Tang Mingli was so impressed that he simply didn’t know how to put his admiration for Tang Yue into words.
"Xiao Yue, you’re really remarkable," Tang Mingli gave her a thumbs up.
"That’s because the clothes are good; she looked particularly beautiful in them, so naturally she was satisfied," Tang Yue was also a little proud deep down. She just loved seeing others wearing the clothes she designed. That sense of achievement was irreplaceable.
"Uncle, the dress I tried on earlier, hang it on the model after the store opening," Tang Yue even imagined that once this dress was launched, many people would surely buy it. The one worn by Cai Wanwan would definitely bring in lots of customers.
"Sure," Tang Mingli was busy with the final tidying up of the store. Tomorrow morning, he would go to purchase stock, and once the goods are displayed, they’ll be ready for the opening.
"Xiao Yue, your designed clothes — people will know at a glance that they are much nicer than the ones in the store," Tang Mingli chatted casually.
Recognize at a glance?
These words served as a reminder to Tang Yue, who belatedly realized something important. She asked, "Uncle, what name are you planning for your store?"
"Do we need to name it?" Tang Mingli was puzzled as he looked at Tang Yue. When he looked up, he saw the shoe store across the street had a name, ’Xiao Jun Shoe Store’.
"That’s right, we should also decide on a name. But what’s a good name?" Tang Mingli turned to Tang Yue and without a second thought, said: "Xiao Yue, you’re a high school student, you decide."
Tang Yue couldn’t help but roll her eyes, saying, "Uncle, I’m only in Senior High School, but you graduated from high school."
"Right," Tang Mingli responded belatedly. After giving it some thought, he said: "Ming Yue, ’Ming’ from Tang Mingli and ’Yue’ from Tang Yue. How about that?"
Tang Mingli felt more and more that the name was fitting as he said it: simple yet incorporating both their names.
Uncle, could you be any more casual?
She had seen some people struggle with naming for ten days or half a month, finding this name not good, that name not right, sometimes even consulting with fortune-telling. But Tang Mingli, within one minute, had decided on the store’s name.
"How about it, Ming Yue Ming Yue, doesn’t it sound good?" Tang Mingli liked the name more and more as he said it.
Tang Yue smirked slightly, asked, "Uncle, write it on paper and see."
Tang Mingli immediately took out a notebook and pen and wrote out the five characters ’Ming Yue Clothing Store’. He was smug and extremely pleased.
Tang Yue kept looking at the paper and finally, she changed the ’悦’ character in ’Ming Yue’ to the ’月’ character and explained: "It sounds even better this way. ’月’ is homophonic with my name ’悦’."
"Ming Yue; wearing Ming Yue’s clothes will make you shine like the bright moon in the sky," Tang Mingli, for once, displayed a burst of poetry.
Tang Yue’s eyes sparkled. Although the words were a bit cheesy, the imagined scene wasn’t bad. All women love beauty; who wouldn’t want to be as dazzling as the moon in the sky?
"Hmm, uncle, I also want to give our clothes an English name." Tang Yue wrote down "My," a capitalized "M" and a lowercase "y," which were the abbreviations for ’Ming’ and ’Yue’.
Tang Yue grew more excited as she wrote: "In the future, I’ll have Sister Lan embroider this English letter on our clothes."
"This translates to ’My’ in English." Tang Mingli had attended high school, and although he hadn’t studied for several years, he still knew some basics.
"That’s right, to show one’s unique self." Tang Yue had even more ambitious plans for the future: someday, she could establish her own brand and open her own studio.
"Great name, I’ll go find someone to make it now," Tang Mingli said and acted promptly to find someone to make it.
The store sign would take time to make; just in time for when they returned from buying stock and just before opening, they could put it up.
Tang Yue took his notebook and began to sketch preliminary designs. For one type of fabric, she planned to make multiple outfits with different styles, focusing on details. The classic coats, as well as the short plaid tops, looked particularly attractive.
Soon, Tang Yue had drawn three or four designs. When she got home, she would refine the details carefully. She had put in a lot of effort to make different styles of clothes from the same fabric.
Back at home, Tang Yue was drawing non-stop with paper and pen, while Tang Jun was doing his homework beside her. Whenever he had any questions, he immediately turned to Tang Yue. She explained everything in great detail and in a simple-to-understand manner.
"Big sis, when did you learn to draw? Are you drawing clothes?" Tang Jun tiptoed to look at the sketches on her paper. The clothes were beautifully drawn; even though it was just pencil lines, they looked exceptionally appealing.
Tang Yue paused with her pen, and with pursed lips, she said: "Xiao Jun, when did you ever talk to me before, let alone come into my room? Is it odd that I can draw?"
Tang Yue replied with feigned calmness, relieved that their previous relationship wasn’t good, otherwise she would have given herself away.
Tang Jun had just asked casually. Hearing her reply, he didn’t probe any further.
Tang Yue breathed a sigh of relief and thought about visiting the library more often to check out books on design in the future, so she could also have explanations ready.
"Xiao Yue, go to sleep early today."
Zhang Hualian, having finished her chores, reminded Tang Yue to sleep early.
"In a minute." Tang Yue immediately finished improving the design for the coat.
There were only two rooms here, and only two beds available. During this time, as Tang Jun was staying here, he and Tang Zhengde were rooming together, while she and Zhang Hualian were sharing a room.
"Xiao Yue, you’re going to the Provincial City tomorrow. Take this money with you. Although it’s not much, it can buy something," Zhang Hualian gave her ten yuan.
Tang Yue pursed her lips and said, "Mom, keep the money. I’m just following Uncle to stock up. There’s no need to spend money. Besides, you should save up to buy a house sooner, so Xiao Jun can come to the county for school earlier."
"Silly girl, do you think buying a house is as easy as buying a cabbage?" Zhang Hualian glared at her, feeling that her daughter was a bit too naive.
Tang Yue looked at her innocently, thinking, isn’t it almost the same as buying cabbage? Ten, twenty years from now, housing prices would skyrocket by dozens of times. Many people toil their whole lives and still can’t afford a house.
Currently, Wangjiang County was still a small town; buying a house cost around two thousand yuan. A larger house or one in a better location may vary in price, but with some effort, two thousand yuan was enough to buy a decent home.
Tang Yue even thought about buying several houses for the future. Demolition could bring a substantial sum of money, and even just owning the property, it was worth it due to the good locations.