Fang Fang's eyes lit up, and she tugged at Chen Ping's polyester shirt sleeve.
“Yes, Chen Ping, why don’t we buy them together? Six each, just enough for one coat or cotton-padded jacket. Buying too many would be a waste.”
Chen Ping wanted to say that if she couldn't use it all, her mother could use it too. Her mother loved beauty much more than she did. Every year, in addition to buying high-end ready-made clothes at the department store, she would also ask someone to buy fabric from other places to make wool coats.
The family has a high demand for buttons, and with her family's connections, it's not like they can't even buy buttons. But Chu Yu's buttons do have a complete range of styles.
Chen Ping felt embarrassed to refuse her classmate, so she smiled and nodded.
"Okay! Six buttons each! Hurry up and pick out a few gray ones for your coat. Your coat has a nice design, so it needs nice buttons to match."
Chen Ping, who came from a good family, agreed with her own judgment, and Fang Fang was also quite happy. The two of them each picked out six and gave Chu Yu a total of three yuan.
These three yuan gave Chu Yu a good start, and she smiled as she stuffed the money into her cloth bag.
"Ladies, a colleague of mine wants to buy some buttons, could you please help me spread the word?"
In 1983, women were all addressed as "comrade," and this was the first time Fang Fang and Chen Ping had ever heard someone call them "beautiful."
Fang Fang thought Chu Yu was right. She was good-looking and dressed fashionably; what else could she be but a beauty? Being called a beauty by a woman prettier than herself naturally made her quite happy.
Chen Ping wasn't as strikingly beautiful as Fang Fang, and she felt the disparity in appearance from a young age. She comforted herself, believing that a woman's looks alone were useless; knowledge was the best cosmetic. She studied diligently, absorbing knowledge to strive to become "intellectual and cultured." But what girl doesn't like being praised?
Chen Ping's cheeks flushed slightly. "You were still here this afternoon, weren't you? I have a female classmate who likes to collect buttons. I'll bring her over later!"
"I'm here, but today is a single day off, so things are selling well. If you want to collect buttons, you'd better come early."
Chen Ping nodded and left with Fang Fang.
The two of them gave Chu Yu a good start, and more and more people began asking about the buttons.
A woman with short curly hair came out of the department store carrying fabric. As she was about to cross the street, she took a second look at the people setting up a stall.
"So many buttons!" The woman squatted down in front of the stall, picking through the buttons with the others. "Young man, how much are these buttons?"
"Small ones are 3 cents, large acrylic buttons are 30 cents each, buy 10 get 2 free!"
She deliberately raised her voice. The point of setting up a stall is to make money, there's no need to hide it, right?
This commotion attracted even more onlookers.
Buy 10 get 2 free? There's no such promotional model these days.
When I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy buttons, the sales clerks held their heads high and would give me a hard time. They would either say they were out of stock or that the nice colors were sold out.
Come to this young lady's place, and you'll not only get freebies, but she'll also greet you with a warm and hospitable smile. She also has a wide variety of items, just like shopping for groceries—you can pick and choose whatever you like!
"There are so many different styles of buttons! I'm overwhelmed!"
"This is the first time I've seen so many buttons! Wow! There's even a silver-gray organic button, the color is so fashionable!"
"I've collected four of these royal blue ones with buttons, but I'm still missing two. Today I can finally complete the set!"
The woman, who was carrying a piece of fabric, was jostled and almost fell. She glared at the man behind her with annoyance.
"Stop pushing! There are so many people in front of us!"
Chu Yu glanced at the man; he was tall and thin, wearing a white shirt, with shifty eyes.
Chu Yu sensed something was wrong when her eyes darted around while looking at people, so she pulled her older sister to her right.
"Sis, you can squat over here and take your time choosing. Your brother might also like to pick something out. Brother, what kind of buttons do you want? I can recommend some."
The man waved his hand awkwardly, said nothing, and ran away!
The older woman carrying the fabric picked out a few buttons, and the more she looked at them, the stranger they seemed.
"Comrade, the color of your buttons is quite nice, but why are they irregularly shaped?"
Chu Yu smiled, "Sister, you don't know, this style came from Hong Kong. Regular buttons are too ordinary, aren't they? People in Hong Kong are fashionable and pursue design. They not only have these kinds of buttons, but they also use horn buttons for coats! Have you ever seen horn buttons? They're pointed, just like bull horns, so fashionable!"
How could the older sister possibly admit that she had never even heard of horn buckles?
These brightly colored buttons, even if irregularly shaped, will only make a coat look fashionable rather than out of place when sewn on.
The older woman held the clothes up to herself to make sure she had chosen the right size buttons, and then decided to share an order with another older woman.
He reached into his pocket for money but touched his thigh instead. Upon closer inspection, he saw that his pocket had been slashed with a long gash!
"Where's my money!" The woman frantically searched her trouser leg, finally finding five yuan on her calf! She slapped her thigh, "That man must have done it! I usually keep my money in my socks. I was busy buying fabric and didn't have my hands free, so I just put it in my pocket. Who would have thought that thief would be so despicable as to slash such a long gash in my pants!"
As soon as the older sister started shouting, even more people gathered around.
"Comrade, your money was stolen?"
"No! I was so close! You have no idea, a man just pushed me so hard, and I was wondering how a grown man could squeeze into a button stall! Luckily, this woman pulled me back and saved me from disaster! Otherwise, after cutting my pockets, they would have cut my kidneys next!"
The eldest sister often heard Liu Lanfang recount how she could make an ordinary little thing seem dramatic and full of thrills!
The onlookers listened in stunned silence, and many admired the female stall owner in the story who was "fearless in the face of danger and acted bravely for a just cause."
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