Chapter 62: You don’t have to worry about whether I can afford the compensation or not.

Liu Yufen was one of the first self-employed people in the city to open her own clothing
store. Relying on the skills she learned from the south and her good connections, her
business was thriving.

She had been eyeing the batch of Hong Kong materials from the department store for a
long time, and thought it was within her grasp, but unexpectedly, Shen Zhiyi showed up
halfway.

"Sister Fen, then let's..." Aunt Qiao asked tentatively.

"What's the rush?" Liu Yufen walked to the window and looked at the gray wall outside, a
calculating glint in her eyes. "Doesn't she know how to draw?"

"If you come again, tell them you've found a job with your cousin. She works at a textile
factory in the west of the city. It's far from where she lives, and you have nowhere else to
stay. You want to find some work there. Tell me the pay."

Liu Yufen turned around, picked up a red date on the table, and played with it with her
fingertips.

"Be sweet-mouthed and quick-witted, and get along with those stupid women in the yard."

"Find a way to get those blueprints of hers for me."

…
On Wednesday, Shen Zhiyi got up early.

She changed into a modified white shirt she had made herself, with a chic ruffled collar,
and paired it with black polyester trousers, looking capable and energetic.

She carefully rolled up the dozen or so design drawings she had created after staying up all
night and put them in a brown paper bag.

"Sister, don't be nervous, there will be no problem!" Shen Zhiyao was even more excited
than her and helped her comb her hair again and again.

"I'm not nervous." Shen Zhiyi smiled at herself in the mirror.

She was indeed not nervous, but instead felt a long-lost excitement.

The City Department Store is a 10-story Soviet-style building, which looks particularly
imposing among the surrounding low-rise bungalows.

Shen Zhiyi walked to the door of the purchasing department's office on the first floor. Just
as he was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, the door of the office next to him
opened.

Liu Yufen walked out from inside, followed by a timid young man.

The two men just met each other.

Liu Yufen obviously recognized her as well. She paused and looked Shen Zhiyi up and down
with her slanted eyes. Her gaze finally fell on the bag in her hand, and a scornful smile
appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Are you Shen Zhiyi?" She spoke, her tone like an elder questioning an ignorant younger
generation.

Shen Zhiyi didn’t say anything, just looked at her.

"You're a young girl, but you're quite brave." Liu Yufen crossed her arms and raised her chin
slightly. "The materials in Chen Yuren's hands are not something anyone can touch. If you
mess it up, you can't even afford the compensation."

The threat and warning in these words couldn't be more obvious.

Shen Zhiyi looked at the woman in front of her who had the words "don't mess with me"
written all over her body, and suddenly understood why Aunt Qiao came that day.

She smiled, a light and indifferent smile without any warmth.

"You don't need to worry about whether you can afford to compensate or not."

She took a step forward. Her voice was not loud, but it reached Liu Yufen's ears clearly.

"Whether you have the ability to touch it or not is not up to you to decide."

After she finished speaking, she stopped looking at Liu Yufen's face which had turned
ashen in an instant, turned around, raised her hand, and knocked on the door of Chen
Yuren's office, neither lightly nor heavily.

A calm female voice came from inside the door: "Please come in."
Shen Zhiyi pushed the door open and walked in. The room was bright and clean. A large
office table was wiped spotlessly clean. There was nothing else on it except an army green
enamel teacup and a pile of small items.

Chen Yuren was sitting at the table. He looked up at her and pointed at the chair opposite:
"Sit down."

She did not take the small bag that Shen Zhiyi handed over, but opened the lid of the
teacup in front of her, blew away the tea leaves floating on it, and took a sip slowly.

"Have you met Liu Yufen before coming here?" Chen Yiren put down the teacup and asked.

"We met at the door." Shen Zhiyi sat upright, neither humble nor arrogant.

"She didn't tell you anything?"

“I said,” Shen Zhiyi smiled, “that I’m quite courageous.”

There seemed to be a faint smile that flashed across Chen Yuren's lips, so fast that it was
impossible to catch it.

"She's like a dog that guards its food. She wants to bark at everyone she sees."

This was said without any politeness, which surprised Shen Zhiyi.

"Tell me what you think." Chen Yuren crossed his fingers and placed them on the table, his
eyes filled with sharp consideration. "Why do you think you can make this batch of
materials?"

"Because the clothes you wear now are too plain." Shen Zhiyi put the bag on his knees and
did not rush to open it.

"It's not that women don't like beauty, it's that they have no choice."

"The products hanging in the supply and marketing department are always the same, with
the usual blue, gray, and black colors. Although no one says it out loud, they're all hoping
for something a little different."

She paused, raised her eyes, and met Chen Yuren's gaze.

"Hong Kong materials are expensive, so we can't waste them on old models."

"If you're going to do something, do it so that people will be drawn to you and ask where
you buy clothes when you walk down the street."

Chen Yiren didn't say anything, just listened quietly.

Shen Zhiyi then opened the bag, took out the drawings one by one, and spread them on the
table.

"These are some drawings I made. I can't say how many there are, but they are all not
available on the market now."

There are shirts with Western-style puff sleeves, dresses with cinched waists and full skirts,
and even wide-leg pants with wide legs and a very drapey feel.
These styles are bold, trendy and full of foreign charm.

It is out of tune with this era, yet strangely eye-catching.

Chen Yuren's eyes swept across the drawings one by one, and finally stopped at the design
drawing of wide-leg pants.

"This is too bold." She pointed at the blueprint. "The trouser legs are so wide, almost like a
skirt. How can I wear it properly? I'm afraid people will think I'm wearing something weird
and point fingers at me behind my back."

"There will be," Shen Zhiyi answered quickly. "It takes courage to be the first person to wear
it, but as long as one person wears it and thinks they've seen it, there will be a second and
a third. Isn't that how trends work?"

Chen Yiren was silent for a long time, so long that Shen Zhiyi thought there was no hope
this time.

She suddenly stood up and took out a roll of cloth wrapped in oil paper from a locked metal
cabinet behind her and placed it on the table.

"This is the georgette from that batch of materials. It's the lightest color, aqua red." She
pushed the cloth in front of Shen Zhiyi, "I don't want your drawings. No matter how
beautiful the drawings are, they are just empty talk."

"Take this piece of cloth back home. Make three dresses within a week. You can choose the
style."
"If you do it well, I'll give you half of the remaining materials. If you don't do it well," Chen
Yiren looked at her without a trace of joking in his eyes.

"You have to compensate me for the price of the cloth. And you also have to give me an
explanation for wasting my time."

Shen Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat.

She stretched out her hand, and her fingertips gently touched the cool, silky fabric, as if she
had touched a hot dream.

"Tuo."