The one who chased after them was a young woman. Lin Su recognized her—she was a sales clerk from the supply cooperative, not the same one who had once looked down on them for not being able to afford wool coats, but a younger one.
“Comrade…”
“My surname is Lin, Lin Su. Just call me Xiao Lin.”
“Comrade Xiao Lin, I’d like to have a dress custom-made. Is that possible?”
“Of course. You want the red-and-white plaid one too?”
She shook her head. “That one is pretty, but we work at the supply cooperative, so we can’t dress too flashy. Something more plain would be better. And… I want it for a blind date.”
Lin Su thought for a moment, then pulled out a yellowed notebook from her cloth bag. She took out a pencil and actually started sketching more than a dozen designs on the spot—A-line dresses, fitted dresses, two-piece sets. She even drew a pastoral French-style outfit: a blouse paired with a floral skirt, layered with a loose cardigan.
The girl’s eyes widened as she looked, overwhelmed. She asked carefully, “These… you can really make all of them?”
Lin Su nodded. “If I can draw it, I can make it. It will definitely match the design—no mismatch between sketch and finished product. You just tell me what occasion you need it for.”
The girl hesitated, then carefully picked two designs: a short-sleeved blue tube dress and the French-style floral outfit.
“I have fabric and yarn at home. If materials are included, how much for these two sets?”
“Ten yuan for labor. Ten days for completion. A three-yuan deposit upfront. I’ll take your measurements. After ten days, you can come to Yujia Village to pick them up, or we can meet in the county town.”
The girl was a bit hesitant. “You don’t have a shop in the county? Yujia Village is a bit far.”
Ten yuan was a huge amount. As a supply cooperative clerk, she had a stable, well-paying job, but she still worried Lin Su might be a scammer.
“Comrade, if I could afford to rent a shop in the county, I wouldn’t be charging so little,” Lin Su said honestly. “You can check my credentials. I’m from Yujia Village and I won’t run away. We can even sign a private contract.”
There was nothing she could do—she could only take the order if it worked out. If not, she would sell ready-made clothes at the market instead.
After thinking it over again and again, the girl finally decided to trust her. She paid the three-yuan deposit and received a handwritten contract from Lin Su. Lin Su even carried ink pads with her, and both of them pressed their fingerprints onto the agreement.
“When are you heading back? I haven’t finished work yet. I’ll bring the fabric over on the weekend.”
Lin Su wrote down her address. If she couldn’t find it, she could just shout for her at the village brigade loudspeaker.
The girl said her surname was Zhou, and after returning to the supply cooperative, she ran into Wu Jianguo and Shanshan—the ones who had bought Lin Su’s red-and-white plaid dress.
Wu Jianguo leaned over and asked, “Comrade, did you really pay a deposit? Aren’t you worried she might take the money and run?”
“If she runs, I’ll just report it to the police. Besides, it’s only three yuan—not that much,” the clerk said casually, clearly confident.
In this era, there weren’t many scammers yet, and most people were honest.
Lin Su, standing behind them, chuckled softly. “You can all come to Yujia Village to find me. I’ll be making a few more designs these days—you can see my craftsmanship for yourselves.”
Wu Jianguo looked a bit awkward.
“I can vouch for her,” Qin Zhoucheng said. “I’m Qin Zhoucheng from Xiaoshiling. You can verify my credentials at the county public security bureau. She’s not a scammer. You can rest assured.”
Lin Su froze slightly, not expecting him to speak up for her at this moment.
She had earned ten yuan from this trip—not bad at all, a good start—but the children’s clothes she brought to the market hadn’t sold.
After all, most people still relied on supply cooperatives, and many children’s clothes were handmade at home from purchased fabric. Only young women were willing to tighten their belts and save ration coupons to buy fashionable clothes.
“You’re not happy even after earning money?” Qin Zhoucheng said, reaching out to pat her head.
Lin Su blinked her dark eyes at him, and he felt a little awkward—he had subconsciously touched her head just now because she looked like a fluffy little animal lost in thought.
“I’m not unhappy. I just feel like this way of making money is a bit slow.”
“Slow? Do you know how much a textile factory worker in Shanghai earns in a month?”
Thirty-six yuan—and they still had to support their entire family.
“Hehe, I wish I could become a billionaire tomorrow and take you to eat and drink well.”
Qin Zhoucheng almost choked. “A billionaire? Do you think this is the era of gold yuan banknotes? There aren’t even that many ‘ten-thousand-yuan households’ in the whole country.”
“Hehe, why not? Just wait. Thirty years from now, I’ll definitely be a billionaire.”
She sounded so confident that Qin Zhoucheng didn’t even want to discourage her.
“Fine. I’ll wait and see.”
“Don’t laugh at me. I did make money today. Not much, but enough to treat you to a bottle of soda.”
After wandering the county market, Lin Su discovered that even after the early reforms allowing commodity circulation, there were still very few goods available. She drank soda, and even bought some pulled sugar candy and ice pops.
They went to a bookstore, but Lin Su came out disappointed—the books were outdated, and there were no fashion magazines at all. She could only pick up some old textbooks, like high school math and Chinese.
“What are you buying those for?” Qin Zhoucheng asked.
“I’m preparing for the college entrance exam,” Lin Su replied without looking up as she flipped through the pages.
“You’re preparing for the exam? Didn’t you even go to school?”
The Yu family had never let the original owner attend school—not even primary school. She had been treated like a workhorse, farming and earning work points instead.
“If Yu Minghai can take it, why can’t I? I’ve been self-studying with his textbooks for years.”
Qin Zhoucheng took the books from her hands and put them back on the shelf. “Then don’t use these. They’re outdated. I’ll have someone bring you the latest textbooks from Haicheng.”
“Really?” Lin Su’s eyes lit up.
She looked just like the black back dog he used to raise in the army—eyes bright and expectant at mealtime.
“If you had been staring at those books looking worried, is there anything else you want? I can ask friends in Haicheng to help find them.”
“I want books that teach current trends—fashion, makeup, things like that. It’d be great if there were even movie star magazines.”
Qin Zhoucheng frowned slightly. Fashion and makeup books? Did those even exist?
“I’ll try to find them, but I can’t promise.”
“Thank you so much, Old Qin! Whether you find them or not, you’re my great benefactor.”
Lin Su was too happy and couldn’t help herself—she jumped up and hugged him.
Qin Zhoucheng froze, caught off guard. Before his face could even turn red, she had already slipped away like a gust of wind. Then she popped a piece of candy into his mouth.
How could she just hug him like that? And then run off immediately after?
Qin Zhoucheng felt a bit conflicted.
On the way back by bicycle after registering at the civil affairs office, he remained silent the whole way.
Lin Su, on the other hand, was in a great mood, humming an unfamiliar tune. It sounded vaguely like a pop song from Hong Kong.
When they entered the village, they saw Aunt Liu heading toward the brigade office.
She called out, “Xiao Lin! Go quickly to the brigade office! There’s a meeting—the village secretary is talking about the household responsibility system. They’re going to divide the land!”