Chapter 23: A ray of hope - The bustle of the tailor shop

In the 1980s, the economy had recovered in many places and some small vendors had started setting up stalls on the streets.

There are people selling sesame cakes, noodles, braised meat, vegetables, eggs, chickens and ducks, fish, needles, thread and buttons...

Anyway, those small businesses are inseparable from people’s food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Lin Nuan also noticed that most of them set up stalls by pushing carts, and very few of them rented shops to run their business.

Don't underestimate those who set up stalls with carts. They can earn a lot in a day at this time. Sometimes they may even earn more in a day than the factory workers earn in a month.

It’s just that most people are still proud of having a stable job. Even if they know that they can make money by doing business, they are not willing to give up their stable job to go out and do business in the public eye.

This is a matter of face.

Since you have come out to work, any job is a job, making money is the bottom line.

Lin Nuan does not agree with the idea of ​​a permanent job.

They pushed their bicycles around the street, and when Wang Xiaoli saw people selling snacks, she would ask Lin Nuan and Xiao Jingyan if they wanted to eat some. It was like adults bringing their children shopping for food.

This made the two of them feel helpless.

When a man selling candied haws on a bicycle passed by.

"Jingyan, Nuannuan, do you two want to eat candied haws?"

Lin Nuan and Xiao Jingyan looked at each other again in tacit understanding, both revealing helpless and amused expressions.

Lin Nuan couldn't bear it any longer and stood side by side with Xiao Jingyan.

"Mom, do we look like children to you? Are we still at the age of wanting to eat a few bites?"

Wang Xiaoli looked at the two people standing side by side with a smile, revealing the gentle and kind smile of an old mother.

"Aren't you two just children to me?"

That’s right, no matter how old you are, you are still a child in front of your parents.

Lin Nuan walked forward and took Wang Xiaoli's arm, saying helplessly, "Mom, have you forgotten what we came to the county for? Brother Xiao and I are not hungry, and we don't want to eat those snacks. You keep asking us if we want to eat this or that. Do you also want to do these small businesses?"

Wang Xiaoli shook her head. "People who set up stalls to do business either have a family skill or are skilled in their hands. I, your mother, can eat and watch, but I know myself well. My cooking skills are just average, not to mention the other things. I still know myself well."

As he said this, he walked forward, and after walking a distance he saw a group of people gathered not far away, with some noisy sounds coming from inside.

None of the three people liked to meddle in other people's business, and they originally wanted to walk through the crowd and continue moving forward.

Who would have thought that before she walked out of the crowd, she saw a touch of pink falling from the sky. Before the people around her could react, Xiao Jingyan caught it. Only then did they see clearly that what fell from the sky was a pink dress.

Listening to the shouting and apologies coming from the crowd, as well as the discussions from the onlookers around, combined with the skirt in Xiao Jingyan's hand, she understood what was going on.

The crowd was surrounding a tailor shop. The pink skirt had a hole in it, so the owner of the skirt took it to the tailor shop for help to mend it, hoping it could be saved. Needless to say, the owner of the skirt disliked the tailor shop owner's poor craftsmanship and demanded compensation for ruining her skirt.

When Xiao Jingyan saw clearly that what he received was a skirt, an expression of disgust was evident on his face.

If the skirt hadn't hit his face if he didn't catch it, he definitely wouldn't have caught it.

If there hadn't been so many onlookers looking at the skirt he was holding, he might have thrown it away the moment he caught it.

Ever since she had this cheap big brother, Lin Nuan had the impression that Xiao Jingyan was a very gentle person. He was emotionally stable and always had a smile on his face, giving people a feeling that he was harmless, just like an upright soldier.

It's rare to see any other emotions on his face.

Since the skirt has been thrown out, it proves that the owner of the skirt doesn't want it anymore.

Lin Nuan took the skirt from Xiao Jingyan's hand and threw it to the ground without any hesitation.

Wang Xiaoli caught the clothes before they fell to the ground.

"Kid, how can you throw away the clothes after you have already connected them?"

"Its owner threw it away, which proves that its owner doesn't want it anymore. We don't want it either. Why keep it if he's not going to throw it away?"

Lin Nuan opened his big innocent eyes and looked at Wang Xiaoli with some confusion.

What are we going to do with clothes that people don't want?

Our family doesn’t lack a piece of worn-out clothing!

You can't just pick it up and let me wear it, right?

Of course, that’s not what Wang Xiaoli meant.

She had just seen the repairs on the holes in the clothes and thought it could be repaired.

She looked at the mended piece of clothing again, and an expression of regret appeared on her face.

"It's a shame to throw away such a nice piece of clothing. It would have looked nice if I had embroidered a few flowers on the holes. It's such a pity."

"You two wait here for a while, I'll send the clothes back."

Lin Nuan then remembered that Wang Xiaoli was very skillful at making clothes. Not only could she cut and mend clothes, but she could also embroider. It seemed that an old lady in the village had taught her. Most importantly, she enjoyed it.

This is not the case that when you think you have reached the end of your rope, you will find a way out.

Her eyes lit up and she followed.

Someone saw Wang Xiaoli holding clothes in her hands, and the gossiping crowd around her made way for her.

As I got closer, I could hear more clearly and see the scene in the tailor shop.

A woman wearing a white apron, with an aggrieved look on her face, kept apologizing in a humble manner.

"Comrade, it's my fault that I didn't learn the craft well enough. I can't achieve the effect you want. I'll return your money and you can find someone else to help you fix your clothes, okay?"

The arrogant woman standing opposite looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She had an angry expression and her words were full of reluctance.

"Since you know you're not good at mending clothes, why did you take on the job of mending clothes? Now that the clothes have been mended like that, it's impossible to repair them. My clothes cost hundreds of dollars. Do you think that two dollars is enough to compensate me?"

The tailor shop owner looked like an honest man, and he understood what the customer meant, which was that he just wanted him to pay for the clothes.

"Comrade, your clothes were already torn when you brought them to me. You asked me to fix the hole for you, and I did it. How can anyone in the world fix a torn piece of clothing to make it exactly the same as before or even better? You are obviously forcing me to do something against my will. I have already promised to pay you for the money to mend the clothes, so how can you still go further?"

The hole in your clothes was not caused by me, so I shouldn't be the one to pay for it. I do business in the spirit of peace and harmony, and I wanted to resolve this matter properly, but your request is too much. I can't possibly compensate you for your clothes. If you want to sue me, go ahead. I've already repaired your clothes, and I won't refund the money for repairing them."