; there’s a cold front. Put it on, better safe than sorry.”

Saying so, she found a military fleece top for herself.

Getting dressed, Ling Chengyan glanced at the plaid coat hanging in the wardrobe and shook her head slightly: she usually wore military uniforms and feared this coat wouldn’t get much use.

She hadn’t anticipated that the chance to wear it would come so soon.

Wang Liansheng wore his new jacket that day, with a new shirt beneath, looking even more spirited than usual. Though nearing his thirties, he seemed several years younger.

Even when the elder got off the vehicle, he immediately overlooked others greeting him and let his gaze rest on Wang Liansheng further behind.

Those slightly aloof but distinctly clear brows and eyes were very familiar, strikingly similar to someone he remembered.

“Mr. Lian,” someone on the other side greeted warmly, extending both hands.

The elder blinked, came back to his senses, and shook hands with these people, exchanging polite smiles before modestly boarding a car again, following behind two jeeps as they left Huicheng.

After training in the afternoon, Ling Chengyan returned to the compound, and Liu Caixia from the family courtyard office came running to inform her that their Wang Chief called to ’take a leave’, saying he was accompanying an old overseas Chinese on a countryside inspection and wouldn’t be home for lunch.

After saying that, Liu Caixia joked with Ling Chengyan, “Chief Wang truly is a model military spouse, thanks to Captain Ling’s good guidance.”

Ling Chengyan laughed, “Thank you, sister, for the praise. I’ll surely tell him when he gets home.”

With Wang Liansheng not returning home, Ling Chengyan went to the cafeteria to get some dishes. When she got back, Hongling warmed up some buns and cooked porridge, and they were good to eat right away.

Little Apricot took a piece of braised pork rib, tried it, and said, “It’s not as good as dad’s cooking, too sweet.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep