"Sis, keep an eye on Little Douzi for me."

Seeing that a customer had picked out an item and wanted to try it on, while Little Xue and her sister were too busy to help, Lin Lan hurried over. She took down the royal blue wool coat and handed it to the woman. "Ma’am, with your fair skin, you’ll look absolutely beautiful in royal blue!"

This was a line of long wool coats featuring an elegant shawl collar and a very well-tailored waist. On a tall woman, the hem would fall right to her knees. It was also the most expensive item from her latest shipment.

It retailed for 118 yuan. The coats at the department store didn’t have fabric this nice, nor was the workmanship as fine, yet they were still about ten yuan more expensive.

The customer saw the price on the tag and hesitated for a moment. "I’ll try it on. If it fits, I’ll come back for it tomorrow."

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "This coat is the latest style, and both the quality and cut are excellent. Go ahead and try it on first. See how you like it."

Not many people carried over a hundred yuan in cash on them these days. For the past two days, most customers had picked things out, then gone home to get money before returning to make their purchase.

Some were even so worried the item they’d chosen would be sold before they got back that they would leave a deposit and ask the shop to hold it for them.

After trying it on, the customer was very satisfied. "A colleague of mine recommended this place," she said, looking in the mirror. "She told me you just opened and that your styles and quality were great. I made a special trip over here after work today to take a look."

"You can rest assured, all of our styles are the very latest from the coastal cities. I hand-picked every single piece." Lin Lan smiled and lifted the hem of the coat. "Just look. The material is dense yet soft. Not only does it look high-class when you wear it, but it’s also very warm."

"The quality is a bit better than what they have at the department store. I’ll give you a deposit. Please hold onto it for me. I’ll come get it right after I go home for dinner."

"Alright. I’ll put this one in the stockroom for you."

Lin Lan took the deposit, wrote out a receipt for the customer, and then took the coat to the stockroom and hung it up.

Before closing time, Li Xiangyang arrived at the shop. The two of them collected the day’s earnings, closed up, and returned to Lexing together.

After dinner, Lin Changyou and Li Xiangyang sat in the main room, talking while they shelled beans. Little Douzi was helping them.

Wu Shufen and Lin Lan went to the side room to make the bed for Wu Shuqin and her daughter.

"Little Lan, your aunt wants to have Xinglan find some work here with you. What do you think?"

Lin Lan smiled. "Of course! Does Auntie want Xinglan to learn how to make pastries, or to work selling things at the shop?"

Wu Shufen hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Your aunt wants her to learn how to make pastries from you, but from the looks of it, I’m afraid Xinglan herself wants to work at the shop!"

"A girl of fifteen or sixteen is at an age where her head is full of silly ideas. I’m just worried that if Xinglan works at the shop, she’ll attract the wrong kind of attention. You have a strong personality, and that could make things awkward for us as relatives. I think it’s best if she learns to make pastries with you. Don’t let her go to the shop—it’ll keep her out of trouble."

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "I’ll listen to you, Mom. Whatever you say, goes."

"Alright, let’s go out, and you can talk to your aunt about the rules." Wu Shufen thought for a moment before adding, "It’s best to be clear from the start to ensure things end well. Make sure you lay down the hard truths now to avoid trouble later."

"Mhm!" Lin Lan handed the blanket to Wu Shufen, and the mother-daughter pair started making the bed.

In the kitchen, Qiaohui and two other girls were gathered around a large wooden basin, trimming fava beans. Wu Shuqin laughed and asked, "Qiaohui, why aren’t you all taking a day off? What’s the rush?"

Qiaohui chuckled. "We didn’t run the stall yesterday, and we’ve already rested all day today. Besides, Zhixue and Zhilin are waiting for their delivery tomorrow morning!"

Tong Xinglan looked at her. "Qiaohui, you’re really living the good life here at our cousin’s house, huh!"

"Mhm! Cousin is so good to me," Qiaohui said with a smile, pointing to the tailored jacket she was wearing. "She had all my clothes custom-made for me. They’re so warm."

It was the first time in her life she’d ever worn such a light and warm jacket, not to mention a wool sweater and wool pants. They weren’t bulky at all, but they were incredibly warm.

Tong Xinglan glanced at Qiaohui’s floral-print cotton jacket. "Qiaohui, why aren’t you wearing the outfit from the shop?"

Qiaohui laughed. "Oh, that’s my work uniform. It’s easy to get it dirty doing chores at home."

Wu Shuqin nodded. "Qiaohui, how much do you pay Little Lan for your apprenticeship fee each month?"

"Cousin is wonderful. She didn’t ask for an apprenticeship fee and even pays me a salary. Starting this month, I’ll be making thirty-five yuan every month," Qiaohui said, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "My parents don’t even make that much in a whole year back home."

Wu Shuqin stared at Qiaohui in astonishment. "Thirty-five yuan? That’s so much!"

’She did a quick mental calculation. ’Lin Yuezhen and Qiaohui together cost seventy yuan a month, and that’s with room and board included. Just how much money must Lin Lan be making?’’

Tong Xinglan looked at Qiaohui. "Why don’t you be a salesclerk at the shop? Making pastries at home means dealing with all the smoke and heat. How can that be as comfortable as the shop?"

Qiaohui glanced up at her. "My mom says that once you learn a skill, it’s yours for life. You can pull it out and use it whenever you need to."

"That’s right. Qiaohui has the right idea," Wu Shuqin said, looking at Tong Xinglan. "I’ll speak with your cousin in a little while. You’re going to come here and learn how to make pastries from her."

Tong Xinglan gave her mother a look of discontent. "Mom, I don’t like making pastries. I want to sell things at the shop."

Wu Shuqin shot her a glare. "Anyone can sell things. But a skill, once you’ve learned it, is yours for a lifetime."

Tong Xinglan fell silent, but she still thought, ’Working as a salesperson is much more respectable.’

Just as Lin Lan and Wu Shufen finished making the bed and returned to the kitchen, Wu Shuqin called out to Lin Lan, her face flushing slightly. "Little Lan, did your mom speak with you?"

"She did," Lin Lan said, taking the stool Qiaohui handed her and sitting down. "Auntie, learning to make pastries is hard, just like learning to be a chef. You have to deal with smoke and heat every day, not to mention being on your feet for hours on end. You should ask Xinglan. As long as she can handle the hardship, she is welcome here."

Wu Shuqin nodded eagerly, vouching for her daughter. "Xinglan is willing to learn! And she’s a very quick worker."

Lin Lan turned to Tong Xinglan. "Xinglan, do you really want to learn how to make pastries?"

Tong Xinglan glanced at her mother, Wu Shuqin, before nodding. "Yes, Cousin. I want to learn."

Something in her cousin’s eyes felt off to Lin Lan. She thought for a moment before laying out the terms. "For the first two months, while you’re learning, I’ll cover your room and board. After that, once you can work independently, you’ll get a monthly salary of thirty-five yuan, still with room and board included."

Wu Shuqin grabbed Lin Lan’s hand, overjoyed. "Little Lan, thank you! I’ll take Xinglan home tomorrow to get her things, and then I’ll bring her straight back to Lexing."

Wu Shufen looked at her sister with playful reproach. "She’s your own niece. What’s with all the formality?"

Wu Shuqin smiled and nodded. "You’re right. We’re family; there’s no need to be so formal." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Lin Lan drained the trimmed fava beans and handed them to Qiaohui to be fried into orchid beans. She herself began to mash pumpkin and mix the ingredients for pumpkin cakes.

Watching Lin Lan’s swift and practiced movements, Wu Shuqin thought to herself, ’She’s really become a completely different person.’

Back in the main room, Li Xiangyang and Lin Changyou discussed their experiences with pig farming. Then, Li Xiangyang’s eyes fell on the television set perched atop the sewing machine. He smiled and said, "Dad, if you cut down a sturdy bamboo pole for me tomorrow, I can make an antenna. Then we’ll finally be able to watch TV."