Chapter 19

Someone glanced at Lin Xi, their face clearly saying they didn’t believe what the little one had just said.
Lin Xi buying hair clips for a child? Who would believe that!

She only ever beat and scolded the kid, sometimes even refusing to let her eat. Most likely, she’d told the child to say this, and if the kid didn’t obey, she’d get a beating.

The little one, after speaking, didn’t care whether they believed her or not. She tilted her head and leaned against Lin Xi’s arms, her black grape-like eyes curiously scanning the surroundings. This was her first time leaving the village, her first time seeing the outside world, and her eyes brimmed with novelty wherever they looked.

Lin Xi also took in the environment. The mountain road at this time was rugged and uneven, but the air and scenery were beautiful—unlike decades later, when high-rises filled every space, steel and concrete everywhere, and the wind carried the smell of exhaust fumes.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. The air really was so fresh!

The little one noticed her actions and imitated her—closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, then… cough, cough, cough…

“Xingxing, what’s wrong? Did you catch a chill? Why are you coughing?”

“The child just breathed in too hard and choked…”

The woman beside her, noticing that her concern for the child didn’t seem fake, told her in disbelief that the girl was fine, but…

What was going on with Qing Yan’s wife today? And that little Gu Xing—weren’t this brother and sister usually the most afraid of their aunt? This… this looked completely different!

It wasn’t just her thinking that way—the others on the bus were thinking the same thing. A whole bus of people kept watching them the entire ride.

Lin Xi wasn’t unaware of their stares. She could roughly guess what they were thinking, but what did that have to do with her?

When they reached town, Lin Xi took little Gu Xing straight onto another bus to the county seat. She had worried the little one might get motion sick, but the girl spent the whole trip excitedly pressing against the window, pointing out everything she saw.

When it was time to get off, she was reluctant, until Lin Xi told her they’d be riding it again on the way back. Then she happily held Lin Xi’s hand and hopped off.

Looking at how, in just a few days, the little one seemed like a completely different person around her, Lin Xi couldn’t help feeling a bit emotional. Kids really were easy to win over. These past days, except for sleeping, the girl had stuck to her like glue and had no trace of her earlier reserve.

She had just gotten off the bus, basket on her back and holding the child’s hand, when someone called out:

“Miss, wait a second.”

Lin Xi turned toward the voice and saw it was the bus driver from earlier—a chubby man. He looked a little embarrassed as he asked:

“Miss, I noticed both you and your daughter have really pretty hair ornaments. I was wondering where you bought them—I’d like to get some for my wife and daughter.”

Hearing this, Lin Xi felt a burst of joy—business had practically delivered itself to her door!

“Brother Driver, to tell you the truth, I came to town today to sell these. All my hair accessories are handmade—you can only get them from me. They last a long time, and if they get dirty, you just wash and dry them.”

The driver nodded.
“No wonder I’ve never seen ones like that before. Can you sell me a set like yours and your daughter’s?”

Lin Xi nodded, squatting down with little Gu Xing beside her basket, telling the girl to stand still. She lifted the blue cloth covering the basket and rummaged inside, finding a matching set of hair ties and small clips like the ones the child wore.

“Brother, kids’ accessories aren’t too fussy, but for adults, it’s best to match them to the person’s face shape, complexion, and hair length. Could you describe your wife for me so I can pick something suitable?”

“Oh, my wife’s a bit thin—not like me—but she’s got good hair, just not as long as yours.”

“Got it.”

After some searching, Lin Xi pulled out a simple, easy-to-match headband. She showed it to him first before saying:

“Brother, my items cost a bit more than those sold elsewhere, because the fabric is real Dacron. My products are not only more durable, but also more beautiful—worth every penny.”

“How much for these?”

“Tell you what—you’re my first customer today, my opening sale. Normally, the small yarn hair tie is ten cents each, the fabric hair clips are fifty cents a pair, and the headband is one yuan.

But for you, I’ll take just one yuan and fifty cents total—the other twenty cents is my thanks for bringing me my first sale.”

The driver had thought it was a bit pricey, but after looking at them closely, they were indeed intricate and beautiful. The patterns were fresh, and he knew Dacron fabric was expensive. Her words made him feel good about the purchase.

He glanced at the well-behaved little one beside her, with the cute clips in her hair, and nodded.
“All right, I’ll take them.”

Lin Xi smiled, handed over the items, and took the money. She was about to shoulder her basket and leave when a few women, who had been watching from nearby, came over.

“Can we take a look too?”

Lin Xi nodded, but before she could uncover the basket, a station worker wearing a red armband came over to shoo them away.

So she picked up her basket and said to the women:
“Let’s go outside to look—I’m getting in their way here.”

“Okay.”

They were all young women. They’d noticed her earlier selling to the driver and had already admired the headband she wore, so they had come over to ask.

No matter the era, young girls loved pretty accessories, so they followed Lin Xi outside. She found a shady spot under a tree and set her basket down.

She sat on the steps beneath the tree, settling the little one on her lap to keep her from wandering off, then uncovered the blue cloth and pulled out a mirror. She chose several headbands, clips, and ties she thought would suit each of them.

Their eyes lit up at the fresh designs, and they eagerly tried them on. Lin Xi held up the mirror so they could see.

“Miss, I heard you say earlier this fabric is Dacron—really?”

“Of course. Look at the pattern, and the fabric is so light—only Dacron can make something like this.”

They nodded as they listened. One of them said:
“I know—my sister has a dress made of Dacron, brought from another province by my brother-in-law. He said the fabric was more than ten yuan a meter!”

That sealed the deal—none of them thought the price was too high anymore. In those days, Dacron was practically a luxury item. If they couldn’t afford a whole dress, buying a Dacron hair accessory still gave them bragging rights—enough to make their girlfriends jealous.