“Twenty cents a yard?”
Director Wang’s eyes widened as he stared at the large bundle of floral fabric in Su Man’s hands, clearly unable to believe what he had just heard.
“Comrade Su, this is dacron fabric! Even though it has some flaws, the genuine article sells for one yuan and thirty cents a yard! Aren’t you bargaining a little too aggressively?”
Su Man calmly spread out the fabric and pointed at the obvious dye stains and several small holes scattered across it.
“Director Wang, you’re an expert.”
“Dacron fabric is certainly good, but these pieces were dyed incorrectly. The patterns are completely blurred in places.”
“If this kind of fabric were made into clothes and worn outside, people would only laugh at the wearer.”
“And it’s already been sitting here for a whole year. If you keep storing it, it’ll eventually grow mold. By then, it won’t be worth a single cent, and you’ll still have to waste precious warehouse space storing it.”
Su Man’s voice was soft and gentle, but every word struck directly at Director Wang’s concerns.
“Twenty cents a yard. I’ll take the whole lot.”
“There have to be at least fifty yards here. That makes ten yuan.”
“Ten yuan in your books is better than letting a pile of useless fabric rot away in the warehouse, isn’t it?”
“And I don’t need any cloth coupons.”
That final sentence about not needing cloth coupons was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
With the year-end inventory approaching, the thing Director Wang feared most was excess stock and losses on the books.
Being able to turn this dead stock into actual cash was exactly what he wanted.
“All right! Deal!”
Director Wang gritted his teeth and waved his hand decisively.
“Comrade Su, you’re a straightforward person. This whole pile is yours!”
Su Man promptly pulled out ten large bills and counted out ten yuan onto the counter.
Then she found a length of hemp rope and tied the enormous pile of colorful flawed fabric into one gigantic bundle.
It was nearly half as tall as a person.
She hoisted it onto her back, making herself look as though she were carrying a small mountain.
The women shopping nearby stared at her as if she were an idiot.
“Is that Lu’s wife crazy? She spent ten yuan on a pile of junk?”
“Tsk, tsk, what a waste! What could she possibly do with that fabric? It’s too slippery even to use as rags for wiping tables.”
Su Man paid no attention to their gossip.
She hoisted the bundle higher. Although its weight made her shoulders ache, her heart was practically bursting with joy.
How could this be junk?
This was literally walking money!
In her previous life, she had worked as a fashion designer, and turning discarded materials into treasures was one of her specialties.
As long as she cut around the dye stains carefully, she could turn them into an intentional gradient effect on a skirt.
As for the holes, she could embroider a plum blossom over them or cover them with pockets.
In an era when the streets were filled with blue, gray, and green clothing, even a little bit of thoughtful design would be a complete game changer!
In an excellent mood, Su Man hummed a little tune as she headed back toward the residential compound.
She had just reached the entrance when she ran straight into someone.
Lin Wan’er.
The “peacock” was dressed even more ostentatiously than usual today.
She wore a brand-new red wool coat, a white wool scarf around her neck, and polished leather shoes.
Several books were tucked in her hands, giving her the air of a refined young intellectual.
When she saw Su Man struggling under a huge bundle of what appeared to be rags, sweat covering her forehead, Lin Wan’er froze for a moment.
Then she covered her mouth and burst out laughing.
There was unmistakable superiority and mockery in her laughter.
“Oh my, isn’t this Sister-in-law Su Man?”
Lin Wan’er deliberately raised her voice, attracting the attention of the sentry standing at the entrance and several military dependents passing by.
“What happened to you?”
“Brother Lu has only been gone for a few days, and you’ve already fallen so far that you have to collect scraps?”
She stepped closer and disdainfully pinched a corner of the bundle on Su Man’s back with two fingers, revealing a piece of fabric with a blotchy dye pattern.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You even bring this kind of garbage home?”
“Su Man, if you really don’t have enough money to spend, you can just ask me.”
“For Brother Lu’s sake, I don’t mind lending you a few yuan. At least that way, you won’t embarrass him.”
Lin Wan’er lifted her chin, her contempt unmistakable.
In her eyes, Su Man was nothing more than a country bumpkin who had come from the countryside.
She had merely used her pretty face to seduce Lu Zhan.
And now her true colors had finally been exposed.
She even treated a pile of rags like treasure.
Su Man stopped walking and adjusted the bundle on her back.
She looked at the arrogant woman standing before her.
Instead of getting angry, she smiled.
There was a hint of amusement in her expression, as though she were watching a clown make a fool of herself.
“Comrade Lin, if you don’t need your eyes, you can donate them to someone who does.”
Su Man spoke calmly.
“What did you say?!”
Lin Wan’er’s expression changed.
“I said you’re blind.”
Su Man shot back without the slightest hesitation.
“This is fabric the supply and marketing cooperative was clearing out. I bought it with real money. It’s raw material.”
“If you see it as garbage, that only proves you lack the skill and the vision to recognize its value.”
“As for embarrassing someone…”
Su Man looked Lin Wan’er up and down, then shook her head.
“Comrade Lin, that coat of yours may be expensive, but on you, it looks like…”
She paused deliberately.
“Like someone draped a piece of red cloth over the stone lion at the village entrance.”
“Absolutely vulgar.”
“Pfft—”
A young soldier passing nearby couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Lin Wan’er trembled with rage, her face turning a deep reddish-purple.
“You… You dare call me vulgar?!”
“I’m the leading performer of the cultural troupe! How could your taste possibly compare with mine?!”
“You’re carrying around a pile of garbage, yet you have the nerve to say I have no taste?”
“Fine! Very well!”
Lin Wan’er pointed at Su Man’s nose, gritting her teeth as she spoke.
“I’ll wait and see!”
“I want to see exactly what you can turn this pile of garbage into!”
“And when you end up making a pile of rags, don’t come crying when there’s nowhere to hide!”
Su Man gave a cold laugh, too lazy to waste another word on her.
“Move. A good dog doesn’t block the road.”
With that, she directly bumped Lin Wan’er aside and strode into the compound with the bundle on her back.
Lin Wan’er stumbled from the impact and nearly fell.
Watching Su Man’s arrogant retreating figure, she stamped her feet in fury, the venom in her eyes practically spilling over.
“Su Man! Just you wait!”
“When you make a fool of yourself, I’ll see whether Brother Lu still wants a shrew like you who does nothing but embarrass him!”
Meanwhile.
In the shadows at the corner of the compound, a pair of eyes filled with jealousy and suspicion was fixed intently on the huge bundle of fabric on Su Man’s back.
It was Sister-in-law Zhang.
She had just been humiliated at the supply and marketing cooperative, and the anger in her heart had yet to subside.
She had followed Su Man all the way back, and after seeing her buy such a large amount of fabric, her suspicions only grew stronger.
“So much fabric… and she didn’t even need coupons…”
“Where did this woman get so much money?”
“She must be engaging in profiteering!”
A sinister glint flashed through Sister-in-law Zhang’s narrow, triangular eyes.
In this era, profiteering and illegal private trading were serious offenses.
If she could prove that Su Man was guilty…
Sister-in-law Zhang let out a cold snort and turned toward the compound’s management committee.
Su Man returned home and tossed the bundle onto the kang bed.
“Phew…”
She rubbed her aching shoulders and stared at the huge pile of fabric, the light in her eyes growing brighter and brighter.
“Mom, what’s this?”
Second Treasure curiously came over and reached out to touch it.
“Rags?”
“This isn’t a pile of rags.”
Su Man gently patted Second Treasure on the head before taking a pair of scissors and a sewing kit from the drawer.
“This is our family’s money tree.”
“Tonight, Mom is going to perform a magic trick for you.”
She picked up the scissors, and her gaze instantly became focused and sharp.
Countless fashion designs from her previous life flashed rapidly through her mind.
Cinched waists, full skirts, puffed sleeves, traditional knotted buttons…
The scissors danced across the fabric, producing a crisp, pleasant snip-snip-snip.
That night, the lights in the Lu family’s little courtyard remained lit for the entire night.