Only after Lin Chan had ushered He Zhilan back to the car did she explain: "You’re not going to find that kind of stuff in a little market. Who would want to buy it normally? You can only get it from a small-scale workshop that does custom orders! And these workshops usually export to R Country and H Country. Then, they process it over there, and we bring back the finished product to be displayed and sold at department store counters."
"Ah, so that’s how it works!" He Zhilan stuck out her tongue. It seemed she had oversimplified things. She had seen these accessories before while working at a department store, which was why she thought of making them herself.
At this, Lin Chan couldn’t help a busst of pride, "If you hadn’t run into me, you probably would have never known about this! These small-scale workshops are few and far between in our country, there’s only one in the capital! The owner’s daughter was my high school desk mate, so that’s how I happen to know."
While talking, Lin Chan drove the car into a narrow alley and stopped at the entrance. She gestured for He Zhilan to get out of the car and then led the way down a narrow path where the car couldn’t go. After a two or three-minute walk, they stopped before a small house where Lin Chan knocked on the door.
An elderly woman came to open the door. At the sight of Lin Chan, she hesitated before breaking out in a smile and greeting Lin Chan warmly.
"Lin Chan, you’re here~ Come in, quickly!" The old woman held onto Lin Chan’s hand without letting go. It was clear that she had a special fondness for Lin Chan. Only then did she notice He Zhilan who had come along with Lin Chan, and she greeted her with a beaming smile before closing the door and leading them into the courtyard.
The courtyard was a typical small quadrangle dwelling of the capital. Hearing the commotion, people from inside began to poke their heads out to see who it was. Soon after, they all put down their work to come out and meet them.
"Zhilan, let me introduce you. This is my high school deskmate, Lanlan. This is her husband, this is her son," Lin Chan pointed to the pregnant girl and laughed with He Zhilan, "We don’t know if the one in her belly is a boy or a girl yet."
"Lin Chan, is this your partner?" Lanlan, belly protruding, greeted He Zhilan and asked a question that everyone else in the family was also curious about.
"No, she’s my sister! Don’t talk nonsense~" Lin Chan shook her head repeatedly before asking, "How’s business at the workshop lately? My sister wanted some things from your workshop, so I brought her over to have a look."
"I thought you brought your future daughter-in-law over for us to meet and to hand out celebration sweets!" Lanlan teased her, but seeing the serious look on Lin Chan’s face, she led them to a separate workspace on the left and said, "Business has been picking up recently. People are living better lives and paying more attention to their appearance. The market for ready-made products in our country is quite good, so our orders have increased too."
Upon entering the workspace, the first things they saw were some machinery. The workspace was very tidy, and there were a few old people sitting on the side, engaged in odd jobs.
He Zhilan took a tour of the finished products in the workshop and was delighted. Everything she had been looking for was there: hairpin, spring clip, rubber bands, etc.
Because He Zhilan did not need a lot, Lanlan gave her what she needed first as a favour since Lin Chan had brought her over personally. Then she took Zhilan’s phone number and told her to place an order by phone in advance next time if she needed anything more.