Wen Peng stared wide-eyed: "So many sewing machines!"
Tang Quan smiled and said, "Not many, only about twenty."
Twenty-odd units?
Wen Peng had been staying at Aunt Xiao's tailor shop for the past two days. Yao Shiling told him that each Butterfly brand sewing machine in Aunt Xiao's shop cost 170 or 180 yuan. So how much would 20 of them cost? Wen Peng looked down and counted on his fingers.
"Let's go in." Tang Quan looked at Wen Qing.
Wen Qing reached out and patted Wen Peng's head: "Pengpeng, let's go."
"Sister, these sewing machines cost four or five thousand yuan," Wen Peng whispered. "He's so rich."
Wen Qing laughed. Tang Quan even drives a big-toed shoe and a car, so what's four or five thousand yuan to buy a sewing machine? But seeing how eager Tang Quan was to draw the design, and that there were more than twenty sewing machines in the factory at the moment, but less than ten were in operation, it was clear that he was having business difficulties.
"Mr. Tang."
"Hello, Mr. Tang."
As soon as Tang Quan led Wen Qing and Wen Peng into the factory, the dozen or so people inside turned around and greeted them.
"Alright, alright." Tang Quan waved his hand, telling them to get back to their work, then called out, "Master Zhu, Master Ye, come here for a moment."
Just then, two men in gray clothes walked over to the sewing machine. The fatter one was Master Zhu, and the thinner one was Master Ye.
"Good morning, Mr. Tang," the two said.
Tang Quan smiled at the two of them and said, "Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Wen Qing, my newly hired clothing consultant. In a little while, she will discuss the new clothes with you."
Clothing consultant?
Master Zhu and Master Zhang stared at Wen Qing with disbelief. Wen Qing was wearing a plaid shirt, had her hair tied in a neat ponytail, and had a fair and clean face with a touch of baby fat. Her eyes were watery and she was very beautiful.
However, this garment consultant is clearly a child. A garment consultant? Tangquan Garment Factory is doing so badly that even Boss Tang is losing his mind. Is he desperately trying anything?
Tang Quan introduced with a smile: "Wen Qing, these are two master craftsmen from our Tang Quan Garment Factory, Master Zhu and Master Ye."
Wen Qing smiled and greeted them first: "Hello Master Zhu, hello Master Ye, my name is Wen Qing, please give me your guidance."
Wen Peng imitated Wen Qing's manner, greeting the two of them.
On the contrary, Master Zhu and Master Ye were indifferent to Wen Qing, responding lazily and seemingly looking down on her.
Tang Quan was slightly embarrassed, but he made some small talk to ease the atmosphere.
Wen Qing remained calm throughout.
Wen Peng noticed the attitudes of Master Zhu and Master Zhang and felt uncomfortable, wanting to pull Wen Qing away.
Wen Qing reached out and patted his little head, signaling him to calm down.
"Alright, now that everyone knows each other, let's talk about making clothes, shall we?" Tang Quan took out Wen Qing's sketches from his briefcase and walked towards the tailoring table.
Wen Qing gestured for Master Zhu and Master Ye to go first. Master Zhu and Master Ye reluctantly walked to the tailoring table to look at the so-called "drawings," followed by Wen Qing and Wen Peng, who stood at the very edge.
Master Zhu and Master Ye glanced at Wen Qing. This little girl was really polite, and their slightly cold attitude softened a little.
When they saw the sketches that Tang Quan had unfolded, they were stunned.
"These are medium-sized crew neck shirts, short-sleeved shirts, trousers, and capri pants designed by Wen Qing, different styles from the same series for women. Please take a look, gentlemen, and see if this plan is feasible?" Tang Quan was quite satisfied.
Master Zhu and Master Ye are veteran tailors, top-notch in both skill and eye. Given a pattern, they can make an exact replica of the garment, calculating every detail with remarkable precision. Their eye for clothing is also exceptional. The only thing they lack is creativity. They can make clothes from a pattern, and they can make them perfectly, but they cannot create clothes from scratch that they are satisfied with.
Tang Quan had presented clothing samples multiple times, but they were all rejected by the two men. The samples were either too avant-garde or too conservative, and they did not inspire any desire to buy them.
However, the clothes in this series were quite different. They conformed to the mainstream characteristics of the times, yet had their own unique features. Just by looking at them, they could subtly reveal a woman's figure, which made Master Zhu and Master Ye's eyes light up, or rather, they were amazed.
"This...this was drawn by her?" Master Zhu asked.
“That’s right.” Tang Quan flipped through a few more pages of the sketches. The sketches not only contained detailed drawings of the clothing, but also annotations on the materials and proportions, with a good balance of detail and brevity.
Master Zhu and Master Ye were astonished. They turned to look at each other, as if they saw the same affirmation in each other's eyes, and then turned to examine Wen Qing for the first time.
Today, Wen Qing was wearing a blue and red checkered cotton short-sleeved shirt. The sleeves reached her elbows, and there was a small white round button at the cuff. When working, she could unbutton the button and roll up the sleeves, which was very convenient. Looking at her pants, they were black polyester capri pants with slightly tapered cuffs, and she wore strappy acrylic sandals that didn't expose her toes and insteps, and were very sleek.
She looked energetic and poised.
Master Zhu and Master Ye were stunned for a moment after looking at it, and then asked Wen Qing in unison, "Where did you get your clothes made?"
Wen Peng replied unhappily, "The clothes my eldest sister is wearing were made by her own hands; you can't find clothes like that anywhere else!"
"Where did this style of clothing come from?" the two asked at the same time.
“My older sister drew it herself!” Wen Peng answered first. The little guy was unhappy with their attitude towards Wen Qing earlier.
"You should be polite when talking to adults," Wen Qing said gently to Wen Peng, though she was secretly happy that Wen Peng was defending her.
Wen Peng lowered his head and remained silent.
Master Zhu and Master Ye were utterly astonished. She had designed the clothes herself, then made them herself, and done them so well, with such thoughtful attention to detail. This…this…this child, no, this little girl, is incredibly capable!
"Master Zhu, Master Ye, what's wrong? You don't agree with this drawing again?" Tang Quan asked deliberately. Judging from the two masters' reactions, he already knew that Wen Qing had caught their eye.
“No, no, no,” Master Zhu and Master Ye quickly replied.
“This drawing is very suitable, very suitable,” Master Zhu said repeatedly.
Tang Quan was immediately smug.
"As long as it's suitable." Wen Qing remained as gentle and humble as ever.
Master Zhu and Master Ye immediately felt their faces burning. The young girl was highly capable and had always been humble and polite. They were both quite old, yet they had looked down on her like that. It was truly embarrassing... Just thinking about it made them blush. And they did indeed blush.
“Then, let’s discuss the sample production.” Wen Qing looked at Tang Quan and said, “I happen to have some questions that I can ask Master Zhu and Master Ye for advice.”
"No, no, no, we'd like to ask you for advice." Master Zhu changed his previous indifferent attitude and showed Wen Qing some respect.
“Yes, yes, we are asking you for advice,” Master Ye chimed in from the side.
Wen Qing genuinely respected the two men and quickly said, "No, no, Master Zhu, I was just lucky enough to have a garment made that caught Mr. Tang's eye. Your years of experience and skill are what I should learn more from."
"No, no, no, Consultant Wen, you are very talented, we are not very capable."
"Master Zhu, please don't say that."
"..."
The three of them chimed in, each saying their own opinion: Wen Qingjing, Master Zhu, and Master Ye are skilled, experienced, and discerning.
Master Zhu and Master Ye understood that Wen Qing was highly skilled. Moreover, she was not angry at their disdain, but remained humble, which made them both embarrassed and full of admiration. She was so talented at such a young age.
Tang Quan watched and laughed, imitating Wen Qing's actions, patting Wen Peng's little head and saying, "Your older sister is great."
Wen Peng said proudly, "Of course." He used to dislike Wen Qing, but now he likes and respects him very much.
"Alright, stop flattering each other. Let's start discussing and come up with a design for the clothes first, shall we?" Tang Quan spoke up at the right moment.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Master Zhu replied repeatedly.
Wen Qing: "Okay."
Without saying a word, Master Zhu and Master Ye gathered around the drawing, examined it carefully, and discussed it in hushed tones, occasionally asking Wen Qing questions before agreeing on the location.
Wen Qing answered truthfully and raised questions.
Master Zhu and Master Ye were, after all, seasoned tailors with many years of experience and broad knowledge. Their answers convinced Wen Qing, who held them in high esteem.
At the same time, Wen Qing's quick thinking and ingenious ideas earned high praise from Master Zhu and Master Ye.
The three of them were a good match for each other.
The three of them then began folding, drawing lines and dots on the two pieces of fabric, discussing, and cutting... Tang Quan, watching from the side, nodded repeatedly, secretly thinking that hiring a consultant for a hundred yuan was really worth it. If he could recruit Wen Qing to his company in the future, Tang Quan's garment factory would definitely develop rapidly; he just didn't know if Wen Qing would be willing.
“I think we should stop here for today. This afternoon, Master Ye and I will try to make two sets. Wen Qing, you don’t need to come over this afternoon. Just come and take a look tomorrow morning after we finish the finished clothes tonight,” Master Zhu said.
Wen Qing smiled and nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble Master Zhu and Master Ye."
"We've troubled you."
It just so happens that it was noon.
Tang Quan suggested that he invite Wen Qing and Wen Peng to dinner.
Wen Qing disagreed, saying that she had things to do in the city and wouldn't eat.
"Then I'll take you back to the county town after you're done with your work," Tang Quan said.
"No need, Mr. Tang."
"Don't call me Mr. Tang anymore," Tang Quan said with a smile. "Just call me Uncle Tang from now on. At my age, it's not inappropriate for you to call me uncle, is it?"
Wen Qing didn't refuse, and said with a smile, "Okay, Uncle Tang, you go ahead with your work. My brother just said he's never ridden a bus before. I'll take him on the bus after we finish our business, so I won't bother you any longer."
"Okay then," Tang Quan said with a smile, "I'll pick you up again tomorrow."
Wen Qing and Wen Peng then bid farewell to Tang Quan and left Tang Quan Garment Factory.
As soon as the two left, Master Zhu and Master Ye came over.
"Mr. Tang, where did you find such a talented young girl?" Master Zhu asked.
Tang Quan smiled and said, "It's fate. We bumped into each other by chance at the hospital."
"Now our garment factory is saved," said Master Zhu.
Tang Quan nodded secretly. Indeed, it seemed his big shoes were saved; he wouldn't have to sell them as a used car. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Wen Qing and Wen Peng's retreating figures.
After leaving the garment factory, Wen Qing headed straight for the city center of Nanzhou.
Nanzhou is still in the early stages of development. The streets are not lined with high-rise buildings yet, but with buildings, bungalows and tiled houses of varying heights. Many private shops have sprung up on both sides of the road, and cars such as Lada, Polonez and Fiat 126p occasionally drive by. Wen Qing even saw a Santana. It seems that Nanzhou is starting to have wealthy people.
"Big sister, where are we going?" Wen Peng asked.
"Let's go eat first," Wen Qing replied.
What do you want to eat?
What would you like to eat?
Wen Peng didn't say anything. Of course he wanted to eat meat, but it was too expensive. Then he pointed to an alley and said, "There are big white steamed buns for sale over there, sister. Let's buy two to eat."
How could Wen Qing let Wen Peng eat steamed buns? She wanted to fatten him up and make him plump and healthy. So she found a state-run restaurant and ordered a hot pot of mutton and a noodle soup.
The mutton soup is priced at thirty cents a serving, which is three mao (0.3 yuan). It contains Chinese cabbage, vermicelli, a few slices of mutton, and a few pieces of mutton bone, but the taste is authentic.
The vegetable noodle soup was priced at fifteen cents a serving, or fifteen cents a serving. A small amount of white noodles was topped with some spinach, scallions, and fried tofu, a clean and appealing combination.
"Big sister, this is so expensive, isn't it?" Wen Peng asked in a low voice.
Wen Qing smiled and said, "I earned a hundred yuan today, so I'll treat you to a meal."
"One hundred yuan? That much?"
"Yes, so don't worry, eat it." Wen Qing smiled gently.
Wen Peng was overjoyed.
After they finished talking, the waiter brought out mutton soup and vegetable noodle soup. Wen Qing pushed the mutton soup to Wen Peng, and then gave Wen Peng half of her vegetable noodle soup.
Wen Peng said he would eat noodles, but told Wen Qing to drink mutton soup.
Wen Qing said she didn't like eating mutton, but insisted that Wen Peng listen to her. So Wen Peng held a big bowl of mutton soup and ate it with white noodles, slurping it down. Despite being small and thin, Wen Peng had an enormous appetite.
In no time, the mutton soup was gone.
Wen Qing asked, "Are you full?"
Wen Peng smiled happily: "I'm full. I've never eaten so much before."
Wen Qing smiled: "From now on, we can eat our fill every day."
"Mmm." Wen Peng nodded, then asked, "Big sister, are you full?"
"I'm full."
"But you eat so little, less than half of what I eat."
"I can't eat too much, or I'll get fat and won't look good."
"Big sister, you're so beautiful. No girl in our Shuiwan Village is as beautiful as you. Everyone says you're the most beautiful girl in Shuiwan Village." Wen Peng said with a smug look on his face.
Wen Qing smiled happily after hearing this, then went to the counter to pay, and pulled Wen Peng out of the state-run restaurant. Once on the street, they looked around.
"Hey lady, what are you looking for?"
"Find a reseller."
Why would you need a dealership?
"Buy some things and go see the homeroom teacher."
Why are you looking at the homeroom teacher?
Wen Peng was practically a walking encyclopedia of questions, and Wen Qing answered them one by one. In her previous life, after Wen Qing was admitted to high school, she didn't finish the semester when the bad news of her second uncle came. That day, she had just finished school when she received the news and even lost her schoolbag. She ran to the scene of the incident.
Her second uncle was a carefree person who lived a life of uncertainty. Although he doted on Wen Qing, he didn't save any money. High school tuition was over fifty yuan per semester, plus a miscellaneous fee of twenty-five yuan. Without Wen Qing's second uncle, the Wen family simply couldn't afford Wen Qing's tuition, so Wen Qing dropped out of school on her own.
In this life, she wants to go to school, read more books, and make her life completely different from her previous life.
She happened to have some free time today, so she decided to talk to her homeroom teacher about her desire to continue her studies. Teachers these days are very responsible, and if she talked about continuing her studies, her homeroom teacher would definitely help.
However, her memories of going to school are very distant, and Wen Qing doesn't remember where her homeroom teacher lived, or even what her face looked like.
She found a consignment shop, bought eight ounces of brown sugar and eight ounces of cake, and went to the city's key high school—Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School. Although it was a holiday, the old man who looked after the school was there.
She asked the old man at the school for the homeroom teacher's address, and it matched her memory. Only then did she take Wenpeng to find the homeroom teacher.
The homeroom teacher lived in an old neighborhood in Nanzhou City, a row of small houses. Wen Qing asked around and finally found the homeroom teacher's house.
The homeroom teacher was a plump woman. After a moment's reaction upon seeing Wen Qing, she called out, "Wen Qing?"
Wen Qing was surprised that her homeroom teacher recognized her, and quickly stepped forward: "Teacher Zhao."
"What are you doing here?" the homeroom teacher asked with a smile.
"Teacher Zhao, I came here specifically to see you."
"Looking for me?"
"Okay." Wen Qing told her homeroom teacher about her desire to go to school.
"Want to go back to school? That's a good thing." The homeroom teacher invited Wen Qing into the bungalow.
The bungalow was clean and tidy, with many books piled up inside. The homeroom teacher brought out two stools for Wen Qing and Wen Peng to sit on.
"Is it hot?" the homeroom teacher asked, then brought out a table fan from the inner room, plugged it in, and blew it on Wen Qing and Wen Peng.
At this time, electricity had been restored to Nanzhou City, and many families had moved in.
The county where Wen Qing lived wouldn't have electricity for another month, and Wen Peng was incredibly curious as he looked at the fan.
"Thank you, Teacher Zhao." She was a little overwhelmed by her teacher's enthusiasm.
"After all, you're still my student," the homeroom teacher asked with a smile. "When are you planning to come back to class?"
Wen Qing asked, "I want to start classes this semester, but I don't know if the school will accept me, and I also have questions about my student registration..."
"That's alright. Your student status will be retained for at least a year. Besides, the country is now strongly encouraging education, and you were admitted through the entrance exam. If you want to continue your studies, the school will welcome you very much."
Wen Qing was overjoyed upon hearing this.
Then the homeroom teacher looked troubled: "It's just..."
"What's wrong?" Wen Qing's heart skipped a beat.
"That's right. You've been out of school for almost a year now. The classes I teach are divided into arts and sciences classes, and I'm the homeroom teacher for each class. Next semester, I'll be teaching the arts class in the second year of high school. If you repeat a year, you can go to the first year of high school. I'll talk to the principal and the other homeroom teachers, and that'll be fine. If you move up a grade, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep up, and you'll face the problem of choosing between arts and sciences. So, this is a choice you have to make yourself."
After thinking for a while and weighing the pros and cons, Wen Qing said, "Teacher Zhao, I want to join your class. I can catch up on the lessons I missed during the summer vacation."
"Okay, I'm free during summer vacation too. You can come and ask me any questions," the homeroom teacher said, then asked, "Do you have any books?"
Wen Qing: "..."
“No.” Wen Peng, who had been fanning himself with the desk fan, interrupted, “Teacher Zhao, my older sister has no books, no pens, nothing at all. She writes with my old pen nib.”
Wen Qing felt slightly embarrassed because her second uncle's death was sudden. She was in such a hurry that she lost her schoolbag and everything else. When she came back, she was too disappointed to go back and look for it.
"It's okay, I just have a lot of books here. You can borrow them for now and return them to me when school starts." The homeroom teacher said, "It's alright."
Wen Qing was extremely grateful.
After exchanging a few more words with the homeroom teacher, I presented her with the eight ounces of brown sugar and eight ounces of cake that I had bought beforehand.
The homeroom teacher said she didn't want anything.
Wen Qing insisted on putting it down, then grabbed Wen Peng and ran away quickly. The homeroom teacher couldn't stop them no matter how much she called, so she had to give up.
"Big sister, so many books!" Wen Qing and Wen Peng each carried a stack of books. After running out of the homeroom teacher's apartment complex, Wen Peng was panting heavily. Wen Qing put the heavier books in a cloth bag and carried them herself, while Wen Peng carried the remaining two or three.
"Yes, so many books." Wen Qing hadn't touched books for many years, and suddenly carrying so many made her feel quite emotional. With her homeroom teacher's support, she felt relieved. Finally, finally, she could go to school again.
"Big sister, can we go home now?" Wen Peng asked, holding his books.
“Yes, let’s go home,” Wen Qing said.
Before going to the main road to wait for the bus, Wen Qing bought a serving of rice candy for Wen Peng so he could eat it on the bus.
Wen Peng ate a little bit, saying that he had eaten too much delicious food today and had to save some for his second brother and mother.
Wen Qing smiled and did not object.
The two waited on the main road for about twenty minutes before the bus finally arrived, swaying along the road.
Wen Qing pulled Wen Peng into the car, and after more than half an hour, the car finally arrived in the county town. The two went straight to Aunt Xiao's tailor shop.
As soon as I arrived at the tailor shop, I saw Aunt Xiao, whom I hadn't seen in a long time.
"Wen Qing, you're back?" Aunt Xiao greeted her warmly.
"Aunt Xiao, why are you back?" Wen Qing asked, casually placing a cloth bag of books on the table. "How's the child? Has he been discharged from the hospital? Do you have enough money?"
Aunt Xiao smiled and said, "The child is doing well and hasn't been discharged from the hospital yet. We have enough money, so I came back to pack some things."
Wen Qing didn't pay attention, but Yao Shiling winked at Wen Qing, and Wen Qing then realized that Aunt Xiao's so-called "packing things" was completely different from what she had understood.
"Aunt Xiao, are you leaving?" Wen Qing asked in surprise.
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