The people around Jiang Yan were naturally those from the management departments, but it was rare to see Liu Zhiyuan's sister there too. You know, all the girls in the compound were pretty fond of Liu Zhiyuan; however, Liu Zhiyuan was from the logistics department, and Zhao Guodong, as the leader of the kids from the logistics department, naturally didn't care much about the girls in the compound.
There weren't many kids in the compound at the junior high age now, just over ten or so. Among the boys from the management departments, Zhao Guodong was the lead, followed by Shen Ping and Zhang Linong.
As for the logistics department, Liu Zhiyuan took the lead, followed by Sun Mingjie, Dong Haoyu, and Xiang Weilai. These kids were relatively well-known in the compound, because their fathers held various positions in the main unit of the troops.
Liu Zhiyuan's sister, Liu Rui, was quite a gentle soul. She usually lived with Mrs. Liu at the company, or she would follow Mrs. Liu on work trips. This meant she didn't go to school often, but her studies were still up to par, making her a commendable girl in the compound.
Seeing Liu Rui return, Ye Ling just glanced at her. But Bai Xue was quite surprised, smiled at Jiang Yan and the others, and politely asked Liu Rui, "Xiao Rui, did you come back with your mom yesterday?"
Mr. Liu was the head of the logistics department, holding quite a high position in the compound.
Her own mother was someone who was overly flattering and tactful, and this kind demeanor towards Liu Rui was something Ye Ling had long become accustomed to, or rather had been accustomed to in her past life.
Liu Rui shyly called Aunt Bai, and then used all her effort to squeeze out a voice so faint you'd need to lean in to hear, "Came back in the morning. Mom said we'd tidy up home first, then go to Aunt Bai's house to thank her for taking care of brother."
Like a frightened little rabbit, Liu Rui was naturally delicate-looking, with shy, big eyes, long eyelashes, and a student haircut. This appearance made her seem even more delicate and kind-hearted like a little white rabbit.
However, Ye Ling didn't like her much. Although she hadn't interacted deeply with Liu Rui, she always remembered how Liu Rui didn't intervene when she was bullied by Jiang Yan and the other girls for sneaking a peek at Liu Zhiyuan, nor did she call adults, which resulted in her getting beaten until her face was swollen.
A truly kind-hearted girl would never just watch on like that.
Even Ye Qian can disguise herself; why wouldn't Liu Rui?
But in this life, Ye Ling didn't plan to get involved with people in the compound, so she cared little about others as long as they didn't provoke her.
She heard her mother happily laugh out loud after hearing Liu Rui's words, "See, your mom is just being polite. Living in the same compound is merely about adding another pair of chopsticks. I'm about to take your Sister Lingzi out to buy clothes. When you get home, tell your mom that I'll visit her house this afternoon."
Liu Rui timidly agreed, sneaking a glance at Ye Ling. Ye Ling happened to look over, so Liu Rui quickly shifted her gaze, and Ye Ling smirked and turned her head away.
On the other side, Jiang Yan exclaimed, "Aunt Bai, why aren't you taking Ye Qian with you to buy clothes?"
Knowing Jiang Yan and her group were generally close to the younger daughter, Bai Xue laughed and said, "The family's circumstances can only afford one new outfit."
Jiang Yan's group looked at Ye Ling with obvious displeasure.
Hearing her mother's words designed to provoke others, Ye Ling felt a blockage. Then, she smiled and said, "I've always worn my sister's clothes, which are either too big or too small, so Mom's thinking of taking me to buy clothes. Otherwise, why would she buy some for me?"
After all, in everyone's eyes, she wasn't a good person, so why not live freely?
Her words turned Bai Xue's face a mix of blue and red, and she laughingly addressed Jiang Yan's group, "You guys play, Ye Qian is at home."
Then she turned back and called the eldest daughter, "Let's go."
Although the words were gritted out, she couldn't say them vehemently in front of outsiders, so Bai Xue had to swallow her anger, always aware the eldest daughter lacked tact, always unlikable.
Ye Ling smirked and followed along.
Walking toward the front gate, Ye Ling could hear Song Mei's puzzled voice, "Are you really wearing Ye Qian's old clothes?"
"How would I know? If you're curious, go ask Ye Qian," Jiang Yan replied impatiently.
Ye Ling heard, and so did Bai Xue walking ahead. Her anger, just cooled down, flared up again, and she walked to the street without saying a word to Ye Ling behind her.
There was only the supply and marketing building selling clothes, just a few stores, with no bargaining involved. Bai Xue, already unhappy about buying clothes for the eldest daughter, didn't bother choosing good ones and picked the cheapest and least popular.
A bright red khaki jacket paired with blue pants. This shade of red was either worn for weddings or by children under eleven or twelve, making it look festive. Ye Ling was already fifteen, in her third year of junior high, soon to take her high school entrance exams next year, almost a high schooler, so how could she wear such clothes?
Ye Ling hadn't planned on reconciling with her mother, so she outrightly refused. "Mom, I'm about to enter high school. You bought such bright red clothes for me like I'm a child. Can I wear this outside? If it's just cheap clothes, I can't wear them. Aren't you wasting your money?"
With people looking at them from everywhere, Bai Xue blushed and forced an excuse, "I was thinking of buying one for your grandma too. This way, combining the cloth coupons, we can buy two pieces. Otherwise, it'll only be enough for one."
With fewer eyes on them, Bai Xue relaxed a bit.
At the time, rural families received just eight square feet of cloth coupons annually, with urban areas receiving ten. More would be given if someone had a baby, and cloth was divided into grades.
Bai Xue had public cloth coupons, allowing slightly better materials for purchased clothes.
Ye Ling had seen earlier that aside from two square-foot cloth coupons for the sold clothes, her mother also had a three-square-foot coupon. For someone like Ye Ling, making a jacket required just over two square feet, and her mother spent two square feet on lower-quality items.
"Mom, don't you have three square-foot coupons in your hand? Combined with these two square-foot ones, it's enough to buy one piece for both Grandma and me. Otherwise, if you take two square feet for Grandma, there's still one square foot left, right? With this one square foot, you buy clothes I can't wear, isn't the two square-foot coupon wasted?" Ye Ling reasoned well, disbelieving her mother would insist further.
Bai Xue truly wanted to find a place to hide. The sales assistant at the counter advised, "That's right, the child is correct. Aren't we buying two pieces? The other one for your mother-in-law, right? See if this blue one fits?"
"Okay, it fits." By this point, Bai Xue couldn't hold onto the one square-foot coupon anymore; lacking the face to continue, she took back some dignity by being proactive. "Let's exchange the red one for the gray one."
"Alright." The sales assistant treated Bai Xue with courtesy, seeing she was a teacher's wife.
Ye Ling, having achieved her goal, stayed silent, but Bai Xue was full of anger that she had to keep hidden.
Exiting the supply and marketing building, Bai Xue remembered her goal, took a deep breath, and smiled, "Lingzi, what do you think about that sales assistant? People like us need cloth coupons to buy fabric, only getting ten square feet a year, unlike them who can find some loopholes, making them freer than us."