If you're making clothes, buy a bolt of blue or a bolt of sky-blue fabric to keep the design understated. If you're making bed sheets, check if department stores sell any flawed fabrics; using flawed fabric to make bed sheets won't cost as much.

Shen Mu Ning stood in front of the fabric counter, pointed to the fabric she liked, and asked, "Sister, how much are these two bolts of fabric?"

Jiang Ying had noticed this girl for a long time. She was dressed neatly and cleanly, without any patches. Most importantly, she looked young and had a dignified and pretty appearance, about the same age as her younger sister. As soon as Shen Mu Ning asked her a question, she quickly took out two bolts of cloth and said, "These two bolts of cloth cost a total of sixty yuan plus sixty feet of cloth coupons."

The price wasn't too expensive, Shen Mu Ning nodded, took out some money and handed it to Jiang Ying, also slipping her a dollar as Jiang Ying handed over the fabric. Jiang Ying noticed the money and tried to return it, but Shen Mu Ning grabbed her hand.

"Sister, don't worry. I just wanted to ask if you have any flawed fabric for sale. My brother is getting married, and the family wants to make him a four-piece bedding set, but it's a bit wasteful to use good cotton fabric. So my mom asked me to come and see if you have any flawed fabric to buy."

When Jiang Ying heard her request, she thought it wasn't difficult. Department store employees had a monthly quota for buying defective fabrics, and she hadn't bought any this month yet, so giving it to this young girl wasn't out of the question.

"Oh, I see. We do have some flawed fabrics for sale, but these are internal benefits for our employees. I haven't used my credit limit this month, so you can use it now." After saying that, Jiang Ying led Shen Mu Ning to the back warehouse to pick out fabrics.

After looking at it for a while, Shen Mu Ning finally chose a piece of dark blue fabric. The fabric wasn't seriously flawed, except for uneven dyeing, but it wouldn't be too picky if it were used to make bed sheets. After she finished choosing, Jiang Ying charged her twenty-one yuan. She didn't care about their internal price; it was already much cheaper than the fabric sold outside, and they didn't even require a coupon.

After buying the fabric, Shen Mu Ning bypassed the department store and went straight to an alley behind it. She couldn't make clothes herself, nor could she find someone in the county town to do it, so she had to ask someone in the city for help. From the first time she passed by the department store, she noticed that the fourth household in this alley was taking on clothing jobs, so she went straight there after buying the fabric.

She knocked on the door, and a woman in her twenties answered. The door was slightly ajar, preventing anyone from seeing inside. Knowing they were wary, Shen Mu Ning cut to the chase, saying, "Comrades, I need your help sewing some clothes." She even showed her the cloth and cotton she was carrying.

Seeing so much cotton and cloth, the woman knew it was a big deal and that no one would try to fool her with so much stuff, so she simply opened the door and led the person inside.

This room was a restaurant, not where they made clothes. Shen Mu Ning was taken directly to the last room, where there was an old woman and two sewing machines, which was their workshop.

The old woman glanced at the cotton fabric in Shen Mu Ning's hand and asked, "How many clothes do you want to make?"

Shen Mu Ning handed over the blue and sky-blue fabrics and said, "I want to use the blue fabric to make three sets of cotton clothes, the sky-blue fabric to make three sets of summer clothes and three sets of autumn clothes, and also a piece of dark blue fabric with flaws to make two sets of four-piece suits."

The old woman separated the cotton for making cotton-padded clothes, took the cloth, and accepted the order. The final price was twenty-one yuan, and it was agreed that the clothes could be picked up in five days.

With the clothes sorted out, Shen Mu Ning found a place to make cotton quilts not far from the state-run restaurant. She used the leftover cotton to make a six-pound and an eight-pound thick quilt, both for winter use. In the summer, Shen Mu Ning planned to take out the thin quilts from her space and use them. Since they were all made of cotton, no one would really check them.