Luo Guangming limped into the house, smiling as he said he had come to borrow some soy sauce.

Lin Chen hurriedly went to the cupboard to look for it for him, when he heard him casually ask:

"Didn't you go pick up Xiaoqiao?"

Lin Chen paused for a moment in his hand holding the soy sauce bottle, then turned around with a smile and handed it to him: "Xiao Qiao is going to participate in a competition, so she'll be staying at the dormitory from now on. Are you looking for her?"

Luo Guangming hurriedly waved his hands: "No, no."

After saying that, he grabbed his things and fled as if he were running away.

Lin Chen noticed that the base of his ears was clearly red, and quickly called out from behind him, "Come over for dinner this weekend!"

His wife has a good eye; even he noticed this time that Luo Guangming has feelings for his sister.

He touched the back of his head, feeling that something was different from before, and suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Guangming doesn't stutter anymore."

He told Jiang Ning about this discovery, and Jiang Ning pretended to be surprised, "Really? Maybe I won't stutter when I talk about Xiaoqiao."

The two chatted as they cooked, while Wang Xiufen continued to work on the clothes she was making.

During the meal, Jiang Ning said:

"Mom, is Liu Fang's dress almost finished? It seems like three days is enough time to make a Tang suit. Should we expand our business?"

Wang Xiufen asked in confusion, "These two orders were just coincidences. Will there be such big business in the future?"

In her mind, such a big job is a rare opportunity. Many families can't even afford to eat, let alone spend more than ten yuan to make clothes!

Jiang Ning analyzed with her: "Although there are many poor people now, there are still some families with more laborers. It's not difficult for them to spend more than ten yuan to make clothes, and they don't do it often. Even the best wine needs advertising. If you have good skills, only the villagers know about it. This base is small, and there are few potential customers. If we spread the word, more people will know about it. Even if we only capture one ten-thousandth of those customers, we still can't finish all the orders."

Wang Xiufen was even more confused. What base number? What potential customers? She just liked making clothes. She was happy when she had clothes to make and could earn money. When she didn't have any orders, she would make clothes for her family.

Lin Chen quickly explained, "Mom, Ningning means that since we've decided to open a tailor shop, we should treat it as a serious business and strive to achieve something."

"Oh, I see, it's about expanding the tailor shop." Wang Xiufen's eyes lit up, as if she understood, but then her expression dimmed again. "It's still the same problem, where will we get so much work?"

After finishing her meal, Jiang Ning put down her chopsticks and said seriously, "I've thought it through. On the one hand, I will widely publicize your clothing business. On the other hand, we also need to broaden our thinking and increase the variety of clothing styles, such as skirts and coats. The materials also need to be diversified. Dacron is popular in the city now, so we should also make shirts made of that material..."

After listening, Wang Xiufen nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "You have a good idea. We'll do it your way. However, there's one thing: I'll only be responsible for making the clothes."

The two chatted for a long time after dinner, dividing up the tasks that each of them needed to do.

Jiang Ning was responsible for promotion, accepting orders, taking measurements, and buying fabric—all auxiliary tasks—while Wang Xiufen was responsible for pattern making, cutting, and operating the sewing machine.

That evening, Jiang Ning picked up a pen and paper and began to write and draw under the kerosene lamp, making many advertising business cards with her home address and clothing styles that she could make.

The next day, she took Aunt Luo with her and started visiting everyone.

Wherever there are crowds, she will run over with a smile and strike up a conversation.

After years of hardship, these women have finally become mothers-in-law. Their sons have started their own families and some even have grandchildren. Naturally, they no longer need to work in the fields. They spend their days mending clothes, sewing shoe soles, and chatting together.

"Auntie, do you remember me? I'm Lin Chen's wife who got married a while ago... Yes, that's me. Didn't I look nice in my clothes back then?"

"It looks nice, it must be expensive!" Everyone became interested.

Whenever money is mentioned, people like to ask questions.

Jiang Ning hurriedly said, "It's not expensive. Think about it, getting married is a major life event, it only happens once in a lifetime. Even if we have to save money, we still want to have a grand wedding! Besides, my mother-in-law worked hard for a week to make my clothes. If you go to the county town to make them, the tailor will only earn 50 cents a day, which is three or four yuan in labor fees."

Now my mother-in-law only charges 1.5 yuan for labor when she makes one, which averages out to only 20 cents a day. Can you say 20 cents is expensive?

Aunt Luo naturally helped promote it: "If any of your relatives are getting married or having their daughters married, you can ask Aunt Wang to make them. She will never charge more than her share. Not only can she make wedding dresses, but she can also make everyday clothes. The labor cost is even cheaper. A shirt is only 50 cents and a jacket is one dollar."

Everyone laughed and agreed, "No problem, it's just a matter of opening your mouth."

Jiang Ning pressed her advantage, handing out advertising business cards: "If any of you refer a new order and make the clothes yourself, I'll give you a 20-cent discount on the labor fee."

"Really?" Everyone was overjoyed. If they could make a shirt like this, wouldn't the labor cost only be three cents?

After they returned, they spread the word about it.

In the afternoon, a large number of dark figures worked in the fields.

The roar of the threshing machine and the laughter of the commune members echoed in the fields.

Yu Xiaofeng was operating the threshing machine when Yu Meili handed her a bundle of rice stalks.

“Your sister-in-law is really something now. She’s been making a big fuss about opening a tailor shop, as if she’s afraid people will forget how glamorous her wedding was.”

Yu Xiaofeng took the bundle of rice and threshed it while stomping on it.

"What a disgrace! So what if she brought back roast duck and mooncakes from the banquet? She thinks she's so great just because she has a few stinking coins! Didn't you see when you went back to your parents' house? A woman actually competing with a man in drinking! She's completely disgraced the Lin family!"

The two were still whispering to each other when someone nearby urged them on:

"Yu Meili, what are you doing? Slacking off again! Get running! I'm deducting two points from your work points today."

Everyone else was running to gather bundles of rice, but she didn't move for ages.

Yu Meili was furious. She couldn't even have a chat. Everyone else was chatting, so why wasn't she saying anything? The scorekeeper was deliberately targeting her.

After finishing work, Yu Xiaofeng became suspicious and went to Gao Qiang's house to ask Li Ying about the situation.

"Isn't opening a tailor shop just speculation and profiteering? Jiang Ning is openly soliciting customers."

Li Ying quickly told her to shut up:

"Don't talk nonsense. This was agreed upon by the brigade in a meeting. Although the higher-ups haven't issued any notice yet, it's basically a done deal."

Yu Xiaofeng listened thoughtfully. If her neighbor could do it, why couldn't she?

Her family happens to have a sewing machine, which she can use. If she can earn 1.5 yuan per garment, wouldn't she earn 150 yuan per hundred garments?

With that in mind, she headed towards her parents' home without hesitation...