In the blink of an eye, it had already been a week since Shen Yingying transmigrated into the novel.
Her daily routine had more or less settled into place: a simple line between home and the cafeteria.
Every morning, she and Xie Fangzhu would eat breakfast together at the canteen, dropping Jiaozai off at home along the way.
Then in the afternoon, she would ride the bicycle to pick Xie Fangzhu up from work.
The rest of the time belonged entirely to herself.
But in this era, everything was underdeveloped and inconvenient.
Even with plenty of free time, there was almost nothing to do. She was bored out of her mind.
Luckily, the original owner had a sewing machine, and before transmigrating, Shen Yingying had worked as a fashion designer.
It had been her job, yes—but also her passion.
Her dream had always been to grow her own clothing brand into a household name.
Unfortunately, before she could achieve it, she ended up inside this novel.
Still, she took it surprisingly well.
After all, in her original era, the fashion industry had been overflowing with talent and fierce competition.
Even with the financial support of her wealthy adoptive parents, starting her own brand wouldn’t have been difficult.
But turning that brand into something famous nationwide? That would’ve been harder than climbing to the heavens.
Meanwhile, in this era she’d transmigrated into, clothes were still almost entirely blue, gray, or black, with only a handful of repetitive styles.
And in another couple of years, once the country reopened its doors, her opportunity would come.
If she could seize the era’s momentum and economic boom, maybe her dream really could come true.
Her first creation was a bra for herself.
Women in this era were conservative. They either wore tight little undershirts or wrapped themselves with strips of cloth.
The original owner had worn cloth wrappings too. Not only were they inconvenient to put on and take off, they also had to be tied painfully tight or they’d slip down.
In short, they were horribly uncomfortable.
Originally, Shen Yingying had wanted to buy a bra at the department store.
The problem was that the bras sold there only came in one universal size and didn’t fit her at all.
So she simply made one herself.
Since she had no sponge padding and only cotton cloth, and no adjustable metal clasps—only regular buttons—she modified the design slightly.
Using pink cotton fabric, she thickened certain key areas and extended the length a little, turning it into a front-button camisole-style bra.
This way, it offered better support, looked prettier, and was easier to wear.
For decoration, she even added two small pink ribbons in front and tied them into bows.
She was extremely satisfied with the finished piece and proudly showed it to Chen Qingqing like she was presenting a treasure.
The shy and reserved Chen Qingqing was completely stunned. Her round face turned bright red.
After one glance, she didn’t dare look a second time.
Judging from the shape, Chen Qingqing could roughly guess what it was supposed to be.
But that style…
…was way too bold, wasn’t it?
How could anyone possibly wear something like that?
Shen Yingying, however, was very pleased with her creation. Not only was it far more comfortable than chest wrappings, it also supported clothing much better.
Her desire to share was strong, and she even wanted to make one for Chen Qingqing.
But Chen Qingqing’s thinking clearly wasn’t as open-minded as hers. Although she was amazed by how good it looked when worn, she was far too embarrassed to actually use one herself.
Shen Yingying didn’t force her.
Instead, she moved on to her second creation in this new era:
A set of clothes for Xie Fangzhu.
Originally, she’d planned to make something for herself, but after seeing that the original owner already had quite a lot of clothing…
…and that Xie Fangzhu’s wardrobe contained pitifully few items…
…plus the fact that the fabric the original owner had bought for her third brother’s wedding clothes still hadn’t been touched…
…it seemed like the perfect chance to use it up.
Besides, she might as well earn some goodwill from Xie Fangzhu.
After all, she still depended on him for survival right now, so naturally she had to keep him happy.
What Shen Yingying made for him was a basic style common to the era: a dark-blue cotton shirt and a pair of army-green straight-leg trousers.
Since they had to be suitable for wearing outside, she couldn’t make them flashy the way she had with the bra. She only adjusted the design slightly.
Honestly, she hated the colors.
But the fabric was already there, so there was nothing she could do.
Besides, with Xie Fangzhu’s face and physique, he’d look handsome even in a burlap sack, so the color hardly mattered.
That afternoon, after she and Chen Qingqing woke up from their nap, Shen Yingying picked up the dark-blue shirt hanging beside the sewing machine.
She had spent several days working on it. The shirt and trousers were already finished; she only needed to sew on the buttons.
Just as she picked up the needle and thread, a rough male voice rang out from outside:
“Little sis, you there?”
Immediately afterward, a man poked his head through the doorway, looking nervous.
Only after spotting Shen Yingying seated at the sewing machine did he visibly relax and swagger into the room.
“Little sis, you scared me to death. I thought you’d really run away.”
Shen Yingying looked toward the man.
He appeared to be in his twenties, with shifty eyes and a hunched posture, giving off an extremely sleazy impression.
With a strange man suddenly barging in looking like that, Chen Qingqing—who was sitting beside Shen Yingying—became flustered. Instinctively, she shifted closer to Shen Yingying while watching the approaching man warily.
Shen Yingying patted her hand reassuringly.
“Don’t be scared. He’s my third brother.”
Honestly, if she didn’t possess the original owner’s memories, she never would’ve believed this man shared blood with her.
The original owner’s third brother, Shen Jiacai, was really unfortunate-looking.
Shen Jiacai plopped himself onto the edge of the bed carelessly. Sweat poured from him nonstop, and he grabbed a palm fan nearby to cool himself.
After sitting for a while and noticing Shen Yingying still hadn’t moved, his tiny eyes darted toward her.
“Little sis, what’s with you today? Your third brother’s so hot I’m practically smoking, and you can’t even pour me a cup of water?”
Whenever he came over before, his little sister had always been incredibly attentive. The moment he sat down, water would already be brought over.
But today he’d been sitting here for quite a while, and she was still planted there like some old master, not even moving her backside.
Shen Yingying ignored him completely.
“There’s no water.”
Shen Jiacai’s brows instantly twisted together.
What was going on today?
His little sister was actually giving him attitude?!
Had she eaten leopard guts or something?
His expression darkened as he stared at her.
“Little sis, your third brother came all this way to see you, and you’re acting all sarcastic? If Mom finds out, she’ll skin you alive. Don’t blame your third brother for not protecting you then.”
Shen Yingying narrowed her eyes.
In the original owner’s family, her mother, Pan Yun, held the highest authority.
She was fierce and domineering, and everyone in the household obeyed her.
Despite being a woman herself, she worshipped patriarchy even more than most men.
From childhood, she had constantly drilled into the original owner that boys were treasures while girls were grass—that girls were born inferior and existed to serve the family like beasts of burden, sacrificing endlessly for their three older brothers.
Under years of brainwashing and emotional manipulation, the original owner had become firmly convinced that her purpose in life was to help her brothers.
That was why, when Pan Yun demanded that she help gather the bride price for Shen Jiacai, the original owner had agreed without hesitation.
Deep in her subconscious, her brothers were heaven itself. If her brother wanted to marry, how could she not contribute?
An attitude like Shen Yingying’s today would have been absolutely unthinkable toward an older brother.
But the original owner was the original owner.
What did any of that have to do with Shen Yingying?