Zhou Yulan quickly took the cloth from her.
“I’ll do the sewing.”
Watching the awkward way her little sister held the needle while sewing on buttons, she was genuinely afraid Yuwei would accidentally stab herself.
The two sisters worked together seamlessly.
One sewed while the other wrote.
Since the buttons varied in size and style, Zhou Yuwei assigned different prices to each of them.
Naturally, every price was marked up by at least double.
“So all of these buttons need to be sewn onto it too?”
“Every single one.”
As Zhou Yuwei labeled each button, she called out the names and prices.
“Glass button—twenty cents.”
“Rouge button—thirty cents.”
“‘Golden Phoenix Brings Auspiciousness’ button—fifty cents per pair.”
“Round openwork floral rhinestone metal button, Chanel-inspired style—seventy cents each.”
“And this fashionable British-style pearl button…”
“One yuan each.”
One button.
One whole yuan.
“Will anyone actually buy these?”
Zhou Yulan gasped.
Zhou Yuwei smiled.
“Of course they will. This is Beijing—a major city. This is nothing.”
Then she grinned.
“Besides, Sis, isn’t it beautiful?”
Zhou Yulan nodded.
“It is. It’s really beautiful.”
“And really expensive.”
“Exactly.”
“The more rare something is, the more valuable it becomes.”
“Sometimes people deliberately choose the expensive one.”
Just like in the 1990s—many things were outrageously expensive, yet people still rushed to buy them.
“I guess…”
Zhou Yulan still looked unconvinced.
“Even if they don’t sell, they’ll still serve as display pieces. There’s no rush.”
In truth, one reason she priced them so high was to attract more customers.
As for who those customers might be…
She wasn’t picky.
Perhaps they’d even attract a few special clients.
Sure enough, the next day, when Zhou Yulan set up her stall again, customers no longer rummaged through the buttons like before.
With the sample display cloth spread out in front, everyone could clearly see each button’s style and price.
Business visibly picked up.
“Zhou Yuwei! Time for school!”
Liu Changyun came over to call her.
“I’ve taken leave. I don’t have to go to school this month.”
Without even looking up, Zhou Yuwei continued studying the buttons in her hands.
“You took leave? For how long?”
Liu Changyun sat down beside her.
“The homeroom teacher actually approved it?”
“Yeah.”
“I told him my dad injured his leg in a fall and needs someone to take care of him, so I got a month’s leave.”
She set the button down and continued sketching in her notebook.
“That’s such a great excuse. I want to try it too!”
“Go ahead.”
She replied without looking up.
“Go break Uncle Liu’s leg right now. Maybe then you’ll get leave too.”
“I’d rather break my own leg.”
Liu Changyun laughed.
“At least that way the old man wouldn’t have to do it himself and get angry in the process.”
There was no way he was going to lay a hand on his father.
That would be asking for death.
“Seriously though.”
“You’ve just become the homeroom teacher’s favorite student, and now you’re skipping school? Isn’t that a bad look?”
“Correction.”
“I’m not skipping school. I’m on approved leave.”
“And besides, I study much more efficiently at home than I do at school.”
She continued drawing.
“What are you drawing anyway?”
Liu Changyun snatched the notebook from her hands.
“What on earth is this?”
“You can’t tell?”
Zhou Yuwei immediately grabbed it back.
“It’s a piece of clothing.”
“Clothing?”
He frowned, tilting the notebook from side to side.
“It doesn’t look like it?”
“Not at all.”
“It looks more like a carpet!”
Zhou Yuwei…
Why did that comment feel like a punch to the gut?
Was it really that ugly?
“Do you know where I can get wool yarn? Or nylon… acrylic fabric?”
“Fabric?”
He looked suspicious.
“First tell me what you’re making.”
“If I’m looking for fabric, then obviously I’m making clothes.”
“You probably should.”
He looked her up and down.
“Just look at what you’re wearing.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing.”
He coughed lightly.
“It’s… simple and elegant.”
Xu Zitao had been waiting outside in the front courtyard for quite a while without seeing anyone come out, so he walked inside.
“Why aren’t you leaving yet? You’re going to be late.”
“She says she’s on leave and doesn’t have to go to school.”
“I see.”
Xu Zitao pulled a paper bag from his schoolbag and tossed it to Zhou Yuwei.
“My grandma sent you another care package.”
“Please thank Grandma Xu for me.”
She smiled as she accepted it.
Whenever Zhou Yuwei traveled to Suzhou, she always made a point of bringing back tea there for Grandma Xu.
“No problem.”
“We’re heading to school now.”
“If you really want fabric, I can ask my aunt. She’s a workshop supervisor at the textile factory. She often brings home bolts of fabric with minor defects for my mom.”
“How much do you need?”
“Sounds good.”
In truth, she already knew Liu Changyun’s family had connections at the textile factory. That was exactly why she’d asked him.
Zhou Yuwei had already finished breakfast.
Taking the paper bag with her, she rode her bicycle to Baiqiao Market to find Zhou Yulan.
Just as she’d expected, business was booming.
She immediately joined in to help.
“These buttons are gorgeous.”
A stylishly dressed woman examined one of the pearl buttons.
“They’re just a little expensive.”
“Comrade, you have excellent taste.”
Seeing a potential customer, Zhou Yuwei immediately stepped forward.
“These buttons are our newest arrivals.”
“To be honest, as of now, we’re the only place in all of Beijing that carries them.”
“They really are beautiful.”
The woman nodded.
“But I don’t even know what I’d use them on.”
“I don’t have any clothes that would match them.”
“You could knit a white cardigan and use these buttons on it.”
“They’d look especially good together.”
“A white cardigan?”
Another woman, who had been listening nearby, immediately spoke up.
“I just bought one from the department store.”
She pulled a white cardigan out of her shopping bag.
“Could I borrow it for a moment?”
“Go ahead.”
The woman was curious too.
Zhou Yuwei accepted the cardigan and laid it flat across the stall.
Then she placed the pearl buttons directly over the cardigan’s original plastic buttons.
The transformation was immediate.
The entire sweater suddenly looked far more elegant.
“It looks beautiful!”
“It really does!”
The whole cardigan instantly appeared much more expensive and refined.
Only then did everyone realize just how much of a difference a set of buttons could make.
“I’ll take them.”
The woman who owned the cardigan spoke without hesitation.
She’d already been willing to spend dozens of yuan on the sweater itself.
A few yuan for several buttons wasn’t something she’d begrudge.
Besides…
She genuinely loved them.
Meanwhile, the woman who had been hesitating over the pearl buttons asked another question.
“So these pearl buttons can be used on shirts, wool sweaters, knitted sweaters, knitwear, and even dresses?”
“Exactly.”
“As long as they’re matched properly, they’ll instantly make any outfit look much better.”
At that moment, another woman, who had been studying the sample display cloth for quite some time, finally looked up.
“What about these?”
“What kinds of clothes do these go well with?”