Chapter 8

Zhang Hongying was busy sewing clothes on the machine, the rhythmic clatter of the needle filling the room, while Master Wang was doing embroidery. Just then, a customer came in from outside, and Master Wang called out, “Hongying, go and attend to them.”

Zhang Hongying walked to the door and, upon seeing who it was, realized there was no time to retreat. The visitor was a distant relative — the granddaughter of her grandmother’s ex-husband’s younger sister.

Her grandmother had split with her first husband and got together with Zhang’s grandfather. However, there had been no animosity between her and the ex-husband. In fact, she and his sister still interacted like real siblings — quite the unusual case.

“Hongxia-jie, you came to get some clothes made?” Zhang Hongying greeted her, forcing a smile.

Li Hongxia beamed with excitement and grabbed her hand. “Oh wow, I heard you were learning tailoring in town, thought I’d drop by and see if it was true — and it is!

Come on, help me decide. I want to make a few outfits for work.”

Li Hongxia was sixteen this year and had just been accepted as a worker at the garment factory.

Back in the village, people just wore patched-up clothes or hand-me-downs. But becoming a factory worker meant dressing better — otherwise, you’d be looked down on.

Her grandmother had always said, “Nobody sees if you’re eating rough grain, but if your clothes look bad, people spot it right away.” So she’d rather go hungry for a few days than not sort out some decent clothes.

Hongxia’s grandmother had been a tough woman in her youth — the kind who dared to travel to Shanghai on her own to do trade. No one in the village could compare. Her words carried weight. Zhang Hongying’s own passion for sewing might very well have been influenced by this great-aunt.

Zhang Hongying hesitated slightly. “These days, people really like wearing dresses. Why don’t you make two?”

“Round neck, Peter Pan collar, square neck — all are good options.

You’re beautiful and fair-skinned, so you’ll look great in any color.”

Li Hongxia proudly touched the braids on her chest but replied modestly, “Don’t flatter me! I’m nowhere near as pretty as you.”

Zhang Hongying had been working outdoors all day long, tanned like charcoal — totally out of step with the current beauty standard of fair skin and round features. Even after nearly a year of indoor tailoring, the tan had hardly faded. The only redeeming feature was her dark, bright eyes, which stood out.

But Zhang had no intention of arguing. She quickly said, “If you want a dress, Hongxia-jie, go pick out two fabrics, and I’ll take your measurements?”

Li Hongxia peered inside. “You’re taking the measurements? Shouldn’t your master do it? I mean, you’re still learning — are you sure you can handle it?”

Zhang Hongying hoped she’d be dismissed. If Hongxia spread the word that she could now handle customers on her own, Li Xiaofang would surely come up with some scheme again.

So Zhang called inside, “Master, a relative of mine is here — my cousin. She wants to make two dresses. Please give her a discount!” Then she shot Master Wang a meaningful glance.

Master Wang immediately understood: this was a relative Zhang Hongying didn’t want to reveal too much to.

He put down his work and walked out, scolding as he went, “You need to focus more when you’re learning! I’ll show you again, but if you still don’t get it next time, don’t blame me for being harsh.

Been learning for so long and still need me to do the measurements.”

Zhang Hongying responded with a sheepish smile.

Master Wang continued, “If your memory’s poor, write it down. Don’t make me repeat things every time.

Didn’t you take notes when you were in school?”

Li Hongxia laughed. “Master, you don’t know — she repeated third grade three times!”

Zhang Hongying was truly embarrassed now.

How rude — hitting someone where it hurts.

Luckily, Master Wang pretended not to hear and focused on teaching: “Now watch carefully.

When making a dress, to ensure the fit and look are both good, you need to take precise measurements of several key areas.

Most important is the bust — use a soft tape to go around the fullest part of the chest horizontally. Leave enough room for a finger. If it’s too loose, elastic bands can help.

Second is the waist — find the narrowest part and wrap around it horizontally.

Third is the hips — measure around the widest part, keeping the tape level and not digging into the flesh.

Fourth, shoulder width — measure from the outer edge of one shoulder to the other, typically from one shoulder bone to the other.

Fifth, dress length — from the back of the neck down along the spine to the hem. Depending on the design, you can also measure from the shoulder.

For sleeves, start from the shoulder seam and go down along the outside of the arm to the wrist or desired sleeve length.

Also, take upper body length — both from the front neckline to waist and from the back neckline to waist.”

As Master Wang measured and explained, Zhang Hongying nodded and scribbled notes furiously.

Li Hongxia joked again, “Hongying, if you’d been this serious in school, you wouldn’t have failed third grade three times!”

Zhang said nothing. Master Wang interjected, “Don’t talk — it affects the accuracy of the measurements.”

Li Hongxia shut up.

Once the measurements were taken and the fabric selected, Hongxia still wanted to chat a bit. But Zhang Hongying, now flustered from being embarrassed, wasn’t in the mood.

She didn’t snap back only because her poor grades were a real sore spot — and Hongxia, after all, was a paying customer.

Zhang calculated, “Hongxia-jie, thirty yuan total.

Let’s call it thirty-one normally, but I’ll waive the small change.”

Then she called out, “Master, is it okay to waive the extra one yuan eighty cents for my cousin?”

Master Wang grumbled loudly, “Discounts here, discounts there. I’m telling you, I’m cutting it from your future wages!”

Hongxia had wanted to say more, but after hearing that, she obediently handed over thirty yuan and left — agreeing to come back in a week to collect her clothes.

Once she was far enough away, Master Wang chuckled, “You charged fifteen for a twelve-yuan dress.

If it ruins our reputation and costs us business, I’m blaming you.”

Zhang Hongying laughed, “Worst case, I’ll use the leftover fabric to make her a few extra bows.”

Master Wang already knew Zhang liked adding playful little details to her clothes. He said, “Since it’s your cousin’s outfit, how about you cut it yourself?

That’ll also help you blow off some steam after how she spoke to you.

And since she’s a relative — got a discount and all — even if it’s not perfect, she won’t dare complain.”

Zhang Hongying replied, “Master, you’re underestimating me. I’ve practiced dresses so much, I’ve got them down.

And if she comes back with complaints, I’ll just say it’s a new trend — straight from Guangdong!”

That made Master Wang laugh. “With smarts like yours, how did you do so poorly in school?”

Zhang Hongying shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe in a past life, I had a grudge against books. Just seeing them made me want to sleep.”

With that, she quickly pulled 2.2 meters from each roll of the fabric Hongxia had chosen and got ready to draft the paper patterns.