Chapter 17

Once the small goods market opened, Master Wang began making arrangements to move in.

The place had such a huge footfall—it would be a pity not to hurry over.

But Zhang Hongying advised her, “Master, this shop has been open for three years already. Wouldn’t it be a shame to just move out immediately?

I think we should gradually transition into the market.

The two of us can split up—one stays here, the other goes to the market.

That way, we can serve customers in both places and let them know that in the future, if they want clothes made, they should look for us at the market.

That way, no one shows up here only to find the place empty and ends up going to someone else.”

Master Wang thought about it and agreed—it wasn’t something that needed to happen all at once. Moving could definitely be a gradual process.

Besides, the current shop was quite spacious—it could fit all the sewing machines and cutting tables. The market stalls weren’t nearly as large.

She nodded, “You’re right.

We’ll need to find a storage space at the market anyway.

I’ll stay here another six months.

The market’s lively—you, as a young person, go and enjoy the excitement.”

Actually, Zhang Hongying had another reason for persuading Master Wang to delay the move.

In her previous life, not long after the market opened, it caught fire.

The flames lit up half the sky, and everything inside was destroyed. The losses were catastrophic.

The town officials even organized a donation drive to help the merchants, though hardly anyone gave. Zhang Hongying remembered a coworker complaining: “When you try to bargain for clothes, they roll their eyes and won’t drop a single cent. Now they want donations from us?”

Whether people donated in the end, and how much, was unclear.

But the case was solved.

At first, everyone thought it was just an accident—a plugged-in electric iron left unattended. Fire broke out that night. With all the fabric inside, it burned easily.

So how was the case solved? Because everyone lost everything—except the one shop where the fire started. They’d already moved out all their stock. Other vendors had seen them doing it.

That made them suspicious.

Fires caused by electric irons weren’t rare. The village of Yawan once had a garment factory run by the collective, and it burned down for the same reason—someone forgot to unplug the iron.

Later, when the shop owner responsible for the fire was questioned by the police, she confessed almost immediately. She was sentenced to a few years in prison.

To Zhang Hongying in her previous life, all of this was hearsay. She’d heard that the shop in question had been opened by two sisters.

They had been very close—encouraging and supporting each other to start their business.

But people are different. No one knows why, but once the shops opened, one sister’s business flourished, while the other’s floundered.

The struggling one wanted help from the successful one.

But how do you “help” with business? Even if they bought the same stock, sold at the same price, had the same techniques—customer preferences and sales skills can’t be replicated.

Eventually, the once-friendly sisters became bitter rivals. Rumor had it they even got into a fight.

After that, the failing sister became obsessed with bringing the other down. She was so fixated on rivalry, she stopped caring about her own shop.

The whole market was booming, with every stall doing well—except hers, which radiated gloom.

Customers shop to feel good—no one wants to approach a stall where the owner looks like a storm cloud.

Her business only got worse.

Finally, she cleared out her goods and deliberately left the electric iron plugged in, setting the fire.

Zhang Hongying persuaded Master Wang to delay moving to avoid that loss. She was also happy to go to the market herself—it was lively, and she hoped to prevent the fire if possible.

That fire had burned down the hard work of dozens of small business owners. And after the fire, rebuilding the market took another six months—six months without rent, but still, Zhang Hongying had to consider her own finances.

She needed to find a way to deal with Li Xiaofang and also support Shen Jianzhen.

If possible, it would be best to stop the fire before it even started.

Together with Master Wang, Zhang Hongying moved a few mannequins to the market stall, hung up some sample garments and fabrics, and they were officially open for business.

Zhang Hongying had become capable enough to handle things on her own, so Master Wang felt reassured.

Zhang Hongying had always thought she was naturally dark-skinned. Even when she got older, her skin remained tanned. But after three years of tailoring—getting up early and staying indoors, barely seeing the sun—her complexion had noticeably lightened.

Turns out all that darkness before was just from overwork.

Master Wang was never stingy with food. She often made soups to nourish the blood and dispel dampness. Every time, Zhang Hongying got to share, and her skin became smoother and brighter.

At sixteen or seventeen, Zhang Hongying finally looked like a graceful young girl.

Her hair turned jet black, her skin was fair and delicate, and her eyes sparkled.

She was quite pleased with how she looked.

Meanwhile, Shen Jianzhen had come to town for school, and her unusual appearance and behavior soon made her the subject of gossip—word even reached Zhang Hongying.

“There’s this girl in third year—probably not right in the head. Tiny person, wearing adult-sized clothes, and apparently doesn’t change them for weeks.”

“How could someone like that be in third year? The village idiot in our place only went to kindergarten for two days.”

“My son said she’s definitely not normal.”

“Maybe she’s just dumb.”

“If she was dumb, she wouldn’t still be in junior high. We had a slow kid in our village who repeated grades for over ten years.”

“Maybe she’s sick? I heard she’s so skinny she looks like a skeleton, and she breaks into a sweat after walking a few steps.”

“Are there still people who go hungry these days?”

“Who knows? But why don’t her grandparents take her to see a doctor? If it were my daughter, I’d definitely take her in.”

“What’s the point of schooling for a girl anyway? If you’ve got money, better spend it on her health.

Even if she doesn’t repeat, she’ll be sixteen when she finishes junior high. If she repeats a few years, she’ll be ready to get married right after graduating.

Why bother studying at all? Better send her to a factory early. From thirteen to twenty, she could earn ten thousand or so for the family.”

Zhang Hongying couldn’t help but laugh when she heard this. She was pretty sure they were talking about Shen Jianzhen.

Now they all mocked her, treated her like a joke. But in the future, even all of them combined wouldn’t hold a candle to her.

Still, there wasn’t much Zhang Hongying could do. They were close in age and good friends, but she couldn’t take over her life.

Shen Jianzhen had her own parents, and she was no longer a child.

What puzzled Zhang Hongying was how Shen Jianzhen seemed totally indifferent to what others thought.

Didn’t anyone tease her for her ill-fitting clothes or avoid her because of the sour smell from her sweating?

And if they did, why didn’t she try to change?

She’d heard in later years about a condition called autism. Could that be it?

But Shen Jianzhen talked a lot around people she knew. Every time she came to hang out, she’d chat away.

Maybe she was just a late bloomer who hadn’t started caring about that stuff yet?

Zhang Hongying thought it over and bought a bottle of Bee & Flower shampoo from the market, planning to give it to Shen Jianzhen.

To avoid gossip from Li Xiaofang, she bought two more bottles for the family.

She’d even come up with an excuse: the shop next door started selling it, and a bottle got damaged during transport, so they were selling it cheap…

Since she’d bought several, giving one to a friend to build goodwill wouldn’t raise any suspicion.

Li Xiaofang actually had a high opinion of Shen Jianzhen.

Li Xiaofang herself was illiterate, and her two kids had each repeated several grades.

So she admired Shen Jianzhen and liked having her around, never objected to her visiting Zhang Hongying.

So if she used this excuse to give Shen Jianzhen something, she wouldn’t have to worry about trouble.