Chapter 17

Xiao Qi could only stay at home for half a day as the car to take her home wasn't coming until midnight. She had to leave early the next morning again.

The next morning, Xiao Qi woke up early around six o'clock without hitting the snooze button. Although there was no extra reward for waking up early today, she felt good and somehow felt like her day was much longer than others.

After washing up, she went out to buy breakfast. When she came back with breakfast, Auntie happened to come home and was about to give Xiao Qi money to buy food. To her surprise, Xiao Qi had already bought it without asking for money from Auntie.

"Auntie, I have money. My tutoring session went well yesterday. I earned 200 yuan for just an afternoon lesson. The parents said they would introduce more students to me."

"That's good. You must work diligently and live up to the money people pay you," Auntie said.

Xiao Qi nodded.

Auntie worked very hard among the caregivers living on the ground floor. She felt she worked the hardest while others seemed more relaxed. Uncle Lin next door even had time to drink and play cards.

However, similarly, Auntie also got the most benefits - daily fruits, bonuses, and extra jobs from patients who liked her in particular. Although her work was dirty and tiring, her income was quite good.

After breakfast, Xiao Qi bid Auntie goodbye and headed home. Auntie gave her some durable fruits to bring home.

Suddenly, Xiao Qi had a clever idea - she could take more stuff home under Auntie's name.

After breakfast, Xiao Qi was in no hurry to leave. The mall definitely wasn't open yet. She wrote for another hour, looking at the calligraphy for beginners (2.5/100) on the screen before stopping. She then changed her clothes and left, putting the fruits in her backpack.

Oddly, it was quiet next door today.

She didn't think much about it and headed straight to the wet market. She bought two ducks and some pork ribs, then went to the department store.

She should buy practical clothes for Dad. He wasn't tall, had a bit of a leg problem, was skinny, so a size S men's clothes should fit.

With a big backpack on her back and holding a bag of groceries, she went to the department store. She stored her stuff at the concierge first before going upstairs to the men's section.

As the men's section had just opened, there weren't many people.

She had never bought men's clothes before, but looking at the rising money count on the screen - already over 8,000 yuan - she wasn't afraid of any of these shops.

She had bought clothes for Mom before, so going into these kinds of shops shouldn't be too difficult.

What's more, she now had the demeanor buff, making her look very poised. Although dressed plainly, she gave off the vibe that she wasn't poor or timid.

She walked into a clothes shop, looking at the collared T-shirts in black and white stripes which she vaguely remembered the village officials wearing.

In the village, whatever the village officials wore could probably be considered trendy, judging from what the village women always talked about.

She picked a T-shirt, a long-sleeved grey shirt because it was cooler in the village than the city and short sleeves wouldn't be warm enough.

Then she picked a pair of pants. She thought size S would be fine, but the salesperson suggested getting size M - Dad was skinny but had a larger middle-aged build.

After some hesitation, she also picked a pair of small leather shoes, suede, slip-on style with shoelaces, khaki color, rubber soles, slight heels but very lightweight, size 41. Dad didn't have big feet. Hopefully in future, she could customize a pair of shoes for Dad from those designers who could make limping people appear normal.

Finally, she picked a leather belt, also suede. The salesperson was very good at upselling. Although Xiaoqi looked confident and composed, she actually had little social experience and was easily convinced to buy more.

The striped T-shirt cost 230 yuan, the shirt 390 yuan, the pants 290 yuan, the shoes were slightly more expensive at 790 yuan, the belt 99 yuan, totaling 1,799 yuan. The salesperson insisted the specialty store had no discounts year-round, but gave Xiao Qi two pairs of socks for free in the end.

The price tag on the socks turned out to be 59 yuan each.

Xiao Qi came out still feeling a little confused. She had casually spent 1,800 yuan in less than an hour. It was so easy to spend money.

Walking past rows of glittering gold shops downstairs, she really wanted to buy Mom some jewelry, but it probably wouldn't sound convincing. The clothes and shoes she bought for her parents were very cheap ones they would buy for themselves. But gold and such, they knew the prices well - wedding jewelry was a hot topic of discussion after all. She slowed her steps slightly but was pulled over by a salesperson.

The salesperson at the gold counter had a sweet smile and neat teeth. She was tall and slender.

"What would little sister like to buy? Is it a gift for elders? Let me show you, if you want expensive ones there are bangles and necklaces, for regular ones there are earrings and pendants. Please have a seat, I'll pour you some water."

She probably saw the bags in Xiao Qi's hands, exposing her intention to buy gifts for elders.

Calling her little sister and addressing her politely with '您' (you), wanting to pour her water.

With her thin skin and rarely meeting such polite salespeople, Xiao Qi sat down.

The gold shop was clean and neat, with very bright lights and many mirrors.

Sitting there, she could see herself in the mirror opposite - a girl in a black T-shirt. The clothes she bought for herself were either black or grey, occasionally white, but white got dirty easily so she avoided bright, vibrant colors.

At this moment, the girl in the black T-shirt had not-so-long hair, ordinary looks, wearing silver-rimmed glasses and fair skin. She grinned and saw neat teeth.

Behind her in the mirror, she saw a salesperson in a red-black uniform dress coming over, holding a disposable cup.

She smiled warmly at her in the mirror.

The cup was gently placed in front of her, even with a little coaster. Two baby daisies floated in the water.

Then, Xiao Qi bought a pair of gold earrings.

The salesperson recommended two styles. One was hollow floral large earrings.

The other was solid little gold beans.

The hollow flowers were lighter but with workmanship fees cost 799 yuan. The solid gold beans were smaller but heavier, with lower workmanship fees at 880 yuan.

She chose the little gold beans.

Two tiny little gold beans.

The salesperson smiled the entire time while placing the little beans in a red velvet box.

She bowed and saw Xiao Qi off with a smile.

Xiao Qi felt very happy.

The happiness of spending money, and receiving good service.

At the same time, she also felt that smiles seemed to make a difference. She didn't intend to buy anything but was won over by the salesperson's consistent smiles, and it went straight to choosing between this and that without even considering whether to buy or not.

She realized she usually had some issues with how she treated people. She often wore a long face, as if others owed her money, when in reality no one owed anyone anything. Sunny smiles could put people around her in a good mood, and herself too.

She should smile more. Don't be stingy with smiles.

Moreover, she now had a nice set of teeth.

On the first floor, she retrieved her stored belongings from the concierge, smiling brightly and giving thanks.

Unexpectedly, the auntie at the counter also handed her a bottle of water, "It's hot outside, little miss, take this."

"Thank you." In the mirror behind the service counter, there was a sweetly smiling girl who looked very pretty.

July 31st, Xiao Qi learned to see the world with more tenderness.