NOVPUB
Chapter 18: Chapter 18 I Don’t Want the Fan Anymore
Faced with the woman’s harsh words, the shopkeeper simply responded with an awkward smile, without adding anything further. She hoped the woman would leave quickly after venting her anger, not wanting to disrupt business.
Tong Yao casually glanced at the money in the woman’s hand. Her eyes glinted, and she suddenly laughed, "Shopkeeper, since this lady is so eager to buy, she’s probably in great need at home. Just sell her the fan. I’m not in a hurry, I can come again to buy it tomorrow."
"Huh?"
Both the shopkeeper and the woman were taken aback by Tong Yao’s unexpected concession. The shopkeeper felt embarrassed, returned the money to Tong Yao and kept apologizing.
"Miss, I’m sorry. If you come to buy it tomorrow, I’ll give you a discount of five yuan."
Tong Yao accepted the money and shook her head with a smile, "Never mind, it’s just delaying using the fan by one day, it’s not a big deal."
Instead of being pleased by Tong Yao allowing her to take the fan, the woman became even more upset. She felt that Tong Yao was purposely acting magnanimously to mock her unreasonable behavior. She started to appraise Tong Yao, who she had noticed when she first came into the store. The younger woman was charming and well-dressed, even more so than the people from the city. As a teacher, the woman didn’t like such enchanting young ladies. Initially, she didn’t have a problem with it, but when they both sought the same fan, her competitive spirit was incited.
If she had snatched the fan that others wanted, she would have been delighted, but the fact that it was willingly given to her was as if she was picking up someone’s discarded trash, which instantly ruined her mood.
The shopkeeper did not notice the woman’s change of expression. The guiding principle of doing business is not to hold grudges against customers. After all, Li City is not too big, not too small, there will always be another business opportunity. Moreover, she knew the woman genuinely wanted to buy, so she amicably replied, "The fan is one hundred and fifty-eight yuan, when I sold it to this young lady, I accepted one hundred and fifty-five. I won’t charge you more, just pay the same price." 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"What?" As she was about to give money to the shopkeeper, hearing the price, the woman’s face fell instantly, clutching her money closely, "Why is this fan so expensive?"
She thought the price would be close to one hundred and twenty yuan. Anything more than that would be excessive. She had only brought one hundred and thirty yuan with her. The sudden increase of tens of yuan left her blank. Where was she supposed to find more?
Her monthly salary was merely thirty-five yuan. To buy a fan, she would have to sacrifice more than half a year’s wages. Buying one for a hundred and twenty was already a huge bite, let alone one for a hundred and fifty.
The shopkeeper was now unhappy. How can someone who hasn’t even confirmed the price rush to buy it? Was she possibly a fellow trader deliberately causing trouble?
Before alluding to anything further, she patiently explained, "This is a name brand fan, comes with a warranty."
"Even if that’s the case, it shouldn’t be this expensive. Other stores only sell this fan for one hundred and twenty. Your store really knows how to rip off your customers, why not rob one instead." Glancing at Tong Yao, she frowned and said, "She must be an accomplice you hired, right? I don’t want the fan anymore."
Perhaps, embarrassed by her own actions, the woman hastily left before the shopkeeper had the chance to comment.
The shopkeeper was infuriated. The patience she had been maintaining suddenly erupted like a flood beast, had the man not held her back, she would have chased down the woman and yelled at her. She wanted to maintain peace through her business practice, but that didn’t mean she would allow herself to be walked all over.
"What kind of person is she! What kind of non-sense has she stored up in her head? I should chase her down to ask what I did to offend her, how dare she come to my store and disrupt my business."
The man found the plump shopkeeper a bit of a handful as she hopped around the shop like a stubborn donkey, pointing and yelling towards the door.
"Honestly." Tong Yao, with her crisp voice, stopped the agitated shopkeeper, "Don’t stoop to her level. Since she does not want it, I’ll buy it instead!"
Only then did the shopkeeper remember the other customer. She immediately felt embarrassed, quickly pushed the man aside, straightened her clothes and, like a facial expression management professional, put on a cheerful face in an instant, "Miss, I’m truly sorry about all this. You know what, just give me one hundred and fifty. I’ll give you another five yuan off."
The shopkeeper was quite frank. Seeing Tong Yao being polite and cultured, she spontaneously offered to reduce the price by another five yuan. Tong Yao was somewhat taken aback. Even the man was speechless, losing another five yuan in an instant. Although he felt the sting, his wife had said it and he had no choice but to accept. That’s the way it was in their home.
"Shopkeeper, I have a favor to ask." After paying, Tong Yao pointed to the goods on the ground, "I bought those. Can you help take them along when you deliver the fan?"
"Sure!" The shopkeeper agreed very readily. Seeing that Tong Yao’s arm was bandaged, she asked, "Miss, do you need to buy anything else? I can deliver it later for you along with the other things."
Tong Yao graciously agreed, "That would be very kind of you."
Seeing Li Nuanchun come out of the toilet, she laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, the fan is bought. The shopkeeper is also offering free delivery. Can you come with me to buy a stove?"
"You’ve already bought it?" Li Nuanchun could not believe it. Just a quick visit to the toilet and Tong Yao had already bought the fan. Looking at the shopkeeper packing it, her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Oh my god!
Tong Yao had bought the most expensive fan in the store!
How should she explain this to Si Chen when they get home!
Since they were still in the store, she couldn’t say anything. As they left the store, Li Nuanchun pulled Tong Yao aside, asking, "Girl, how much was the fan?"
Tong Yao told the truth, "One hundred and fifty."
"What?" Li Nuanchun was almost taken aback, "Is it made of gold? Why is it so expensive?"
A ceiling fan only costs just over one hundred. This little fan, selling for over one hundred and fifty, might as well be a robbery.
Tong Yao laughed and said: "You get what you pay for."
"..." Hearing Tong Yao’s nonchalant words, Li Nuanchun swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue. Whatever she said wouldn’t register with this girl. It’s best to just keep quiet.
When they went to buy a pot later, Li Nuanchun was no longer surprised by Tong Yao’s straightforward and generous demeanor. However, when they came to buy a stove, Li Nuanchun couldn’t hold back anymore. Everyone in the hospital uses honeycomb coal, but Tong Yao wanted to use a gas cylinder.
This wasn’t burning fire, it was burning money. Despite her advice, Tong Yao was indifferent and even said, ’Money is meant to be spent’. If you don’t spend it, it’s just a pile of waste paper. To regard money as waste paper was a first for her.
Li Nuanchun greatly regretted coming out with Tong Yao. If the couple ended up in an argument when they got home, Si Chen would blame her for not stopping Tong Yao, wouldn’t he!
The more she thought about it, the more worried Li Nuanchun became. She was so worried that she lost interest in making conversation and stayed silent all the way till they reached the residence. Seeing the shopkeeper helping to move things into the house, she finally recovered. She also helped move some smaller items.
It was almost mealtime, everyone was busy preparing their meals so the corridors were nearly deserted. Li Nuanchun was also planning to return home to cook. After thanking Tong Yao, she plunged into tidying up the kitchen. The kitchen, which hadn’t been used in a long time, was full of dust and cobwebs everywhere. Dusty footprints were left with each step, wherever she touched was covered in a layer of dust. It was very dirty.
