Madam Liu nearly jumped out of her skin.
Oh no. This was over!
But before she could say anything, Liu Chuntao turned around, selected three bolts of fabric from the shelves, and placed them on the counter.
“That Yunshang Pavilion has already pushed us to the point where we have nothing left to lose. And you didn’t try to hide anything from me. You openly told me about making ready-made clothes for men, so I’ll trust you!”
She gestured toward the fabric.
“Since we’re going into business together, take these home and make whatever you think will work. Even if you ruin them, don’t worry about it. I’ll take the loss.”
Although the shop was on the verge of closing, the Liu family had been doing business in the county for many years and still had some savings and property. Their lives were certainly more comfortable than those of the mother and daughter standing before her.
Madam Liu finally let out the breath she had been holding.
Gu Qingqing stood up with a smile.
“All right! We’ll bring the finished clothes in three days. Please have the contract ready by then. As for these fabrics, we can include their cost in the business expenses later.”
Originally, Gu Qingqing had only wanted to find an outlet for her mother’s remarkable sewing skills. Finding such a straightforward and generous business partner was an unexpected bonus.
After agreeing on the details of the contract, Gu Qingqing picked out some thread and scraps of fabric before leaving with Madam Liu.
Once they reached the street, a warm breeze brushed against their faces.
Madam Liu suddenly tightened her grip on Gu Qingqing’s hand, as though she had only just woken from a dream.
“She really trusts us that much? Can we actually pull this off? Can we really make clothes better than Yunshang Pavilion?”
Envy between competitors was nothing new. It had existed since ancient times.
If Liu’s Fabric Shop had only suffered from a supply problem, it would never have been driven to the point of closing.
The real culprit was Yunshang Pavilion taking advantage of their misfortune.
Once they learned about Liu’s predicament, they immediately slashed the prices of every fabric that Liu’s Fabric Shop carried to cost price.
That left Liu’s shop without even the tiny profit margin it had been relying on. With no way to compete, they had been forced to consider closing their doors.
Gu Qingqing squeezed her mother’s hand.
“The fabric and thread are already in your basket. Don’t worry. We’ll definitely make this work!”
In her previous life, her main profession had been surgery, but she had plenty of hobbies. One of her favorites was making clothes for her beautiful collectible dolls.
After all, sewing clothes was much easier than stitching wounds. It was a relaxing hobby, and at the same time, it helped improve the strength and precision of her hands as well as her eyesight.
Madam Liu felt the weight of the basket on her back, and the worry lines on her face gradually eased.
“All right. Your mother will do her very best!”
The two of them bought a few more necessities before making their way toward the city gate.
Just as they arrived, the same ox cart they had taken into town earlier happened to be heading back.
This time, Madam Liu generously pushed Gu Qingqing onto the cart.
“Come on. We’re both taking the cart.”
Gu Qingqing smiled in satisfaction.
Sure enough, women in every era needed something of their own to pursue.
Look at her mother now. She was already more energetic, and even spending a little money seemed to come more easily.
…
Hongxi Village
By the time Gu Qingqing returned to the courtyard after noon, she immediately noticed that the place had been transformed.
The dangerously sagging thatched roof had been reinforced. The walls, riddled with holes and cracks that let in the wind, had been repaired. The overgrown courtyard had been cleaned up as well.
Even the creaky old door they had walked through barely made a sound anymore.
Chunqi was tidying the loose stones scattered around the yard with Ping’an and Xia’an. The moment they saw Gu Qingqing and Madam Liu, they happily ran over.
“Mother! Big Sister!”
Gu Qingqing smiled and caught the little girl as she came charging toward her like a cannonball. She looked around the yard.
“Was Uncle Shuisheng here helping to fix everything?”
The little girl nodded, then shook her head.
“Not just him. Village Head Uncle, Aunt Hongxing, Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang, and Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou all came too. It’s too hot outside right now, so the aunts went home first. Father and the uncles are still working in the back. They’re making some bed frames and said they’d put together a few simple beds first, so we won’t have to sleep on the floor anymore.”
Gu Qingqing remembered all of them. Just like Zhao Shuisheng, who had helped them move, these were families who had always been close to her parents.
“All right. Mother and I will go make dinner. You girls go tell the aunts to come over later and eat with us.”
When neighbors helped one another, there was no need to pay them wages, but food was a must. At the very least, they had to make sure everyone was fed properly.
“The aunts said there’s no need. They also told Father and the uncles to go home and eat once they’re finished. They said we should wait until we’ve completely settled in before inviting everyone over for a meal.”
Gu Qingqing thought about the vegetables in her basket.
Cucumbers and greens. Greens and cucumbers…
Never mind. They really couldn’t serve that.
She had originally wanted to buy some meat and eggs on the way home, but her frugal mother had refused no matter what. Madam Liu insisted that they wait until the partnership with Liu’s Fabric Shop was officially settled three days later before handing control of the household food budget over to her daughter.
Three days.
Gu Qingqing could endure three days!
An hour later, after the uncles had finally left, everyone stood in the newly renovated home, their spirits lifted by the transformation.
“Big Sister, look! These were all given to us by the uncles.”
Chunqi excitedly pointed at the new household items as she showed Gu Qingqing around.
“We can eat here from now on, and Mother can do her sewing over there.”
Following the direction of her finger, Gu Qingqing saw an old wooden table, several old chairs, and a small worktable.
“We’ll use this room during the day. At night, Big Brother and Little Brother will put down the bed boards and sleep here. Father and Mother will stay in the big room on the right, where we keep the tools and grain. You and I will sleep in the little room on the left.”
They still didn’t have separate bedrooms, but compared with the old Gu family home, where six people had been crammed together on a single heated brick bed, this was already a huge improvement.
Gu Qingqing nodded in satisfaction.
She and Madam Liu unloaded everything from their baskets and placed it on the table.
“We have some good news for you too.”
The three bolts of fabric were laid out in a row.
Everyone who had stayed behind stared at them.
“New clothes! New clothes!”
Ping’an jumped up excitedly.
Chunqi carefully touched the fabric, unable to hide the delight in her eyes.
“Sister, did you buy these so you could make new clothes for us?”
Gu Changxing felt as though he could hardly breathe.
“You bought this much fabric? How much silver did that cost? We don’t have enough money to be throwing it around like this!”
Xia’an gave his father an exasperated look.
“Do you really think Mother and Big Sister would be that careless? They brought back so much fabric and thread, so obviously they have a reason for it.”
Gu Qingqing gave her little brother an approving thumbs-up.
“Smart! Mother made a deal with Liu’s Fabric Shop in the county. We’ll make the clothes, and they’ll sell them. These fabrics are only for making samples. We didn’t spend a single copper coin on them.”
The moment Gu Changxing heard that they hadn’t spent any money and could actually make money from the deal, he immediately relaxed.
“Good, good! Your mother’s embroidery is excellent. I’m sure she’ll impress them.”
Xia’an looked at the bolts of fabric, none of which could quite be called black, gray, or anything in between. His little brows furrowed.
“If we’re making clothes for ourselves, any color is fine. But if we’re selling them to other people, will anyone actually buy clothes made from these?”
Everyone’s expression fell.
Even Madam Liu looked worried.
“We were so caught up in celebrating that we didn’t notice how unpleasant these colors were.”
One bolt was black and gray, another was pure black, and the third was gray and white.
They were all notoriously difficult colors to work with.
If they were simply making ordinary clothes for their own family, it wouldn’t matter much. But that wasn’t their goal.
They wanted to create clothes that would amaze the entire county.
Gu Qingqing gave a soft laugh.
“Mother, she’s a businesswoman. How could she possibly have no ulterior motive? This is both a test and an opportunity!”
“You mean she deliberately chose these colors for us?”
Madam Liu suddenly understood.
“Ah! No wonder she was so generous…”
She looked at her daughter.
“Qingqing, you didn’t object when she gave us these fabrics. Does that mean you already have a way to deal with them?”
Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward Gu Qingqing.
Gu Qingqing let out a helpless yet carefree laugh.
Without even realizing it, she had already become the backbone of this family.
And this feeling of being needed…
It was wonderful.