Chapter 262: Store No. 43

The first floor of Store No. 43 was dimly lit, with a moist, plant-like smell. After getting used to the momentary darkness upon entering from the brightly lit street, one could see the full view of the storefront.

The storefront was pitifully small, without even a single shelf. On the brick floor, facing the street, stood a wooden counter with a cash register. Sun Shangxiang had been here several times and knew that this was just a place to pay. The real storefront was in the back, accessible through a corridor next to the cash register. No. 43 had a narrow storefront but was very deep.

Next to the counter stood two kapok trees, also known as money trees, planted in porcelain pots.

The cashier at the counter recognized her and came over to greet her with a beaming smile.

“Shangxiang, are you here to buy things for the Chief?”

“I’m buying for myself,” Sun Shangxiang said with a hint of pride. “I’m going to intern at the Lingao Times soon, and the Chief told me to prepare some things.”

“Oh, that’s great,” the saleswoman said, clapping her hands in envy. She was also an unassigned student who had been eliminated from the maid training class. Now, one was serving, and the other was being served. Naturally, she was envious, jealous, and resentful of the life secretaries.

“Everyone used to say that you were at a disadvantage serving a female Chief. I said that a female Chief also has her advantages, and she can also promote people. See, I was right. Now you are a proper ‘cadre.’ Besides, can a female Chief keep you by her side for a lifetime? In the future, she will find you a good husband. Maybe you will even be properly married to a Chief.”

“Look at you,” Sun Shangxiang was very pleased by her words. “I dare not think so much. I should work hard to repay the kindness of the Senate and the Chief.”

Sun Shangxiang’s family was a minor official. Since she was a child, she had been influenced by her family and relatives who were full of praise for the emperor’s grace and virtue. She had no sense of incongruity when she said this.

“That’s right, that’s right,” the saleswoman nodded repeatedly, feeling even more ashamed. After all, she was someone who was close to the Chief, and her speech was not ordinary.

“I’m going in,” Sun Shangxiang did not want to talk to her much. She had inquired about this saleswoman: she was of low birth, her appearance and figure were not highly rated, her academic performance was poor, and she was a bit old. She was directly eliminated without even getting the qualification to be selected. To get too close to her, according to Chief Sun, was a “waste of time and emotion.”

“Okay, okay, you can go in.”

Passing through the corridor, there was a long storefront room behind. Behind it was a different world. Bright light was projected from the skylight, and there was no feeling of narrowness or darkness. Various goods were displayed on open shelves along the walls.

Store No. 43 supplied a wide variety of daily necessities, the most important of which were various fabrics, which could be described as a dazzling array: a whole wall of display shelves from the ceiling to the floor was filled with various samples. According to Li Mei’s instructions, for all textiles, whether they were spoils of war, imported, or locally produced in Lingao, as long as there was stock, a sample had to be prepared in No. 43 for the transmigrators to choose from.

Ready-made clothes were also supplied here, but the variety was pitifully small, and there was not much choice. The main supplied goods were underwear and socks of various sizes made according to modern specifications. As for outerwear, there were only three types: “male and female transmigrator uniforms,” “male and female work clothes,” and “maid uniforms.” The colors were only blue, black, and gray, or the natural white of cotton cloth. Speaking of which, the maid’s uniform was the most exquisite outerwear here. So if the transmigrators and maids wanted to change their image, besides relying on the clothing inventory, they could only buy fabric and make their own clothes.

“Shangxiang, what are you buying today? Come, sit down and take a rest first,” the saleswoman greeted warmly. This was a special supply store, but like the clerks in other cooperative system stores, the saleswoman’s main income came from sales commissions. Sun Shangxiang had come here more than once to select and buy various fabrics and daily necessities for the Chief, and the purchase amount was very high each time. Cheng Yongxin was different from those “crude male chiefs who don’t understand the fun of life and can’t talk about anything but life secretaries, foreign horses, and human museums” in her mouth. She cared about the enjoyment of life and was willing to spend her circulation coupons. So although she had not been a life secretary for long, she was already a very popular figure in No. 43.

Sun Shangxiang sat down in front of the large glass window near the backyard of the store. Someone had already brought a teacup. Without opening the lid, she knew from the faint fragrance in the air that this was the hibiscus tea specially supplied to the transmigrators. Chief Cheng drank it every day. It was sour and delicious. She had mentioned it unintentionally last time, and this time it was changed to this tea.

In fact, she was not particularly fond of tea, but she felt very comfortable in her heart. She took the tea and said deliberately, “Thank you.”

“There’s new Hangzhou silk. I heard it’s the silk that Hangzhou weaves for the Ming emperor. The color is particularly rare. Do you want to take a look?”

“No, I’m not buying fabric today,” Sun Shangxiang said. “I want to see some stationery.”

“Are you choosing for the Chief?”

“No, I’m using it myself. The Chief wants me to intern at the Lingao Times and asked me to buy some necessary things.”

As usual, there was a round of compliments. Sun Shangxiang maintained a reserved smile, remembering the teachings of Chief Cheng and her mother: “Always be aware of your status and don’t be too familiar with the lower class.”

“I want to buy pens, notebooks, and some stationery. This is the list…” Sun Shangxiang took out a piece of paper from her pocket.

“No problem, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied. We have the most complete range of goods here, and many new styles that you can’t even see outside,” the saleswoman said, quickly calling for people to get the goods.

The stationery shelves were further inside, but of course, a big customer didn’t need to move her jade feet. Someone immediately brought various samples to her for her to choose from.

She first needed a few pens. The list Cheng Yongxin had given her included pencils for shorthand and fountain pens for writing drafts. There was nothing to say about the pencils; there was only one type of octagonal pencil available locally. As for the fountain pen, the right to invent it in this time and space belonged to Dr. Zhong, and Dr. Zhong had long considered the sales strategy for the fountain pen, dividing it into high, medium, and low grades.

The saleswoman guessed that Sun Shangxiang was currently in favor, so she naturally wouldn’t be interested in the low-grade ones. So she selected a few from the medium and high grades and brought them over.

“Look, this I-generation is the latest product. The ink flows smoothly, and it writes particularly smoothly…” she said, handing over a pen tray with several fountain pens with different barrels on display.

Strictly speaking, due to the limitations of Lingao’s industrial materials and craftsmanship, there was no performance difference between the medium and high-grade fountain pens: in fact, they all used the same nib and ink sac. The only difference was the material and decoration of the shell and cap. The medium-grade ones mostly used high-grade wood, decorated with lacquerware and glass inlay craftsmanship. The high-grade ones concentrated various traditional Chinese craftsmanship and materials, such as carved lacquer, gold plating, silver inlay, enamel, tortoiseshell, ivory… which could be described as a dazzling array.

Because they were all handmade, the output was very low, basically just to meet the needs of the transmigrators. Besides No. 43, only the cooperative general store had samples for sale. They could not be seen anywhere else.

The saleswoman first brought out the medium-grade products. The Taibai I was a work fountain pen specially designed by Zhong Lishi for the naturalized citizen cadres. The barrel and cap were made of specially treated hardwood, with small copper parts, which were both durable and elegant. It was very popular among the naturalized citizen cadres. In the Fangcaodi Academy, a Taibai I fountain pen was the most popular prize for students. The transmigrators also used it frequently on a daily basis.

However, this simple and elegant style obviously did not impress Sun Shangxiang. So the saleswoman brought out another one:

“This is the Golden Dragon I. Even the Chief likes to use it.”

The few I-generation pens on display in the pen tray used different craftsmanship and materials for decoration, which immediately attracted Sun Shangxiang’s attention.

She knew that it was almost a special pen for the transmigrators. Chief Cheng had a “classic edition” of the Golden Dragon I, which was a fountain pen with ivory inlaid with silver and pearls. Sun Shangxiang felt that the color was too plain. She had only seen a few high-level naturalized citizen cadres and the adopted children and apprentices of the transmigrators have such a pen.

In fact, Sun Shangxiang was not a person who liked to write. Pens and ink were not things she liked at all. Since ancient times, “a woman without talent is virtuous.” Although she had read basic books and knew how to read when she was young, it was only to avoid being illiterate, so that she could manage the household in the future and have more capital to earn a red skirt. She was not a “diligent and eager to learn” woman. Although she had obtained the equivalent of a junior primary school education at the maid school, it was the result of fearing the cane, not her own will.

Now she was strongly attracted to the fountain pen and couldn’t help but reach out to touch it gently. The saleswoman was familiar with this feeling and did not disturb her. She just smiled and tilted the pen tray to make it easier for her to touch, and at the same time said in a low, seductive voice:

“There are only twenty or thirty of each style of these pens. They are very rare…”

In the end, Sun Shangxiang chose a style with enamel and underglaze red. She liked this red color, which reminded her of the “red skirt” her mother had talked about.

“This color is so beautiful,” the saleswoman complimented her. “Sister Shangxiang, you have good taste. It’s very grand.”

Sun Shangxiang lowered her head in embarrassment: “How much is it?”

“Six hundred and ninety circulation coupons.” Sun Shangxiang was shocked: so expensive! But thinking of what Chief Cheng had said, not to be afraid of the price, and to buy the best, her heart settled down.

The pen was placed in a brocade paper box. Besides the fountain pen itself, there were three spare nibs. The ball of a general fountain pen nib was made of alloy steel with various rare metals added. Lingao was currently unable to manufacture it. The life of the nib was very short, so it could only be maintained by regular replacement. In addition, the box was also equipped with a set of exquisite fountain pen maintenance tools.

Compared to the fountain pen, she did not strive for perfection in the notebook. She still knew when to stop. She bought a large and a small notebook with white and thick paper, and also bought other stationery of the grade commonly used by the transmigrators. As usual, it was charged to Cheng Yongxin’s account.