When Jiang Wanxi turned down the offer, Shen Xinlan could hardly believe it.
This was a job at a garment factory!
It was the kind of position countless people dreamed of but could never obtain. Did her niece not realize how difficult it was to get a job at the Beijing Garment Factory?
She was about to persuade her again when her older sister leaned over and quietly told her about Grandma Jiang’s plans for Wanxi. Hearing this, Shen Xinlan had no choice but to give up.
At that moment, her uncle-in-law suddenly spoke.
He told Jiang Wanxi about the garment factory’s large amount of unsold inventory. Since she had managed to transform an ordinary, mass-produced dress into something unique, he hoped she could offer some ideas and suggestions to help them solve their problem.
He also made it clear that he wasn’t asking her to work for free. If her suggestions proved useful, she would be properly compensated.
Jiang Wanxi looked at the expectant expression on her aunt’s face and felt conflicted.
On the one hand, she didn’t want to disappoint her aunt. On the other hand, she felt somewhat uncomfortable doing this. After all, many of the fashion ideas she knew came from a later era, so using them here almost felt like taking credit for other people’s creations.
However, faced with her aunt’s hopeful gaze, she simply couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
In the end, she nodded.
“All right. I can give it a try.”
Her uncle-in-law didn’t waste a moment. He immediately got on his bicycle and rushed back to the factory.
Time was tight, and he knew they had to deal with the problem as quickly as possible.
When he returned, he brought several clothing samples in different styles.
Each sample had been carefully selected and represented the factory’s considerable effort and workmanship.
Jiang Wanxi took the samples and examined them carefully.
She inspected every detail, from the fabric and tailoring to the stitching and overall craftsmanship.
The fabric was of excellent quality. It was soft and comfortable, with a pleasant sheen and texture. The workmanship was also quite refined. The loose threads had been neatly trimmed, and she couldn’t find any obvious flaws.
The styles were also in line with current fashion trends.
The problem was that they lacked innovation and individuality.
Even so, Jiang Wanxi praised the quality of the garments and promised that she would do her best to help.
After all, she had already agreed to it, and she wasn’t someone who casually went back on her word. She also understood the difficulties her uncle-in-law was facing, so she was willing to offer whatever advice and assistance she could.
Jiang Wanxi carefully pointed out the areas that could be modified, while her aunt took out a notebook and wrote everything down.
Only after listening to Jiang Wanxi’s suggestions did Shen Xinlan realize that a garment could look completely different simply by changing a few small details.
She felt as though she had learned a great deal.
Jiang Wanxi also suggested using scraps of matching fabric to make decorative hair ties and headbands. This would not only make use of leftover fabric but also create matching accessories to go with the clothes.
She generously sketched several designs for hair accessories and headbands and explained how they could be made.
She even suggested allowing factory workers to take the materials home and make the accessories in their spare time. They could be paid according to how many pieces they completed.
By the time Jiang Wanxi finished, her eldest aunt had already prepared dinner.
Shen Xinlan and her husband felt rather embarrassed. It was their first time meeting Jiang Wanxi, yet they had already given her so much work to do.
Jiang Wanxi assured them that it was nothing.
If they really wanted to thank her, however, she hoped they could help her buy some yarn.
The department store sold yarn without requiring ration coupons, but purchases were limited, and she hadn’t been able to buy as much as she needed.
Her uncle-in-law immediately said that wouldn’t be a problem.
He was fairly familiar with the manager of the department store. Tomorrow at noon, he and his wife would take Jiang Wanxi there personally.
She could buy as much yarn as she wanted.
After dinner, everyone sat together and continued chatting.
Once again, they couldn’t stop praising Jiang Wanxi’s adoptive family for raising her so well. Despite her young age, she was neither arrogant nor impatient and carried herself with confidence and grace.
Jiang Wanxi felt her face grow warm with embarrassment.
Counting both of her lives together, she was already over forty years old, yet this was the first time anyone had praised her like this.
But then she thought about it again.
When she woke up in this world, she had only been a few years old.
Although she retained the memories of her previous life, in this life she really was just a teenage girl.
Why did she always have to think of herself as a middle-aged woman?
The moment she thought about it that way, she suddenly felt much lighter.
That’s right.
Right now, she was still a young girl.
She wasn’t even eighteen yet.
There were still countless wonderful years ahead of her, waiting for her to explore and enjoy.
At that thought, a happy smile appeared on her face.
Before they left, both her eldest uncle and youngest aunt gave her red envelopes.
Jiang Wanxi accepted them without putting on a show of refusing.
Seeing her daughter happily accept the red envelopes made Shen Menglan happy as well.
Her daughter had accepted her maternal family.
How could she not be delighted?
After returning home, Jiang Wanxi opened the red envelopes and was stunned.
Good heavens!
Each envelope contained a whopping fifty yuan!
After the initial shock, she was deeply moved.
All the anxiety and uneasiness she had felt before seemed to disappear.
In this world that no longer felt unfamiliar, she wasn’t alone anymore.
That night, Shen Menglan wanted to sleep beside her.
This time, Jiang Wanxi no longer felt as resistant to the idea.
This woman was her mother.
She was the woman who had given her life.
They were mother and daughter, bound by blood.