Chapter 194: That Damn Woman Is Full of Tricks

Chapter 194: Chapter 194: That Damn Woman Is Full of Tricks

Autumn had arrived, and the women’s clothing counter at the department store was stocked with new fall collections from Shanghai and Gui City. Plaid skirts, knit sweaters, bell-bottoms, and suit jackets filled the shelves in a dazzling, dizzying array.

Jiang Moli’s eyes landed on a celadon green knit cardigan, and she called over a salesclerk to ask the price.

"How much is this?"

"17.80."

"Can you go any lower?"

"No."

Probably having seen too many customers like Jiang Moli who tried to haggle, the salesclerk’s tone was impatient. "Everything in the department store has a fixed price. We don’t bargain."

Jiang Moli asked, "Can I try it on then?"

"You can’t. We get so many people looking at clothes every day. If this person tries it on, and that person tries it on, the clothes will look used before they’re even sold."

"What if I buy it, take it home, and it doesn’t look good on me? Can I return it?"

"All sales are final. No returns, no exchanges."

"So if I buy it and it doesn’t fit, doesn’t that mean my money was just wasted?"

"Buy it or don’t. Plenty of other people want to buy it. We don’t need your business."

Perhaps completely fed up with Jiang Moli, the salesclerk gave her a huge eye-roll.

[Disdain Value +1. 10,000 Yuan credited.]

Perhaps because the new season’s collection had just arrived, there were quite a lot of customers picking out clothes at the counter.

Naturally, Jiang Moli couldn’t pass up the opportunity to complete her mission.

She slammed her hand on the counter, her voice full of arrogance. "Hey! What’s with your attitude? No bargaining, no trying things on, and no returns or exchanges? Are you running a crooked business here?"

Hearing the argument break out, the surrounding customers all cast strange glances their way.

An Hui and Fan Wenfang, who had been picking out children’s clothes for Lu Nana at the other end, saw Jiang Moli arguing with the salesclerk and hurried over.

"What’s wrong?"

The salesclerk said, feeling wronged and indignant, "No trying on, no returns, no bargaining—those are the rules from management, not my rules! Why are you yelling at me?"

"Management isn’t always right," Jiang Moli retorted. "You sell products to serve customers. You should listen to the voice of the people, not act all high and mighty and self-righteous."

Ever since the department store was established, the rules of no trying on, no returns, and no bargaining had always been in place.

Customers had also tacitly accepted and complied with these rules.

For Jiang Moli to suddenly jump out and challenge them, even if what she said was for the customers’ benefit, still gave off the impression that she was just being difficult for the sake of it.

After all, a long-held mindset couldn’t be changed with just a few words.

[Disdain Value +5. 50,000 Yuan credited.]

"Alright, that’s enough. Please, could you just take the piece of clothing down for us? We just want to take a look, surely that’s okay?" An Hui interjected.

Looking was fine, as long as they didn’t try it on.

With a stony expression, the salesclerk took the garment down and handed it to An Hui.

In truth, the no-try-on policy wasn’t just the department store being tyrannical. In this era, many people had poor hygiene. After just a few tries, clothes would get dirty and smelly, making them impossible to sell.

The cardigan was good quality, and the color complimented Jiang Moli’s skin tone.

"We’ll take this one. How much is it?"

Hearing that they were going to buy it, the salesclerk’s attitude softened. "17.80. This cardigan is from Shanghai. We only got ten in stock, and this is the very last one."

"I want this one, too!"

Lu Tingting snatched the cardigan away.

Jiang Moli didn’t care; she hadn’t been particularly fond of it anyway.

"Fine, you can have it. Hey, pretty lady, could you show me that blue woolen suit jacket over there?"

That single "pretty lady" was enough to extinguish half the anger in the salesclerk’s heart.

Using a clothing hook pole, she took down the suit jacket and handed it to her. "This one’s cashmere, and we have it in gray, too."

Lu Tingting looked disgusted. "You have such terrible taste. Those clothes are frumpy and ugly."

Jiang Moli held the jacket up against An Hui’s frame and said, "Mom, this would look great on you. It’s perfect for the National Day banquet. But Tingting says it’s frumpy and ugly..."

The jacket was already a style An Hui liked, and the fact that her daughter-in-law had picked it for her was a rare and precious display of filial devotion.

She instinctively backed Jiang Moli up. "What does a young girl like her know? This one is quite nice."

Lu Tingting fumed in frustration.

Eager to make a bigger sale, the salesclerk chimed in with a recommendation, "This jacket is made from worsted cashmere. It’s light, breathable, yet warm. You could wear it all the way into November, no problem."

Jiang Moli said, "Didn’t you say there was a gray one? Bring it out for us to see."

The salesclerk quickly retrieved the gray one for them.

Jiang Moli held each one up against An Hui in turn and said, "The gray one makes you look younger, but the blue one is more dignified and elegant. Hey, why don’t we just buy both?"

An Hui chided her playfully, "What would I do with so many? One is enough."

"One is a gift from Dad, and I’ll buy the other for you on Lu Cheng’s behalf. You work so hard helping him take care of his wife, so it’s only right that he buys you a jacket."

These words were so touching and heartwarming that not only was An Hui moved, but even the other customers shopping nearby cast envious glances at her.

’Which temple did she pray at to get such a wonderful daughter-in-law?’

Fan Wenfang, too, was thoroughly impressed by her sister-in-law, Jiang Moli.

She glanced at the pouting Lu Tingting and thought, ’If my own daughter could learn even a fraction of this, she’d never have to worry about having a hard time after marrying into her husband’s family.’

Lu Tingting, however, scoffed at Jiang Moli’s methods of currying favor with their mother-in-law.

’That damn woman has so many tricks up her sleeve. No wonder she has Third Uncle completely wrapped around her finger.’

After picking out the jackets for An Hui, Jiang Moli also chose a plaid jacket for herself, pairing it with black trousers.

After buying the ready-to-wear clothes, the group headed to the yarn counter.

In this era, knitting and wearing your own sweaters was the most common and cost-effective way to stay warm.

"Hey, isn’t that Sister Weiwei?"

The group followed Lu Tingting’s finger and saw that it was, indeed, Meng Wei.

She wore a red velvet headband in her hair, her long black locks cascading down her back. Dressed in a khaki plaid jumper dress, she looked beautiful, elegant, and quite easy on the eyes.

Meng Wei saw them too and glided over gracefully.

"Aunt Hui, Sister Wenfang, Tingting, Nana."

She greeted each of them by name, pointedly skipping over Jiang Moli.

Jiang Moli did the exact opposite. "Ms. Meng, we meet again! By the way, you still owe me a meal. When were you planning on treating me? It’s been on my mind."

An Hui looked at them, puzzled. "When did you two meet?"

Although she had sent the Meng family an invitation to Lu Cheng’s wedding, they hadn’t attended.

"We ran into her on the street last time Sister Weiwei and I were out shopping."

Afraid that Jiang Moli would run her mouth and say something she shouldn’t, Lu Tingting quickly changed the subject. "Sister Weiwei, are you here by yourself? Why don’t you shop with us?"

Meng Wei declined with a smile. "That’s alright, I’m meeting a friend. Tingting, are you free this afternoon? Let me treat you to coffee. It’s been a while."

"Okay!"

Meng Wei nodded to An Hui and the others before leaving.

Jiang Moli called out to her retreating figure, "Ms. Meng, when are we getting that meal? I’d love to hear you tell stories about Lu Cheng’s childhood!"

Meng Wei’s body stiffened for a moment, and when she started walking again, her pace was clearly much faster.

Jiang Moli chuckled derisively, then turned to meet Lu Nana’s curious gaze.

"Third Aunt, if you want to hear stories about Third Uncle’s childhood, you can just ask Grandpa and Grandma."

Jiang Moli patted the girl’s cheek. The feeling of all that collagen was just too good.

"Sister Weiwei and your Third Uncle were childhood sweethearts. When she tells stories about him, they’re much more interesting."

"Oh."

An Hui, Fan Wenfang, and Lu Tingting all stared at her with expressions that were hard to put into words.