RGL – Chapter 88

Liao Zhaodi nodded and quickly went to Su Min’s room to call her.

Su Min still hadn’t recovered from the shock even by dinnertime. Her parents had really come to the city, and it seemed they were planning to stay for the long term.

“Mom, Dad, are you going to stay here from now on? What if I go to B City for university—are you going to follow me there too?”

To be honest, she didn’t want her parents to be dragging along with her everywhere.

Sun Qiufang smiled. “You’re still young, and your dad and I aren’t quite at ease. When you’re not home, your dad and I feel the house is unbearably quiet. But by the time you go to university, you’ll be older too, and your dad and I won’t worry so much.”

Su Changrong added, “Can’t say for sure. Hearing your mom talk like that, we might end up rolling up our bedding and following you wherever you go. You don’t know this, but your mom hasn’t been sleeping well these days. A few nights ago, it got windy, and she was afraid you’d be cold.”

“Oh, come on, why are you exposing my secrets in front of the kid?” Sun Qiufang gave Su Min some food and smiled. “We came mainly to be with you. But after coming here with your dad today, we realized this is actually a good place to retire. The scenery here is really nice—a river runs right through the city, and there’s a big lake right in the center. It’s much more beautiful than our village. And it’s bigger and livelier than the county town.”

Listening to how full of longing her mother sounded, Su Min laughed. “You two are talking about retirement a bit early at your age. But if you like it here, staying long-term isn’t a bad idea.”

Sitting off to the side, Liao Zhaodi listened to their conversation, full of envy. If only her family could be like this. Now, her parents were gone, her sister’s whereabouts were unknown, and she was all alone.

She quietly wiped away a tear and kept her head down as she ate in silence.

That night, Sun Qiufang and Su Min shared a room, and the mother and daughter chatted for a long while. Sun Qiufang couldn’t help but tell her daughter everything that had been going on back home.

Su Min was surprised to hear that Su Can had hit their grandmother, but at the same time, she wasn’t shocked. In her previous life, Su Can used to hit the old lady all the time. Back then, her grandparents were old, and her second uncle didn’t care about anything. Su Can was idle and good-for-nothing, always eyeing the grandma’s funeral savings. He often resorted to violence over money.

“You and Dad living far away doesn’t stop them from causing trouble,” Su Min said.

“Ai, what can we do? Your dad just ended up with that kind of parents and brothers,” Sun Qiufang sighed. “But as long as I’m around, your dad can’t help them much. I’m in charge of all the money in the house. If even a single penny is going out, your dad has to give me a good reason.”

She didn’t worry at all about the trouble her husband’s family might cause. She wasn’t like she used to be—putting up with everything silently. She had money now, didn’t rely on her in-laws, and it was they who kept thinking about her. She didn’t have to be afraid of any of them.

She said, “Look at Su Can—he hit your grandma, and your second uncle and aunt didn’t discipline him at all. He’s bound to keep doing it. They say strict discipline makes a filial son, but Su Can was never disciplined growing up. Your grandma protected him like he was her life. He never faced any consequences, never learned a lesson. As they say, if the family doesn’t teach properly, someone outside will teach him eventually. They’re going to suffer sooner or later.”

Su Min thought back to how Su Can had become completely lawless in her previous life. She couldn’t help but admire how farsighted her mother was.

After chatting for a while, Sun Qiufang couldn’t keep her eyes open and fell asleep.

She had been worried about her daughter for days and hadn’t been sleeping well. Now that she had seen her in person, her heart was at ease and she was finally able to sleep soundly.

The next morning, Su Min and Liao Zhaodi got up early and walked to school.

Sun Qiufang urged them to take the bus so they could sleep a bit longer. But after discussing it, Su Min and Zhaodi insisted on walking—partly to get some exercise. Of course, another reason was that Zhaodi didn’t have much money. Until she started earning, she had to be careful with her spending.

When they arrived at school, Su Min noticed that Tang Man and Yin Jing were already in the classroom.

Unlike before, when the three of them would chat as soon as they met, today they each did their own thing. They didn’t look like friends at all.

After morning reading, Teacher Huang entered the classroom.

“In the future, no matter what happens, you must talk to your teachers. Don’t do things that make everyone worry. Even if you don’t think about your teachers and classmates, at least think about your parents and loved ones.”

He glanced at Tang Man. Seeing that she seemed calm, he finally relaxed. Her actions yesterday had really scared him. If something had happened to her, the guilt would’ve been unbearable.

After saying a few words to the class, he called Tang Man to his office.

“You think she’ll end up crying after the teacher talks to her, and then run off again?” Liao Zhaodi whispered to Su Min.

Su Min shook her head, but when she looked at Wen Heping in front of her, who looked listless, she could tell that this young man had probably spent the whole night worrying too.

When the bell rang for class, Tang Man walked into the classroom. This time, she wasn’t crying. Her expression was quite calm, which surprised some of the curious classmates.

After causing such a big scene, she hadn’t even been harshly criticized?

Little did they know, if it were up to Teacher Huang’s true thoughts, she definitely would’ve been severely reprimanded and had her parents called in. But what Tang Man did had truly shocked him, so he decided he’d better adopt a gentler approach with girls in the future.

After all, not every situation would end up with such a lucky outcome.

And so, the matter was quietly brushed over, and the classmates soon stopped paying attention to it.

However, Yin Jing and Zhang Panpan both noticed the change in Tang Man.

Tang Man used to call out to them wherever she went, but now she didn’t talk to them at all. Even during meals, she acted on her own.

This sudden change made Yin Jing and Zhang Panpan a bit uncomfortable.

Although they didn’t like Tang Man’s overbearing and selfish behavior, she had always dragged them along wherever she went. The abrupt change now was hard to adjust to.

Zhang Panpan was a bit more indifferent. She didn’t have much money left to begin with, so she was more than happy to be left alone, save money, and focus on her studies.

But Yin Jing struggled more to adapt. She had been closest to Tang Man, and now that Tang Man was ignoring her, she couldn’t accept it.

So one day after school, she took the initiative to follow Tang Man.

“Didn’t you say I was overbearing? That I always dragged you two around? So why are you following me now?”

As soon as Yin Jing heard that, she knew Tang Man must’ve overheard her complaints. Her face turned awkward instantly. Talking badly about someone behind their back—true or not—wasn’t a good look.

“Hmph, you and Zhang Panpan didn’t want to be with me? Well, I don’t want to be with you either! If you have a problem with me, say it to my face. Pretending to be friendly in front of me but badmouthing me behind my back—how fake is that?” The more Tang Man spoke, the angrier she became. If she hadn’t overheard that conversation yesterday, she wouldn’t have rushed out so emotionally. She knew Su Min and Liao Zhaodi didn’t like her—that was from the beginning, so even though she was angry, she wasn’t hurt. But Yin Jing and Zhang Panpan were always close to her. She’d once thought they were true friends, that she was in the right and Su Min and the others were the ones in the wrong. But after hearing what the two of them said yesterday, it felt like a slap in the face.

She had thought she was so outstanding—that both teachers and classmates liked her, that she was chosen as vice class monitor, that she had two good friends in the dorm. She thought she had the whole world, but in the end, she realized she had nothing at all.

Yin Jing was already feeling awkward, and now that Tang Man was accusing her like this, she couldn’t help but get angry too. “Fine, I admit I said bad things about you, but I’ve never treated you badly. I’ve always gone along with whatever you wanted, when have I ever argued with you? Even if Zhang Panpan and I had complaints, the way you act so domineering—who would dare to tell you the truth? We’re not like Su Min and Liao Zhaodi, with that kind of personality.” Truthfully, she kind of admired Su Min’s kind of unaffected personality. Yin Jing just didn’t like conflict—she wanted to get along with everyone and couldn’t stand fighting.

When Tang Man heard Yin Jing say these things to her face, her eyes turned red, but she also felt a sense of relief. She’d rather argue face-to-face than be talked about behind her back like a fool.

From a distance, Zhang Panpan saw that the two were about to argue and, after some hesitation, hurried over. “You two, stop arguing. Let’s go eat.”

“You came at the right time,” Tang Man said, her face red and neck tense with emotion. “Do you also think I’m overbearing and a terrible person, just like Yin Jing?”

Zhang Panpan was so startled by her tone that she couldn’t say a word.

Tang Man assumed her silence was agreement and snapped, “Fine, if that’s how it is, I’ll move out! You two don’t want to share a dorm with me anyway. I’ll leave!”

With that, she stormed off in the direction of the dorm.

Seeing this, Zhang Panpan hurriedly chased after her and grabbed her arm, clearly anxious. “Tang Man, don’t be mad. I didn’t say anything bad about you.”

Only then did Tang Man stop and look at her, as if waiting for more.

Zhang Panpan hesitated for a long time before finally saying, “Actually, if you didn’t force me to spend money and weren’t so overbearing all the time, you’re actually a pretty nice person.” Her family had been poor, and the classmates from town wouldn’t play with her. Tang Man had been willing to include her, which made her happy sometimes. She just really didn’t want to spend money like that.

Although she had complimented Tang Man by saying she was a good person, the two criticisms before it made Tang Man feel a complex mix of emotions.

So the things she thought were good—turned out to be so unpleasant for others.

“I’m going back to the dorm to rest a bit.”

Tang Man let go of Zhang Panpan’s hand and headed back to the dorm.

Yin Jing saw her leave, then walked over to Zhang Panpan and said, “Forget it. If she won’t listen, I’ll just move out. I don’t want to stay in the dorm and argue with people every day.” Now she finally understood how Su Min and the others had felt when they decided to move out.

That evening, when they returned to the dorm, Tang Man had already gone out to shower.

Zhang Panpan tossed her book onto the bed and was just about to find some clothes to take a shower when she saw a note lying on the bed.

“Zhang Panpan, that outfit is a gift for you. I don’t want any money. I only asked for payment before because I felt it’s not great to involve money between classmates. But this time, don’t worry about it—consider it a gift from me. —Tang Man.”

Yin Jing saw her wiping her eyes while looking at the note, and leaned over for a look. After reading it, she pouted and said, “At least she’s being reasonable now.” This time, she didn’t think Tang Man was being unfair.

Su Min, on the other hand, had no idea there’d been some changes in the old dorm.

After moving back home, Su Min didn’t cancel the lease on the apartment she had rented earlier. She planned to use it as a workshop for making clothes in the future. On the weekend, she and Zhao Di went to a nearby textile factory to look for fabric.

There weren’t as many types of fabric now as there would be in the future. The most common ones were Dacron and corduroy, followed by wool and viscose. Cotton cloth was also available, but it wasn’t commonly used for outerwear on the market; Dacron and corduroy were still the most popular choices.

After looking around, Su Min found herself more drawn to cotton. This type of fabric would remain quite popular in the future. As for Dacron and corduroy, their popularity for clothing would eventually decline.

The only drawback of cotton was that it wrinkled easily. Only people who knew how to care for it could really wear it well—otherwise, it could look messy.

Su Min originally wanted to take samples of every fabric home to try them out, but the factory didn’t do retail sales. They directed her to a designated store where the fabric was slightly more expensive than the factory price but could be bought in smaller quantities.

The two of them left the factory and headed toward the store. Liao Zhaodi smiled and said, “This is the first time I’ve seen so much fabric. It’s really pretty. Back then, my grandma used to take apart old clothes from home and reuse the fabric to make new clothes. New fabric like this was only bought during the New Year to make something special.”

Su Min laughed. “Don’t get too excited yet. When you’re so busy making clothes your hands are sore, you’ll be crying.”

Speaking of this, Liao Zhaodi looked a little worried. “Minzi, I can’t sew as fast as a professional tailor. I’m just worried I’ll hold you back. Before, we were only altering clothes that were already made. We just had to make a few small adjustments. But now we have to make everything from scratch. I can’t handle all that alone.”

“It’s fine. I’ll help you out as your assistant. Since I want to work in this industry, I might as well start learning how to make clothes. Let’s first create a few sample pieces. If they turn out well, I’ll hire some workers. That way, we won’t risk losing money by hiring people too early and then having to let them go if we can’t sell anything.”

“You’re right,” Liao Zhaodi nodded.

At the store, Su Min bought one bolt of each type of fabric, and two bolts of cotton.

They couldn’t carry all that themselves, so Su Min hired a vehicle to transport everything back to the apartment.

Liao Zhaodi started studying Su Min’s sketches, then began taking measurements and cutting fabric.

“This shirt is nice and loose, and there’s a row of ruffles on the sleeves. What kind of design is this?”

“It’s a butterfly blouse,” Su Min said, leaning over to glance at it.

“It’s really pretty.”

“Make one with each type of fabric and see how they look. Whichever turns out the best, we’ll go with that one.”

As she started making clothes, Su Min realized just how little she really knew. Before, she only paid attention to the designs and had no idea which fabrics suited which styles of clothing or what each material’s characteristics were.

The deeper she got into it, the more she realized how little she actually understood. And since she still had to keep up with her schoolwork, the time she could devote to this was limited. Her path in fashion still had a long way to go.

But even if she ventured into other industries in the future, she would never give up on fashion.

That afternoon, Su Min and Liao Zhaodi stayed in and didn’t go out. Su Min helped sew on buttons and trim threads while Zhaodi got to work on making the clothes.

The butterfly blouse was easier to make than some of the more complicated designs. Su Min made all the decorative pieces herself—the bow in the front, the buttons, all the embellishments.

With their teamwork, they managed to complete three sample pieces that afternoon.

“This isn’t going to work if we try to sell in bulk. When you factor in the material cost and the labor, it’s just not worth it,” Liao Zhaodi said worriedly. After working with Su Min on the clothing business for a while, she had come to understand a bit about the market. Even if they made really nice clothes and said they were for export, when selling them on the street, they had to price them like vegetables—dirt cheap. Before, they were only modifying other people’s clothes, which didn’t take much time or money, so the prices were easy to keep low. But now, even though the material wasn’t that expensive, making everything by hand was just too time-consuming.

Su Min had already considered this.

It looked like if they wanted to scale up, they would need to partner with a factory. She could focus on the designs and have the factory handle production. But she was still young, with no influence in the fashion industry, no connections, and no backing—she could easily get taken advantage of.

After thinking it over carefully, she remembered Sanye.

No matter what, Sanye was based in the county. And she had worked with them several times already. Starting with them might be a good idea.

Over at the Sanye Garment Factory, Ye Yongfu was also thinking about Su Min.

Sanye still lacked talented designers. Although their current designers had formal training, their work lacked creativity. Everything they designed felt like leftovers being reheated again and again—always the same old thing, with no new flavor.