In just one hour, Tang Jin finished making two dresses.
She even tried them on and showed them to Wu Xiulan.
Seeing Tang Jin looking like a fairy, Wu Xiulan’s eyes widened in amazement.
She kept praising her.“How can it look this good? Tang Jin, I never expected you to be this skilled!”
“Another day I’ll make one for you too,” Tang Jin promised generously.
Wu Xiulan actually had a good figure and a delicate face. At twenty-five, she was still in the prime of youth. She was also well-liked by others. If she wore Tang Jin’s clothes, she would basically become a walking advertisement.
“Really? I happen to have some fabric. Let’s make it now!”
Wu Xiulan was straightforward and impatient by nature. When she wanted to do something, she acted immediately.
Tang Jin smiled.“Alright. Let me measure your measurements first. Do you want a short skirt, a long skirt, or maybe a qipao-style dress?”
Tang Jin was also someone who acted quickly. By the time she finished speaking, she had already taken the measurements.
“A qipao style. I’ve always loved qipaos,” Wu Xiulan said with a bright smile as she hurried to the bedroom to find her fabric.
She brought out a piece of white silk fabric with small floral patterns.
It was part of her dowry. She had kept it for a long time and never had the heart to use it to make clothes.
But after seeing Tang Jin’s skill, she finally decided to take it out.
“This fabric is nice. It’s perfect for a qipao,” Tang Jin said.
She spread the cloth across the table and began cutting.
From cutting to the finished product, Tang Jin spent a little over an hour.
When Wu Xiulan finally put on the qipao dress, she could hardly believe her eyes.
The woman in the mirror looked graceful and elegant.
The qipao hugged her body perfectly, outlining her slender waist and full chest just right. The collar design cleverly revealed her long neck and beautiful collarbones, giving her an elegant and refined aura.
The skirt swayed gently as she moved, revealing her long legs and making her walk even more charming.
Her tall and balanced figure seemed made for wearing qipao. Every movement carried a feminine charm that was captivating.
So she could actually look this beautiful.
It really proved the saying: clothes make the man—or in this case, the woman.
Tang Jin also braided her hair into a Korean-style braid, making her look even more youthful and radiant.
Wu Xiulan was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling. Instantly she became much closer to Tang Jin.
A couple of days ago, she had only forgiven Tang Jin and still treated her somewhat coldly.
But after today, she would definitely treat her as a true friend.
Women’s friendships could be strange like that.
Sometimes it started in a single moment. Sometimes because of a small event. Sometimes because of a shared interest.
And just like that, a friendship began.
Over the next few days, Tang Jin used the rest of the fabric according to the designs she had drawn and made more clothes.
In total, she made twelve dresses.
During those days, Mu Heng never returned. He was probably out on a mission.
Tang Jin herself wasn’t someone who lost her mind over love.
What people called love at first sight was, in truth, just attraction based on appearance.
It was simply that Mu Heng happened to match her taste and became someone she wanted to fall in love with.
One day, Tang Jin put on light makeup, wore one of her new dresses, took her design sketches and the clothes she had made, and once again rode the bus into the city.
The military wives on the bus stared at her in surprise.
She used to dress even more poorly than a country girl. Now suddenly her temperament and clothing style had completely changed.
She looked even more fashionable than city women.
Combined with her stunning beauty, she instantly became the most eye-catching sight in the entire bus.
Even the women couldn’t help glancing at her repeatedly.
Moreover, in the past few days, the loudspeaker announcements in the family compound had been praising Tang Jin for helping others—everyone knew she had saved the division commander’s wife.
She also hadn’t caused any trouble recently.
She greeted everyone politely and seemed like a completely different person.
Her reputation had improved quite a bit.
One of the wives finally asked curiously,
“Tang Jin, where did you buy that dress? It looks pretty nice.”
The speaker was Fang Juan, the wife of Battalion Commander Shen from the second battalion, who lived across the hall from Tang Jin.
She wasn’t very old either—very pretty and married only last year. She was around twenty-one or twenty-two and didn’t have children yet.
She was originally from the city and worked in a performing arts troupe. She loved dressing up and always made herself look beautiful.
Seeing Tang Jin’s dress with such a new design, she couldn’t help asking.
“Sister-in-law, I made this myself. I still have more than ten pieces in my bag. If you like them, I can sell you one for a cheap price,” Tang Jin said.
She was secretly very happy. She had been wanting to promote her craft, and now the opportunity had come to her.
Fang Juan didn’t fully believe that Tang Jin had made the dress herself, but since there were more in the bag, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.
After all, looking didn’t cost money.
“Sure! Let me see if there’s anything I like,” Fang Juan replied.
The other wives also stretched their necks curiously, waiting to see the new styles.
Tang Jin opened her bag and took out a gradient-colored long dress, holding it against herself.
Fang Juan fell in love with it at first sight.
With that dress and her flowing long hair, she would look even more stunning.
It would definitely dazzle her colleagues in the art troupe.
Especially that star performer Zhang Peipei, who always acted arrogant just because her father was the troupe leader, treating everyone else like country bumpkins.
“Alright, I’ll take this one. How much?” Fang Juan asked.
“In the department store this would sell for thirty yuan. Since we’re neighbors, I’ll sell it to you for fifteen.”
Tang Jin wanted to build good relationships with the wives.
Originally she planned to go for a high-end custom clothing business.
These early discounts could be considered benefits for the wives.
“Okay.”
Fang Juan readily took out fifteen yuan and handed it to Tang Jin.
Her salary in the art troupe was relatively high—about one hundred yuan per month—so she spent money easily. To her, fifteen yuan really wasn’t expensive.
She loved the dress more the longer she looked at it, and she couldn’t help wanting to buy more.
“Let me see if there are other styles that suit me.”
“Sure.”
Tang Jin continued showing the clothes.
This time it was a floral qipao-style dress.
Before Fang Juan could speak, another wife immediately shouted,
“I’ll take this one!”
She had seen Wu Xiulan wearing it yesterday and thought it looked absolutely beautiful.
Just like that, before the bus even reached the city, all twelve dresses Tang Jin brought were sold out.
Fang Juan alone bought three.
Originally these clothes were meant to be samples to show the clothing factory.
Now she would have to rely on her design drawings to negotiate cooperation.
But it didn’t matter.
If the cooperation worked out, she could simply make more later.
No matter what, she had earned 180 yuan.
Tang Jin planned to buy a sewing machine on her way home. Sewing machines cost just over a hundred yuan, and she would still have enough money left to buy more fabric.
While calculating all this in her mind, the bus soon arrived in the city and stopped in front of the department store.
Tang Jin got off the bus chatting and laughing with the other wives, and they each headed toward their own destinations.
After asking around, Tang Jin learned that there were two clothing factories in Nankun City.
One was state-owned, and the other was privately owned.
Tang Jin naturally chose the private one.
The private factory was called Fanghua Clothing Factory, located in the eastern district of the city.
She planned to take a tricycle taxi there.
Before going, she bought a pack of cigarettes from a small shop for fifty cents, planning to give it to the gate guard.
Half an hour later, Tang Jin arrived at the entrance of Fanghua Clothing Factory.
At the gate, a stone sign displayed the words “Fanghua Clothing Factory.”
Sure enough, the guard was an old man with a cigarette in his mouth.
Good thing she had prepared.
“Sir, I’d like to speak with someone in charge at your factory about a business cooperation. This pack of cigarettes is for you,” Tang Jin said with a friendly smile as she handed him the cigarettes.
The old man, Uncle Wang, took the cigarettes.
Seeing such a beautiful young girl who was also so polite and thoughtful, he chuckled.
“Go on in. That building over there—second floor, turn left, go to the end. That’s our factory director’s office.”