Chapter 473 I'll Give You a Lesson

The Dahe Garment Shop suddenly became bustling with activity.

Although there are only five styles in total, they basically cover all types, and the four sizes can fit most women's body shapes, except for those who are too fat or too thin, who need to be measured and customized.

Several beautiful and well-proportioned young ladies found their favorite clothes as soon as they entered.

Several others had slight body flaws and, after much searching, were unsure which styles and colors suited them best.

They hoped Cao Yingying could help suggest an outfit, but Cao Yingying was too busy. She was surrounded by several ladies she was on slightly better terms with, who asked her all sorts of questions, mainly about color and style matching... Cao Yingying had learned this knowledge from Cheng Wanwan, and she had also done in-depth research on it herself, so she could give some advice.

Cheng Wanwan walked over and said with a smile, "Are you two also looking to buy clothes?"

The two young ladies nodded shyly: "We're from Sui'an, we're not in a hurry. We'll talk about it after Miss Cao is done with her work."

"It's alright, just let me know if you need anything." Cheng Wanwan smiled gently, but her eyes were sharp. She glanced at the two young ladies and understood immediately. She pointed to the skirts on the side and said, "You two can try on those light blue crepe brocade pleated skirts over there."

This design features pleats made of gauze at the chest, layered up like ruffles, perfectly concealing any flaws in the bust area.

The two young ladies blushed instantly. They had tried their best to hide their flaws, but they hadn't expected that Sui'an people would see through them at a glance. They felt inexplicably embarrassed.

"Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. Some people have fair skin, some have dark skin. These are all innate, and there's nothing to be ashamed of." Cheng Wanwan said calmly as she took down the clothes from the wall. "You are more suited to the watery cloud color. You, on the other hand, try this watery red."

The two young ladies took the clothes and hurried to the fitting room to change.

Two full-length bronze mirrors were installed here. When they came out after changing their clothes, they were stunned when they saw themselves in the mirror.

The ladies watching from the sidelines were also quite remarkable.

It's amazing how a single piece of clothing can change a person's appearance and enhance their looks.

In the past, they would have embroiderers come to the mansion to take measurements and make clothes, and they paid the most attention to the fabric and embroidery. Now they realize that in addition to the fabric and embroidery, the style and cut are also very important to whether a garment looks good. In fact, these two points are the most important.

A group of young ladies selected their favorite clothes in the shop, and in about half an hour, eight garments were sold.

These clothes are of the highest quality in terms of both fabric and embroidery. A single garment costs three or four taels of silver. If you need to have your measurements taken and have them custom-made, the price will double.

Sun Shuiqin stood to the side, serving tea and snacks. She looked up and saw the young ladies taking out their money without a care in the world, and she couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.

The clothes in this shop were all made under her supervision. Each garment was made from eight feet of cloth, costing about eight or nine hundred coins. It took about three days to complete one garment by hiring someone to cut, embroider, and sew it. The labor cost was about two hundred coins. A garment that cost one tael of silver to make actually sold for three taels of silver. That was incredibly profitable.

In just half an hour, the shop earned nearly thirty taels of silver.

Not to mention Sun Shuiqin, even Kong Xiuniang, who had seen the world, was taken aback. When the first batch of clothes was made, the technology was not very mature. Because the cutting and sewing were different from before, it took at least three days to make a single garment. The time cost was actually very high. Currently, there were only three embroiderers. At this sales speed, the supply would soon fall short of demand.

After all the customers left, Kong Xiuniang sighed, "I've been in this business for decades and I always knew that I could make clothes to sell, but I never knew that I could do it like this. The people of Sui'an have really taught this old woman a lesson."

Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Then how about I give you another lesson?"

Cao Yingying immediately sat up straight, like a well-behaved student. Kong Xiuniang also looked like she was listening attentively. Sun Shuiqin, who was cleaning up the tea in the back, also pricked up her ears.

“I talked to Xia Hua. A dress like this would take an embroiderer at least three days to make. Someone unfamiliar with the pattern would probably need four or five days to finish it. It’s not because it’s complicated, but because the process is too tedious. The cutting is different from before, some places need to be sewn with pleats, and the embroidery patterns have to complement each other... In short, it requires a high level of skill from the embroiderers.” She said slowly, “What if we break down the process? Some people can be responsible for cutting, and some people can be responsible for sewing the key parts... as well as the neckline, bodice, cuffs, and hem, and each part can be done by different people.”

"Doing the same process repeatedly leads to proficiency, which naturally increases efficiency. Most importantly, separating the processes allows you to keep certain technical steps under your control, preventing design leaks..."

Kong Xiuniang's eyes widened as if she had been enlightened: "Wonderful, truly wonderful! Listening to Sui'an people's words is better than reading books for ten years!"

"I'm just talking theory on paper." Cheng Wanwan took a sip of tea. "How to implement it in practice is something that Kong Xiuniang and Yingying need to think about carefully and come up with a specific plan."

Cao Yingying nodded: "Mother, I have a general idea of ​​what to do. I'll put it into practice in a few days."

As the group was talking, a figure walked in through the shop entrance.

Cheng Wanwan turned around and saw that it was Zhao Ergou who came in. She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you back so early this afternoon? Isn't the restaurant busy anymore?"

"Manager Zhou and his wife are busy, and Cheng Jia is helping out over there, so we don't need me." Zhao Ergou sat down at the table. "I thought the clothing shop would be too busy today, but we don't have a single customer."

Kong Xiuniang chuckled and said, "Young master, you're too late. The guests have already returned to the city."

Zhao Ergou scratched his head: "Then I didn't help at all."

Cheng Wanwan chuckled and said, "Since you're here, help tidy up."

It's almost evening, and no one else from the village is likely to come. I'll tidy up the house and we can close up shop for the day.

Kong Xiuniang tidied up the clothes, and Cao Yingying was about to help when Cheng Wanwan stopped her, telling her to sit down and rest. It was best not to walk around too much in the early stages of pregnancy. She took Cao Yingying's place and tidied up the messy clothes, hanging them up one by one.

Zhao Ergou was tidying up the tea room in the back. Tea was being brewed on a small stove, which was specially prepared to entertain guests.

He extinguished the fire in the stove, put away the tea to take home later, and also packed up the remaining fruit and snacks; villagers never waste food...

He was busy when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Brother Er Gou, you..."

As soon as Sun Shuiqin opened her mouth, Zhao Ergou suddenly turned around.

He frowned, his face full of displeasure: "What are you doing here?"

Sun Shuiqin's expression froze.

What do you mean by "Why is she here?" She's been here the whole time. Hasn't he seen her since he came in?

Is she really that insignificant?