I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 212: I Have to Buy It Now

Hu Biao put two lunch boxes directly on her desk, then hurried a few steps towards Shen Meng and took the bag from her hands.

"Sister-in-law, this must be pretty heavy, right? Let me carry it, let me carry it."

Shen Meng shook her hands; indeed, it was quite heavy. Having not done any physical work for a long time, she had no strength in her body. Just carrying the bag over for a while had already exhausted her.

"I really shouldn’t listen to Qianqian anymore. It’s such a hassle for you to come here every day to deliver food while I’m at work. What am I doing here? Might as well move in with you and enjoy the good life."

"Hehehe, Qianqian is worried about you, saying that Sister Meng, you’re too nice, and she’s afraid you’ll be taken advantage of. She asked me to come over and take a look, and if there’s any issue, to have my mother-in-law come and check!"

Shen Meng repeatedly waved her hands. Although she got her job through connections, she didn’t want others to talk. If Qi Mingyue came directly, she feared that she wouldn’t be able to work peacefully anymore. The people in the office were already stuffing her desk with snacks on seeing Hu Biao; if they saw Qi Mingyue, they might start treating her like a deity.

But Hu Biao didn’t think the same way. When he came yesterday, he saw Shen Meng eating alone at her desk, looking isolated. If the ticket sellers in the office were kind, they would have at least chatted with her a bit. It was obvious that this group was looking down on his Sister Meng.

That leader, too, only came out to greet him when he was about to leave yesterday. As for attending his own wedding, it sounded more like he had managed to slip in through some connections.

After seeing him yesterday, the director met him in person today. The moment he set foot in the office, someone was already looking for a chat with him. If that’s not fishy, he doesn’t know what is!

So he raised his voice to make a point, not to think too highly of themselves just because they were city folks. If you look three generations back, wasn’t everyone just old farmers?

"Don’t let Aunt Qi come over, she’s so busy she can’t even get home. Don’t cause trouble for her. You take these things back; I’ll keep the meal. It’s just nice, as I won’t need to cook tonight."

"Alright, Sister Meng, I also brought you a bag of fruit today, with bananas, apples, and oranges. If you’re free at work, have some. You need to hydrate and get vitamins in the winter. Ah, I’d better head back now, oh my, look at my scatterbrain. I got a letter from the Provincial City, they said the embroidered headpieces are selling really well. My father-in-law pulled some strings and got a batch of embroidered headpieces and handkerchiefs into the Friendship Store. Some foreigners saw and liked them a lot and want to order more!"

Shen Meng’s eyes immediately widened, bling bling, looking at Hu Biao.

"Really, Hu Biao? You can’t be joking about this. If this information is accurate, I’ll go and report it to the head of our Cooperative Society right away."

"Absolutely, absolutely accurate. We need to discuss it. My dad is personally going there. Although there are only two foreigners placing orders, it’s foreign currency. For so many years our county has never dared to think about foreign currency issues. So, not only the County Committee is taking this seriously, our textile factory also values it, and my dad is going too. No matter how big or small the order is, as long as it can be negotiated...."

"I’m going too!"

"Huh?"

Shen Meng tapped the desk and said, "I’m going too. My spoken English is pretty good. Let me go, and I will translate for Uncle Li and Director Hu at the time, which can save us some money too!"

Hu Biao looked at Shen Meng with skepticism. He believed that she was a good and clever person with quick wits; after all, when he visited the textile factory to say hello yesterday, he found out that his dad had not arranged any temporary work for her. However, since she mentioned it, his dad still made some arrangements because his grandson needed milk. Good formula wasn’t something the Hu family couldn’t afford. Giving her work that paid ten to twenty dollars a month was to return a favor to Shen Meng.

But now she was telling him her spoken English was good, and Hu Biao momentarily felt like his ears were ringing.

"Sister-in-law, you can’t be joking about this. I can hardly understand what you just said."

"Hello, my name is Shen Meng, I am a translator."

Hu Biao: "....."

Even though he didn’t understand, it sounded impressive.

"You go back and talk to Uncle Li. After all, no one understands our headpieces and the latest styles better than me. If you’re not secure about it, you can bring along a professional secretary. I’ll just be extra help. When needed, I’ll speak up; if not, I’ll definitely stay quiet."

Hu Biao thought it over and felt that what Shen Meng said made a lot of sense, so he agreed. Before he left, he reminded her again to eat the fruit. Shen Meng nodded in understanding.

Apart from the initial loud talking by Hu Biao, the rest of the conversation between the two was very quiet, so the people in the office didn’t hear it clearly. But with bits and pieces about headpieces and foreign languages and foreigners picked up, they became curious and gathered around.

Shen Meng took down the headpiece from her head and took out two more from her bag.

"These headpieces are made by the women comrades of our Cooperative Society, and they’re really hot sellers at the Cooperative Society. These few styles are supplied to the Cooperative Societies and Friendship Stores of the Provincial City. Are you interested?"

"Wow, these headpieces are really pretty. I thought the hair clip headpiece you were wearing was beautiful but didn’t dare to say it."

"Yeah, this one is even more beautiful, with embroidery on it too. The fabric is real quality, and the velvet one looks great as well."

"How much is one? 50 cents? Geez, that’s not expensive at all. I’ll buy one then!"

.....

Once one person decided to buy, the others didn’t want to refuse since they had already complimented them. To say it’s good and not buy would be misleading, wouldn’t it?

Shen Meng shook her head and said, "Our Cooperative Society’s headpieces and streamers are supplied to the Cooperative Society and such; we don’t do retail. However, if you really want many, I can apply for you. This product is very classy, both as a gift or personal use. What woman can refuse a beautiful thing? Don’t you agree?"

The crowd: "...."

"Well, okay then, we’ll go home and ask. If we want more, we’ll tell you tomorrow."

"Me too, I’ll also tell you tomorrow."

Shen Meng smiled cheerily and nodded: "That would be really great. This headpiece project is now personally overseen by Director Hu, and the County Committee is also paying close attention. If they knew that the ticket sellers of our bus company like them, they would definitely praise everyone heavily."

The crowd: "...."

Now, to not buy was no longer an option. How did her mouth work so fast that their brains couldn’t keep up with her?!

Shen Meng finished speaking and took out a pen and paper from her bag to record the number of headpieces everyone was planning to buy, diligently noting down names, quantities, and styles in great detail.

Shen Meng managed to clear thirty-five pieces, and just now, Fu Meili also came out of the office and ordered ten. Although it wasn’t much, as the saying goes, every little bit adds up, and earning money is good. Why complain about small orders when big ones are handled and small ones come easily?