Haizhou First Department Store, the clothing section on the sixth floor— Lin Hua leaned casually against a nearby cabinet, his expression one of helplessness.
His younger sister, Lin Ruo, sat obediently on a chair, a pure and innocent smile lighting up her face. The Lady Boss was carefully measuring Lin Ruo’s body, preparing for a custom-made outfit.
“Ah…” Seeing that smile, Lin Hua couldn’t help but cover his face.
No one knew where Lin Ruo had learned it from—despite her devilish nature, she could put on an act of angelic purity in front of others.
Just moments ago, the siblings, who had taken the 2,000 yuan their parents had given them for custom clothing, signed a one-sided Inequality Pact on their way to Haizhou First Department Store—
Lin Hua and Lin Ruo agreed to share happiness and avoid future disputes by establishing the following Agreement:
First, until the eve of middle school graduation, Lin Hua will hand over half of his daily Monthly Allowance to Lin Ruo as a Confession Letter hush fee.
If Lin Hua breaks this, Lin Ruo will reveal the secret in his recent Midterm Essay to the entire student body.
Second, the cost of the two Down Jackets they are ordering will be split 30/70: Lin Hua pays exactly 600 yuan, and Lin Ruo pays 1,400 yuan.
If Lin Hua breaks this, the same punishment as in the first clause applies.
So, even though their parents split the 2,000 yuan equally between them for their Down Jackets, Lin Ruo chose 90% loft Goose Down, while Lin Hua had to settle for ordinary Duck Down.
Lin Ruo said, “It keeps just as warm anyway. Goose down is thinner and shows the figure better. You’re not a girl, so you don’t need it, big brother.”
Yes, yes, Miss, whatever you say goes.
Lin Hua dared not argue and agreed wholeheartedly, but inside, he was cursing wildly.
Their Mother took romance very seriously. If she found out Lin Hua hadn’t changed his stubborn ways and was handing out Confession Letters to other girls again, the consequences…
Lin Hua didn’t dare imagine. They would definitely be more terrifying than anything mentioned in Lin Ruo’s Inequality Pact.
Alas, poor Lin Hua.
You see him putting in so much effort—crafting arguments, hiding acrostics in the letters—and yet the confession target never even saw it, and now he was being robbed by his own sister.
“Ahhh, what a misfortune!” Lin Hua groaned.
With his Monthly Allowance halved, he could no longer even afford a can of cola every day. How was he supposed to get by…
“All set.” The Lady Boss finished measuring Lin Ruo, scribbled the numbers with her pencil, and said, “Come pick up your clothes next Sunday.”
“Mm, thank you, Boss~” Lin Ruo smiled sweetly.
The Lady Boss waved her hand dismissively, “No trouble at all, no trouble at all.”
Lin Hua: “…”
He was already too tired to complain about his sister.
——
Zi Yan wandered through the A District where fabrics were sold.
The dazzling array was pleasant to the eye.
Strictly speaking, the fabrics in this shop were quite ordinary in pure performance terms. But by ordinary fabric standards, these could be considered quite good quality.
Not everyone had to face harsh weather outside, so sometimes buying ordinary fabric to make clothes seemed like a good idea.
“Hmm~.”
Zi Yan pinched a piece of flannel and felt its slightly raised texture, soft and comfortable against the skin. The color was just right— not too light, not too bright— a rich, warm red.
If paired with navy blue thread to form a plaid pattern, it would make a fantastic shirt.
The only problem was the price…
A white Price Tag marked 199 yuan per meter, neither small nor large, stuck right on the fabric, making it impossible for Zi Yan to ignore.
The flannel was 150 centimeters wide. To make a shirt that fit him well, and accounting for possible small mistakes since he hadn’t made clothes in a long time, he figured he’d need at least three meters.
Three meters, six hundred yuan—that would seriously eat into Zi Yan’s funds.
For fleece-lined pants fabric, Zi Yan had already messaged Mother to order from Sakura Lane Factory near Neon. So he didn’t have to worry about buying pant material here in Haizhou for now.
Earlier, when observing the display pieces in B District, Zi Yan had been drawn to a cream-colored woolen coat, to the point where not buying fabric to make something similar would make him itchy.
Fortunately, B District also sold the same cream-colored woolen fabric by the yard.
As for the price…
Considering it contained a fair amount of Cashmere, it was naturally much more expensive than the 199 yuan per meter flannel. That was only to be expected.
Ah, both fabrics were so tempting to buy.
Zi Yan pulled out his phone, about to call Dad and request a few hundred yuan in startup funds.
“…Uh.”
But his finger hovered over Dad’s contact for quite a while, hesitating, and he never made the call.
“Sigh.”
He put the phone away with a sigh.
Zi Yan didn’t know exactly how much Zheng Quan earned monthly. But given the characteristics of their family, it probably wasn’t very high.
Otherwise, Mother Lina wouldn’t have had to teach in Antwerp to pay off the mortgage on their little house in Jingcheng.
With the sewing machine already causing Dad so much pain, Zi Yan felt it would be inconsiderate to ask for extra money for fabric.
Four and a half meters of woolen fabric would have to be enough.
Zi Yan stepped forward, grabbed a whole bolt of cream-colored woolen fabric from the shelf.
“Ah.”
Not to mention, the roll was quite heavy. Its momentum forced Zi Yan to step back two or three paces before stopping himself.
Carrying it with some effort, he copied the posture of a woodworker and slung the fabric over one shoulder, bent and tilted his head.
“Boss, I want four and a half meters of this.”
He strode over to the Lady Boss and swiftly unloaded the fabric onto her desk.
Ha… it really was heavy.
Zi Yan shook his hand.
“This fabric is four and a half meters, right?” The Lady Boss placed her hand on the cascading fabric, steadying it, and asked, “Is this coat for yourself?”
“Mm-hmm.” Zi Yan nodded.
“Then four meters will be enough.” She sized up Zi Yan’s figure and added, “And you’re just practicing, yet you’re using such good fabric?”
“Well, I really like this material…” Zi Yan’s face reddened slightly. “And I’m buying extra because I’m worried I might make mistakes.”
He was so worried about wasting the fabric… after all, it had been months since he’d last made clothes. He didn’t even know how rusty his skills might be now.
“Hahaha.” The Lady Boss laughed, “I don’t want to spoil your enthusiasm, but if you mess up the clothes, don’t come crying, okay?”
How to put it…
Seeing Zi Yan like this, she saw a younger version of herself from twenty years ago, studying at Haizhou Textile Institute.
Back then, to finish assignments and to stand out among classmates, the Lady Boss had bought a hundred yuan worth of fabric to make clothes.
A hundred yuan— that was a fortune twenty years ago, an entire month’s living expenses.
As for how her clothes turned out…
Judging by how she was teasing Zi Yan now, the answer was obvious.
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