Chapter 20: I’ll Definitely Introduce More Friends to You, Sis

A platoon leader?

Upon hearing that, Wang Shufen couldn’t help but exclaim, “I knew it! I knew Zhoushan had a tougher life than the eldest. He had to have survived. Turns out, we were really mistaken all along!”

“But we can’t tell anyone about this,” she continued. “Zhoushan said in his letter that everyone thinks he’s the eldest, and back then, the one who earned the merit was indeed the eldest!”

“Everyone saw the eldest earn the commendation, and he later died to protect him.”

“The two of them looked so alike, and then while he was recovering from his injuries in that city, one of the senior officers in his unit took a liking to him and transferred him there.”

“Everyone over there just assumes he is the eldest, so we must guard this secret with our lives. If anyone in the army finds out, it’s over for him!”

Wang Shufen finally understood after hearing that.

Then she slapped her thigh and said, “If the second son isn’t dead, then his engagement to Gu Qiangwei should still count! We need to bring her back. She should come home and take care of us old folks!”

She was clearly scheming.

“No, absolutely not!” Lu Minghua immediately stopped her. “In the letter, he also said he met a senior officer’s daughter and they’re seeing each other now.”

“If Gu Qiangwei finds out that our son is still alive, she’ll definitely go looking for him. What are we supposed to do then?”

“Our son became a platoon leader because that senior officer promoted him.”

“We can’t hold him back. If he keeps getting promoted, life will only get better for us!”

After Lu Minghua explained everything, Wang Shufen quickly came around.

Exactly!

If everyone now thinks their younger son is the eldest, then let it stay that way.

As long as the two of them know the truth and their own lives aren’t hard, that’s good enough, right?

“Yes, yes, we can’t get in his way.”

After speaking, Wang Shufen patted Lu Minghua’s hand. “Quickly write him a letter. Tell him we’ve already spent the bit of pension we got. If he gets his salary, he should send some money back so we can pay off the bank loan.”

They had borrowed 300 yuan from the bank. Even though they spent only 100 yuan on actual goods, they had been tightening their belts ever since and barely spent anything.

If their younger son could send some money home, they could pay part of the debt now and hold out a bit longer until they got more income.

Lu Minghua nodded. Wang Shufen immediately went out to buy writing paper and a pen so they could write to their younger son.

The two of them smiled as they looked at the finished letter, full of hope for the future.

If their son really could marry the daughter of a senior officer, wouldn’t he become the officer’s son-in-law?

The officer would surely continue to promote him!

Above platoon leader is deputy company commander, then company commander, then deputy battalion commander, and battalion commander.

Their son was sure to climb the ladder, step by step!

The more they thought about it, the happier they got. They even started believing Gu Qiangwei was a jinx. Shortly after marrying into the family, they’d gotten terrible news—and it was all thanks to their younger son’s good fortune that he survived.

Let her leave, then. After all, she would only go out to find work. At most, she’d earn 20 yuan a month!

Soon, their home would become a golden nest!

Meanwhile, Gu Qiangwei was at the shop calculating the week’s revenue.

Including opening day, sales had already reached over 300 yuan. After deducting expenses, they still made a decent profit.

Opening day had discounts, so they didn’t make much then, but now that the discounts were gone, daily revenue stabilized around 150 yuan.

At 150 yuan a day, that meant nearly 4,500 yuan in a month.

They would definitely earn more than they ever could by working for someone else.

So the two of them began discussing fall fashion.

“We’ve already sold quite a bit of this first batch of summer clothes. But the weather’s cooling down now, so we should start thinking about fall clothing!”

“People wear fall clothes the longest, so we can create matching pieces,” Gu Qiangwei offered. “Actually, I think you could design some light knit cardigans—perfect for spring and fall. Some customers will think it’s worth the investment!”

Su Qingshuang stayed quiet, listening intently.

“We can pair fall pieces with unsold summer clothes,” Qiangwei added, picking up a long lightweight coat and matching it with one of the summer dresses.

The result was a completely different vibe.

It was comfortable too. Early fall might be cool, but fashion-conscious girls still love wearing dresses. A lightweight coat can be taken off if it gets too warm.

“That’s actually a great idea!”

Su Qingshuang’s eyes lit up. “In that case, we could design more items that can be paired with leftover summer stock.”

She looped her arm around Gu Qiangwei’s and said, “How is your brain this good? Mine doesn’t work at all!”

Gu Qiangwei laughed. “Nonsense! Your fall designs are really nice. When you’re designing, you can create both separates and sets, especially using matching elements.”

Inspired by their conversation, Su Qingshuang pulled out her design sketches.

Gu Qiangwei reviewed them and offered suggestions—like reducing the number of straight-leg pants and considering some flared styles instead.

In her past life, they had focused on straight cuts, only to realize much later that in places like Shanghai and southern cities, flared pants were all the rage. Pair them with heels, and they looked super trendy.

Though they eventually adapted, business never fully recovered. In this life, Qiangwei wanted to be the first one to launch flared pants.

At least in their area, they’d be trendsetters and could make good money off that design.

This era shared similarities with the future—when something became trendy, everyone scrambled to get it.

As long as someone looked good in flared pants, people would keep coming in to buy them.

“And we’ve got some slightly chubby customers. Maybe we can raise the waistline a bit—make high-waisted styles.”

“For curvier figures, we could also pair them with wool skirts.”

Gu Qiangwei focused on styling ideas, which gave Su Qingshuang a burst of inspiration. She immediately started updating her designs.

Just as she was modifying the sketches, a customer walked in. Gu Qiangwei went over to greet her.

“Hey sis, do you remember me?”

A young girl winked at Gu Qiangwei. She nodded, “You came on opening day and brought a curvy friend. You bought two outfits.”

The girl burst into laughter. “Yes! Today I came to pick some clothes for my mom.”

“My brother’s getting married, and I want to buy a nice set for my future sister-in-law too. Do you have any recommendations?”

Gu Qiangwei walked around the shop and picked out a few outfit combos.

She asked the girl about her mother’s and sister-in-law’s height and weight.

She even inquired about their hairstyles, skin tone, and whether they wore makeup.

The girl was amazed by how thorough she was and answered all her questions.

While working on her designs, Su Qingshuang occasionally glanced up, then returned to her sketching.

Once Gu Qiangwei had all the details, she picked out two outfits each for the mom and the sister-in-law.

They were combinations of summer dresses with slightly thicker outer layers.

“Give me two more sets for my sister-in-law,” the girl said, rubbing her chin. “She’s been really kind to me. She went through a lot with my brother when they were younger.”

Touched by her words, Gu Qiangwei added two more outfits. The girl paid promptly and smiled as she left.

“Next time, I’ll definitely introduce more friends to you, sis!”

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