The girls felt that this was also a viable path.
After all, they were all from the countryside and wouldn't be too concerned about losing face.
Was face better than making money?
Of course not!
Since they had thought of a way to make their lives a little better in the future, and they genuinely wanted to give the children at the orphanage some candy and melon seeds as a token of their affection.
The girls happily went out shopping.
It had to be said that the festive atmosphere of the New Year was truly overwhelming.
Su Xiaotian watched the crowded streets, then looked at the throngs of people at every stall, finding it all very interesting.
Indeed, people's conditions were much better now than two years ago.
Moreover, the most important thing was that they no longer needed coupons to buy things; as long as they had money, they could buy.
This was also a major factor stimulating consumption.
"Xiaotian, look, so many people!"
"Jianhong, there are so many more people here than in our village," Qian Xiaobei said, excitedly pulling Li Jianhong's hand.
Qi Xiaofang didn't speak, but her surprise was evident in her eyes.
Everyone knew that Beijing was crowded, but they had never spent the New Year in Beijing before, so they didn't realize that during the New Year, it would become so crowded that people were packed shoulder to shoulder.
"Can we push our way through?" Su Xiaotian began to doubt if she had the ability to forge a path through such a crowd to select some items.
Although their home lacked nothing, since they were out shopping, they had to come away with something to make the trip worthwhile.
Even if it was just to bring back three catties of melon seeds and two catties of walnuts.
"No problem, as long as we don't get separated," Li Jianhong said confidently.
If Li Jianhong was confident, then naturally, the others were too.
After exchanging glances, the group began their charge to purchase New Year's goods.
The first stall they pushed their way into was selling fish.
The girls looked at each other, having wasted their effort.
They had already prepared fish, so there was no need to buy more.
The second stall they squeezed into was selling fried dough twists.
Although these fried dough twists were made well, Su Xiaotian firmly believed that they were not as good as Grandma Su's, so they had come away empty-handed again.
The third stall was selling hair clips and small accessories.
The various colorful accessories looked very good, and the dazzling array was quite eye-catching.
"Jianhong, shall we each buy a hair clip?" Qi Xiaofang asked.
It was clear that these colorful hair clips had sparked a desire to spend in the beauty-conscious girls.
Su Xiaotian immediately agreed.
Compared to later times, these hair accessories were not considered beautiful, but in this era, they were fashionable.
The girls immediately began to choose, and in the end, they not only picked out their own but also chose small gifts for the other three roommates in the dormitory.
Su Xiaotian additionally selected three hair ties suitable for young girls, intending to give them to the children at the orphanage.
Li Jianhong insisted on paying herself, saying it was her small gift to everyone.
Qi Xiaofang immediately declared that she would give everyone a bracelet.
However, Su Xiaotian refused.
Su Xiaotian said, "Let's find colorful threads at other stalls. We can weave our own bracelets, and they'll look even better than these."
Looking at the bracelets woven from colorful threads, Su Xiaotian felt that her own craftsmanship was definitely superior.
"Then I'll buy the colorful threads!" Qi Xiaofang immediately said.
But after saying this, she felt she might be overdoing it a bit.
Spending a little money to buy colorful threads, how could that express her sincerity?
But Su Xiaotian had already happily agreed.
Although they had only spent a little money on a pile of flashy but not very practical items, the girls were in a particularly good mood because of the shopping trip.
Li Jianhong even hummed a New Year's folk song from her hometown.
In fact, for the girls, this was a rare and valuable shopping experience.
Since childhood, they hadn't had much money to buy hair accessories.
As country folk, with a practical spirit, they only bought useful items.
Hair accessories were not needed; a piece of red yarn was enough for the New Year.
Bracelets?
What were those?
By the time the girls could no longer walk, they each had quite a few things in their hands, some for the orphanage children, and some for themselves.
There were also some gifts for the elderly couple at the Su family's home, which the three girls felt a bit embarrassed not to buy, as they were staying with the Su family for the New Year.
Although none of them were valuable items, they at least expressed their sincerity.
Su Xiaotian knew that the money spent by the three girls, divided equally, wouldn't be too much for each of them, so she didn't refuse.
The group did not return to Yiming Pavilion but went directly back to the Su family's home.
They were exhausted and just wanted to lie on the bed without moving.
However, the items they bought had to be sorted and put away properly.
"Xiaotian, you still have to teach us how to weave bracelets," Qi Xiaofang said, even though she was very tired, she was more interested in weaving bracelets.
Everyone else's gifts were already finished, but her gift to everyone was still just colorful threads and beads, and if they didn't hurry, they wouldn't be able to wear them by New Year's.
"Shall we rest for a bit, and then eat something to replenish our energy before we tackle this, Xiaofang?"
She felt she had good stamina, but when it came to shopping, she seemed to have no talent.
The people who were clearly inferior to her in physical exercise could actually shop more than her.
After resting for a while, the girls felt a little better.
Su Xiaotian then took out some fruit for everyone to eat.
Qi Xiaofang hurriedly bit into an apple and immediately took out the colorful threads to start fiddling with them.
Su Xiaotian thought about the myriad of patterns in later generations, which were much prettier than these.
She taught the three girls three patterns and then let them use their creativity.
It had to be said that the three girls were all dexterous, and in a short while, each of them had woven a decent-looking bracelet.
"I think we can weave some bracelets to sell at school," Qi Xiaofang said excitedly.
At this point, she was taking Su Xiaotian's words and applying them in a new way, and she felt that this would be more profitable than wholesaling small accessories.
After all, the cost was lower.
A moment later, she remembered that the skill was Su Xiaotian's, so she asked Su Xiaotian again, "Xiaotian, can we use the skills you taught us to make money?"
"As long as you don't find it troublesome or tiring. Moreover, I think you can not only weave bracelets to sell at school but also make hair accessories."
Su Xiaotian picked up a few hair accessories that they had chosen on the street today and looked at them closely.
"We can't possibly make flowers like these!" Li Jianhong gave in first.
"It's actually not difficult; it's quite simple," Su Xiaotian said. She took out some scrap cloth from her own cabinet, then selected two suitable pieces, cut them, and began to thread the needle.
The girls were stunned. Su Xiaotian knew how to sew?
Actually, they misunderstood. Su Xiaotian did know how to sew, but she wasn't particularly good at it.
However, making a few hair accessories didn't require very advanced skills; a simple coarse needle and thread would suffice, and the key was the technique.