The beautiful blue dress hung there, catching far more attention than the white shirt from two days ago. Soon, two young women came over to ask, “How much is this dress, and what size is it?”
Su Jinle had already promised it to the woman from the other day, so she could only apologize and decline, “It’s… it’s already been sold.”
“Ah, is this the only one?” The two young women grew more and more fond of it as they looked. “Then how much is it?”
Su Jinle wasn’t sure how much she could sell it for either. After thinking it over—the fabric was more expensive than the white shirt, and it had taken more effort to make—she said, “Fifteen…”
The auntie beside her cut in first, “Twenty yuan. If you like it, she’ll be back in a couple of days to sell more, and you can even choose different colors!”
The two girls thought it was a bit pricey. “It’s really pretty, but it’s too expensive.”
Su Jinle quickly added, “It… it can be cheaper, too.”
She had originally thought of selling it for fifteen yuan, so how did the auntie just blurt out twenty?
The auntie was clearly a skilled salesperson and launched into a rapid-fire pitch: “Young ladies, take a good look at this fabric—it’s no worse than what you’d find in the department store! And this belt, have you ever seen one like it? And these buttons, aren’t they lovely? Let me tell you, if this dress were in the department store, it’d sell for thirty yuan! Don’t doubt it—if you hesitate now, you might not even get one the day after tomorrow! We…”
She paused, glanced at Su Jinle, and lowered her voice. “Sweetie, what’s your name?”
Su Jinle replied dazedly, “Su… Jinle.”
The auntie swallowed and continued, “Our Lele’s craftsmanship is top-notch. She was originally planning to open a clothing store—everyone in the area knows how skilled she is!”
Su Jinle silently added in her mind, I didn’t even know I was planning to open a clothing store…
The two girls gazed longingly at the dress. “Can’t you make it a little cheaper? Even if we order it now, we don’t know when we’ll get to wear it. It’s so hot right now—if it takes too long, we might as well just go to the department store!”
The auntie nudged Su Jinle. “When can you finish it?”
Is business really this easy?
Su Jinle was nearly dumbfounded but quickly replied, “J-just two days. Actually, actually, it can… it can be cheaper…”
She wanted to say it could be cheaper—she’d be overjoyed to sell it for eighteen yuan.
But the auntie covered her mouth and turned back to the two girls. “If you’ve taken a liking to it, we can even throw in something extra.”
The two girls were genuinely tempted. The dress was truly beautiful, and you couldn’t find anything like it elsewhere. Wearing it out would surely turn heads. Although the price was a bit steep, they came from well-off families with monthly salaries of seventy or eighty yuan, so spending twenty yuan on a dress wasn’t too much of a burden.
They asked, “What would you throw in?”
The auntie pinched Su Jinle’s waist and whispered, “Just give them something flowery.”
Su Jinle shook her head but soon thought of something. She pulled out the hair ribbons she’d made from leftover fabric and held them out to the two girls. “Th-this… is this okay?”
The hair ribbons she’d made were also different from the common ones on the street. They were double-layered, with finely crafted tassels and pleats, looking like roses from a distance. It was clear she’d put a lot of effort into them. After all, she had plenty of time and not much else.
Moreover, making these small accessories was originally her hobby.
The two girls, seeing the hair ribbons, no longer hesitated: “Alright then, we’ll come pick them up the day after tomorrow. Show us the measurements. We want this style, but I want the yellow one.”
“I want the pink one!”
In just this short while, she had already pre-sold two dresses. Su Jinle was so excited her little face flushed red. She quickly took out a tape measure to take the girls’ measurements. Having made many clothes, her eyes were almost like a ruler; with just a rough hand measurement, she determined the approximate size.
Before the two girls left, Su Jinle obediently gave them two hair ribbons: “H-here, for you.”
“Ah, we haven’t paid yet!” The girls felt a bit embarrassed. She was too sincere—wasn’t she afraid they wouldn’t come back to buy them the day after tomorrow?
Su Jinle’s smile was especially sweet; she was genuinely happy and spoke haltingly: “N-no, not afraid. Day after tomorrow, still give hair ribbons, same colors.”
Her stutter wasn’t at all off-putting. Being girls around the same age, they had strong empathy, especially since Su Jinle looked incredibly sweet and innocent, like the girl next door. Holding the two hair ribbons in both hands, her big eyes blinking, she seemed almost heart-meltingly adorable.
Both girls felt they had been too harsh bargaining earlier. They exchanged a glance and decisively paid a five-yuan deposit: “We trust you. This is the deposit. We’ll definitely come buy the dresses the day after tomorrow!”
Even after the two girls had left, Su Jinle hadn’t fully snapped out of it. Staring at the five yuan in her hand, she felt her math wasn’t very good and was too excited to calculate exactly how much money she would make.
Auntie Egg Seller gave her a hearty pat on the shoulder and said cheerfully, “See? This is how you do business, girl. Learn from Auntie here!”
If it hadn’t been for Auntie’s help earlier, not only might her business not have succeeded, but it certainly wouldn’t have gone so smoothly or sold for such a high price of twenty yuan per dress. Being someone who deeply valued gratitude, she rubbed her shoulder and said, “I… I’ll buy more eggs…”
Auntie shot her an exasperated look: “You just bought two jin of eggs the day before yesterday, and you want to buy more today? In such hot weather, are you planning to pickle stinky eggs at home?”
But there was nothing else she could do…
Su Jinle racked her brains for a long time, then took another hair ribbon from her pocket: “Then… this, for you.”
Auntie gave her a meaningful look: “Do you think it would suit me?”
Auntie had a short bob cut; even if she had long hair, it wouldn’t be suitable. Su Jinle awkwardly withdrew her hand, feeling extremely embarrassed.
But Auntie took the hair ribbon anyway and smiled at her: “Then I’ll shamelessly accept it. I’ll give it to my daughter-in-law later. She’s quite vain and will probably like it.”
Su Jinle breathed a sigh of relief and smiled along.
However, the woman from the day before yesterday had come around three o’clock, but now the sun was gradually setting in the west, and there was still no sign of her. The vendors around were slowly packing up, and Su Jinle began to feel a bit worried.
Actually, a few others had asked about the dresses earlier, but she felt that since she had made a promise, she couldn’t break it, so she had refused them all.
Even Auntie Egg Seller was about to leave, advising her: “Dear, I have to go home and cook for my grandson. Don’t stay out too late either; make sure to go home before dark.”
Su Jinle nodded: “Goodbye, Auntie.”
As the sun set in the west, the small street grew increasingly empty. Su Jinle glanced at the sky, her long eyelashes fluttering uneasily.
Would her skirts not sell today? That morning before leaving, she had confidently boasted to her brother that she would buy him pork ribs to eat…