"Can we get the money tomorrow?" Aunt Xiao asked.
"Mmm." Wen Qing smiled, then asked, "Aunt Xiao, have you eaten?"
"Not yet, I'll wait for you."
"Okay, let's go to the market to buy some vegetables and cook for ourselves."
"Um."
Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao went to the market and bought half a pound of meat, two potatoes, a section of winter melon, a bunch of greens, and four large steamed buns before returning to Green Garden.
"I didn't expect you to be cooking here," Aunt Xiao said.
Wen Qing stood at the door, took out her keys, opened the door, and said, "This is more convenient." This way, she wouldn't accidentally miss mealtimes while reading or sewing, and then be unable to buy anything to eat.
As soon as Wen Qing opened the door, Aunt Xiao exclaimed, "Wen Qing, your house is so bright and clean!"
Wen Qing smiled and said, "It's alright. It feels more spacious because there aren't many things."
"Hey, where did you get the grass for the balcony?"
Wen Qing said with a smile, "I dug them up in the suburbs after school. They were all unwanted wild grasses and flowers. Having them at home makes me feel better."
"You really know how to dress well," Aunt Xiao said admiringly.
Wen Qing smiled.
The two chatted and laughed in the kitchen, and soon cooked three dishes and a soup: shredded pork and potato slices, stir-fried winter melon strips, and a soup of greens with shredded pork and pickled winter melon.
"Wen Qing, your cooking skills are really good. This shredded pork and potato slices are delicious, and this winter melon and pickled vegetable soup is so tasty," Aunt Xiao said while drinking the soup with her steamed bun.
Wen Qing laughed: "We're just too hungry."
"That's true." Aunt Xiao smiled.
The two of them not only ate every last drop of the three dishes and soup, but also finished all four steamed buns.
In Wen Qing's memory, people in this era had a huge appetite. They didn't use bowls to serve noodles, but basins. Her second uncle used basins to eat noodles. She never thought that she could eat so much now.
After dinner, Aunt Xiao insisted on washing the dishes and pots, so Wen Qing didn't do it.
While washing the dishes, Aunt Xiao asked, "Wen Qing, aren't you going to evening self-study?"
"I'm not going. I'll stay home and make clothes."
Why are you still making clothes?
“I’ll make a few small ‘Feng Qing’ labels. Tomorrow, take them back to the tailors at Feng Qing Clothing and have them make them and sew them into the clothes.”
"good."
After washing the dishes, Wenqing sat in front of the sewing machine and started sewing, while Aunt Xiao helped Wenqing by drawing and cutting.
When it was almost time, Wen Qing needed to study for a while, so she went to review and preview her lessons. Meanwhile, Aunt Xiao sat in front of the sewing machine making little strips of cloth with the name "Feng Qing" on them.
Aunt Xiao asked, "Is the sound of the sewing machine disturbing your reading?"
"I won't bother you," Wen Qing said.
Aunt Xiao then continued.
Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao finally fell asleep late at night.
Wen Qing's bed wasn't big, but neither she nor Aunt Xiao were overweight, so it was just right for them to sleep in.
Before going to bed, Wen Qing talked to Aunt Xiao about things to do the next day. Aunt Xiao listened and talked, and then the two of them fell asleep.
The next morning, Wen Qing went to her morning self-study session as usual, letting Aunt Xiao continue to sleep.
Students at Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School typically have only half an hour for breakfast during morning self-study and morning classes. Therefore, after morning self-study, they either spend a few cents to eat breakfast at the school cafeteria or go to the school gate to buy something to eat for ten cents. Wen Qing was no exception.
After eating quickly, Wen Qing went to the classroom, started reading, attended four classes attentively, and then rushed out of the school.
While running on the road, she encountered that persistent boy again, who was delivering love letters.
This time, Wen Qing not only refused to accept the letter, but also returned the love letter from yesterday to the boy. Ji Ningzhi hated her so much, and she didn't want to leave a reputation for "dating random people" and have Ji Ningzhi report her to the homeroom teacher, Teacher Zhao, since Teacher Zhao had been too good to her.
She couldn't let Teacher Zhao lose face in front of the principal.
"Don't send love letters anymore. Study hard and serve society; that's the right thing to do." Wen Qing said, leaving behind this statement about the correct values of "serving society" in this era, before running out of the school.
At the school gate, Aunt Xiao was waiting with her bicycle. She had rented the bike in advance to save time.
Wen Qing rode his bicycle and took her to the state-owned garment factory.
With many people, there is great strength. In just over a day, the state-owned garment factory produced four hundred semi-finished garments.
Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao checked it over and confirmed that there was no problem.
Wen Qing looked at the garment manager and asked, "I delivered over 1,200 yuan worth of fabric, enough to make nearly 3,000 garments. Manager, are you sure you can deliver all 400 garments a day by Friday?"
The garment manager looked at Wen Qing with admiration in his eyes. With nearly three thousand garments, he thought she must have even calculated the exact amount of each garment. Otherwise, she wouldn't have provided such a small quantity of needles, thread, buttons, etc.
The garment manager smiled and said, "Young boss, we just received the semi-finished designs yesterday, and we produced four hundred pieces even though we weren't very skilled at it. Do you think we'll produce fewer than five hundred pieces tomorrow and the day after?"
Wen Qing smiled and said, "That's good. We'll come to pick up the goods every day for the next four days. When we deliver the goods on Friday, I'll pay you the remaining labor fee in full."
"Okay," the garment manager replied with a smile.
Then Wenqing and Aunt Xiao tied four hundred pieces of clothing to the bicycle, making the bicycle look like it was wearing a thick coat. Wenqing couldn't ride the bicycle, let alone give Aunt Xiao a ride, so the two of them pushed the bicycle to the bus stop.
"Aunt Xiao, take the clothes back in a bit and have the tailor hurry up and put on the 'Feng Qing' mark. Then make them. Ask my mom how many shoes were produced in Shuiwan Village. We need as many as there are. Before 5 pm, you and Bao Hong take the clothes and shoes to the bus stop. I'll have Zhang Xiuying and Lao He come here to pick them up."
"Can four hundred pieces of clothing be produced?" Aunt Xiao asked.
Wen Qing nodded: "Yes, these tops and pants look like two semi-finished products, but in reality, they are only one line away from being finished products. In other words, once the Feng Qing logo is attached, the top doesn't need to be rotated or the machine needs to have its thread changed. Just straighten the top, put it on the sewing machine, and it's done in one stitch. It can be packaged directly. However, the pants need to be sewn with two threads."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Xiao stared at Wen Qing in disbelief. Wen Qing had actually planned everything out perfectly. She looked at the half-finished garment and, sure enough, saw that the most difficult part of the top—the collar, buttonholes, and buttons—was already done. The rest was not a difficult task. It would be no problem for a dozen or so tailors to produce four hundred garments before 4:30 pm.
Aunt Xiao stared at Wen Qing in astonishment: "Doesn't the garment manager know that it's only a step or two away from being a semi-finished product?"
Wen Qing smiled and said, "He should know that, but if he doesn't get these one or two steps right, the clothes will lack both aesthetic appeal and comfort. Besides, he's currently short on business, so he's willing to cooperate with me."
Wen Qing once again refreshed Aunt Xiao's understanding of her, and Aunt Xiao admired Wen Qing to the point of prostration.
Wen Qing added, "If these four hundred garments can be finished before 4:30, you won't need to make any more Dacron white shirts or plain trousers this week."
"Then what should we do?"
"Make khaki high-waisted pants with a front slit."
Aunt Xiao thought for a moment. The white shirts and plain trousers were made by the state-owned garment factory, and there were already three thousand of them. There was really no need to make any more, so she agreed, "Okay."
"We'll assign another tailor to work with Bao Hong, specifically to cut, paste, and sew the shoe uppers for Shuiwan Village," Wen Qing said.
Aunt Xiao nodded: "Okay."
"Alright, we're here." Wen Qing stopped the car in front of the bus stop and took off her clothes with Aunt Xiao to wait for the bus.
"Wen Qing, you should go back to class. Otherwise you'll be late." Aunt Xiao said, "I can wait here by myself. I'll give the ticket seller an extra five cents, and she'll arrange this coat for me."
"Okay." Wen Qing nodded: "Come to the city on time. Zhang Xiuying is waiting for you here."
"Okay," Aunt Xiao replied.
Wen Qing rode her bicycle directly to Zhang Xiuying's place on the pedestrian street instead of returning to school.
When Zhang Xiuying saw Wen Qing, she was overjoyed. She was even happier when Wen Qing told her to wait at the bus stop at 5 p.m. and that there would be 200 shirts and 200 pairs of pants.
"Wen Qing, are you serious?" Zhang Xiuying pulled Wen Qing into the room to sit down.
Wen Qing said, "Really."
"That's great! To be honest, I sold all the clothes you gave me the other day." Zhang Xiuying complained, "You guys are too slow at producing."
“It’s because you, Sister Zhang, have such a big business,” Wen Qing said.
Zhang Xiuying laughed: "It's not very big. It's just that a few shop owners from the surrounding counties often come here to pick up clothes."
“That’s pretty big too,” Wen Qing said with a smile.
"Did you come here just to talk to me about getting your clothes?" Zhang Xiuying asked.
Wen Qing: "No, there's one more thing."
"What's up?"
"I want to open a Fengqing specialty store in Nanzhou," Wen Qing said.
Zhang Xiuying was taken aback: "Where do you drive it?"
“If we don’t open here, it won’t take away from your business,” Wen Qing said with a smile.
Zhang Xiuying's expression softened. She knew Wen Qing's abilities. If Wen Qing opened a shop, let alone how many beautiful clothes Wen Qing could come up with with her clever mind, even if she only came up with one, she could squeeze out all of Zhang Xiuying's business in no time.
Zhang Xiuying said with a smile, "It's fine if you don't open here. I can still sell your clothes here."
Wen Qing nodded: "Mm."
"Where would you like to open it?"
"I haven't decided yet. I just wanted to ask about the market price of storefronts in Nanzhou City," Wen Qing asked.
“Two years ago, a few hundred yuan could buy a storefront, but now it costs over a thousand,” Zhang Xiuying said. “Who knows, it might go up even more in the future.”
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. By the way, when you and Boss He go to pick up the goods this afternoon, you can ask Aunt Xiao for Fengqing Garment's phone number. We installed a phone in my shop today."
"Really, that's great. Then I can just call you guys if I need anything."
"right."
Wen Qing and Zhang Xiuying exchanged a few more words, then Wen Qing rode away on his bicycle.
Zhang Xiuying and Lao He nodded as they watched Wen Qing's retreating figure.
Zhang Xiuying sighed, "I thought I was smart and quick-witted when I was young, which is why I was able to build this business. I never expected that Wen Qing was even younger than me back then, and that she was just as smart."
Old He poured cold water on the situation, saying, "Come on, back then you were called speculators, but now Wen Qing is calling it a powerful offensive."
"Who's speculating? You're calling someone a speculator!" Zhang Xiuying raised her leg and kicked Lao He.
Old He quickly chuckled and ran off.
Meanwhile, Wen Qing had already ridden her bicycle out of the pedestrian street. This time it was a little later than yesterday, so she didn't even have time to eat. She just drank some water and ran into the classroom. Luckily, she wasn't late.
However, not long after she entered the classroom, her homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhao, did not let her attend class and called her name directly.
The students in the class were stunned.
Ji Ningzhi glanced at Wen Qing, thinking to herself, "Let's see how the homeroom teacher will like you now."
As Wen Qing stood up, she caught a glimpse of Ji Ningzhi looking at her, and she suddenly smiled at her.
Ji Ningzhi was startled.
Wen Qing left the classroom in a very natural and confident manner.
The rest of the class whispered among themselves: "What's going on? Why did the teacher call Wen Qing?"
"Didn't you know? There are rumors at school that Qing is dating a boy, and they even say they're living together."
"Really?"
"I don't know, that's why the teacher called Wen Qing to the office to ask."
"Which boy is Wen Qing dating?"
"I don't know?"
"Yeah, people need to have someone in a relationship, right? Anyway, Wen Qing is my dream girl, I don't believe she's dating anyone."
"Bang! Bang!" The politics teacher slammed his hand on the desk with the blackboard eraser. "Quiet down! Quiet down, everyone! Class is starting!"
The classroom immediately fell silent.
At the same time, Wen Qing entered the office, where only she and Teacher Zhao were present.
Teacher Zhao asked, "Do you know why I called you over at this time?"
Wen Qing shook her head: "I don't know."
"I'm afraid others will find out," Teacher Zhao said.
"What do you know?" Wen Qing asked.
Teacher Zhao sighed: "Wen Qing, tell Teacher Zhao the truth, are you dating someone?"
"No," Wen Qing said.
Teacher Zhao looked at Wen Qing in disbelief and said, "No? Don't hide it from Teacher Zhao. Tell Teacher Zhao in advance that if the principal finds out about this, he will call your family and the other party's family to the school to lecture you for affecting the school's atmosphere. Maybe your parents will take you home in a fit of anger and not let you go to school. All that tuition money is not for you to date. You are such a good student, you shouldn't be like this."
Wen Qing realized that the rumors at school were that she was dating someone. In the 21st century, dating was nothing. In this era, only college students had the right to date. In Nanzhou City, dating without parental consent was considered immoral and would be met with a barrage of criticism.
Being caught disrupting the school's atmosphere will result in expulsion!
This was definitely a malicious report; otherwise, the teacher wouldn't have known. Most students turn a blind eye to other students dating, since students are on the same side. Even if the teacher hears about it, they don't really care, because these things are hard to explain, and explaining them might hurt people.
So, someone must have come directly to Teacher Zhao and said, "Wen Qing is dating." You know, if the phrase "dating" is applied to any girl in modern times, that girl would be so ashamed that she would cry, and might even secretly drop out of school.
But the whistleblower was either too stupid or didn't understand Wen Qing at all. Wen Qing grew up amidst the pointing fingers and whispers of others. She could remain calm even when faced with such fierce criticism from Aunt Wang and others in Shuiwan Village. Why would she be afraid of this?
Wen Qing calmly said, "I'm not in a relationship."
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