"What a pity, did you make it yourself?"
"Xiao Wan, you’re selling clothes you made yourself? Why didn’t you tell me?" Yin Peibai said.
"There was nothing to do during the summer vacation, so I tried it out, and it went well; they all sold out."
"That kind of style, if it were in a department store, would definitely be snapped up. Xiao Wan, did you design that yourself?"
Both of them looked on with envy and jealousy. "I work at a cotton factory; if I were at a textile factory, it would be great, I could get a lot of fabric. But I have friends at the textile factory, so if you need, I can ask them for you. You bought all those at the department store, right? Not to mention you need coupons, it’s a waste of money."
Yin Peibai smiled, "Even though we’re both studying this, I now work at the Department of Land and Resources, still a desk job. Studying this was a hobby to get a degree, so I can’t really help much, but I could help market your clothes in the future. When can you make a wool coat for me, like the one you gave my cousin last year? I really liked it. My mom does too." Working in a government department is hard to get promoted without a high degree; she went to night school for four years, but when asked where she studied, she could proudly say Industrial University.
Speaking of wool coats, Lin Wan realized Zhang Shuhua hadn’t written for a long time, and she hadn’t replied to the letters she sent. She wondered if something had happened.
"Wool coat? What kind?" When talking about clothes, the three women became lively. Su Ling was also very curious.
"Alright, I’ll go to the department store another day. If there are nice materials, I’ll make each of you a set, but as we agreed, you’ll have to cover the costs."
"Alright, you can even add a few dollars extra, and we’d still be happy." Yin Peibai didn’t mind either.
"Make one for me too, Lin Wan, you choose which color suits me, and make it in that color. I trust your taste." She liked the red wool coat from last year too. But back then they weren’t close, so she didn’t ask.
"Why go to the department store? Don’t you know there’s a small Textile Street in our city?" Su Ling reminded her.
"I really didn’t know? Where is it?"
Su Ling glanced at Lin Wan, then at Yin Peibai, knowing that neither of them knew. "Our city has three textile factories on Construction Road North, on a short street. It used to be a black market with a lot of people reselling goods there, but a few years ago, it became legit. The area is mostly occupied by employees of Textile Factory One and Two, many of whom do business there privately. Over time, it formed a Textile Street. Now, all sorts of things have been swept out, and it’s now a street full of fabric stores. Last year, several people opened shops there just to trade fabrics. Many from surrounding areas come here for supplies, and the prices are cheap when bought in bulk."
"I’ll go take a look someday." That was quite a gain.
After hearing from Su Ling, Lin Wan went to Construction Road on her bike the next day.
There was a street around seven to eight hundred meters wide, with lots of stalls on both sides displaying a variety of fabrics. There were even a few storefronts.
Lin Wan took a general look at the variety of fabrics and made a preliminary check on prices. As Su Ling mentioned, it was much cheaper here than in department stores.
However, Lin Wan didn’t make any purchases immediately as she needed more time to investigate. Also, she didn’t find the right fabric for her projects during this visit.