Chapter 39

Xia Qingning looked her up and down, smiling faintly, and gave a definitive answer:

“I really can’t do such hideous makeup, and I really wouldn’t buy such an ugly dress.”

“Yeah, we’re not buying it, we’ll leave it for you. Ugly clothes are the best match for you.” Maimiao immediately agreed, taking a step forward and linking arms with Xia Qingning. “Let’s not bother with her, Qingning, let’s go.”

Then, she pulled Xia Qingning to the other side and started looking at other products.

At this time, Zhao Cuilan walked over, handing the wrapped dress to He Shanshan:

“Shanshan, don’t listen to their nonsense. They don’t know good things. This dress is the best-looking one in our store, it’ll look even better on you.”

“Yeah, I’m not angry. They’re just sour grapes because they can’t have it.” He Shanshan touched the fabric, the smooth texture made her incredibly happy. She couldn’t help but say, “Auntie Zhao, I want to try it on.”

“Go ahead, there’s a fitting room over there, go try it on.” Zhao Cuilan said with a smile. “Once you put it on, stand there, you’ll be a living advertisement.”

Xia Qingning and Maimiao were browsing the ready-made clothes section. Seeing that He Shanshan wasn’t following them, Maimiao lowered her voice and asked with confusion:

“Qingning, do you really think that dress is ugly?”

Xia Qingning’s gaze fell on the clothes hanging on the wall. She saw several cotton long dresses, some plain and some checkered. The waistlines were cinched, making them look tall and slender. She turned to Maimiao and said:

“I think these are prettier.”

Maimiao followed her gaze and saw the cotton dresses. Then she nodded and said:

“These are nice, but they’re a little plain, not very unique.”

Xia Qingning thought for a moment, her eyes fixed on a white dress. She said softly:

“Look at that white one. If you lower the neckline a little, use the cut-off fabric to make ruffles for the sleeves, and use some even smaller pieces to make a few little flowers and sew them around the waist, it would look much better.”

After listening, Maimiao’s eyes lit up. She looked at the price of the dress, seven yuan and change, and she was tempted. She asked:

“Can you alter it?”

Such a small alteration was incredibly easy for Xia Qingning. She confidently nodded and said:

“I can, it’s also quick, I can finish it in half an hour.”

Maimiao hesitated for a moment and said to Xia Qingning:

“Then I’ll buy it, can you alter it for me?”

She trusted Xia Qingning’s skills. After all, Xia Qingning had been awarded “Excellent Worker” by the factory last year and even received a sewing machine.

“Sure.” Xia Qingning readily agreed. “I’ll alter it for you after work tomorrow, come get it when it’s done.”

Maimiao bought the dress, and the two continued walking. Soon, Xia Qingning’s gaze was drawn to a row of georgette dresses, especially the light green one with floral prints. It had long sleeves, a small V-neck, and a large, flowing skirt. It looked very fresh and elegant.

Xia Qingning pointed to the green dress and said to the saleswoman:

“Comrade, how much is this dress?”

“Comrade, you have good taste. This fabric is called georgette, it’s imported from abroad, very rare here. But it’s indeed more expensive than clothes made of ordinary fabrics.”

The saleswoman with short hair said with a smile, then took the dress off the wall and handed it to Xia Qingning. She continued, “This one is forty-two yuan.”

Maimiao saw that the dress was beautiful and wanted to touch it, but when she heard the price, she immediately retracted her hand.

Another saleswoman walked over and nudged the saleswoman with short hair, whispering:

“Didn’t you see that they couldn’t even afford the Dacron red dress from Sister Zhao’s side? Why are you showing her this.”

Although her voice was deliberately lowered, they were so close that it was impossible not to hear. Maimiao wanted to retort, but she was poor and powerless. She could only stand there silently, not saying anything.

Xia Qingning, however, remained calm. She took the dress, looked it over, and touched it. After a moment, she handed it back to the saleswoman and said:

“Thank you, we’ll look around some more.”

It wasn’t that Xia Qingning couldn’t afford it, but a dress for over forty yuan was too expensive for her now.

She wouldn’t buy it just to save face. After all, that money was earned by the original owner, and she had other uses for it.

The saleswoman with short hair took the dress, still smiling and not looking down on her. She said:

“Okay, comrade, take a look at other things.”

In the end, Xia Qingning chose a blue checkered cotton blouse, a white men’s shirt, and a set of children’s sportswear. She spent over twenty yuan for them.

The blue checkered blouse was for the original owner’s mother, the white shirt was for her brother, and the sportswear was for her younger brother.

After browsing the ready-made clothes section, they walked to the fabric counter. This was Xia Qingning’s main purpose for coming to the department store today.

Various fabrics were displayed on the counter. Most were cotton and linen, followed by Dacron.

The prices varied greatly. Cotton was forty cents per foot, and Dacron was one yuan and fifty cents per foot. Xia Qingning decisively chose cotton.

People in this era almost all favored Dacron, thinking it was beautiful and trendy. But only people from the future knew that all-cotton fabrics were far superior to Dacron, a synthetic fiber.

Xia Qingning quickly chose over ten feet, mostly navy blue, dark gray, and other colors that were more resistant to dirt. She wanted to buy more, but she didn’t have enough fabric coupons, so she had to stop.

“You’re buying these colors? They don’t look very nice.” Maimiao couldn’t help but say when she saw Xia Qingning choosing dark colors.

“Yeah, these are more resistant to dirt.” Xia Qingning explained. “My mom, my brother, they need to wear them for work, it’s more suitable.”

“Oh, you’re buying them for your family, that makes sense.” Maimiao suddenly realized.

As they were talking, Xia Qingning suddenly noticed a pile of fabrics in the corner of the counter. These were the end pieces of a bolt of fabric, the leftover scraps after cutting out a foot. So, they were all kinds of colors, fabrics, and patterns.

Xia Qingning’s eyes lit up. She pointed to the pile of fabrics and said to the saleswoman inside:

“Are those fabrics for sale?”

The saleswoman followed her finger and saw the pile of scraps. She nodded and said:

“Yes, but they’re not in whole pieces. If you take them to a tailor to make clothes, the tailor might not make them for you.”

“It’s okay, I can make them myself.” Xia Qingning said with a smile. She was beautiful, and her smile made her even more charming.

Everyone has a love for beauty. Seeing that this girl was beautiful and polite, the saleswoman bent over, hugged the fabrics, and said happily:

“You can make them yourself? That’s great. I’ll tell you, although these fabrics are a bit messy, there are still a lot of good and expensive ones. You won’t lose money if you buy them, and you don’t need fabric coupons.”

No fabric coupons, that was exactly what Xia Qingning wanted. She carefully looked at the fabrics and touched them. They were indeed good. There were cotton, linen, wool, synthetics, and even some silk and blends.

“How much are these?” Xia Qingning asked.

“Do you want all of them?” the saleswoman asked.

It was indeed a lot to buy all of them. Xia Qingning thought for a moment and said:

“Half, please.”

“Half, you can just give me three yuan.” The saleswoman said sincerely. “Although these fabrics are scraps, the quality is the same. If you use them well, you can make five or six sets of clothes, no problem.”

So much for only three yuan, Xia Qingning was very satisfied. She looked at the saleswoman and said:

“Can I choose the ones I like?”

“Yes, yes.” The saleswoman readily agreed.

Xia Qingning picked and chose from the pile of fabrics. She didn’t want the dull colors, and she didn’t want the overly bright ones either. In a short time, she picked out a pile that she was satisfied with.

“Okay, that’s all. Please tie them up for me.” Xia Qingning said with a smile.

To others, these fabrics might be scraps that weren’t worth much, but to someone who studied fashion design like her, they were treasures. As a fashion person, she never disliked fabrics.

At this moment, He Shanshan, who had changed into the red dress, suddenly walked over. Seeing the fabrics Xia Qingning had bought, she immediately covered her mouth and laughed:

“Haha, no wonder you didn’t like my dress. It turns out you think scraps are the good stuff!”