Chapter 196: Everything is Simple and Beautiful ①
“Mom, can you just let me buy you a piece of clothing?” Nie Qiu placed her hands on Nie Aifang’s shoulders, “Let your daughter show you filial piety.”
“But…” Nie Aifang was happy in her heart, but the price was truly beyond her means, over six hundred! Even with a discount marked, it would still be at least over five hundred! She thought for a moment and said, “But this clothing is too flashy, it’s not suitable for an old woman like me.”
“Mom… you’re not old.” Nie Qiu stood up straight with a smile, holding the clothing for Nie Aiwen to see, “Besides, how is this clothing flashy? Uncle, what do you think, is this clothing flashy?”
“Not flashy, not flashy, it will look absolutely beautiful when worn.” This down jacket was a long style, cinched at the waist, making it a more fitted down jacket. It was different from the loose, oversized clothes Nie Aifang usually wore, which didn’t show her figure, so he was rather looking forward to Nie Aifang wearing this outfit.
After seeing off a customer, a sales assistant walked over and smiled slightly, “Is there anything I can help you with? Who are you picking out clothes for?”
Nie Qiu smiled and said, “I’ve already chosen. Please take us to the fitting room. We want to try it on before deciding whether to buy it. Thank you.”
The sales assistant, dressed in a professional women’s suit, smiled, gestured with her hand, and then said, “Please follow me.” After speaking, she walked ahead.
Nie Qiu pulled Nie Aifang along and followed the sales assistant towards the fitting room inside.
Nie Qiu and Nie Aiwen sat on the sofa outside the fitting room waiting. Nie Aifang came out wearing the clothes, looking awkward. She tugged at the hem of the clothing and asked, “Is it… is it okay?”
“It’s great! Beautiful!” Nie Qiu’s eyes lit up. Nie Qiu had inherited her mother’s skin tone, which was yellowish. Perhaps due to frequent sun exposure, it was quite dark. Now, both mother and daughter’s skin had improved a lot. Nie Aifang no longer had to set up a stall every day; she only needed to work at the market. The market was a covered vegetable market, so with the shelter, she naturally wouldn’t be exposed to the sun.
Since Nie Aifang no longer set up a stall, Nie Qiu naturally didn’t need to accompany her to the night market. She slept very late every night. With the help of the water from the space waterfall, her skin had also improved a lot.
Nie Aifang’s skin was not loose. Her pure yellow skin, set against the bright red, appeared even more spirited. In fact, Nie Aifang, at one meter sixty tall, had a slender figure. While her features weren’t top-tier, they weren’t unattractive either. It was just that years of hard labor had made her skin rough. Now that her skin had improved, with just a little bit of dressing up, she would have a striking effect.
Needless to say, Nie Aiwen was one of those who were dazzled. The cinched waist design was meant to make a woman’s waist appear slimmer, so even though Nie Aifang was wearing this thick down jacket, it was the most figure-flattering piece of clothing she had ever worn.
The sales assistant also smiled and said, “This lady looks like it was designed specifically for you.”
Nie Aifang walked over to Nie Qiu, tugged on Nie Qiu’s sleeve, and leaned in to whisper, “Qiu Qiu, this down jacket is too expensive.”
Nie Qiu lowered her voice and whispered to Nie Aifang, “Mom, it’s early winter now, so the price is still a bit cheaper. If it were winter, the price would double! Besides, Mom, you look really good in this outfit.”
Nie Aifang also looked in the mirror. Of course, she knew she looked good dressed like this. Almost everyone who looks in the mirror thinks they look beautiful. But before, when Nie Aifang looked at herself, she felt like she looked like an old person. Now, she felt like she looked much younger.
She touched the material of the clothing on her body, her palm gliding over the smooth, brand-new down jacket, with obvious reluctance in her eyes.
Nie Aiwen immediately took out his wallet from his clothing. Seeing this, Nie Aifang was about to stop him, but Nie Qiu was a step ahead of Nie Aiwen and took the money from the clothing’s purse to hand to the sales assistant. Nie Aiwen’s money was in his wallet, while Nie Qiu’s money was not. Nie Qiu could take it directly from her purse, whereas Nie Aiwen had to take it out of his wallet after taking it from his purse. Therefore, Nie Aiwen took out his wallet first but was a step slower than Nie Qiu.
Seeing Nie Aiwen’s expression, Nie Qiu proudly raised her head a little and smiled, saying, “This is what I bought for Mom.”
The sales assistant took the money and smiled, “Please follow me.”
Nie Aifang saw that Nie Qiu had already given the money to the person and held Nie Qiu’s hand, “It’s so expensive, let’s not buy it. Qiu Qiu, go get the money back.”
“Mom, the money has already been given. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to take it back!” Nie Qiu knew that Nie Aifang liked this clothing but was reluctant to spend the money. “You’re not allowed to ask for the money back either. Even if you get it back, I’ll still buy it for you. Besides, this is the first gift I’ve bought for Mom, so please accept it!”
“You child, you only know how to spend money!” Nie Aifang chided Nie Qiu, then added, “Alright, if you buy it for Mom, Mom will wear it. When you get married, you won’t be able to look after me anymore.”
“Mom, no matter when, I will look after you.” Nie Qiu put her arm around Nie Aifang’s shoulder and followed behind the sales assistant. “Mom, I’m your only daughter, if I don’t look after you, who will?”
Nie Aifang held Nie Qiu’s other hand and smiled, “You don’t know this. When you get married, you’ll be part of another family. With elders above and children below, how can you possibly look after so many?”
“You also said, elders above and children below. You are also my elder!” Nie Qiu walked to the counter and helped Nie Aifang take off the clothing. Nie Aiwen handed Nie Aifang the coat she had taken off, and Nie Aifang put on her original clothes.
The counter staff removed the anti-theft tag from the down jacket Nie Aifang had taken off, folded it neatly, rolled it up, placed it in a small paper bag, and handed it to Nie Qiu. They also handed back the change to Nie Qiu, smiling and saying, “Welcome again.” Nie Qiu had given the sales assistant six hundred yuan, and because of the discount, there was change.
Nie Qiu took the bag, and Nie Aiwen spontaneously took it from her.
As the three of them walked out, Nie Aifang kept staring at the bag in Nie Aiwen’s hand, her face full of heartache.
“Alright, alright, isn’t this Qiu Qiu’s heartfelt gesture? Stop feeling so pained.” Nie Aiwen said with a laugh. He was also very pleased! Qiu Qiu knew how to be filial to Nie Aifang. “Qiu Qiu, buy something for your uncle next time too, don’t just buy for your mom. Look how pained your mom is.” Nie Aifang was that kind of person; she was willing to buy things for Nie Qiu and Nie Aiwen, but reluctant to buy good things for herself.
Nie Qiu smiled. Although Nie Aifang was pained, she could also tell that Nie Aifang was genuinely happy. And indeed, even though it wasn’t yet the weather to wear down jackets, Nie Aifang wore the down jacket to the market the next day to show off, wishing that everyone she knew in the entire market knew that her daughter had bought her an ‘expensive’ down jacket.
However, wearing a down jacket in the market was always inconvenient and prone to getting dirty. So, when she started working, she took off the clothing, carefully folded it, and placed it in the travel storage bag that came with the down jacket.
