RGL – Chapter 107

Sun Qiufang hadn’t expected her daughter to look so surprised. She paused for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yes, didn’t they already say it? They used foreign designers to design their clothes before—those must be really skilled people. You’re still a child and not even a real designer yet. Anyway, once you finish your design in a few days, just send it over as soon as possible. Good or bad, at least we won’t delay them. That way, she’ll still have time to find someone else to design it if needed.”

She didn’t believe her daughter’s designs could compare to those by professional designers from abroad. Although her daughter was talented, she hadn’t received any formal training. How could she possibly be on par with people who had studied design for years and gained fame?

Seeing that Su Min was still lost in thought, Sun Qiufang didn’t bother her and left the room carrying the empty milk cup.

Su Min stared at the drawings on the table, her mind replaying what her mother had just said.

It was true—Ke Wan had just returned from abroad, and her previous designers must have created very fashionable clothes. She herself had little exposure or experience; trying to compete in terms of fashion would be pitting her own weaknesses against someone else’s strengths.

She slapped her forehead and scolded herself for being foolish.

Since Ke Wan had come back and was looking for someone local to design for her, she was most likely hoping for something with local cultural elements.

At that time, local designers weren’t focused on incorporating Chinese elements into their designs, so it would be hard to find something like that in the market.

Su Min quickly sifted through all the images in her mind related to traditional Chinese elements and finally recalled a style of clothing that remained symbolic even in the future—the qipao.

The most important thing about a qipao was the fit; it was typically worn by slim figures.

However, Ke Wan possessed the gentle, elegant temperament of a southern Chinese woman. Having lived abroad, she was also more open-minded and could embrace her pregnant figure rather than hiding it under loose clothes, like many people did at the time. If the qipao was well-designed, it could present a completely different kind of charm, even for a pregnant woman.

Once she understood this, Su Min felt inspiration flood her mind and quickly began sketching on the paper.

She kept revising and adjusting the design, working through the night until the early hours of the morning before finally setting down her pen.

Because the belly would be prominent, Su Min narrowed the garment from the waist down to the calf area, where she introduced a fishtail design.

This created visual balance when worn and would draw attention away from the belly.

After finishing the sketch, Su Min chose a light blue color for the fabric and added pomegranate motifs.

Because she hadn’t slept at night, she spent the next morning catching up on rest. By the time she woke up, no one was home.

After reheating some food and eating, Su Min hurried off to find Ke Wan.

This time, she was much more familiar with the way to the Wu residence than before.

After knocking for a while, the same maid from last time, Sister Ping, opened the door.

“You’re here to see Mrs. Wu? She and Mr. Wu have gone out of town. A close friend of theirs just had a baby, so she went to visit.”

Hearing that Ke Wan wasn’t there, Su Min felt a bit disappointed. “Do you know when they’ll be back?”

“That I’m not sure about.”

Upon hearing this, Su Min felt a little downhearted. She figured they probably didn’t really expect her, a young girl, to seriously design clothes. That might be why they left without leaving any instructions on how to show her the finished design.

Leaving the Wu residence, Su Min was still feeling low. She had put a lot of effort into her design, but it seemed the whole thing had been a casual joke to the other party. That was hard to accept.

After walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, looked at the drawing in her hand, and slapped her forehead again.

“Why am I acting like a kid, obsessing over getting someone’s approval? If she doesn’t want it, she doesn’t want it. At least I designed it. That alone means I’ve grown. Just because she won’t wear it now doesn’t mean someone else won’t in the future.”

Besides, even before Ke Wan approached her, she had already wanted to design formal wear. Designing this dress for Ke Wan was her way of testing her own skills. Whether Ke Wan wore it or not didn’t really matter.

She chuckled softly, tucked the drawings into her backpack, and strode off toward Xiuse Garment Shop.

“You sure we can actually make something this delicate?”

Sun Yan stared at Su Min, shocked, clearly uncertain.

Su Min nodded. “What do you think? Is it too difficult?”

“Mm.” Sun Yan nodded seriously, and Liao Zhaodi, who was standing nearby, also nodded.

Su Min had known the dress would be difficult to make, but she hadn’t expected both women to be intimidated before even starting.

She said, “I already have the measurements. All that’s left is the hands-on work. As long as we’re careful, it shouldn’t be too bad, right?”

Sun Yan replied, “Su Min, it’s not that we don’t want to make it. Just look at the design. This dress is a modern take on the traditional qipao. Qipaos have only become wearable again in recent years. Before that, it was hard to find anyone who could even make one. My old master used to say that making a good qipao takes real skill. Just look at the patterns—printing won’t do; it looks crude. Every stitch needs to be embroidered by hand. And the cutting style you designed—getting that level of precision is nearly impossible without a master tailor. Even the buttons have to be made with gold thread.”

Liao Zhaodi added, “Also, the fabric for this dress is hard to find. It needs to be silk. We don’t have any in our shop. We’d need to go to a big store for that.”

After listening to the analysis, Su Min realized how many problems she faced.

She was an amateur, and while the tailors she’d found were skilled, none of them could be called true masters. And since she hadn’t expected to design a qipao, she hadn’t prepared expensive fabrics like silk.

Now that she was ready to make it, she found herself lacking everything.

But she wasn’t about to let those external difficulties stop her.

Once she decided something was worth doing, she had to see it through.

“I’ll go look for fabric first. Once I have that, I’ll find an embroidery master to help with the patterns. There aren’t many, so it shouldn’t take long even for a top-tier embroiderer.”

Seeing Su Min so determined, both women looked surprised. Sun Yan said, “You’re really going to make this dress? It’s going to be expensive.” If it were her, she wouldn’t do it.

“It’s fine. If no one buys it, we’ll just treat it like a work of art and display it in the shop.”

Seeing that it wasn’t too late yet, Su Min rushed off to look for silk at one of the big stores.

At that time, few people wore silk; it was mostly used for handicrafts. Su Min went to many shops before finally finding the light blue silk she needed at one mall counter.

This time, she didn’t hesitate and bought more than ten yards, just in case she couldn’t find it again later.

Although she had found the fabric, it was still extremely difficult to find an embroiderer with highly refined skills.

After bringing everything home, Su Min was worried about the matter.

She had classes on Monday and wouldn’t have time to go out and find someone. It would have to be delayed again. Although Ke Wan hadn’t said anything specific, she had promised to finish the design within a month. If Ke Wan asked her about it then and she hadn’t come up with anything, she would have broken her promise.

No matter what Ke Wan was thinking, as long as she herself didn’t treat it like a joke, it was fine.

That evening, when Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang returned home, she told them about the situation, hoping they could post a job notice at the supermarket entrance to help find a skilled embroidery master.

When it came to his daughter’s affairs, Su Changrong was always the most enthusiastic. He immediately agreed to help.

Sun Qiufang, however, was a bit worried. “Sigh, what if you put in all this effort and the lady doesn’t like it? Wouldn’t that be a waste?”

“Mom, as long as we act with a clear conscience, that’s enough. Even if Madam Wu doesn’t want it, someone else will someday. Worst case, I’ll just treat it as something I made for myself. It’ll still look nice in the shop.”

A well-made piece of clothing was also a rare work of art.

Although Sun Qiufang didn’t fully agree with her daughter’s outlook, she didn’t stop her. She just reminded, “Then you have to make sure to focus on your studies first. Don’t let your grades slip again like last time.”

“Mom, don’t worry. I’ve learned to prioritize. When it’s time to study, I’ll give it my all. I’ll only work on other things once I’ve finished my schoolwork.”

Hearing her promise, Sun Qiufang didn’t say anything more to dissuade her.

After dinner, Su Min took out the silk she had bought. Just thinking about turning this fabric into a piece of clothing—or even a work of art—filled her with excitement.

This time felt different from making regular clothes in the past.

The next morning, Su Min went to school early.

Before class, Tang Man came over and asked if she’d found her backpack. When Su Min said she had, Tang Man said, “You got lucky this time. If someone else had picked it up and refused to return it, what would you have done? Don’t be so careless next time.”

Su Min was already used to Tang Man’s lecturing tone.

She smiled and nodded, no longer talking back like she used to. Though Tang Man could be sharp-tongued, she had a good heart—especially last time, when she stood up for Su Min in front of Su Wenwen. That really had helped her a lot.

At noon, since Sun Qiufang didn’t return home to cook, Su Min ate with the others in the cafeteria. She planned to read in the classroom after lunch.

Knowing she wasn’t going home, Tang Man invited her to line up for lunch together.

As soon as the bell rang, the group rushed toward the cafeteria kitchen—only Zhang Panpan seemed distracted and lagged behind.

Yin Jing quickly pulled her along. “If you don’t hurry, there’ll be no good dishes left!”

Zhang Panpan finally ran a bit but still looked distracted.

After they finally got their food and sat down in the cafeteria, Yin Jing brought it up.

“What’s going on with you today? You’ve been upset since you got back yesterday.”

“Nothing,” Zhang Panpan replied while eating, but unlike usual, she wasn’t eating with her usual enthusiasm. Yin Jing and Tang Man, who were closest to her, noticed that something was clearly off.

They assumed something was bothering her and couldn’t help asking more.

Though Zhang Panpan used to feel a bit inferior around them, after spending so much time together, a deep friendship had formed. So when the two kept asking, she eventually shared, her voice a little choked, “It’s my family. My eldest sister had a boyfriend—he’s the village head’s son from the neighboring village. His family’s well-off. They were already discussing marriage, but then his family said we’re too poor and called it off. When I came home yesterday, I found my sister crying under the covers.”

Talking about it made Zhang Panpan feel even worse. She was the youngest in the family. Her siblings hadn’t gone to school and stayed home working so the whole family could support her education. But now she had no way to help them.

Hearing this, Tang Man and the others were angry on her behalf. “It’s for the best that you didn’t marry into a family like that. You’ll find someone better in the future.”

Su Min sighed inwardly. While that was easy to say, fate was unpredictable. In conservative village environments, a broken engagement often meant no one would dare bring up another match anytime soon.

Zhang Panpan still felt sad, but after letting it out, it felt like a weight had been lifted. Especially with Tang Man and Yin Jing helping her curse out the other family, it gave her a sense of comfort.

After lunch, the group headed to the classroom to study. Su Min trailed behind, thinking about how to find an embroidery master, when suddenly she noticed the swallow pattern on Zhang Panpan’s pant leg. She froze for a moment and quickly grabbed Zhang Panpan’s arm. “Panpan, don’t move. Let me look at that pattern on your pants.”

Zhang Panpan was chatting with the others and startled when she heard this. She stood still, then blushed when she saw Su Min examining the patch on her pants. Embarrassed, she tried to back away. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Su Min looked closely. It really was hand-embroidered, and it looked like Suzhou embroidery, something she’d once seen on a restaurant wall.

She stood up and asked, “Panpan, who embroidered that design on your pants?” She knew most of Zhang Panpan’s clothes were homemade, so the embroidery must have been done by someone in her family or someone close.

Tang Man and Yin Jing also came over to look and realized it was indeed embroidered—and quite well too. They hadn’t noticed before and assumed it was printed.

Tang Man said in surprise, “Wow, this is hand embroidery?”

Zhang Panpan’s face cooled down a bit and she replied shyly, “My eldest sister did it.”

“Your sister can embroider?” Su Min asked in shock. She’d assumed it was an older relative.

Zhang Panpan laughed, “Why not? I even learned a bit myself. But I focused on school, so I just picked up the basics. My sister, though—whatever she embroiders looks real.”

Yin Jing added, surprised, “Wow, Panpan, is your whole family a bunch of embroidery masters?”

Zhang Panpan had never heard herself described that way before and looked a little shy. She chuckled. “Not really. My mom told me my grandma was a professional embroiderer before she and my grandpa fled here during the famine. My mom learned a bit too, but after years of farm work, her hands got too rough to do fine work. When my grandma’s eyesight started failing, she was worried no one would inherit the skill, so she passed it down to us. I didn’t really pick it up, but my sister did.”

Su Min hadn’t expected that the person she was looking for would be right in front of her. It felt like fate.

“Panpan, can your grandma still embroider?”

Zhang Panpan shook her head. “No, her eyesight is too bad now. She says it’s from embroidering too much when she was young. And later, life was hard—she even lost a finger during the collective farming days.”

Su Min was a bit disappointed and asked, “Then is your sister’s embroidery much worse than your grandma’s?”

“Not at all. Grandma said if my sister avoided rough labor and took care of her hands, her embroidery could even surpass hers.”

Hearing that, and seeing the embroidered design on Panpan’s pants—even though the thread was plain and coarse—the craftsmanship was clear.

Su Min grabbed her hand. “Panpan, can you do me a favor?”

She explained that she ran a clothing store and was looking for an embroidery master. She hoped Panpan’s sister would come work at her store—room and board included, and the salary would definitely be good.

Tang Man and the others were stunned to hear that Su Min even owned a clothing store.