In the blink of an eye, Shen Yingying had already spent a week inside the book.
Her daily routine had more or less settled into a pattern, revolving between home and the canteen.
In the mornings, she would have breakfast with Xie Fangzhu at the canteen and drop off the child on her way home.
In the afternoons, she would ride her bicycle to pick up Xie Fangzhu.
The rest of the time was entirely her own.
However, in this era, everything was underdeveloped and inconvenient.
Even with plenty of time on her hands, there wasn’t much to do for entertainment, leaving her bored out of her mind.
Fortunately, the original owner had a sewing machine, and Shen Yingying’s profession before transmigrating was a fashion designer.
Though it was her job, it was also her passion.
Her dream was to grow her own brand into a household name.
Sadly, before she could achieve it, she found herself inside the book.
But she took it in stride.
After all, in her own time, the fashion industry was flourishing with countless talents.
Although her wealthy adoptive parents supported her, creating her own clothing brand was no problem.
But making it widely known and recognized in such a competitive industry was as difficult as climbing to the sky.
In the era she had transmigrated to, clothing was still dominated by shades of blue, gray, and black, with only a few repetitive styles.
In a couple of years, when the country reopened its doors, her opportunity would arrive.
If she could seize the opportunities and benefits offered by the times, perhaps her dream could still come true.
Her first creation was making a bra for herself.
Women in this era were conservative, wearing either tight-fitting undershirts or cotton breast bindings.
The original owner wore cotton breast bindings, which were not only inconvenient to put on and take off but also had to be tied tightly to avoid slipping—overall, quite uncomfortable.
She had initially wanted to buy a bra at the department store, but while bras were available, they only came in one standard size, which didn’t fit her well.
So, she decided to make one herself.
Since there was no sponge, only cotton fabric, and no adjustable metal clasps, only ordinary buttons, she made slight modifications to the design.
She chose pink cotton fabric, added extra layers in key areas, increased the length slightly, and designed it as a front-buttoning bra camisole.
This not only provided better support and shape but was also easier to put on.
For aesthetics, she added two small pink ribbons at the front, tied into bows.
She was very pleased with this creation and proudly showed it to Chen Qingqing.
The shy Chen Qingqing was stunned, her round face flushing bright red.
After one glance, she couldn’t bring herself to look again.
From the shape, Chen Qingqing could roughly guess what it was, but the style…
…was just too bold, wasn’t it? How could anyone dare to wear something like that?
Shen Yingying was very satisfied with her creation. Not only was it much more comfortable than breast bindings, but it also provided better support for clothing.
Her desire to share was strong, and she wanted to give one to Chen Qingqing.
However, Chen Qingqing’s mindset was clearly not as open as hers. Although she was amazed by how it looked when worn, she was too embarrassed to try it on.
Shen Yingying didn’t force her and immediately began her second creation in this era.
She made a set of clothes for Xie Fangzhu.
Originally, she had intended to make something for herself, but she remembered that the original owner already had plenty of clothes.
In contrast, Xie Fangzhu’s wardrobe had only a few pitifully sparse items.
Moreover, the two sets of fabric the original owner had bought for her third brother’s wedding clothes were still untouched, making them perfect for this purpose.Better curry favor with Xie Fangzhu for now, since she still had to rely on him for a living and needed to keep him well appeased.
What Shen Yingying made for him was the basic style of this era—a dark blue cotton shirt and a pair of army-green straight-leg pants.
Since these were meant to be worn outside, she couldn’t make them as flashy as her bras, so she only made slight improvements.
To be honest, she really didn’t like the colors, but the fabric was ready-made and couldn’t be changed.
Besides, with Xie Fangzhu’s face and figure, he’d look handsome even in a burlap sack, so the color didn’t matter much anyway.
That afternoon, after waking up from a nap with Chen Qingqing, Shen Yingying picked up the dark blue shirt hanging next to the sewing machine.
She had been busy for several days, and both the shirt and pants were finished. All that was left was to sew on the buttons.
She had just picked up the needle and thread when she heard a raspy, gong-like male voice from outside the door: “Little sister, are you home?”
Immediately after, a man poked his head through the doorway, looking nervous.
Only when he saw Shen Yingying sitting at the sewing machine did he relax, swaggering into the room.
“Little sister, you scared me to death. I thought you’d really left.”
Shen Yingying’s gaze fell on the man. He looked to be in his twenties, with shifty eyes, a hunched posture, and an overall sleazy appearance.
A strange man had suddenly entered, and he looked so shady.
Chen Qingqing, sitting beside Shen Yingying, felt a bit flustered and instinctively shifted closer to Shen Yingying, eyeing the approaching man warily.
Shen Yingying patted her hand reassuringly and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, it’s my third brother.”
To be honest, if not for the original host’s memories, she would never have believed this man was related to her by blood.
The original host’s third brother, Shen Jiacai, was just too unsightly.
Shen Jiacai plopped down casually on the edge of the bed, sweat pouring down his face. He casually picked up a nearby palm-leaf fan and started fanning himself.
After sitting for a while and seeing that Shen Yingying still hadn’t moved, his beady eyes flicked toward her. “Little sister, why are you so clueless today? Third Brother’s mouth is so dry it’s about to smoke. Why haven’t you poured me a glass of water?”
Usually, when he came over, his little sister was very attentive. The moment he sat down, water would be brought to him.
Today, he had been sitting for a while, so why was his little sister acting like an old master, not even bothering to move an inch?
Shen Yingying ignored him completely. “No water.”
Shen Jiacai’s eyebrows immediately furrowed into a knot.
What was going on today?
His little sister was actually giving him attitude?!
Had she grown a spine?
His expression darkened as he stared at Shen Yingying. “Little sister, Third Brother came all this way to see you. Why are you being so sarcastic? If Mom finds out, she’ll skin you alive. Don’t blame Third Brother for not protecting you then.”
Shen Yingying narrowed her eyes. In the original host’s family, her mother, Pan Yun, held the highest status.
She was fierce and uncouth, and all five members of the family obeyed her.
Though a woman, she was even more patriarchal than men.
From a young age, she had instilled in the original host the belief that boys were treasures and girls were weeds—that girls were inherently inferior to boys and should toil like beasts of burden for the family, selflessly sacrificing for their three older brothers.
Under long-term brainwashing and emotional manipulation, the original host firmly believed that she was born to help her brothers.
That was why, when Pan Yun asked the original host to help raise the bride price for her third brother, she agreed without hesitation.Because deep down, she believed her brother was her whole world. If her brother was going to get married, how could she not contribute in some way?
An attitude as poor as Shen Yingying’s today was absolutely unacceptable to show toward her brother.
But the original owner was the original owner—what did that have to do with her, Shen Yingying?