“These past few days, Sister Mei has been taking care of me. She was afraid I would feel embarrassed to come over for a meal, so she brought me everything she could. Of the ten pounds I’ve gained, eight of them were from her gifts…” Tang Wenwen was saying when Yao Mei walked in.
"I heard Xiaoyu's voice. You should take her down for a walk too. I can't persuade her. It's good for her to move around more before giving birth," Yao Mei hurriedly complained to Qin Xiaoyu.
Annoyed by their chatter, Tang Wenwen changed her coat, supported her pregnant belly, and went downstairs with Qin Xiaoyu.
Recently, her face has been very swollen, and her hair has grown long and is hanging down haphazardly. Anyone who looks at her would think she is a haggard pregnant woman. If you don't look closely, you wouldn't recognize her as the unconventional Tang Wenwen.
Qin Xiaoyu went to the grocery store and bought a lot of nutritional supplements. Seeing that she was tired, she helped her walk slowly home.
"Sister-in-law, I've changed a lot. I'm not the same person I used to be." Tang Wenwen held her belly with one hand and gently stroked it with the other.
"I've noticed, you're much more composed than before."
"The more composed I am, the heavier the responsibility becomes. Although this little one hasn't been born yet, he has accompanied me through so many lonely nights. Sometimes I think, this is my lifelong support. I have already entered the role of a mother." Tang Wenwen's smile was calm and warm.
"Congratulations, but life isn't as simple as you think. Love alone isn't enough. Work hard to improve your skills and raise your child," Qin Xiaoyu encouraged her.
"I'll hire a nanny after the baby is born, and I'll go out to work." Tang Wenwen has already made her plans.
"By the way, I've arranged to meet Brother Deng. I'll find some time to pick him up and have him come over for a check-up. I don't trust anyone else."
"Sister-in-law, you can make the arrangements. I'll do whatever you say."
"Don't give me that. If you had listened to me the whole time, would things have come to this?" Qin Xiaoyu said resentfully.
"Oh, isn't that Tang... Tang's sister-in-law?" Fourth Sister-in-law slammed on the brakes, swallowing back the words "widow".
Qin Xiaoyu was surprised to run into her and felt a bit unlucky. She gave Tang Wenwen a look and told her to go ahead first.
"What a coincidence," Qin Xiaoyu greeted her in a lukewarm manner.
"Who is that?" Fourth Sister-in-law was very gossipy and focused on Tang Wenwen's belly, which made Qin Xiaoyu even more disgusted.
"It's a classmate of mine. I have to go now."
"No, it's so rare to run into you, let's chat for a bit. My daughter is about to give birth, you should also talk to Qi Si and tell him to stop arguing and fighting all the time. Now that you're married, you should try to live a good life together..."
"To put it bluntly, Fourth Brother doesn't seem to have had any arguments, does he? It's always Fourth Sister-in-law who picks fights, and Fourth Brother just keeps tolerating it. You should also advise Fourth Sister-in-law not to push her too far. Don't you know Fourth Brother's personality?" Qin Xiaoyu used both soft and hard tactics. These two, mother and daughter, can't be spoiled too much; if left unchecked, they'll become unruly.
She heard from Qi Si that his fourth sister-in-law had even gone to his shop, trying to seize power, but he had yelled at her and kicked her out. His fourth sister-in-law had also stolen things from the counter, making a very unsightly situation.
“I don’t like hearing you say that. My daughter is too young, half the age of Qi Si. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for him to be with her.”
"Heh, everyone has their own taste. I can't say what kind of person Fourth Brother likes. What good is being young? He also needs feelings, right?"
"I really can't argue with your mouth. No wonder Qi Si listens to you so readily. Let's get this straight: no matter how good your relationship is, the one who's going to give Qi Si a son is my daughter. You should avoid any appearance of impropriety." Fourth Sister-in-law hinted to Qin Xiaoyu.
"Anyone can give birth, but you're miscalculating if you try to use that to blackmail Fourth Brother." Qin Xiaoyu wasn't intimidated. She ignored her fourth sister-in-law and ran off to catch up with Tang Wenwen.
Fourth Sister-in-law stared at their retreating figures until they were no longer clearly visible.
Business at Hengchang is becoming increasingly stable; my cousin-in-law has already managed to get all the shops downstairs running smoothly. Zhou Yue personally designed the second-floor renovation, and she even had Captain Chen come to do the work.
Qin Xiaoyu didn't lift a finger, but secretly admired Zhou Yue's talent. After all, Zhou Yue had been abroad and seen the world, and possessed some artistic talent, so naturally, what she presented was different.
The second floor was completely opened up, and the adjacent walls were all removed, leaving only the main pillar in the middle, all of which were covered with glass. The counters were also all changed to open displays, using mannequins to showcase the fashions, completely breaking away from the previous style of hanging clothes on one wall. However, this also meant that there were more styles of clothing to prepare.
Just from this one step, you can see Zhou Yue's decisiveness. Qin Xiaoyu felt she hadn't misjudged her, and now it was time for her to move on to the next step.
She chose a sunny day and dressed her younger sister in the beige corduroy jacket that Zhou Yue had made for her.
Nowadays, fabrics are very limited, and corduroy is popular because it's affordable and of good quality. It's not just children; many adults also use corduroy to make pants.
The most commonly used colors are black, red, and blue. Beige, on the other hand, is not easy to dye and is delicate and difficult to maintain, so it generally has no market.
But Zhou Yue turned the impossible into reality, giving the beige corduroy a new life and elevating it to a whole new level.
The little girl was already pretty, with rosy cheeks. Qin Xiaoyu braided her hair into a four-strand braid, incorporating any stray hairs, and dressed her in a beige coat, brown pants, and red patent leather boots. She looked like a delicate little princess, both elegant and childlike, attracting many glances along the way.
She first went to Aunt Wang's house, and then, together with her mother and the other two, they went to the dormitory of the Little Sun Garment Factory.
Originally, Xiaotaiyang Garment Factory was a collective enterprise and did not have the ability to build its own houses. It was only because the factory was doing so well in the 1950s and 60s that a piece of land was squeezed out from the dormitory of the machinery factory. There was not much land, only about ten houses, and all the residents were veterans.
One of Aunt Wang's old friends lives here, and they had already made arrangements. When they saw them come in, she quickly invited them into the house.
They chatted idly inside for a while, and the sun gradually warmed up. People opened their doors, and the old ladies came out to bask in the sun and chat.
No one was idle; some were picking vegetables, some were knitting sweaters, some were embroidering, and some were mending socks. They chattered about everyone, laughing in waves.
Qin Xiaoyu discovered that even without square dancing, the elderly women's leisure time was not lonely at all.
"Here she comes, that's the one." Aunt Wang's sister's surname was Zheng. Aunt Zheng pointed through the window, and an old lady carrying a small stool came in.
Xie Lanhua was not tall and had a slightly plump figure. Because she had always been a leader in the factory, she had fair skin and looked younger than these old ladies.
She was wearing a navy blue wool coat, a very conservative style. She had been holding the hand of a little girl, but before she could even reach the crowd, the little girl had already broken free and run towards her.
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