But ten yuan was still a great deal—it was actually two yuan less than the price she had been willing to accept. Moreover, once she actually held the shirt in her hands, she realized how lightweight and well-made it was. The fabric was much better than those eight-yuan shirts sold in department stores.
Looking more closely, she noticed the thoughtful design around the buttons: an extra layer of fabric had been added, concealing the buttons behind it so their color wouldn’t show.
Buttons nowadays were all made of plastic, either transparent or milky white, which looked cheap on a pure white shirt. But this design cleverly fixed that flaw.
The more the woman looked at it, the more satisfied she became. She promptly took out a large ten-yuan bill and, before leaving, asked, “When do you usually sell clothes here? Do you make women’s clothing too? Like dresses—I’d like to buy one for my daughter-in-law.”
Her daughter-in-law was a college graduate who loved keeping up with fashion. For the engagement, she had asked for new clothes, but they had visited several Gongxiaoshe without finding anything she liked.
Su Jinle was almost dizzy with joy. Today, after deducting the cost of the fabric, she had earned seven yuan—enough to buy ten jin of pork belly! She couldn’t wait to go home and work the sewing machine, making more clothes to sell.
Hearing the woman’s question, she immediately replied, “Yes, I can. What… what color and size do you need?”
As she spoke this longer sentence, her stutter became impossible to hide.
The woman suddenly understood. “No wonder you didn’t talk much earlier. So that’s how it is. Let me tell you what I need, and you just listen. My daughter-in-law is about 1.6 meters tall, weighs a little over a hundred jin—just an average figure. She likes yellow or sky blue, basically any bright color.”
Su Jinle’s face flushed red from having just stuttered, but as she listened to the woman’s request, she hurriedly noted it down, and her embarrassment faded somewhat.
Pressing her lips together, she said, “The day… day after tomorrow.”
The woman understood. “Same place, same time, the day after tomorrow? Can you finish it by then?”
Su Jinle nodded. “Yes.”
“Then it’s settled. But let’s be clear—if the quality or style isn’t good, I won’t take it.” The woman didn’t care at all about her stutter. She was here to buy clothes, not to chat.
Seeing the woman’s straightforward gaze and hearing her focus solely on the clothing requirements, Su Jinle gradually relaxed. Maybe stuttering wasn’t so terrifying after all.
She nodded again. “Mm-hmm.”
The fabric for a dress would cost about four yuan. After selling the shirt, she felt a bit more confident. Even if she couldn’t sell it for a high price, at least she wouldn’t lose money, right? Besides, she had faith in her sewing skills—she could even make clothes based on the styles from fashion magazines!
With the seven yuan she earned today, minus the cost of buying more fabric later, she’d still make a profit of three yuan. Three yuan meant thirty meat buns!
Thinking this, Su Jinle’s face lit up.
The woman couldn’t help but glance at her again and smiled. “Alright then. If it turns out well, I’ll bring you more customers!”
Su Jinle nodded eagerly, like a little chick pecking at rice.
After the woman left, Su Jinle prepared to pack up.
Just then, the elderly woman selling eggs nearby stopped her. “Girl, so you have trouble speaking clearly.”
Su Jinle froze, the color draining from her face. Memories of boys in her teens surrounding her, laughing and calling her “little stutterer,” flooded back. She could almost immediately guess what this woman was about to say.
What’s the point of sending a stutterer out there, just to invite ridicule?
But the auntie gave her a pat: “You really don’t have a clue, do you? Next time, just take a cardboard sign and write the price on it! We need to use our brains more in business. And earlier, you should have asked for twelve yuan straight away—I bet that woman would have bought it for twelve!”
Su Jinle was stunned. She had expected mockery and scorn, but instead, the auntie was just kindly offering her advice.
So the outside world wasn’t as she had imagined—not all harsh winds and frost. Without marrying Gu Jingxiu, she realized that sunshine was everywhere; she didn’t need to seek warmth from just one person.
On her way home, her steps were light, and for the first time ever, she hummed a song, albeit haltingly. She also bought a piece of sky-blue Diquliang fabric with water ripple patterns and three jin of eggs from the auntie. After calculating, she still had exactly three yuan left!
She would give these three yuan to her mother, and then she would buy big meat buns for her brother every day—thirty of them!
Oh, and she also needed to earn money for her brother’s medical treatment…
As she neared the entrance of the canned food factory, her steps faltered. There were Gu Jingxiu and Xu Muqing, standing face-to-face—one tall and straight as bamboo in a white shirt, the other bright and lovely in a floral blouse.
She averted her gaze. Did she hate them? Not really.
In this second chance at life, everyone would go their own way. She didn’t want to be anyone’s substitute, and he could go make up for his regrets.
When she got home, Lin Yun had already returned from work. On the table were several steaming meat buns. Seeing Su Jinle, she quickly waved her over: “Lele, eat them while they’re hot! They’re filled with pork belly—so fragrant!”
Su Jinle’s eyes curved into smiles. She had been out all afternoon, nervous yet excited, and now she was actually a bit hungry: “Okay, I can eat one—a whole big bun!”
Lin Yun looked at her gently: “Eat more.”
Su Jinle took a big bite, and her eyes suddenly grew moist. She felt like she hadn’t eaten such a big bun in many years. Later, when small steamed buns became popular in Jingbei, the big buns grew smaller and smaller, with more and more varieties of fillings, but none were ever as fragrant as this.
Halfway through, she remembered something: “Mom, you eat too.”
Lin Yun sat nearby: “I’ve already eaten.”
Su Jinle slowed down: “Liar.”
There were exactly three buns here—clearly one for her, one for her dad, and one for her brother. Her mom couldn’t have eaten one.
Lin Yun exclaimed: “Why would I lie to you? Hurry up and eat. I’ll go cook some rice porridge, so we won’t need to stir-fry any dishes tonight.”
Life at home was tight. She usually worked at a small restaurant where meals were provided, so she ate as much as she could there to eat less at night—saving wherever possible.
Su Jinle took out the remaining three yuan from her pocket and pressed it into Lin Yun’s hand: “We have money. Let’s eat meat.”
Lin Yun was taken aback: “Lele, where did this money come from?”
“I sold the shirt.” Su Jinle spoke more fluently with her family, especially since she was in a good mood: “That white shirt!”
Lin Yun remembered the shirt she had made earlier. She had guessed at the time that it was for Gu Jingxiu, but she never thought Lele would be willing to sell it!
She clutched the three yuan: “You went by yourself? And sold it for so much?”
Lin Yun didn’t feel happy—only heartache. Her daughter, because of her speech problem, rarely even went out, let alone conducted business on her own…
Su Jinle stuffed the remaining bun into her mouth, her cheeks bulging. She held out ten fingers, her voice muffled as she spoke: “Ten yuan! I bought eggs, and meat!”
She still had to hurry and make the dress later!
Only then did Lin Yun notice the eggs, meat, and a piece of water-blue Diquliang fabric her daughter had placed on the table. She was stunned: “How much? You said you sold it for how much?”