Aftermath and Dressing Up
The next morning, Liu Cui came to the Lu family’s door carrying a basket.
Qin Shi happened to have no class, so she was at home and opened the door. She wasn’t surprised Liu Cui had come.
“Sister Liu, what brings you here?” Qin Shi noticed the cut at the corner of Liu Cui’s mouth, and her gaze changed slightly.
Seeing Qin Shi’s look, Liu Cui quickly waved her hand and explained, “It wasn’t my Old Zhao… I did it myself…”
Qin Shi raised her brow slightly. Judging by Liu Cui’s state, she had truly learned her lesson this time. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be reflecting on herself.
Liu Cui lowered her eyes awkwardly, but soon looked up again. Holding the basket with both hands, she said to Qin Shi, “I was wrong before. I listened to rumours and gossiped about you behind your back. I really know I was wrong. I’ll never do it again!”
“I’m sorry.”
Qin Shi looked at Liu Cui’s swollen eyes and firm gaze. The two stared at each other for several seconds, and Liu Cui didn’t avoid her eyes. Her gaze was full of guilt and sincerity.
Seeing that Liu Cui truly regretted it, Qin Shi didn’t keep clinging to the matter. After all, they lived in the same compound, and Zhao Jianjun and Lu Zetian were both regiment commanders. They would still see each other often, so making the relationship too stiff wouldn’t be good.
She wasn’t a saint. She couldn’t be cursed at and then act like nothing happened, but on the surface, things still had to remain civil.
Qin Shi accepted the basket and simply said, “Parents are a child’s best example. Family environment has a very important impact on a child’s growth.”
Hearing this, Liu Cui nearly cried. This time, she truly understood what those words meant.
“You’re a good person. I treated you like that before, yet you’re still willing to advise me…”
Hearing Liu Cui give her a “good person card,” Qin Shi chuckled softly but said nothing.
“I won’t disturb you anymore. I’ll go now,” Liu Cui sighed silently. “Haoran was beaten badly by his father and can’t get out of bed for now. When he recovers, he’ll come apologize to your Xiao Hai.”
Qin Shi nodded casually and sent Liu Cui away.
After closing the gate, Qin Shi carried the basket inside. The twins ran over to look at what she was holding, then glanced toward the door curiously.
“Who was it?”
“The mother of the child who fought with your big brother,” Qin Shi said, not hiding the matter just because they were young.
An’an understood immediately. “An apology gift!”
Qin Shi smiled and patted her head. “That’s right.”
An’an blinked and looked up at Qin Shi. “Does accepting the gift mean you forgive them?”
Qin Shi said, “She came to apologize to me, so I forgave her. But her child still hasn’t apologized to your brother, so your brother hasn’t forgiven him.”
“Huh? Then why didn’t he come apologize?” An’an put her hands on her hips, her little face serious.
“His father beat him. He can’t get out of bed recently.”
An’an and Pingping exchanged a look. Their eyes clearly said, “Serves him right.”
Qin Shi brought the children inside and placed the basket on the table to see what was inside.
There were ten eggs, a piece of pork with more fat than lean meat, and some oranges and apples.
Qin Shi was a little surprised. She hadn’t expected Liu Cui to be so generous. These things were worth quite a bit. It seemed she really did feel remorse.
Thinking of Zhao Haoran’s unruly temperament, Qin Shi thought it wasn’t too late to correct his character. Hopefully Zhao Jianjun would be reliable.
“I’ll render this fat into lard. This afternoon, I’ll make pork crackling dumplings.”
As soon as Qin Shi said this, the twins became excited.
“Yay!”
“I like dumplings!”
…
When Qin Shi had brought Gu Qinghai to the office, word naturally spread quickly. When everyone saw Zhao Haoran didn’t come to class the next day, they knew the matter was true.
Then they discovered Liu Cui had returned to her maternal home alone, while Zhao Haoran’s grandmother had moved in to look after the injured Zhao Haoran.
Everyone complained about Zhao Jianjun, saying he had finally been firm for once. Otherwise, who knew what trouble Liu Cui would cause in the future?
She had nearly ruined the child!
Because the matter involved the child of a martyr, the army naturally learned of it too. The higher-ups criticised Zhao Jianjun and even stopped him from going on the mission, telling him to stay home and look after his child properly.
Zhao Jianjun had originally wanted to fight for the opportunity, but then he thought of Zhao Haoran and said nothing more.
Lu Zetian wasn’t going, and the other man’s wife was pregnant, so the higher-ups gave the mission to someone else. When Zhao Jianjun found out, his expression was calm. He felt no disturbance in his heart. Every day, he went home on time and spent more time talking with Zhao Haoran.
Only a month later did he bring Liu Cui back from her maternal home.
When Liu Cui returned, she had become completely obedient. She no longer gossiped behind people’s backs, stunning many people.
Of course, all of this happened later.
…
Because of this incident, Qin Shi became famous in one battle. Everyone in the army compound learned how smart and formidable she was, and no one dared speak carelessly anymore—at least not openly where Qin Shi could hear.
After Qin Shi wrote a suggestion letter to the principal about “students’ mental health and teachers’ educational methods,” the principal held a special meeting about it. He publicly criticised Wang Lingling’s inappropriate punishment of students and told teachers to pay attention to both issues.
Wang Xiuxiu was removed as homeroom teacher and became an ordinary teacher. Her salary was reduced, and she lost a lot of face. She completely hated Qin Shi for it.
But she couldn’t do anything to Qin Shi. After all, everything Qin Shi said and suggested was right. With so many eyes watching her, she didn’t dare behave recklessly in teaching. She could only hate Qin Shi secretly and often call on Gu Qinghai in class.
But Gu Qinghai was good at studying. Even if Wang Xiuxiu deliberately asked him questions, she couldn’t make things difficult for him, so she could only give up resentfully.
Seeing that Wang Xiuxiu had become obedient, Qin Shi was actually a little surprised. She had expected Wang Xiuxiu to use her connection with the division commander to cause trouble, but unexpectedly, nothing happened.
Wearing the new clothes Qin Shi had made and having specially dressed up, Zhang Yanli snorted while fixing her hairstyle and explained.
“Other people don’t know, but I do. Division Commander Li’s son married Wang Xiuxiu’s younger sister. They say they’re one family, but Wang Xiuxiu was actually adopted. She isn’t their biological daughter at all.”
“Huh?” Qin Shi hadn’t expected there to be such a thing.
“Don’t worry. She’s not that capable. The division commander is so busy—how would he have time to care about her?” Zhang Yanli curled her lip disdainfully.
“Your Regiment Commander Lu is Division Commander Li’s favourite soldier. Your face carries more weight than Wang Xiuxiu’s! Don’t worry.”
“How do you know all this?” Qin Shi was curious. Everyone else thought Wang Xiuxiu had a very close relationship with the division commander’s family.
“Li Mingfang told me. We were classmates in high school and university, and we’re very close.” Zhang Yanli rolled her eyes. “Mingfang said Wang Xiuxiu keeps going to her house acting like they’re close sisters. Their relationship is obviously ordinary, but she pretends they’re best friends. Mingfang is so annoyed by her.”
Just like that, Qin Shi was dragged into a whole mouthful of gossip by Zhang Yanli.
“Oh right, lots of people have been asking me about this outfit these past two days. I told them you made it, and they all asked me to get designs from you,” Zhang Yanli remembered the main matter.
Qin Shi smiled and took out several sheets of paper for her. “Including the previous ones, there are ten styles in total. Take them and show them. If anyone likes one, tell them to bring fabric directly to my house.”
Looking at the new designs on the paper, Zhang Yanli covered her face with one hand and wailed, “They’re all so pretty!”
There were simple and elegant ones, fashionable and refined ones—all kinds. The colours were ordinary and not too bright, but they were still incredibly beautiful. They were completely new styles no one had seen before.
They looked like something models or celebrities on television would wear. No woman could resist such temptation!
Qin Shi looked at Zhang Yanli’s dejected expression and chuckled. These were all later-generation designs she had specially modified. They weren’t too modern, and instead incorporated the popular elements of the current era.
They weren’t exaggerated, but they were fresh and novel. Naturally, they were attractive.
Zhang Yanli left with the designs. The very next day, young military wives came to Qin Shi’s house and ordered two pieces of clothing.
At school, the teachers who had heard from Zhang Yanli that Qin Shi was taking commissions also came over eagerly to ask. Qin Shi showed them the designs and received several more orders.
The original owner had a high level of sewing skill, so Qin Shi didn’t take long to make a piece of clothing. If she did nothing else, she could make one in a day.
But she still had to look after the children and teach classes, and she didn’t want to overwork herself, so she made one every two or three days.
As more fashionable and beautiful women appeared, Qin Shi was no longer the only flower standing out. Many people felt tempted after seeing them.
Now that more people were dressing up, others naturally began to imitate them and came to Qin Shi to order clothes.
However, Qin Shi’s sewing fee was quite high. Even ordinary clothes cost at least ten yuan. More difficult items like coats and trench coats cost over twenty yuan each, not including fabric.
There were plenty of wealthy people in the army compound, but even more ordinary people. Even if they envied the clothes and loved beauty, they didn’t go to Qin Shi. Instead, they studied the styles secretly and tried making them themselves.
Of course, the finished clothes differed from Qin Shi’s, but they still looked better than ordinary clothes. There were also many skilled and clever women good at sewing. Even if what they made wasn’t exactly the same, it still looked pretty good.
A wave of “dressing up” spread through the army compound. Many people began wearing new clothes or styling their hair in more complicated braids. It was very pleasing to the eye.
This time, with more people dressing up, the voices saying “dressing up means being seductive and improper” became much quieter. When some people heard such comments, they even argued back, saying this was the new look of a new era.
Reform and opening-up had arrived. Everyone was changing along with society.
Wasn’t it just wearing new clothes and braiding hair in new styles? How was that improper?
Those who disliked it complained to the army, but unexpectedly, the higher-ups supported the women, saying they were right. A new era should have a new look.
In big cities and the Special Economic Zones, people were even more varied, wearing all kinds of colourful clothes. The army compound wasn’t that exaggerated, and everyone was still dressing fairly normally. So if they wanted to dress up, let them.
Besides, it showed that people’s lives had improved. Otherwise, who would have the spare time to care about fashion?
Since the higher-ups had no objections and were even happy to see it, those who disliked it had no choice. They could only roll their eyes and mutter privately.
At school, Zhang Yanli held Qin Shi’s arm and clicked her tongue in amazement. She hadn’t expected Qin Shi’s words to really come true.
Qin Shi smiled. After all, people had a herd mentality. Once everyone started doing something, others were very likely to follow.
That afternoon, after returning home, Qin Shi counted the money she had earned over the past half month and discovered it had already exceeded one hundred yuan. She immediately became delighted.
This was more profitable than working! She had to do this properly and save money. Later, she could open a shop, or find a partner to invest. She could provide clothing styles and patterns while the partner managed the store.
If she seized the opportunity and became part of the first group to get rich, wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Just as she was thinking this, someone knocked on the door.
Qin Shi put away the money and went out to look. To her surprise, the person who had come was actually Mo Ling.
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