On her way home, Su Caiqing made a special trip to buy several jin of spare ribs, along with chicken and fish, clearly intending to prepare a lavish meal.
As soon as she entered the house, Su Yaomei saw her carrying so many ingredients and quickly came over to take them from her.
“Sis, you bought so much. Won’t it spoil in this weather?” Su Yaomei asked.
Su Caiqing shook out her hands and walked toward the kitchen. “I’m planning to cook everything today. With so many of us at home, why worry about not finishing it?”
Su Yaomei was stunned. “Did something good happen? Did Zhang Yunyang get into second grade?”
Su Caiqing had not made a big announcement about this earlier, only mentioning to the family that Zhang Yunyang wanted to skip directly to second grade.
She asked her to rinse the fish in water while she handled the ribs and said, “Yes, not only Yunyang, but my two precious daughters have also been accepted into second grade!”
“My goodness!” Su Yaomei felt a huge shock. She hadn’t expected all three children to jump straight into second grade at once.
Seeing her reaction, Su Caiqing felt quite pleased. As expected, her children were exceptional.
Su Yaomei quickly asked, “How did they get into second grade so easily? Did the teacher agree?”
Su Caiqing nodded. “If their abilities are sufficient, of course they can. Yunyang has been teaching you three regularly, hasn’t he? His level isn’t bad.”
“What about those two girls?” Su Yaomei was very curious.
Su Caiqing replied, “They both passed the teacher’s exam as well, but the teacher had some… reservations.” She had originally wanted to say the teacher was being somewhat unreliable, but worried the words might spread, so she phrased it more tactfully. “So I went to the principal. I told him that since we had already promised the children, we shouldn’t go back on our word. Otherwise, how could we teach them integrity? In the end, I also offered to donate a small library to the school, and the principal agreed.”
“A library? That must require a lot of books, right?” Su Yaomei asked in surprise.
Su Caiqing said, “Not as much as you think. Four to five hundred books will be enough. Next time I go to Shanghai, I’ll buy them all at once. Don’t mention this to outsiders, or people might think the school only agreed because I gave them something in return. That wouldn’t sit well with the children.”
Su Yaomei quickly agreed.
Su Caiqing personally cooked a large table full of dishes, leaving the whole family craving for more—they had never eaten such a feast even during the New Year.
Before the meal began, Su Caiqing stood up and said, “This table of food represents a celebration. Today, Zhang Yunbing, Zhang Yuncai, and Zhang Yunyang have successfully passed the school’s assessment and advanced to second grade. Let’s applaud them!”
The adults led the applause, and although the younger children didn’t fully understand what was happening, they clapped along enthusiastically.
The encouragement from the family made the three children very happy, though a bit shy.
Zhang Yunbing, being more outgoing, excitedly said, “Thank you everyone, we’ll keep working hard!”
The other two quickly followed, expressing their determination to continue improving and achieve even better results.
Taking the opportunity, Su Caiqing said, “Just focus on your studies and do what you want to do. In the future, whether you want to attend university, pursue a master’s degree, or even a doctorate, I will support you.”
“Mom, what are a master’s degree and a doctorate?”
Su Caiqing briefly explained, “They are the stages of study after university.”
The concept was not easy to explain, but fortunately no one pressed further.
Through this meal, Su Caiqing hoped the children would understand that any progress and academic success was something worth celebrating and encouraging.
Not long after, the news spread, and people praised Su Caiqing’s children for being so intelligent, managing to advance to second grade so soon after starting school. It even saved the family some tuition fees.
Most people only saw the immediate benefits.
Su Caiqing felt happy but did not show it outwardly, which led Wang Chaoying to say she was being overly reserved.
Su Caiqing simply did not want her emotions to be too visible. She wanted to set an example for the children of not becoming arrogant or complacent.
“By the way, how are your autumn and winter designs coming along?” Wang Chaoying finally moved on.
Su Caiqing handed her several sketches. “The designs themselves aren’t difficult. What worries me is the fabric.”
“What kind of problem?” Wang Chaoying asked.
Su Caiqing flipped to the page showing a coat. “Look at this style. It requires a wool content of seventy to eighty-five percent blended fabric, preferably with this plaid pattern I’ve drawn. Do you understand?”
Wang Chaoying nodded. Over the past few days, she had learned quite a bit about clothing production. Fabric was crucial to a garment. Without the right material, even a good design would lose its effect.
“I can ask around at local factories. If we can’t find it, we can look in Shanghai?” she suggested.
Su Caiqing agreed. “That’s the only way. I’ve been worried about autumn and winter fabrics all along. Fortunately, we still have some time.”
If suitable fabric could not be found, her designs would have to be set aside until the right materials appeared.
Seeing her concern, Wang Chaoying said, “Caiqing, I have something to tell you that might cheer you up.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“The manager of Spring Yan Department Store, who is Zhang Lihua’s father, called me again. Can you guess why?”
Su Caiqing replied, “Most likely to place an order with us.”
Wang Chaoying laughed. “You guessed it. Now guess why he suddenly changed his attitude?”
Su Caiqing thought for a moment. “He’s a manager, and sales performance is his responsibility. Could it be that his store isn’t attracting customers? Because he’s not selling our clothes?”
Wang Chaoying admired her. “You got it exactly right. Our clothes carry the Caiying label, and customers recognize that label. In Shanghai, there’s even a saying that Xingzi shirts should be bought under Caiying. Following Shanghai’s trend, people elsewhere also believe Caiying is the best. In our local area, many places carry our Xingzi shirts, but Spring Yan Department Store doesn’t. People think it’s inferior and avoid shopping there. Haha…”
She was clearly delighted, both because of the earlier grievance and the current outcome.
Su Caiqing had not expected their brand to gain such a strong reputation in Shanghai.
“Building a brand really was the right decision,” she said.
Wang Chaoying nodded enthusiastically.
However, Su Caiqing clarified, “I’m talking about the brand’s growing reputation, not Zhang Lihua’s situation.”
“Are you not happy that she suffered a loss?” Wang Chaoying asked.
“I don’t even know her. Whether she suffers or not doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that our brand is growing. That’s the most important thing.”
Wang Chaoying was still somewhat focused on personal grievances, while Su Caiqing was already thinking in terms of long-term brand value.
Su Caiqing then shared an idea. “We should quickly find suitable factories and fabrics, produce samples, and then I’ll write an article about this year’s autumn and winter trends to submit to a fashion magazine as advertising. What do you think?”
Wang Chaoying was puzzled. “Wouldn’t that allow others to copy our designs? Wouldn’t we lose out?”
Su Caiqing patiently explained. “Why do Xingzi shirts sell so well? Because they’ve become a trend. Without the trend, no one would buy them, and we wouldn’t earn as much.”
Wang Chaoying frowned slightly, trying to process the idea.
“You mean we should lead people to follow us?”
Su Caiqing nodded. “Yes. People tend to follow the crowd. When they see many others doing or buying something, they instinctively follow, even if they don’t fully understand why. For example, someone might not initially be interested in Xingzi shirts, but if everyone around them is buying and wearing them, they’ll follow to fit in.”
Wang Chaoying began to understand. “So that’s how trends are formed.”
“Exactly,” Su Caiqing said with a smile.
At present, Xingzi shirts have already become popular nationwide. Not only Shanghai residents were wearing them, but people in other regions had also begun adopting them. Those in their hometown were among the first to realize they were ahead of the trend.
Subsequent orders of two hundred thousand pieces had already been mostly reserved by distributors.
Caiying and Su Caiqing had successfully established their reputation in Shanghai, and many merchants from other regions were now trying to contact Su Caiqing directly to obtain goods.
However, her remaining stock was limited. Even though the clothing factory was working overtime, production capacity was still limited, so she could only allocate a small portion, aside from the polka dot skirts.
The final batch of Xingzi shirts was shipped during National Day.
Wang Chaoying, being on holiday, went to Shanghai with Su Caiqing.
This time, Su Caiqing brought along Su Xiaozhuang, her two younger sisters, and the three older children. The remaining children stayed with Director Zhao’s family.
The trip also served as a learning experience for the children.
After completing deliveries with Wang Chaoying and Su Xiaozhuang, Su Caiqing took the children out to explore Shanghai.
“Shanghai is so big!” Zhang Yunbing said.
Su Yaomei asked, “How do you know the sea is big?”
Zhang Yunbing raised her head proudly. “The roads in Shanghai are wider, there are more cars, and more people than in our city. Doesn’t that prove it’s bigger?”
Su Caiqing couldn’t help but notice that children’s observation and reasoning abilities were quite strong.
In the evenings, Wang Chaoying and Su Xiaozhuang returned, and Wang Chaoying shared updates about deliveries and sales. The polka dot skirts were selling very well, with dozens or even over a hundred pieces sold daily.
Meanwhile, Su Caiqing had been visiting fabric and dye factories and finally found materials suitable for the new coat designs.
However, the stock was limited and the price was high due to costly raw materials and complex processes. These coats would need to be produced in Shanghai, as local factories in their city likely could not handle them.
This meant higher costs and potentially higher retail prices, which would affect sales volume.
Wang Chaoying reasoned that such coats were meant for higher-income customers who understood garment care, so limiting production and targeting the right audience would be appropriate.
Su Caiqing agreed.
As they discussed further plans, they also considered new winter clothing lines, including cotton garments and even children’s clothing.
One day, while they were busy with preparations, Wang Chaoying suddenly fainted, alarming Su Caiqing.
“Quick! Help me get her up and into a vehicle!” Su Caiqing instructed the workers.
A vehicle was arranged quickly, and Wang Chaoying was taken into it. On the way, she regained consciousness.
“What happened to me?” she asked weakly.
“Nothing serious, you just fainted. I’m taking you to the hospital,” Su Caiqing reassured her.
Recognizing Su Caiqing’s voice, Wang Chaoying relaxed. “Alright, I’ll rest for a bit.”