Ten yuan was more than worth it—two yuan less than the price she had originally hoped for. And once the woman actually held the shirt in her hands, she realized the fabric was light and soft, far better in quality than the eight-yuan shirts sold at the department store.
Looking more closely, she noticed the thoughtful design at the buttons. An extra layer of fabric had been added to conceal them, so the plastic buttons—usually transparent or milky white and cheap-looking against a pure white shirt—were completely hidden. The detail elevated the entire garment.
The more the woman examined it, the more satisfied she became. Without hesitation, she pulled out a large ten-yuan note. Before leaving, she asked, “When do you usually sell clothes here? Can you make women’s wear too? A dress, maybe—I’d like to buy one for my daughter-in-law.”
Her daughter-in-law had a junior college education and loved chasing fashion trends. When they got engaged, she had insisted on new clothes, but none of the supply and marketing cooperatives had anything she liked.
Su Jinle was nearly dizzy with joy. After subtracting the cost of fabric, she had earned seven yuan in one go. That was enough to buy ten jin of pork belly. She almost wanted to run home immediately and step on the sewing machine to make more clothes.
Hearing the woman’s question, she quickly replied, “I… I can. What… what color and size…”
The moment she spoke at length, her stutter became impossible to hide.
The woman suddenly understood. “No wonder you don’t talk much. So that’s it. I’ll talk, you listen. My daughter-in-law is about one-sixty, just over a hundred jin—average build. She likes yellow or sky blue. Bright colors, anyway.”
Su Jinle’s face flushed red after exposing her stutter, but she hurriedly wrote everything down, her embarrassment fading in the process.
“Th-the day after tomorrow,” she said.
“The day after tomorrow? Same place, same time? You can finish it?”
Su Jinle nodded. “Yes.”
“Alright then. But let’s be clear—if the quality or style isn’t good, I won’t take it.” The woman didn’t care whether she stuttered. She was here to buy clothes, not chat.
Seeing the woman’s open gaze and practical focus on the clothing itself, Su Jinle felt her heart gradually relax. Maybe stuttering wasn’t so frightening after all.
She nodded again. “Mm.”
Fabric for a dress cost about four yuan. After selling the shirt today, she felt more confident. Even if she couldn’t sell it at a high price, at least she wouldn’t lose money. And she trusted her sewing skills—she could even replicate styles from fashion magazines.
Seven yuan earned, minus the fabric cost—that still left three yuan profit.
Three yuan meant thirty meat buns!
Thinking of that, her small face seemed to glow.
The woman couldn’t help smiling. “If it turns out well, I’ll introduce more customers to you.”
Su Jinle nodded like a pecking chick.
After the woman left, Su Jinle began packing up. The old lady selling eggs nearby stopped her.
“So you don’t speak very smoothly, huh?”
Su Jinle froze. The color drained from her face. Memories of teenage boys circling her, laughing and calling her “Little Stutter,” flooded back. She almost knew exactly what would come next—
What was a stutterer doing out selling things? Wasn’t she just asking to be laughed at?
But the old lady simply gave her a light slap on the arm. “You silly girl. Next time bring a cardboard sign and write the price on it. When you’re doing business, you’ve got to use your brain. And just now, you should’ve asked for twelve yuan—I bet that woman would’ve bought it for twelve!”
Su Jinle was stunned. She had expected ridicule, but instead received practical advice.
So the world outside wasn’t as harsh as she had imagined. Without marrying Gu Jingxiu, she discovered that sunshine existed everywhere. Warmth didn’t have to come from one person alone.
On her way home, her steps were light. For once, she even hummed a little tune, stuttering along with it. She bought a piece of sky-blue synthetic fabric with a subtle ripple pattern, and three jin of eggs from the old lady. After all that, she still had three yuan left.
She would give the three yuan to her mother. And she’d buy her brother big meat buns every day—thirty of them!
And she had to save money for her brother’s medical treatment too…
As she neared the entrance of the cannery factory, she slowed.
Gu Jingxiu and Xu Muqing stood facing each other. One wore a white shirt, tall and straight as bamboo. The other wore a floral blouse, bright and beautiful.
She withdrew her gaze. Hate? Not exactly.
Given another life, let everyone walk their own road. She didn’t want to be anyone’s substitute. He could go make up for his regrets.
When she returned home, Lin Yun had just finished work. Several steaming meat buns sat on the table.
“Lele, eat while they’re hot,” Lin Yun called. “Pork belly filling—so fragrant!”
Su Jinle’s eyes curved into crescents. She had been out all afternoon, nervous and excited. Now she was truly hungry.
“Okay. I can eat one. A whole big bun!”
“Eat more,” Lin Yun said gently.
Su Jinle took a large bite. Her eyes suddenly grew moist. It felt like she hadn’t eaten a bun like this in many years. Later in Jingbei, soup dumplings became fashionable, the big buns grew smaller and the fillings more varied—but none were ever this fragrant again.
Halfway through, she remembered something. “Mom, you eat.”
“I already did,” Lin Yun said from the side.
“Liar.”
There were three buns in total—clearly one for her father, one for her brother, and one for her. Her mother wouldn’t have taken one.
Lin Yun waved her off. “Why would I lie? Finish eating. I’ll boil some rice soup—no need to cook dishes tonight.”
Money was tight. She worked at a small restaurant during the day, where meals were provided, so she tried to eat more there and less at home to save what she could.
Su Jinle pulled the remaining three yuan from her pocket and pressed it into her mother’s hand.
“We have money. We’ll eat meat.”
Lin Yun froze. “Lele, where did this money come from?”
“I sold the shirt.” Speaking to her family made her less nervous, and her words flowed more smoothly. “The white shirt!”
Lin Yun remembered the shirt her daughter had made—the size had made her suspect it was for Gu Jingxiu. She hadn’t expected Lele to sell it.
“You went by yourself? And sold it for that much?”
She didn’t feel happy—she felt heartache. Because of her speech issue, her daughter rarely even went out alone, let alone did business.
With her cheeks still puffed full of bun, Su Jinle held up ten fingers. Her voice came out muffled, “Ten yuan! I bought eggs—and meat!”
She still needed to hurry and make the dress!
Only then did Lin Yun notice the eggs, the meat, and the sky-blue fabric on the table.
She stared in shock.
“How much? How much did you say you sold it for?”