"No need." Tang Yue instinctively refused, but Deng Lanhua insisted on treating her and her uncle, so Tang Yue had no chance to refuse.
Eventually, Tang Yue agreed, and with the two pieces of clothing that were ready, she went straight to the store.
Mingyue Clothing Store was bustling at the time, and when Tang Yue entered, she first hung up the two garments, intending to display them before selling, but before they were even hung up, a beautiful woman already wanted to try them on.
The two pieces of clothing that had just arrived were sold within an hour, which was completely beyond Tang Yue’s expectation in terms of popularity.
"Uncle, do you think there are particularly many rich people around?" Tang Yue asked Tang Mingli during a lull, bewildered. A garment costing sixty yuan, equivalent to two months’ wages for an average person - why were so many willing to spend that much?
Tang Mingli glanced at her and said, "Yes, but you’re also overthinking it. Those who bought clothes earlier were all introduced by Miss Cai, the one who bought clothes the first time. It seems she works at the bank. Think about it, wouldn’t her social circle be full of rich people?"
"That makes sense." Tang Yue suddenly realized. She thought that even if there were quite a few wealthy people in the county town, their number wasn’t as high as it seemed.
With the hot sale of these few garments, Tang Yue felt even more confident about her summer clothing line.
"By the way, Uncle, Sister Deng said that Brother Qi has caught fish and invited us over for a meal." Tang Yue didn’t wait for him to reply, hastily adding, "Sister Deng said that if we don’t go, it would be like looking down on them for not having anything good to eat at their place. How could I refuse?"
"Then let’s go." Tang Mingli thought for a moment and said, "Social interactions are all about exchange of courtesy, affection grows over time. Since we’ve decided to partner with Deng Lanhua and them, we should naturally keep in touch more often."
Tang Mingli didn’t mind, and the uncle and niece considered what gifts to bring over. He said, "Buy two pounds of meat and twenty eggs, that should be just right."
When Tang Yue heard these items, she couldn’t help asking, "Uncle, are you sure about this? Shall we bring fruit instead?"
"Xiao Yue, what you don’t understand is, while fruit is nice, Leilei is still young and can’t eat much of it. It’s expensive and not cost-effective. But eggs and meat are different – Leilei can eat the eggs, and everyone can enjoy the meat, which could really improve their living a bit," Tang Mingli explained.
"But why don’t you buy more then?" Tang Yue asked.
Tang Mingli gave her a sidelong glance and said, "What’s that clever brain of yours for?"
Tang Yue looked at him innocently.
Tang Mingli shook his head helplessly and explained, "Think about it, if what we bring is too good or too much, wouldn’t they have to bring even more over the next time they come to our place to eat? Deng Lanhua and Qi Song might even feel that we’ve given too much and feel uneasy about it. Two pounds of meat and twenty eggs are just about right."
"Really..." Tang Yue drew out her words, somewhat dubious, but still agreed with Tang Mingli’s approach.
At Deng Lanhua’s house, Qi Wenlei was sleeping, while the husband and wife, Qi Song and Deng Lanhua, were busy in the kitchen. As Qi Song cleaned the fish, he said, "Lanhua, about that cotton candy idea your niece’s uncle mentioned last time, I think it’s pretty good. I’ve been observing these days, and the business is really good."
"Should I go back to my parents’ house to borrow some money?" Deng Lanhua suggested. Even though Tang Mingli had given them a deposit, they still owed her brother money for the fabric.
Qi Song replied without hesitation, "No need, I’ll borrow some from my family."
"No," Deng Lanhua quickly refused: "Why don’t we slowly repay my brother’s money later and use this deposit to buy the machine?"
"No, Brother Qi has been so kind to us, he is also short of money, we should repay him first," Qi Song said earnestly. This tailor shop owed much to Deng Lanhua’s maternal brother. Without this tailor shop, life for their family of three would have been even more difficult.
The couple, who were deep in conversation, didn’t notice someone had entered.
"How much do you need to borrow?" A deep voice sounded.
Qi Song’s expression shifted to one of surprise, and with a limp, he quickly ran out and saw the tall and straight figure standing there. He excitedly asked, "Brother Mo, what brings you here?"
"What, I can’t come?" Mo Siyu’s lips curled into a slight smile, his gaze settling on Qi Song’s face before moving down to his leg, asking, "How’s the leg recovering?"
"Not bad," Qi Song said excitedly, and hurriedly added: "Lanhua, make some tea."
"No need, I will just sit for a bit and then leave," Mo Siyu said briefly.
After some back and forth conversation, Qi Song understood that Mo Siyu had just finished delivering some goods and had come to visit him.
"I bought you some stuff, it’s outside. I just heard you needed to borrow money, has something happened?" Mo Siyu asked.
"Brother Mo, why did you buy things for me too?" As soon as Qi Song saw Mo Siyu, he had endless things to say. Even though he was a year or two older than Mo Siyu, he had always greatly admired Brother Mo in his heart.
"It’s ; I heard from a friend that you can make money selling cotton candy, so I thought about buying a cotton candy machine. These past few days, I’ve been watching how others do it, and seeing if they make money. There’s only one cotton candy seller in the entire county, and that person also travels to other towns. Sometimes there’s no cotton candy for sale in our county."
"I’ve done the calculation, even if selling cotton candy only makes one yuan a day, it’s better than bricklaying." Qi Song quickly explained the purpose of the money. He was about to say he could borrow the money when suddenly, there were US$ 60 in front of him.
Mo Siyu directly took out US$ 60 and offered it, saying: "Songzi, borrowing is borrowing, no matter who it’s from. This money, consider it a loan from me."
"Brother Mo," Qi Song quivered his lips, hesitating to take the money, his eyes seeming to be swirling with steam.
Mo Siyu slapped his shoulder firmly, forcefully stuffed the money into his hand, and said, "You call me Brother Mo, why being so formal?"
"Thank you, Brother Mo," Qi Song accepted the money, thinking to himself that he must work hard and later repay Brother Mo a little more.
"Brother Mo, please stay for dinner," Qi Song warmly invited.
Deng Lanhua was also very enthusiastic, adding: "Just yesterday, Qi Song caught a big fish. It would be great for Brother Mo to try some of my cooking."
"No need," Mo Siyu declined politely.
"Brother Mo, we will always remember your kindness. It’s just a simple meal, Brother Mo, you must let us fulfill this wish," Deng Lanhua was very grateful to Mo Siyu. Besides her brother, Mo Siyu had been supporting them to start the tailor shop. Even after repaying the money, she always remembered this favor.