With no fabric to sell and clothes already snapped up, Wang Aixiang had been idle at home for a while. However, she was a woman who thrived on activity; idleness made her feel restless. Moreover, her friends had inquired several times, but Chen Lishu had been too busy to visit. Wang Aixiang could only worry.
Seeing Chen Lishu finally arrive, she was overjoyed.
Chen Lishu smiled and nodded, "I just finished my urgent tasks. I was thinking of coming over to ask Sister Aixiang to go to the textile factory with me to check the situation."
Wang Aixiang readily agreed, fetching a tricycle and heading to the textile factory with Chen Lishu.
Li Zhengxing had only recently returned from a business trip and had secured another large order for the factory. It was currently a quieter period, and upon seeing Chen Lishu, he smiled and greeted her, "Xiao Chen, you're here. Please, have a seat."
Chen Lishu first handed Li Zhengxing the profit-sharing money from the last two batches of fabric sold before taking a seat opposite him.
Li Zhengxing glanced at the substantial stack of cash, accepted it with a smile, and then asked, "What kind of fabric are you looking for this time?"
Chen Lishu got straight to the point, "I wonder if I could get more seersucker."
"How much do you want?"
Besides making clothes, she also wanted to make swimwear, both of which required fabric. Therefore, Chen Lishu said, "The more, the better."
Li Zhengxing pondered for a moment and then said, "Too much might arouse suspicion. How about this: I'll give you twenty bolts first, and an additional ten bolts of "Qixia" can be allocated. What do you think?"
After observing her for a considerable time, Li Zhengxing believed Chen Lishu handled matters reliably and paid all her dues promptly. He considered her a valuable long-term partner and was no longer hesitant to supply her with fabric.
Twenty bolts of seersucker plus ten bolts of Qixia totaled thirty bolts, which was double the usual amount.
Chen Lishu was delighted and immediately agreed.
Li Zhengxing issued an invoice, and Chen Lishu went to pay. When she went downstairs and shared the good news with Wang Aixiang, she was even more excited than Chen Lishu. "With so much fabric, we can make a lot of clothes!"
Last time, Chen Lishu had given her over ten yuan in commission for the one hundred and thirty-two items of clothing. Including the ten bolts of fabric, she had earned over sixty yuan in a month. If all this fabric were turned into clothes, how much would she earn in a month?
Thirty bolts of fabric was a lot, and the two women managed to transport all of it in two trips.
...
"Xiaoting, how is the batch of fabric from the provincial textile factory coming along?"
Due to the larger quantity of fabric this time, Director Zhou was concerned and specifically called the person to his office for a detailed inquiry.
Liu Xiaoting smiled, "Director, please rest assured, we have already rushed out over two hundred pieces."
"Have you figured out how to sell them?" This was different from selling fabric scraps. Even the "fake collars" had been produced intermittently due to fabric limitations. But this time was different. With ten bolts of fabric, several hundred pieces of underwear could be made at once.
"Director, please rest assured, I've already made inquiries..."
Liu Xiaoting briefly explained her plans and then declared confidently, "As long as all the underwear is finished, I guarantee not only that they will all be sold, but also that we will catch the opposition off guard. No one will compete with us in the future."
Director Zhou smiled and nodded, "I trust your work."
...
Zhou Bin's truck arrived on Wednesday afternoon. Chen Lishu happened to be free and, along with Wang Aixiang, transported all the fabric onto the truck in two trips.
Not long after Zhou Bin had driven away with all the fabric, the results of the English competition were also released.
On this day, as soon as the subject teacher announced the end of class, and before the students could get up from their seats, Chen Yinchu entered with a face full of joy.
"I have good news to tell everyone. The results of the English competition are out, and a student from our class has achieved first place!"
What did this signify? This was the top student chosen from numerous universities across the province, bringing glory not only to the class and himself as the homeroom teacher but also to the school!
Jiang Yuwei felt a surge of excitement upon hearing Chen Yinchu's words, especially when she saw his gaze directed her way. The corners of her mouth involuntarily curved upwards.
She had been somewhat worried because she was unsure about several questions. However, seeing Chen Yinchu's reaction at this moment, she felt reassured.
"Yuwei, the teacher is looking at you," Sun Ling happily nudged her with her elbow. "Didn't you hear him say first place? He must be talking about you."
Hearing Sun Ling's words, Jiang Yuwei's gaze involuntarily flickered backward. While happy, she also felt regret. She shouldn't have bet with Chen Lishu just to prove a point. The gap between them was too obvious. Seeing that Chen Lishu hadn't even placed, while she had won first place, she wondered if everyone would think she had been too aggressive back then.
Zhang Xue's heart sank when she heard Chen Yin's words. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and urgently said to Chen Lishu, "It's over, it's over! Lishu, what are we going to do? Did you see the teacher's gaze? Jiang Yuwei is definitely first place! What are we going to do now? Are you really going to post a big-character poster?"
"Oh, it's just posting a big-character poster," Li Zhiwei suddenly interjected to comfort her. "Chen Lishu, don't worry. At worst, you post it, and I'll tear it down right after. Anyone who dares to gather and watch, I'll deal with them."
As the teacher announced, many students were already looking towards Chen Lishu and Jiang Yuwei.
It was undeniable that besides Jiang Yuwei, no one else possessed the capability to win first place in such an important competition.
Many people thought this way, and a hint of sympathy entered their gazes towards Chen Lishu. Some even felt a bit of schadenfreude, thinking she didn't know her own limits by betting with Jiang Yuwei. She was bound to lose badly this time!
Chen Yinchu continued from above, "The questions in this competition were particularly difficult, with several questions even reaching the level of postgraduate entrance exams. However, our class's Chen Lishu stood out among numerous university students..."
At first, everyone didn't quite react, thinking they had misheard. Some students even asked uncertainly again, "Teacher, who did you just say?"
Chen Yinchu smiled and looked at Chen Lishu, his eyes filled with deep admiration and relief. "It's our class's Chen Lishu. With such difficult questions, she still managed to achieve first place with a near-perfect score. She has truly brought honor to our school. Everyone should learn from her..."
"Lishu, did you hear that? The teacher mentioned your name!" Zhang Xue excitedly grabbed Chen Lishu's arm.
Jiang Yuwei and Sun Ling were completely stunned when they heard Chen Lishu's name.
Especially Jiang Yuwei, she never dreamed that Chen Lishu would be the one to get first place. Her long-held pride made it impossible for her to accept this reality.
What made it even more unacceptable was that after Chen Yinchu announced Chen Lishu's results, he said nothing about her performance. So, what about her score?