Chapter 29: A Bountiful Harvest

Several people gathered together for a casual chat, the atmosphere amicable.

Lin Qingyue quickly bonded with the women in the compound.

“Ye Zi’s mother, your outfit is so fashionable! Must have cost a pretty penny, right?”

“Head to toe, everything’s new. Your husband really spoils you.”

Ye Zi’s mother proudly raised her head. She had won this round.

Lin Qingyue glanced at her own simple clothes, feeling out of place among these women.

She carefully observed that these women, carrying their vegetable baskets, were all dressed in bright and beautiful clothes.

She quickly understood the reason—the competitiveness among women.

Husbands, children, clothing, jewelry—all were capital for comparison and showing off.

Everyone loves beauty, and fashion is cyclical.

Lin Qingyue became even more determined to start a women’s clothing business.

After chatting with the women for a while, Grandma Yu pulled her hurriedly towards the exit. “Xiao Lu’s wife, let me tell you, you have to get to the early market early. Later on, what’s left are just the leftovers.”

“We’re already a bit late today,” Grandma Yu muttered to herself. “The things at the early market are cheap, even cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative. The things at the supply and marketing cooperative need coupons, and sometimes it’s quite inconvenient.”

The early market wasn’t far from the compound; they turned off the main street and took another turn to arrive.

“This is… a canal?” Lin Qingyue was full of questions, looking around. The location was quite hidden; the main street outside concealed this section of road very well.

“Yes, they don’t allow large-scale stalls yet. These are all set up secretly,” Grandma Yu, who was older and had seen a lot, said. “But the policies have loosened in recent years. Maybe one day they’ll fully open up and encourage ordinary people to do business.”

Lin Qingyue looked at Grandma Yu with admiration. “Grandma Yu, your insight is amazing!”

“Oh, I just hear my son talking about it all the time,” Grandma Yu waved her hand.

This hidden street was at least 500 meters long, with all sorts of small stalls lining both sides. Some sold their own puppies, vegetables, needles and thread, fabrics—everything.

Grandma Yu seemed to have discovered something and pulled Lin Qingyue to a fabric stall. “Xiao Lu, let me tell you, making clothes for children here is much cheaper than buying them outside. You have three children, so you have to be thrifty.”

“Grandma Yu, I was thinking the same thing. How about I hire you to make clothes for me and pay you a salary?”

Grandma Yu was slightly stunned, carefully considering Lin Qingyue’s words. “Oh, making a few clothes for the children, why would I take money? We’re all neighbors. Near neighbors are better than distant relatives.”

“Grandma Yu, I’m not talking about the children’s clothes,” Lin Qingyue smiled slightly. “You’ll be the chief tailor of my clothing store in the future.”

“What nonsense are you talking about, child?” Grandma Yu’s eyes, round and small, stared at her in confusion.

“I want to open a clothing store. We’ll design the clothes ourselves, and I’ll pay you a commission per piece—two yuan per piece. How does that sound?” Lin Qingyue said earnestly. She had come to find Grandma Yu specifically for this.

“You want to open a clothing store? Would Xiao Lu agree?” In Grandma Yu’s old-fashioned thinking, she believed that after a woman got married, her proper role was to take care of her husband and children at home, or like her daughter-in-law, find a factory job, do some leisurely work, and focus on the family after having children.

“Lu Siyi has already agreed. Now all we need are a tailor and fabrics,” Lin Qingyue flipped through the fabrics at the early market, picking out a few she liked, matching the colors, and paying.

Seeing Lin Qingyue spending money without batting an eyelid, Grandma Yu immediately worried. “Xiao Lu’s wife, you can’t spend money like this. Xiao Lu’s money isn’t blown in by the wind.”

“Grandma Yu, I’m using my dowry money. Besides, I control the family finances, and Lu Siyi won’t argue with me,” Lin Qingyue patiently explained.

In Grandma Yu’s mind, every penny a woman spent had to be valuable to the family. Today, she was puzzled, unable to understand today’s young people, and even more unable to understand Lin Qingyue.

She nodded reassuringly. “You two young people, don’t argue over money. It’s too hurtful.”

Grandma Yu then took her to a vegetable stall, skillfully haggling with the vendor. With a smooth operation, the 20-cent cabbage was bought for 10 cents by Grandma Yu, and she also asked the vendor to sell it to Lin Qingyue at 10 cents a catty.

Lin Qingyue was amazed and couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up.

“When you live your life, you have to make every penny count. You don’t get poor from eating or drinking, but from not being careful with your money,” Grandma Yu enthusiastically shared her life experience with Lin Qingyue.

Lin Qingyue nodded. Thrift is a traditional virtue of our country.

The old and the young strolled leisurely through the early market, returning with a full load.

Back home, Lin Qingyue quickly drew a design sketch and took it to Grandma Yu.

“Look, can you make this?”

Grandma Yu put on her reading glasses, glanced at the sketch, and grinned. “You know, it’s quite pretty. Even prettier than the outfit Ye Zi’s mother was wearing today.”

“Xiao Lu’s wife, did you design this yourself?”

Lin Qingyue nodded and asked, “Grandma Yu, when can you make it?”

“I can make it in a day,” Grandma Yu walked to a large object, lifted the curtain on top, revealing what was inside.

She said proudly, “Don’t look at my age; I’m still pretty fast on the sewing machine.”

Lin Qingyue gave Grandma Yu another thumbs-up. This old lady seemed to really love making clothes.

Lu Siyi returned home and saw Lin Qingyue leaning over the table, diligently writing. He leaned over and saw that she was drawing.

The characters in Lin Qingyue’s drawings seemed to come alive.

Lu Siyi didn’t understand design, but he thought she was amazing. He suddenly saw the watercolors on the side of the table.

These were the art supplies he bought for the children.

He picked up the watercolors and asked, “Whose are these?”

“Si Xi didn’t have art class today, so I borrowed them from her,” she said sheepishly.

“…”

He could buy her a new set.

She glanced at the time. The children would be home from school soon, and it was time to prepare dinner.

The couple put on their aprons and went into the kitchen. Lu Siyi looked at the pile of vegetables on the floor and asked, “This is…?”

“Grandma Yu and I went to the early market this morning. The things there are much cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative.”

Things at the supply and marketing cooperative could also be bought with money, but public goods were clearly priced, unlike the flexibility of street vendors.

She clearly knew that the coupon system of the supply and marketing cooperative would soon be eliminated by this era, and the country would gradually implement economic market reforms. In the future, it would be necessary to rely on real money.