Chapter 101: My Treat (II)
Han Ruochen would never forget that day when Han Ziyan brought the washing machine home and arrogantly announced that she had brought it with her bride price. Back then, Han Ruochen was furious. Why was it that she was the one who was tied up and her reputation was ruined, while Han Ziyan was living a life of comfort? She could never accept it back then, and she couldn’t accept it even now.
Now that she had finally gotten a chance to live her life and fulfil those dreams that she could only dream of, Han Ruochen didn’t want to wrong herself. She tapped on the washing machine and nodded before saying, "Alright, I will get this one."
"Then shall I make the bill? This washing machine costs around two thousand yuan," the salesperson said with a look of hesitation on her face. Usually, people would back down after hearing the price, and just as she expected, Han Ruochen turned silent after hearing the price and her colleague, who was also her rival, burst out into a fit of laughter. It was as if she found the situation quite amusing.
Han Ruochen calmly turned to look at the woman, and while holding her chortling gaze, she said to the salesperson, "Sure, go ahead, and while you’re at it, you should also take me to look for the water heater."
As soon as she finished speaking, the salesperson’s eyes lit up, while the person who was laughing at her stiffened, the smile falling right off her lips.
Seeing her reaction, Han Ruochen scoffed and turned around on her feet before following the salesperson, who eagerly took her to the water heater area.
Once the bill was settled, Han Ruochen still had eight hundred yuan left. What was even more surprising was that the store even covered home delivery, which allowed her to deliver these products right at the pig farm. Of course, she was not a fool to deliver them at home, that too under her father’s absence. Who knows where these things would go after she returned home?
"Let’s go; I will take you to a restaurant," said Han Ruochen after she finished with her shopping. She was getting hungry after spending so much money. It seemed like even spending money took a lot of energy.
"No, Sister Ruochen. You have already given me a hundred yuan—how can I ask for more?" Tong Zhaodi was scared silly at the thought of going to the state-run restaurant. The food there was quite delicious, but at the same time, it was quite expensive as well!
"There is no need to think so much." Han Ruochen placed a hand on the shoulders of the woman and steered her toward the state-run restaurant. It seemed like the Tong family had lied quite a lot to Tong Zhaodi. Though the state-run restaurants were quite expensive in the past, they had started to fade long ago. Now they were no longer as expensive as they used to be. A person with one or three yuan can easily have a meal in these state-run restaurants unless they ask for a special meat dish.
Tong Zhaodi was still worried, but she couldn’t refuse Han Ruochen. She could only follow Han Ruochen to the state-run restaurant in the county, but her worries soon lessened a lot when she saw the condition of the state-run restaurant at that very moment.
"It doesn’t look—"
"That fancy, as you expected it to be?" Han Ruochen finished for her. When Tong Zhaodi nodded, she simply curled her lips into a sly smile and said to the poor woman, "You are right, this place is not at all fancy. In fact, the state-run restaurant had long been given on a contractual basis. They are no longer as powerful as they used to be. You can now have a decent meal for ten yuan easily."
The reason Han Ruochen came here was that she didn’t want Tong Zhaodi to feel burdened if she were to take her to another expensive restaurant, but who would have thought that the woman was so behind the times that she didn’t even know such a simple thing?
When Tong Zhaodi heard this, her heart, which was wrought with worries, calmed down, but at the same time, she was heartbroken. The last time her brother brought a vegetable steamed bun from the state-run restaurant, he exaggerated and told her that the steamed bun was really expensive and he was willing to share it with her just because she was his sister. She believed his words and never once thought that there was anything wrong with what her brother said, but only now did she realise that the meal which she took as a treasure was nothing but alms given to her!
Tong Zhaodi suddenly didn’t know what to feel at that very moment.
Han Ruochen didn’t say anything. She had no idea what happened between Tong Zhaodi and her family, since she had never interacted much with them. But she believed it was important for her to clear up the misunderstandings.
Han Ruochen brought Tong Zhaodi to the restaurant and then handed her the menu that the waiter handed to her. Tong Zhaodi was not educated, but she was not completely illiterate either. She read the menu and noticed the prices written on the side of the menu with a hint of a frown on her face. None of these dishes was more than twenty yuan, and yet her younger brother told her that the steamed bun alone cost more than twenty yuan, and she, like a fool, believed him!
She couldn’t believe that she was so gullible!
Tong Zhaodi didn’t know what to feel at that very moment; she felt hurt and upset but she couldn’t say anything to Han Ruochen after all dirty laundry should never be hung outside.
"Hello, what would you like to order?" A cheerful voice broke through the sombre atmosphere and the two women looked up to see a man around his early twenties holding a small notepad and pen in his hands while smiling at them. "Ah, is that you, Zhaodi?"
