Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 120 - 61 Buying Clothes_1

Chapter 120: Chapter 61 Buying Clothes_1

"I thought I was seeing things! It looks like the two of you are preparing for the summer holiday, huh? You’re out shopping for clothes!" Miss Ji Yunyun said this while giving them an obviously conspicuous yet supposed-to-be-mysterious look. She spoke in a hushed tone as if whispering secrets, but Yan Fei who was standing far away could hear her clearly.

What Miss Ji referred to was, in fact, getting engaged.

In rural and suburban areas, whether it’s through arranged introductions or love relationships, once you’re ready to get engaged, both parties would go out shopping for clothes for each other. Once the clothes are exchanged, the engagement is considered half-done. Afterward, relatives and friends get together for a meal, all there’s left would be for the parents of both parties to discuss other necessities, and then the engagement would be considered final.

That’s why Xu Xiaoyan insisted earlier on not allowing Yan Fei to buy clothes. It was partly because she sincerely wanted to save money, but also because she found it awkward. After all, this wasn’t an era where a stranger was met, served a hot and spicy soup, a room booked as soon as the soup warms them up.

However, Ji Yunyun was definitely just teasing them. If they were genuinely preparing to buy clothes for engagement, they would certainly be accompanied by aunts and uncles, not just the two of them.

The clothing store was owned by Ji Yunyun’s family. As she was the only one looking after the store at the time, she grabbed Xu Xiaoyan and began talking non-stop. Being a city girl, she knew her way around the business better and even knew to offer Yan Fei a glass of water.

Taking advantage of Xu Xiaoyan’s browsing around the store, Yan Fei quickly picked up a cup and feigned drinking water. He then whispered to Ji Yunyun, "Help me persuade her to buy some clothes. I’ll treat you to a nice meal, you can pick whatever you want to eat."

Ji Yunyun usually cared about her reputation at school, she felt embarrassed even to share meals without decent food of her own. But at this moment, she was completely different, as if she were a different person. Her eyes lit up, "Do you still have that wild rabbit? I heard you used to give away wild rabbits frequently, but you haven’t in a while!"

"Yes!" Yan Fei answered definitively.

"No problem!" Ji Yunyun tossed her hair confidently, even snapping her fingers. "Just watch me!"

The girl really had a knack for business. There was no limit to her persuasive skills. She managed to convince Xu Xiaoyan to take the clothes into the changing room in no time.

People should know that Xu Xiaoyan had been to many stores, at most just taking down clothes, posing in front of the mirror, but had never actually tried on any clothes before!

In the blink of an eye, Xu Xiaoyan came out wearing an overgarment with a peacock tail decoration in red on top, and a white skirt at the bottom. The top was tucked into the skirt, making her look lively and spirited!

This was the fashion trend of the time—the skirt tucked into the top was considered stylish. It didn’t necessarily call for a matching belt, a lot of times, an elastic band would suffice.

Xu Xiaoyan’s face turned slightly red, probably due to the excitement or the color of the clothes. Even Yan Fei, the fool, complimented, "It looks really good!"

Unclear whether he was referring to the person or the outfit. But considering Yan Fei’s kind of person, fortunately, Xu Xiaoyan didn’t ask what exactly looked good, else she would give him a twist.

Ji Yunyun praised Xu Xiaoyan while subtly moved closer to Yan Fei. Covering her mouth and whispering secretively, "You’re not making me any profit, the cost of the two pieces is sixteen yuan. You want it?"

Yan Fei, fooled by her, almost mistook himself for an undercover agent. Led by her secretive whisper he asked, "Yes, and try another that she could use for school running too."

With the first experience of trying on clothes, Xu Xiaoyan was easily persuaded by Ji Yunyun to try on more outfits.

The clothes designs during those years were really simple. Basically, every middle-aged or elderly woman could make their own with just a few yards of fabric. At most, they would embroider flowers or add some embellishments.

Not only were there few designs, but the sizes were also very limited. For instance, if your legs were slightly longer, you had to buy trousers with an especially wide waist and then alter them yourself. Especially as the standard of living improved, teenagers grew taller but remained skinny, finding clothes that fit became even more challenging.

By the time Xu Xiaoyan had finished trying on all the clothes in the store, she had chosen three outfits with Ji Yunyun’s recommendation.

Nor were they especially expensive. The three outfits, including a dress, came to a little over a hundred yuan.

Yan Fei sneaked the money to Ji Yunyun who then asked him, "Do you want to buy shoes? Look at Yanfei’s shoes, they’re in such bad condition. And about her...the straps of her underwear are biting into her skin..."

Embarassed, Yan Fei knew Ji Yunyun was referring to underwear.

"You don’t have that here, do you?" Yan Fei asked, blushing.

"Don’t worry, I’ll take her to buy it. The ones that look good and not expensive. After all, you can’t go. Just watch the store for me! If you really want to see, you can... when you get home..." Ji Yunyun blushed probably because she realized the nature of what she was saying.

Without further ado, Yan Fei gave her the money: "Buy several more, get some that look good, or she’ll have nothing to change into!"

"The good-looking ones?" Ji Yunyun blushed even harder. "I wouldn’t have thought you cared so much! Alright, alright, I’ll see this through to the end. Remember, you owe me a wild rabbit! I’ll get her shoes as well. One meal won’t cut it, we’ll need to add another one."

"Alright!" Yan Fei agreed without hesitation. As the saying goes, "If you’re a fish, be prepared to be cooked." Even if he had to bring her three rabbits he would, catching wild rabbits was a piece of cake for Yan Fei, so it didn’t bother him.

Miss Ji was really efficient, and in no time, Xu Xiaoyan returned. She entered the store cheerfully: "It’s better to have an acquaintance with you. I’d always been shy about trying on clothes, but now I’ve finally had my fill. Oh right, where should we go for lunch? Let’s treat Yunyun, she recommended so many clothes to me!"

"You didn’t buy anything?" Yan Fei was puzzled. "How come you came back empty-handed?"

"Why would I buy anything? Just trying things on is satisfying enough. You don’t understand..." Xu Xiaoyan still seemed overly excited and proceeded to tell Yan Fei about the various shoes she had tried on. She seemed to find great satisfaction in merely trying on other people’s stuff, especially when sometimes there were clothes that people were not allowed to try.

Yan Fei had been roaming around with her for half the day and could guess that what she was referring to was undergarments. However, he did not understand why Ji Yunyun was so unreliable.

Just as he was thinking about it, Ji Yunyun came back carrying several bags, "Time to settle the bill. Here are two pairs of shoes, one for running and a pair of sandals. This bag contains the underwear, you can check it out later..."

Xu Xiaoyan, being naive and unaware of what’s happening, flipped through her bag while the other two were settling the accounts. Not until Ji Yunyun returned with her remaining money to Yan Fei, did she realize what had happened. She stuttered, "You...you guys...why did you buy them all?"