CTF 0005

Fortunately, after the resumption of the national college entrance examination, English gained popularity, while the Russian subject gradually withdrew from the national college entrance examination market.

Many schools had cancelled this course, and although No. 6 High School still retained it, the class hours had been reduced to only two lessons per week. 

The day that Xu Yin returned to school coincided with the second Russian lesson of the week. There would be no Russian lesson for the next few days. 

Xu Yin’s classmate Tong Guihua felt relieved that she wouldn’t have to worry about Russian anymore. 

During the ten-minute break between classes, some female classmates who were on good terms with Xu Yin came to her desk. 

They wanted to ask her why she submitted a blank paper on the test, but then, they noticed her pants, which were different from usual. Her pants had two pockets on her backside. They looked like patches, but not really. They asked her where she had them tailored.

After all, since they hadn’t seen it on the market, she hadn’t bought it. 

Xu Yin deliberately stood up and twirled to show them her pants. “Beautiful, right? My sister-in-law made it for me. She also made another one that’s even better than this one.”

“Is your shirt also newly made?”

“Nope. I just altered it a little.”

In truth, Xu Yin had simply altered the waist of her pants a little. Why she looked good in the pants had more to do with her already good figure. The pants only made her look even better.

Sure enough, a girl with a similar body shape became interested when she heard this.

“Xu Yin, does your sister-in-law make clothes for non-family members? I’ll provide the fabric and pay for the service, but I want this style.”

After the first request, naturally came the second and third one.

Before Xu Yin could even wear and advertise the new pants that her sister-in-law was currently making, she had already received three orders.

Tong Guihua also ordered a pair of pants.

Two girls, who both sat in the front row, each also wanted a floral short-sleeved shirt in addition to their pants. 

These days, high school girls who could afford to study either came from well-off families or were extremely pampered by their parents.

Plus, since it was just the beginning of the week, they still had some pocket money on hand.

If it wasn’t enough, they would borrow some money from their classmates. They went to the fabric store together to get the fabric that same afternoon.

Luckily, at the end of last year, the usage of fabric coupons had been cancelled and cotton fabric was now freely available.

Otherwise, even if they’d save enough money, they might still not be able to buy the fabric they wanted. 

As soon as school was over on Saturday, Xu Yin hurried home with a bulging school bag on her back. 

Her Russian teacher sighed when he saw the view of her small figure riding hard against the sunset.

“She has a strong work ethic to carry so many books home on a day off, but why can’t she improve her grades…?”

Could it be that his teaching method was the problem? 

Xu Yin hadn’t received her Russian grades yet. She didn’t know that it was so bad that it was causing her teacher to reflect on his teaching methods.

Xu Yin was once again rewarded with twenty energy points for riding 15 kilometres when she returned home.

“Dad! Mom! I’m back!”

The first one to run out and greet her turned out to be Little Douding.

He still remembered what Xu Yin had promised him before she left. She had promised to bring him delicious treats when she came back.

Naturally, Xu Yin also hadn’t forgotten about it. When she visited the fabric store with her classmates that day, she passed by a grocery store that also sold cookies and candies, so she bought a bit of them.

She opened her school bag and took out a couple of big White Rabbit Creamy Candy milk candies for her nephew.

“I’m leaving the rest with your grandma. If you want to eat more, ask her. But, you can only eat two pieces a day! You’ll get cavities otherwise.”

Little Douding nodded. He carefully put the candies in his pocket and bounced back into the house.

At this moment, Mother Xu finished her work in the kitchen and came out.

“It’s not a special day today. Why have you bought candies again?” she asked.

“Ah! Because I’m feeling so happy right now, Mom. Here, look!”

Xu Yin opened her school bag like it was a treasure trove. 

“You went to buy fabric again? Where did you get the money?” her mother asked.

“This is not for me. My classmates asked me to bring it to my sister-in-law to make pants and shirts. They liked my pants and wanted to make a similar one. Here is the deposit. They will pay the rest after the clothes are done,” Xu Ying explained.

“What?” Mother Xu was a little confused. “What do you mean?”

Xu Yin hugged her mother and walked with her to the living room. She told her all about the idea she had been thinking about for the last week. 

“Sister-in-law’s sewing skills are quite good, so I took a few orders for her. During the farming off-season, she can stay at home to cut and sew fabrics and make clothes to earn money. Being a tailor is much more dignified than picking up manure for the village, and it pays better too.”

“This… Can we just do it?”

Mother Xu’s heart swayed.

As their family had yet to divide their property, the money that Xu Yin’s brother and his wife earned must still be handed over to and managed by her. 

She was more than willing to have a job that could make more money than picking up manure.

Xu Yin continued to persuade her, “Mom, it’s already this day and age, no one will look down on us for it.”

And she was finally persuaded. 

Since Xu Yin had convinced her, it was easier to convince the others, too. 

Father Xu had always doted on his daughter. 

He didn’t mind if his eldest daughter-in-law learned tailoring to make clothes to earn money or if the money earned was used to buy new clothes for his daughter.

Xu Yin’s sister-in-law was even warmer to the idea. 

Compared to chopping and carrying firewood or picking up manure in the village, making clothes was a breeze for her.

Especially since her younger sister-in-law had contributed to putting her at work on the sewing machine in her mother-in-law’s room. After cutting and sewing, with just a quick press of the pedal, she would be able to finish a pair of pants. 

She finished making the three pairs of paints that Xu Yin’s friends ordered within a day and a half during the weekend. 

Shirts were more complicated to make compared to pants, so Xu Yin asked her not to rush. She had told her classmates that she’d deliver their order next week, anyway, so it was already impressive that she’d finished making three pairs of pants in such a short time.

Xu Yin wore the overalls and the cloth shoes that she’d previously asked her sister-in-law to make. She’d wear them to school to catch more fish—ahem, sorry, she meant to catch more orders. 

“Mom, I’m going to school. You and Dad should take care of yourselves, alright?” Xu Yin said as she left.

“Also, since Sister-in-law now has to make clothes, don’t let her do physical work. Doing too much physical work will make her too tired to sew clothes and turn her hands rough, which will cause the fabric to be scratched. What if my classmates ask me for a refund because of that? 

“Listen to me, even if you’re in a hurry, you can wait until Brother comes back and tell him to do it, or you can hire someone to do it for you. It won’t cost a lot of money. If I take more orders at school, won’t I earn that amount back, too?”

Mother Xu kept nodding as Xu Yin spoke.

She had seen her daughter-in-law’s ability these past few days. Of course, the most important factor was seeing the real money. 

Three pairs of pants and two high-quality shirts alone earned more than what they would get for picking up manure in the village for a year.

If they followed their daughter’s suggestion and took on more orders, wouldn’t they earn money until they were swimming in it?

“Okay, okay, Mom will listen to you. We’ll take our time with the non-urgent work. Your father and I will do it slowly. Let’s not count on your older brother. He passed by here during the Qingming Festival and was in such a hurry to go back. Who knows when he’ll be back again?”

“Alright, then hire someone to do it. Money is meant to be spent.  If I come back next time and see you or Dad losing weight, I won’t let my sister-in-law take on any work.”

“Okay, okay, just go to school already.” 

Mother Xu waved her hand, too lazy to say anything more.

It was only their daughter who wouldn’t work on the farm and would hire someone else to do it. Anyway, since she was going to school, the old couple could secretly do the work themselves. Their daughter would be none the wiser.

Xu Yin unexpectedly squatted down and gave some instructions to Little Douding.

“Doudou, keep an eye on Grandpa and Grandma, alright? If they don’t act good, you have to tell me.”

Little Douding, whom Xu Yin had bribed with some cookies and candies, nodded earnestly with a solemn expression on his face.

Mother Xu: …

She felt like her family had been taken over by her daughter. She and her husband no longer had any authority in this family. She glared at her grandson and said, “Little traitor!”

Little Douding and hid behind Xu Yin.