Chapter 4 - 3: The Not-So-Bad Dad
Life in the city always demanded money, and after a few days when everything had to be bought with money, Chen Wen started to worry about their future life again.
Ye Qiu, however, was not in a hurry. Their daughter was three years old and could try going to kindergarten. The country's control wasn't so strict anymore, and some street vendors had started hawking in the streets and alleys. To ease Chen Wen's concerns, he planned to find something for her to do.
He wasn't the type of person who believed women should only support their husbands and teach their children. Women who solely revolved around their husbands and children never lived as comfortably and confidently as those who had their own careers.
After the New Year, the atmosphere on the streets was much more lively than the previous year. It was evident that there were more people in the streets, and the variety of clothing had increased, moving away from the restrictions of green military outfits and grey or black straight cuts.
Fashion-conscious women began wearing red dresses, showing off their waists and calves, and men started using mousse in their hair, wearing floral shirts and bell-bottoms.
Ye Qiu knew what Chen Wen should do.
In this era of out with the old and in with the new, fashionable clothing was one of the most profitable industries.
Spending nearly two hundred yuan, Ye Qiu brought home a sewing machine. Chen Wen learned tailoring from her master when she was young; although she hadn't had the chance to use these skills since getting married, picking it up again wasn't difficult.
For several days in a row, Ye Qiu did nothing but take his wife and daughter to high-end areas. It wasn't just a frivolous expenditure: the main purpose was to allow Chen Wen to quickly understand what kind of clothes were the most profitable and popular.
Next, they picked out fabrics from various cloth shops. The quality of the material and the color were key, and though the prices weren't cheap, they were within their expectations.
Then came the storefront. Although there wasn't much money left, fortunately, the shop they needed wasn't large. Two streets away from the small courtyard, a commercial street had begun to form. It took Ye Qiu half a month to buy a small storefront of twenty square meters.