When Qin Xiaoyu returned from the store, she sensed something was off in the house. Her younger sister pulled her aside and whispered, "Grandma is angry."

"Why?"

"My godmother cut up Grandma's tablecloth."

Qin Xiaoyu quickly went into the living room and saw that the coffee table had been covered with a new tablecloth, which made her realize what was going on.

"Look at this spendthrift child! This is something your father and I brought back from our trip abroad. We only took it out to use for the New Year, and she's already cutting it! I scolded her and she went upstairs in a huff!" As soon as Zhou Xing's mother saw Qin Xiaoyu, she hurriedly complained, shaking a tattered tablecloth a few times.

"What a pity, it's a good piece, hand-embroidered." Qin Xiaoyu said regretfully.

"Exactly, the more I talk about it, the angrier I get! This spendthrift!" Zhou Xing's mother picked up the tablecloth and headed upstairs to continue her rant.

"This lace is really nice, and it's still usable. Isn't Sister Xiaoyue making clothes for my little sister? If you embroider this lace on the collar, it will look so beautiful. It's imported!" Qin Xiaoyu said exaggeratedly.

"Really? Let me see. You know what, it actually works. Is this enough? Oh, right, there's another one exactly the same that I've never used. I'll bring that over." Zhou Xing's mother went upstairs to rummage through the boxes.

Qin Xiaoyu was both amused and exasperated. She had originally intended to help Zhou Yue out of a predicament by finding a way to use the tattered tablecloth, but now Zhou Xing's mother wanted to cut up the new tablecloth to use it. She was speechless.

Qin Xiaoyu saved Zhou Yue from a scolding and hurried upstairs to check on her work. Unexpectedly, there was a loud thumping on the stairs as Zhou Yue ran down carrying a cloth bag. A wad of white thread fell out of the bag and remained on the second floor, the thread torn and scattered.

"Sister Xiaoyue, give me a break, or Mom will scold you again." Qin Xiaoyu followed behind her, trying to clean up her mess.

"Take me to Master Xu's place, I want to become his apprentice." It turned out that the fabric Zhou Yue bought was not suitable for her; the velvet was too soft and slippery, and the sewing machine couldn't make a straight line at all.

"We can't go to him," Zhou Yue immediately rejected the idea.

"Why? Isn't he the best master craftsman in the city? Who else should we ask if not him?" Zhou Yue protested.

“Didn’t we discuss the cooperation plan with him? He’s agreed to it now, so let’s stick to this approach, not too far, not too close. Don’t make any more demands. He’s a very meticulous person; if you become his apprentice, he might even worry that you’ll take his job.” Qin Xiaoyu was even more meticulous than him.

"That's true, so what am I supposed to do?" Zhou Yue pouted.

"You have a ready-made mentor, though he can't compare to Master Xu, but he's more than enough to teach you," Qin Xiaoyu said with a mysterious smile.

She brought Zhou Yue to her cousin-in-law's place. From the lotus root-colored shimmering satin waist-cinching padded jacket her cousin-in-law had designed for her last time, she could tell that the craftsmanship was impeccable, but the aesthetic sense was lacking.

"Isn't that simple?" My cousin's wife is straightforward and easy to please. She was overjoyed when she heard that she was going to become an apprentice.

She took Zhou Yue upstairs, but instead of immediately getting the sewing machine, she boiled water, poured flour, and started making paste.

"What are you doing? Are you sealing the gaps in the window?" Nowadays, windows are made of wood, so there are bound to be large gaps. The northwest wind in Northeast China is chilly, so you have to use white paper to seal all the gaps.

"Just you wait and see," my cousin-in-law said smugly. She worked quickly and soon mixed the paste, making it thin, smooth, and white.

She spread the velvet on the table, turned it over, and used a small brush to apply paste to the edges. The fabric absorbed the water and became smoother. She placed the brushed fabric next to the heater to dry it. By the time she finished brushing the last piece, the first pieces were almost dry and had become very crisp.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Strangely enough, the fabric seemed to be under a spell, instantly becoming obedient and compliant. Zhou Yue, having mastered walking in straight lines, quickly pieced the fabric together, one section at a time.

The two initially had some reservations about each other. Zhou Yue, being a spoiled young lady, looked down on her cousin-in-law, a housewife, while her cousin-in-law, feeling inferior, avoided her. This sudden change brought them closer.

Zhou Yue has a quick temper. She finished making the clothes in one go and dragged her younger sister to try them on during dinner so she could show them off to everyone.

"Bend your arm a little, yes, up, not down." Zhou Yue made herself and her younger sister sweat profusely, and they didn't even get their clothes on properly.

Zhou Xing's mother was watching from the side, but feeling sorry for her little sister, she had no choice but to come over and snatch the clothes away.

"This, can this be put on? Look how it's wrapped up! The sleeves are sewn on!" It took Zhou Xing's mother a long time to realize the problem.

"Hey sis, are you making clothes or a flour sack? This is really watertight!" Zhou Xing teased.

Everyone in the room was laughing so hard they were doubled over, and even the usually reserved Commander Zhou laughed until tears streamed down his face.

Zhou Yue angrily took the clothes upstairs, refusing to eat, and only came down after she had finished changing them.

The family was watching TV. The younger sister, preoccupied with her appearance, was absentmindedly kicking her legs, waiting for her new clothes.

This time it was finally a success. Although the stitches at the joints looked a bit odd, the general shape of the clothes was still visible. Zhou Yue does have some talent.

"Sister, this is already quite good for your debut work," Qin Xiaoyu exclaimed sincerely.

"Really? I'm so happy!" Zhou Yue hugged and kissed her little sister repeatedly, then spun around in circles.

"She'll get dizzy soon, put her down quickly, she's going to sweat." Zhou Xing's mother came over and took the little girl away.

Seeing that Zhou Yue was in high spirits, Qin Xiaoyu couldn't bear to spoil the mood. She couldn't tell the truth, but the children's clothing factory had already firmly refused to cooperate.

She oversimplified things. Initially, she thought that money could solve everything. But she forgot that this is an era that still values ​​sentiment.

The first time she met Director Fei of the children's clothing factory, she was under the guise of purchasing goods. Director Fei was very enthusiastic.

This is a woman in her thirties, with the standard height of a northerner, standing at least 1.7 meters tall and weighing no less than 150 pounds. She has broad arms and looks like a man from behind.

She was also very decisive and efficient, like a man. As she led Qin Xiaoyu through the factory workshops, she would occasionally crack a vulgar joke with the female workers.

The workshop was steaming hot, unlike what Qin Xiaoyu had imagined. She had thought that a factory that hadn't paid wages for three months would be a miserable place.

"This was built by my mother. In the 1950s, it was just a small street processing workshop. Later, my mother and her group of girlfriends expanded the factory and it was once very successful." Director Fei led Qin Xiaoyu into the director's office, where the entire wall was covered with banners, a testament to its past glory.

After walking around the factory, Qin Xiaoyu understood why it had declined. Outdated production methods, coupled with the "iron rice bowl" system (where everyone worked in the same pot), and the inability to keep up with product updates, were all contributing factors. The quality of the children's clothing was undeniable, but the patterns were unbearably tacky—bright red, pink, and blue. Just when Qin Xiaoyu thought she'd seen the ugliest piece, something even uglier kept shattering her worldview. Looking at the entire factory, it was truly an eyesore.