Hearing that it was about his wedding dress, Chen Jing grinned, his grin almost reaching his ears.
He chuckled and whispered, "Whatever clothes you want me to wear, I'll wear them. You can decide, how about it?"
Ji Xia tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Sure, not only for the wedding, but also because you're going out a lot these days, you need some decent clothes. I'll make you two overcoats, and a few pairs of trousers and shirts."
"Okay, but I want you to make it yourself."
"Okay, but I might not do as well as they do. Aren't you afraid of losing face?"
Chen Jing put his arm around her shoulder and chuckled softly in her ear, "Don't worry, no matter how badly you do, I won't dislike you."
Ji Xia rolled her eyes at him, but a smile appeared on her lips.
After noting down the ninety-six color numbers, quantities, and unit prices, Ji Xia realized that this batch of goods was indeed cheap.
Just like those thick pieces of fabric, they were no worse in quality than the fabrics they bought for a hundred or so yuan, but the highest price Ji Xiangjun brought back was only forty-eight yuan.
This profit margin can be 20-30% higher than the previous batches.
After noting down the color code, fabric, and quantity, Ji Xia shook her head again: "Even the thickest fabric has its limits. I want to make a batch of winter coats, but what about the cotton-padded coats?"
When it came to serious matters, Chen Jing put away his joking expression and frowned: "I'll ask Old Song from the black market for a solution."
Ji Xia frowned inwardly. For someone of Chen Jing's height, the width of these pieces of cloth would be about 1.7 meters, and the length would be at least 1.67 meters. With the cloth used as a lining and a thin cotton coat inside, it would take at least a pound of cotton.
If it's a thick cotton-padded coat like a military overcoat, it won't be enough without at least five kilograms of cotton.
This garment workshop doesn't just make one or two cotton-padded coats.
I just took a look. Thick fabric is used for the outer layer, and thin gray fabric is used for the lining. At least thirty or forty bolts of fabric can be used. One bolt of fabric makes fifteen pieces. How much cotton would that require?
"Forget it, I'll start by drawing up the blueprints. As for the cotton, I'll have to ask my brother for a solution." Ji Xia shook her head helplessly.
Chen Jing secretly wondered if, besides the black market boss, the textile factory's supervisor, Mr. Liu, could lend a hand? Or perhaps he could find an opportunity to get to know the leaders of the cotton yarn factory?
...
At dusk, it was as if a golden moon had fallen from the Milky Way, kissing the fields of my hometown. From the village houses where smoke curled from their chimneys, the occasional bark of a dog or the crowing of a rooster could be heard.
Bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, Ji Xiangjun drove his small truck back to the brigade. Along the way, countless villagers carrying farm tools returned from the fields, and upon seeing Ji's second son, they all showed warm smiles.
Ji Xiangjun returned a friendly smile, parked the small truck in a relatively flat area of the brigade, and got out of the truck carrying two large bags of food.
He chuckled and waved to the villagers along the way: "Going back now, let's have a drink sometime!"
As Ji's mother was bending over and sweeping up the trash in the yard, she suddenly heard Ji Xiangjun's voice coming from outside the yard. She looked up in surprise and delight.
"Second brother, you're back?"
"Mother, I'm back!"
As Ji Xiangjun spoke, he handed her a basket he was carrying: "I got two servings of braised pork and a few big steamed buns from the restaurant. Oh, and I saw some watermelons on the way, so I bought one too."
"Buying watermelons at this time of year? What month is it? Why buy steamed buns and braised pork when you're already home?"
While complaining, Ji's mother took the things from his hands, only to see Ji Xiangjun take out dried goods such as seaweed, kelp, red dates, and milk powder from the backpack behind him.
Just as he was about to complain, Ji Xiangjun laughed and said, "Don't blame me, these were sent back by Xia. She said you're all too tired from the autumn harvest and should eat well."
"Why isn't Xia back? She hasn't been home for over a month."
Behind me came the voices of Secretary Ji and Ji Zhijun. Their faces and arms were peeling from the sun, and their faces were reddish-black, shining with a dark hue, showing how intense the autumn harvest had been.
However, apart from being a bit tanned and thinner, everything else is fine.
Ji Xiangjun shrugged: "I don't know. She said she's very busy right now, going to class and working every day."
The family of four washed themselves with well water, feeling refreshed, before setting up a round table in the yard for their meal.
Seeing the glistening braised pork on the table, and smelling its rich aroma, everyone's appetite was immediately whetted.
Working every day is so tiring, but when I see meat, my eyes light up like a hungry wolf.
After serving the three men their food, Mrs. Ji asked with a smile, "Xiang Jun, have you seen your two nephews?"
Ji Xiangjun: "I saw one, my sister-in-law was holding it, the other one was sleeping inside, I didn't see it."
The main reason was that there were two women in the family, and Ji Zhijun wasn't there, so he couldn't very well approach them.
Ji Zhijun smiled apologetically at him: "Second brother, I'm sorry to have troubled you by staying in your house."
Mother Ji sighed after thinking for a moment, "I've been so tired these past few days that I haven't had time to go into the city to see them. I wonder how Kang Kang and Le Le are growing up?"
Mr. Ji said irritably, "In the city, there are people taking care of us. We eat well, live well, and have plenty of breast milk. Why would we worry about the baby going hungry?"
Mother Ji shook her head: "Of course I'm not worried about them going hungry. If they eat a pork knuckle every three to five days and a stewed chicken every two to three days, it would be terrible if they went hungry."
"I was thinking, it's been almost a month, why don't we let them go back to the brigade to recuperate?"
Ji Xiangjun had already heard Ji Xia explain the reason, and upon hearing this, he shook his head in disapproval: "Mother, you're hiring someone to take care of your postpartum period and bring them back to the brigade? Aren't you afraid people will gossip?"
"Without asking your older brother and sister-in-law for help, and suddenly having a pregnant woman and two children, aren't you exhausted?"
Everyone in the village thought that Ji Xia was taking care of his sister-in-law during her postpartum period in the city, and they had no idea that someone else had been hired.
If we bring it back to the brigade, we won't be able to keep it a secret anymore; if we don't invite it, Ji's mother will have even more work to do.
Upon hearing this, Ji's mother looked somewhat displeased: "It's been a month, and she still can't take care of the baby? In the countryside, which woman takes two months of confinement after giving birth? Other women are already cooking and washing their own clothes after just one week."
Ji Xiangjun: "Mom, my sister-in-law still has to take over my younger sister's job. Let her take better care of herself. If she goes to work, she'll still have to live in the city. There's no need for her to keep moving around."
Ji Zhijun didn't dare to say anything. In fact, he knew that his mother was a little complaining because no one in the whole brigade had such good food during their postpartum period as Zhang Hong.
But he had two children, who weighed only two or three pounds at birth and were indeed a bit weak, so he was a little worried.
Ji's mother wanted to complain, but Ji's father didn't want to continue the topic and asked casually, "The eldest son has two children now. Xia is getting married after the autumn harvest. The third son wrote back from the army saying he's dating someone. Second son, when are you going to bring a wife home?"
Upon hearing the mention of Ji Xiangjun's marriage, Ji's mother immediately perked up: "That's right, second son, you're not young anymore, you'll be twenty-five after the New Year, it's time to start looking for a partner."
"What kind of woman are you looking for? If you're looking for someone with some education, I think the two female educated youths in the brigade are quite good."
When Ji Xiangjun heard that he was looking for a partner, he immediately fell silent.
A figure suddenly popped into his mind: a fair-skinned girl who seemed a little shy, but he knew she was actually quite capable, especially when reporting on the workshop's work to him; her eyes sparkled, and she was very beautiful.
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