The next day, when Chen Lishu had no classes, she went to the wool textile factory. Han Shenglin was not present, so Secretary Zhao received her.
"How are the cashmere sweaters selling lately?"
Chen Lishu smiled. "They're selling okay." Although not as popular as other clothing items, a few were sold every day.
After a few more exchanges, Chen Lishu got straight to the point, "Secretary Zhao, I came today to ask if the factory has any better quality wool fabrics. I want to make a few clothes."
"Better quality fabric..." Secretary Zhao thought for a moment and then looked up, "How about cashmere?"
Cashmere is the common name for goat down, an imported transliteration, spelled "cashmere" in English. In later years, a good cashmere coat would cost over ten thousand yuan, and even now, a genuine cashmere coat costs over a thousand.
"The batch of cashmere fabric the factory has recently produced is intended for export. Since you, little Chen, mentioned it and only want to make a few clothes, we can help with this."
Chen Lishu hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. She quickly stood up and thanked him, "Thank you so much. I'm sorry to trouble you."
"You're welcome. We're in a partnership, and besides, there's old Han. He speaks very highly of your capabilities."
After leaving the wool textile factory, Chen Lishu didn't go to the store but took the fabric directly home.
Gu Xingdong was not around. After the final exams, she planned to take Rui Rui back to her hometown for the New Year. She knew her own skills well; she could make ordinary styles of clothing, but for high-end garments, she needed a master like Yuan Lihua.
Therefore, Chen Lishu planned to take both the fur and the fabric back, with her designing and Yuan Lihua making them.
...
"I heard there's a clothing shop on the commercial street. The owner is injured and urgently needs money. They're planning to sell the shop and all the inventory. I think the price is reasonable. Besides, your sewing skills are pretty good, and you wouldn't have any constraints being your own boss, and it wouldn't be as tiring. What do you think?" Jin Kun suddenly said during dinner one day.
Zhao Hong paused her hand, which was serving food. "Buying a shop is probably a lot of money. Can I manage?"
Jin Kun boldly placed one leg on the stool beside him. "What's there to not be able to manage? So many people are doing it and doing well. Besides, I'm here. Don't worry, with me covering for you, no one will dare cause trouble at the shop."
Zhao Hong couldn't help but frown at his rough behavior, and a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes.
Before they got married, she thought Jin Kun was acceptable. But after they started living together, she realized how much he fell short compared to Lu Chengming. Not only was their appearance incomparable, but his actions and speech were also vulgar and unbearable. His only merit was probably giving her his entire salary on the first day he received it each month.
"If you think it's good, then it's fine," Zhao Hong said indifferently after a while.
...
The school had a holiday two days before the exams. Chen Lishu had prepared most of the review material. She took this opportunity to come to the store to arrange the work before the New Year.
"Lin Qi called yesterday. That batch of labor cloth has been made into bell-bottom pants, and two hundred pairs will be transported over with the vehicle. Besides keeping some for the store, we'll wholesale the rest."
In addition to these two hundred pairs of bell-bottom pants, there were over eight hundred more to come. It was impossible for the two stores in the county town and provincial capital to sell them all so quickly. Chen Lishu decided to wholesale all of them.
As they were talking, the shop door was suddenly pushed open, and two people walked in. In winter, everyone was bundled up, so Chen Lishu didn't recognize them at first. When they took off their hats and scarves, Chen Lishu finally saw clearly that the visitors were Lin Xiaohui and Lu Chengming.
Both of them were also taken aback when they saw Chen Lishu, clearly not expecting to run into her there.
Wang Aixiang, unaware that they knew each other, hurried out from behind the counter when she saw customers enter and greeted them warmly, "What would you like to buy, comrades? Our store's cashmere sweaters have the best styles and quality, only fifty yuan each. We also have new otter hats. This gentleman looks so handsome; wearing one would definitely make you look spirited. Not only is it warm, but the price is absolutely reasonable."
Lu Chengming and Lin Xiaohui followed the direction of Wang Aixiang's finger and saw several hats displayed at the top of the shelf. Their fur was particularly bright, clearly good quality.
Lu Chengming was somewhat tempted. If he could buy one, it would certainly be very stylish, and his friends would undoubtedly be envious.
Wang Aixiang saw his interest and continued, "Our store only received seven hats this time. One has been sold, leaving only these six. Once they're gone, there won't be any more."
Lu Chengming asked, "How much are these hats?"
"Forty-five."
The sheepskin shearling hats outside were twenty-three yuan, and this one cost nearly double?
He glanced at Chen Lishu, who was standing by the counter. For some reason, Lu Chengming subconsciously didn't want to appear weak in front of her.
"I'll take one of these hats."
Lin Xiaohui, hearing that he had spent over a month's salary without consulting her, was furious.
Since she stopped working, besides giving them twenty yuan for living expenses each month, Lu Chengming no longer gave her any other money. No matter how much she argued or made a scene, she couldn't squeeze out another cent.
"You're busy. I'll leave first."
Too lazy to look at the faces of the couple, Chen Lishu greeted Wang Aixiang and turned to leave. Before she could take two steps, an arm suddenly blocked her path.
"No money, and you're out shopping? The most important thing for a person is self-awareness. Look at your shabby appearance. Your pockets are probably cleaner than your face right now!"
Lin Xiaohui was feeling frustrated and happened to vent her anger on Chen Lishu.
"You!" Wang Aixiang was about to speak, but Chen Lishu stopped her with a gesture. Looking at Lin Xiaohui, she chuckled, "Is there any law that prohibits people without money from shopping?"
"There's no such rule, but your shabby appearance is an eyesore to me. Do you know where this is? A single cashmere sweater from this store could be your tuition for half a year! If you don't have money, don't come out and embarrass yourself. After all, high-consumption stores like this are for people like us city dwellers. You, if you want to buy clothes, find the right place next time. In the villages below, there's a market day, and the coarse cloth there is cheap, which suits people like you perfectly."
Chen Lishu was amused. "What kind of person am I?"
"People should have self-awareness. Do you really think getting into university makes you different from others? You're still just poor. Look at what you're wearing; the total of everything on you is probably worth less than my pair of leather shoes!" Lin Xiaohui said, proudly stomping her heel on the ground twice, the shoe soles making a 'deng deng' sound.
Chen Lishu looked down. "Oh, they're three-piece leather shoes too."
"It's useless to be envious. To buy leather shoes, you not only need money, but you also need ration coupons. My Chengming is a formal factory worker, so a pair of leather shoes coupons means nothing to him."
Unfortunately, before Lin Xiaohui could gloat for too long, Chen Lishu's next sentence almost made her spit blood. "It's just that, listening to the sound, it doesn't seem right. Isn't the sole of yours not leather? How much is a pair of leather shoes like this? Sixteen or seventeen?"