“Wait and see something good? What good exactly? Watch how others point fingers at our family’s backbone?”
Lin Fen followed Li Zhihuan into the house, finally unable to suppress the anger in her chest.
“Zhihuan, tell me honestly—what exactly are you planning to do with all this stuff you bought? If you can’t give me a proper explanation, I… I’ll throw all these fabrics out!”
The old lady was truly furious. A lifetime of dignity had been completely embarrassed this afternoon.
Seeing her mother-in-law’s red, angry face, Li Zhihuan did not rush to explain. Instead, she calmly poured her a glass of water.
“Mom, calm down first. Sit and have some water.”
Her calmness stood in stark contrast to Lin Fen’s agitation.
Looking at the water in her hands, then at Li Zhihuan’s steady, emotionless eyes, Lin Fen’s anger strangely eased a little.
“You… just tell me, what are you trying to do?”
Only then did Li Zhihuan place the cup into her hands and take out the notebook that Qi Weiguo had secretly glanced at several times before.
She flipped to the pages with the design sketches and handed them over.
“Mom, look at this.”
Suspicious, Lin Fen took it. On the paper were strange-looking clothes.
The sleeves were as wide as bat wings, the body was short, and the neckline was quite open.
“What is this? Such strange clothing!”
Her brows tightened even more.
She had never seen anything like this before, let alone worn it.
“Mom, don’t rush. Listen to me.”
Li Zhihuan pointed at the drawing and began her explanation.
“See these sleeves? We call them batwing sleeves. They’re wide, and they can perfectly cover the flesh on the arms. And this waistline—it’s cinched in. Loose on top, tight at the bottom. Doesn’t it make the waist look really slim?”
“And this neckline—it’s slightly wider, showing the collarbones and making the neck look longer and more energetic. Most importantly, this style isn’t picky about body shape. Whether someone is a bit chubby or slim, it still looks good and slimming!”
Using sales techniques from her previous life, Li Zhihuan carefully broke down the advantages of the “batwing sweater” one by one.
Lin Fen listened in a daze. Although she still felt the design was strange, hearing it explained like this… it somehow seemed to make sense?
“Then… what does that have to do with all that ruined fabric outside?”
“Of course it has something to do with it!”
Li Zhihuan’s eyes lit up.
“Look, if I place that black uneven thread right along the edge of the sleeve, wouldn’t it look like an intentional decorative trim instead?”
“And that piece of stained fabric—I can use it on these wide sleeves. From a distance, those uneven colors would look like ink wash painting, giving it a very artistic feel.”
As she spoke, she began sketching on the design, turning “defects” into “design elements.”
Lin Fen leaned closer, watching the reinterpreted “flaws,” her mouth slowly opening wider.
In her entire life, she had only known clothes should be neat and proper. She had never imagined that defects in fabric could be used like this.
Seeing her mother-in-law’s expression shift from doubt to astonishment, Li Zhihuan knew she had nearly won.
“Mom, talk is cheap. Give me one day. I’ll make one for you first. If you think it doesn’t look good after wearing it, you can deal with all that fabric however you want. I won’t say another word!”
She made her final promise.
After a long hesitation, Lin Fen finally gritted her teeth.
“Fine! I’ll trust you this once! If it turns out ugly, just wait and see how I deal with you!”
For the next twenty-four hours, Li Zhihuan locked herself in her room.
Although she had once been a corporate worker in her past life, she had taken sewing classes and studied fashion design before, so she had some foundation.
Now, she poured all her energy into cutting and sewing.
Whenever military wives in the compound passed by the Qi household, they could hear the rhythmic “da-da-da” sound of a sewing machine from inside.
“Did you hear that? That wasteful daughter-in-law is actually treating those scraps like treasure.”
“She’s probably afraid Battalion Commander Qi will scold her when he comes back, so she’s hiding inside messing around.”
Meng Yao listened to these comments, the corners of her mouth curling with undisguised satisfaction.
She was just waiting to see Li Zhihuan become a laughingstock.
When Qi Weiguo returned and saw that his wife had turned all the household money into a pile of junk, she wondered what his expression would be.
The next afternoon, the door to Li Zhihuan’s room finally opened.
She had stayed up all night. Her eyes were bloodshot, but her spirit was unusually high.
In her hands was a brand-new piece of clothing.
A sapphire-blue batwing sweater.
The fabric was the same unevenly dyed “waste cloth” that had been rejected by Director Liu.
But now, under Li Zhihuan’s skillful hands, those varying shades of blue formed a unique tie-dye-like texture, full of artistic charm. Wide sleeves, a fitted hem—simple, yet far from ordinary.
“Mom, try it on.”
Li Zhihuan handed the garment to Lin Fen.
Looking at this trendy piece of clothing, Lin Fen still felt uncertain.
“Can… can this really be worn outside?”
“You’ll know once you try it on.”
Under Li Zhihuan’s urging, Lin Fen walked back to her room in half doubt and half curiosity and changed into the batwing shirt.
When she came out again, both Li Zhihuan and Qi Weiguo—who just happened to step out to get some water—froze on the spot.
Lin Fen had a slightly fuller figure, and her usual old-fashioned clothing made her look even bulkier.
But after putting on the batwing shirt, the wide sleeves perfectly concealed the flesh on her arms, while the cinched hem outlined her waistline. She actually looked several sizes slimmer.
The sapphire-blue fabric made her skin appear fairer, and the wide neckline elongated her neck, giving her an unexpectedly youthful and stylish look.
“Oh my heavens!”
Lin Fen stared at her reflection in disbelief.
Was this… really her?
This outfit was simply too flattering, too slimming, too good-looking!
There wasn’t even a trace of that “rag-like” impression anymore.
“It looks amazing! Mom, it suits you perfectly!” Li Zhihuan praised sincerely.
Qi Weiguo was also stunned.
He had never seen his mother dressed so… fashionable before.
He looked at his mother glowing in the mirror, then at Li Zhihuan standing beside her with a proud expression and tired, bloodshot eyes—and his mind shook violently.
She… she had really turned those “trash materials” into treasures!
Everything she said yesterday, all those sketches she drew—it wasn’t nonsense at all!
This woman… just how many abilities did she have that he didn’t know about?
“R-really looks good?” Lin Fen turned in front of the mirror again and again, unable to close her mouth.
“Not just good!”
Li Zhihuan stepped forward and adjusted her collar.
“Mom, go take a walk in the courtyard right now. I guarantee those people who laughed at you yesterday will be so jealous their eyes will pop out.”
Blinded by vanity and her new outfit, Lin Fen didn’t hesitate at all. She straightened her back.
“Let’s go! I’m going out for a walk!”
She was going to let the entire compound see how capable her daughter-in-law was!
Dressed in her brand-new batwing shirt, Lin Fen marched out of the courtyard with great confidence.
And after sending off her “walking advertisement,” Li Zhihuan turned her gaze toward Qi Weiguo, who was still in shock.
A calculating smile appeared on her lips.
She now had a female clothing prototype—what she lacked was a male one.
And wasn’t the man in front of her the perfect free male model with an excellent physique?
Li Zhihuan took out a soft measuring tape from the drawer and walked step by step toward Qi Weiguo.
Her gaze was like that of a fox locking onto its prey, carrying an irresistible dominance.