Lin Qingran was actually born in the same year as Jiang Wanxi, though she was a few months younger. Like Jiang Wanxi, she had also just graduated from high school.
However, unlike Jiang Wanxi, Lin Qingran had relied on her own efforts to pass the entrance examination and secure a position in the administrative office of a garment factory.
This made Jiang Wanxi rather curious about the cousin she had only just met.
Once they started talking, Jiang Wanxi was pleasantly surprised to discover that Lin Qingran was extremely sociable. She spoke clearly and fluently, with a straightforward and open manner.
Jiang Wanxi found her personality very comfortable to be around. She had never liked people who acted coy or were excessively reserved. Lin Qingran’s frank and easygoing nature made their conversation relaxed and enjoyable.
Lin Qingran apologized for her parents’ behavior earlier.
“Sister Wan, my parents only stared at you earlier because your clothes looked so unique. They both work at a garment factory, so whenever they see someone dressed particularly well, they can’t help taking a few extra looks. Please don’t misunderstand them.”
Her mother was Jiang Wanxi’s aunt, so it was understandable for her to stare at her niece.
But her father really was something else…
Fortunately, Auntie knew what her parents were like. Otherwise, if it had been someone else, her father might already have received a slap across the face.
Jiang Wanxi understood perfectly.
People in this era were generally simple and sincere. There weren’t nearly as many complicated schemes and hidden motives.
Workers of this era were especially dedicated. All they wanted was to increase production, generate more income for the country, and contribute as much as possible. They worked incredibly hard without needing anyone to supervise them.
“I’m not angry at all. What’s the point of being pretty if no one’s allowed to look?” Jiang Wanxi joked. “Why else would we bother looking this good? Besides, I think this outfit looks pretty nice myself.”
She leaned closer and continued, “I’ll tell you a secret. I altered this dress myself, and I made this hair accessory too. If you like them, I can teach you.”
Lin Qingran hadn’t expected this cousin of hers to be so humorous and easy to talk to.
She was much easier to get along with than Jiang Yu.
Lin Qingran and Jiang Yu had never gotten along since childhood. Jiang Yu always spoke indirectly instead of saying what she meant and loved running to the adults to complain about others.
In short, Lin Qingran simply couldn’t bring herself to like her.
It had nothing to do with whether they were related by blood.
She simply didn’t like the kind of person Jiang Yu was.
Meanwhile, Shen Xinlan and her husband, Lin Junwei, who had been sitting awkwardly to the side, immediately became restless when they heard that Jiang Wanxi had altered the dress herself.
Their curiosity was killing them.
If their garment factory produced dresses like this, wouldn’t they sell extremely well?
To tell the truth, their warehouse was still holding a large batch of unsold stock from last year.
And if their niece was really this capable, perhaps…
Both Shen Xinlan and Lin Junwei held important positions at the same garment factory. Shen Xinlan was in charge of production, while Lin Junwei was responsible for sales.
If they could successfully turn this idea into a cooperative project, it wouldn’t just benefit Lin Junwei’s career. More importantly, it could help the factory solve its problem of excess inventory.
It would be a win-win situation—potentially advancing Lin Junwei’s career while solving one of the factory’s biggest headaches.
“Well, Wanwan…” Her aunt seized the opportunity. “Would you be interested in working at the garment factory? You clearly have talent for this. It would be such a waste if you didn’t work in the clothing industry.”
Jiang Wanxi knew perfectly well that she didn’t possess any extraordinary talent.
She had simply seen far more than people of this era.
Having lived in the modern world, her understanding of fashion and aesthetics naturally surpassed what was common in this period.
The thought almost made her laugh.
If she were genuinely asked to demonstrate her abilities as a fashion designer, she would only embarrass herself in front of the real experts.
She knew exactly where her abilities stood. Compared with genuinely talented designers, she was nowhere near their level.
It was better to keep a low profile rather than show off skills she didn’t truly possess.
After all, knowing one’s limits was important.
“Auntie, you’re giving me far too much credit,” Jiang Wanxi politely declined. “I’m only fooling around with little alterations. I don’t really understand clothing design. If you ask me to modify an existing outfit, I can manage, but if you want me to actually design and make clothes professionally, I can’t do it.”
Jiang Wanxi believed it was far better to shine in a field she was genuinely skilled at.
In her previous life, she had overcome countless difficulties to become the second-best cardiothoracic surgeon in her department.
The top surgeon was an elderly professor with decades of experience. Because of his advanced age, Jiang Wanxi had served as the primary surgeon during many difficult operations while the old professor guided her from the side.
In many ways, the professor had been her teacher.
He was highly respected in the surgical field and had taught Jiang Wanxi a great deal, including knowledge and techniques from other surgical specialties.
While living in Ji Province, Jiang Wanxi had worked as the production team’s scorekeeper while also studying under the team’s barefoot doctor.
Of course, her main reason for doing so was to give herself a legitimate explanation for possessing medical knowledge.
Sometimes, she would even secretly sneak into the cattle shed to learn traditional Chinese medicine from elderly practitioners who had been sent down to the countryside.
The moment she heard there were experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioners among those who had been sent down, Jiang Wanxi’s professional instincts immediately kicked in.
She was fascinated by the mysterious techniques of traditional Chinese medicine—observing a patient’s appearance, listening and smelling, asking questions, and taking the pulse.
Unable to suppress her curiosity, she constantly sneaked over to pester the elderly doctors, frightening them quite badly at first.
However, thanks to her persistence, she eventually learned a great deal about traditional Chinese medicine from them.
On the day she returned to the Jiang family, she had deliberately mentioned some of these experiences.
Grandma Jiang had been delighted.
At last, she felt that someone could inherit her medical knowledge.
It turned out that Grandma Jiang had been born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Later, during the years of war and turmoil, she joined the revolutionary cause and went on to study Western medicine as well.
Although she had already retired, she still occasionally helped out at the residential compound’s clinic.
Grandma Jiang had rarely asked anyone for favors throughout her entire life.
Yet last night, she had actually told Jiang Wanxi that she could go to the compound clinic and help out.
Something had happened there recently, and they were currently short-handed.
Jiang Wanxi understood that when Grandma said “something happened,” she most likely meant that someone at the clinic had been implicated in the ongoing political movement.
Grandma Jiang had probably called in a few favors just to get her a position helping out there.
After all, the clinic inside the residential compound wasn’t somewhere just anyone could enter.
Strictly speaking, Jiang Wanxi couldn’t even call it a proper job yet.