At that time, leather shoes were very expensive. He worked very hard and managed to get into a very good workplace unit. The salary at the unit was high and the benefits were good, and it was enough for him to support his family.
Everyone at the workplace was dressed smartly and all his colleagues in the department wore leather shoes during formal occasions. At that time, he had asked Old Madam Kong to buy them for him, but she said that there was not enough money to buy food for his brothers at home and rejected his request.
What happened was a traumatic experience for him. It was only after he became a soldier that he could finally afford to buy leather shoes. He treasured all his shoes, carefully wiped down each and every pair, stored them properly in boxes and could not even bear to wear them.
However, every time he was with Xia He or when he came to visit the Xia family, he made sure to wear leather shoes.
