I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 34: Your Battalion Commander Jiang asked me...

The parents' committee office was right next to the library. When Yuan Xiu came out, she ran into Wu Yufen, who had stopped her last time.

A split second before her eyes met hers, Yuan Xiu looked away, pretending not to see her, and walked away with the book in her arms.

She walked quickly, and even after walking quite a distance, she could still hear Wu Yufen calling her name.

Yuan Xiu wasn't afraid of her; she just couldn't be bothered to listen to her nonsense about getting along with Yuan Juan.

Her husband's position is one level higher than Jiang Zhou's, so there's no need for her to say anything unpleasant to offend her over such a trivial matter.

In the afternoon, Chunmei's sister-in-law came to her house.

"Come on, let's go with your sister-in-law to the service center."

When she arrived, Yuan Xiu was sitting in the courtyard reading in the sun. A row of clothes were hanging in the courtyard. Today was a rare sunny day, so she took out Jiang Zhou's and her clothes to air them out.

"Does your sister-in-law want to buy something?"

"I'm going to buy some fabric to make clothes. I heard that the service store has a new batch of fabric. The colors are bright and the patterns are nice. I plan to make two outfits to wear for the New Year. Ready-made clothes sold in the mall are too expensive and not worth it."

Since Yuan Xiu had nothing to do anyway, she put down her book and prepared to go out with her sister-in-law Chunmei.

Chunmei's sister-in-law stopped her, "You should also take the cloth coupons from home, and buy some cloth to make a couple of new outfits."

"I have clothes to wear."

"What do you mean, 'what's there's?'"

Sister Chunmei pointed to the few pitiful clothes belonging to Yuan Xiu that were drying in the yard and said, "Just these few pieces, they look like they've been worn for many years. Jiangzhou isn't short of money, why are you being so frugal?"

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "I do have clothes to wear."

"Don't lie to me. I saw it the day you came. That little box probably contained all your clothes for all four seasons. The clothes drying in this yard are probably all your clothes."

Yuan Xiu chuckled awkwardly. That was true. Apart from the wedding dress Jiang Zhou bought for her, all her other clothes were drying in the yard.

Sister Chunmei pushed her into the house: "Hurry up and take the money and cloth coupons with you. It's not like you're going to the city to buy clothes. Buying cloth and making clothes won't cost much. Don't worry, you won't go broke in Jiangzhou."

Yuan Xiu was both amused and exasperated. "Sister-in-law."

"To tell you the truth, it was Jiang Zhou from your family who sent me. He was worried that you wouldn't be willing to spend the money, so he specifically asked me to accompany you to get some clothes made and buy some household items for women."

Yuan Xiu was slightly taken aback.

While she was still in a daze, Sister Chunmei pushed her into the bedroom.

"Hurry up, I'm waiting for you outside."

Yuan Xiu snapped out of her reverie, a surge of indescribable emotion welling up inside her. Jiang Zhou…

He is a very meticulous person.

Yuan Xiu wasn't ungrateful. She opened the locked drawer, took out money and cloth coupons, and went out.

Sister Chunmei glanced at the money and tickets in her hand and said with a smile, "That's right. It's Jiangzhou who looks good as a wife. We still have to buy what we need. We can't be worse off than others. It's a matter of a man's face."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "Yes, I'll listen to you."

Sister Chunmei took Yuan Xiu's hand and they went out the door. "Let me tell you," she said, "I've known Xiao Jiang for so long, and I never knew he was such a thoughtful person. If it were my husband, he wouldn't even realize I had no clothes to wear, even if I wore a burlap sack..."

The two walked hand in hand, chatting and laughing, toward the service center.

"Look, isn't that Yuan Juan?" Halfway there, Sister Chunmei pointed ahead.

Yuan Xiu nodded: "It's her."

She can recognize someone even from behind.

"How did she end up chatting with Wu Yufen?"

Sister Chunmei clicked her tongue and quickly said to Yuan Xiu, "The one who was talking to Yuan Juan is called Wu Yufen, she is..."

Yuan Xiu: "I know her. She stopped me a couple of days ago and we talked for a while."

"What did I tell you? Let me tell you, her family lives by the sea, and they're very nosy. You should watch your words when you talk to her."

Yuan Xiu smiled and nodded: "Sister-in-law Guiying said the same thing."

"Your sister-in-law Guiying really dislikes her; the two of them don't get along."

Yuan Xiu and her sister-in-law Chunmei glanced at her and then looked away, continuing to walk forward. "What exactly did she say to you?"

"She said she would help resolve the conflict between me and Yuan Juan."

"As expected, this is probably what she's saying to Yuan Juan right now, given her capacity to speak..."

When the two arrived at the store, Chunmei and the sales clerks were very familiar with each other.

As soon as I entered the store, I asked her to take out the newly arrived fabrics for me to look at.

The sales clerk, who was also a military dependent, showed her the fabric while teasing her, "How many fabric coupons did you bring? You're so arrogant."

"Whether my breath is loud or not, you can tell by smelling it up close." Sister Chunmei smiled and rolled her eyes at her. "Hurry up and get some cloth for you, take out the brightly colored ones. Little Yuan is young, she can't dress like us and look old-fashioned."

The saleswoman smiled at Yuan Xiu and deliberately asked her, "Why did you come with her? She's such a nuisance."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "Not at all, Sister Chunmei is very kind."

Chunmei's sister-in-law snorted at the sales clerk.

The sales clerk took out the newly arrived batches of fabric and displayed them on the counter for the customers to see.

The weather is getting cold, and the fabrics come in both thick and thin varieties.

There are thick corduroy, thin and soft polyester fabric, and pure wool gabardine fabric.

Sister Chunmei pointed to a piece of pure wool gabardine fabric with a grayish hue and a hint of blue, and said, "Xiao Yuan, this color is beautiful. It would definitely look great made into a Lenin suit!"

After saying that, she held it up to Yuan Xiu and said, "It looks good and complements your skin tone. Wear a white shirt underneath, and you'll look like a female cadre."

The salesperson nodded, "This color is good; it's suitable for both coats and pants."

"This corduroy material is also good; it can be used to make a thick coat." Sister Chunmei picked up another piece of blue corduroy fabric and compared it to Yuan Xiu.

"This pink color is also nice; it could be used to make a coat, the kind with a small lapel, which would make your skin look fairer."

"The pants need to be a darker color, made with this kraft material, which is more durable."

"By the way, do you want me to make a vest? This white cotton one is comfortable to wear underneath."

Finally, Yuan Xiu bought fabric for two sets of clothes, including a vest to wear underneath.

Chunmei's sister-in-law also bought some, mostly dark-colored and durable ones.

After the fabric was cut, Sister Chunmei asked the saleswoman to bring out a bottle of face cream.

The service center doesn't have as many types of face oil as department stores; there are only two kinds: a cheap one and a more expensive one.

The cheapest is clam oil, the expensive is snow cream.

"Buy a bottle of face cream," Chunmei said to Yuanxiu. "The wind will get stronger as it goes on, don't worry about your pretty little face getting wrinkled."

Yuan Xiu was about to speak.

Chunmei's sister-in-law said, "Your Battalion Commander Jiang said he wanted you to buy the best."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll buy a bottle of face cream."

The saleswoman laughed at Chunmei's sister-in-law: "You're really meddling. Anyone who didn't know better would think this was your own sister."

Sister Chunmei laughed, "Is this my own sister? My husband and Battalion Commander Jiang are as close as brothers, so of course I have to be good friends with Xiao Yuan. I'm here today on a mission."

"What mission?"

"It was a task given by Battalion Commander Jiang. He told me to bring his wife to spend money."

The sales clerk clicked her tongue twice: "I really didn't recognize Battalion Commander Jiang."

"Of course you can't tell. How can things be the same before and after marriage? Of course you have to treat your wife well. Hurry up, we still need to go to the tailor shop after we finish shopping."

Yuan Xiu and her sister-in-law Chunmei each carried a stack of fabric out of the service center.

The tailor shop is also on this street, just a few steps away.

Yuan Xiu followed Sister Chunmei into the shop. There were three people inside. From the conversation between Sister Chunmei and them, Yuan Xiu learned that these three were also military dependents.