There were all sorts of things, but most required coupons. The situation wasn't as dire as it had been a couple of years prior, and occasionally there were special offers and big brands from major cities. While no coupons were needed, the prices were sky-high, generally deterring most people.
The two sisters-in-law first went to the area marked "Daily Necessities" and bought some sewing supplies. Chen Lishu noticed soap, toothbrushes, and towels for sale, but since she had no coupons, she had to pay the inflated price of five yuan for them.
The three items combined cost five yuan, and they weren't even things that provided sustenance. This made Zhang Qin gasp slightly. However, she could also see that Chen Lishu was a decisive person and didn't say much.
Finally, the two stopped at the fabric section.
"Comrade, how much is that dark blue fabric?" Zhang Qin glanced and, aside from black, directly chose the deepest color in the plain twill fabric.
At this time, there weren't many vibrant colors in fabrics; the colors were very uniform. Black, gray, and blue were the three most common colors. If someone managed to wear a military uniform, it was definitely the most striking sight on the street.
The salesclerk glanced at the two of them with half-closed eyes and said impatiently, "Eight mao per chi, plus one chi of fabric coupons."
It wasn't expensive, but the key was that she only had half a chi of fabric coupons. After hesitating for a long time, Zhang Qin took out her coupons and money from her pocket and said, "Comrade, please give me half a chi of fabric."
"You don't have money and you're out buying things!" the salesclerk said impatiently, turned around, picked up the fabric, didn't use a ruler, just a glance, and tore off a piece.
"You're selling things too, even if you have money," Chen Lishu said to the salesclerk after seeing Zhang Qin receive the fabric, giving her a sharp retort.
"What kind of talk is that?" The salesclerk slapped the counter. Her demeanor was quite intimidating.
Chen Lishu replied with a blank expression, "Speak human words to humans, and ghost words to ghosts."
They were salesclerks. Zhang Qin was a bit intimidated and pulled her, "Forget it, forget it. We've bought the fabric."
"Special offer fabric, thick velvet from Shanghai, two yuan per chi without coupons," another salesclerk suddenly shouted loudly, and many people gathered.
"Let's go, let's go see too."
Chen Lishu ignored the salesclerk, whose eyes were bulging like a goldfish in anger, and followed Zhang Qin over.
"This fabric is really beautiful."
Zhang Qin looked at the fabric the salesclerk was holding, which seemed to ripple like wheat fields in the wind when it swayed. She couldn't help but sigh.
Chen Lishu had seen many beautiful fabrics in her later life and wasn't particularly impressed by this one. Besides, at two yuan per chi, a piece of clothing would cost nearly ten yuan. For someone who only had forty-five yuan in total at the time, it was too extravagant.
"Third sister-in-law, look at those two women's hair, it's so beautiful."
Suddenly Zhang Qin leaned close to her ear and whispered, her eyes filled with envy.
Chen Lishu followed her gaze and saw two fashionably dressed women in the crowd. One had large curls. The other, with long hair, had bangs and pigtails on both sides tied with two floral handkerchiefs. It was very different from the uniform braided or center-parted styles of those around them.
"It's indeed quite special." By later-life standards, it wasn't exactly beautiful, but it was definitely unique.
It was already 1975, and 1976 was fast approaching. The criticism of bourgeois ideology wasn't as intense as in previous years. Especially among urban workers, women were relatively independent and cared more about their attire and were more open.
Chen Lishu looked at the two floral handkerchiefs on the woman's braids for a long time, and then suddenly remembered something.
In her previous life, not long after she married Lu Chengming, due to limited resources and the inability to afford fabric, she once encountered someone secretly selling fabric scraps. Although they were scraps, they were cheap and didn't require fabric coupons. She bought some and later pieced together a piece of clothing for Lu Chengming.
Unfortunately, he disliked wearing patchwork clothes and eventually threw it into a corner to be stored away.
Later, when she moved to the city, she encountered similar sales of fabric scraps. Once, during a casual chat, she learned that they were bought at a low price from garment factories.
The quality and colors of the fabric scraps were mixed and messy, making it difficult to piece together a piece of clothing. But she could use them to make hair accessories, sewing them into the style of hair scrunchies popular in later years.
At this time, rubber bands weren't the finished products they would become later; they were sold by the chi, costing only a few fen per chi.
The cost was low, and the hair accessories were simple. Selling them for two mao each, while more expensive than red hair ties, was prettier and more practical. She figured someone would buy them.
The more she thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed. So, she took Zhang Qin out of the department store and found an opportunity to share her thoughts.
If she wanted to do business in the future, she couldn't hide it from the Gu family. This was a test. Zhang Qin was always cautious; if she could accept it, then others should be able to as well.
Zhang Qin listened to her words and didn't object, but she worried, "Third sister-in-law, will this be alright? Isn't this speculation and profiteering?"
"If they can sell them, we won't be the first. It should be fine. Besides, even if we don't sell hair accessories, we can use the fabric scraps to piece together schoolbags or clothes for the children."
When Zhang Qin heard her say she'd make things for the children, she felt a pang of emotion. Her three children, especially the two youngest, had never worn new clothes. They all wore hand-me-downs altered from their older siblings or the eldest's cast-offs. Gu Pan, the third child, was a girl. However, due to the poor conditions, they didn't fuss too much, but as a mother, it always felt a bit unpleasant.
"It's still early, I'll go with you, third sister-in-law."
Seeing that she agreed, Chen Lishu happily grabbed her and headed towards the Qingshan Garment Factory.
Passing by a supply and marketing cooperative on the way, Chen Lishu specifically went in to buy a pack of cigarettes for fifty fen.
Zhang Qin was puzzled, "Third sister-in-law, what are you buying this for?"
"Besides long-time employees, the gatekeepers know the situation at a factory best. If we buy them a pack of cigarettes, it'll be easier to talk."
Zhang Qin was truly shocked this time. She had already spent fifty fen before even buying anything. If they couldn't buy anything, that would be fifty fen down the drain! But since the money had already been spent, there was nothing more she could say, so she reluctantly walked with her.
The two soon arrived at the Qingshan Garment Factory. At this time, the factory workers were all in the workshops. As soon as they reached the entrance, an old man with a tall, thin frame, wearing reading glasses, came out of the gatehouse. "Who are you two comrades looking for?"
Chen Lishu didn't dare to directly ask about buying fabric scraps, so she first tested the waters, saying, "Hello, Grandpa, we're from Xia Tou Village. Our families are not well-off, and we don't have fabric coupons, so we wanted to ask if the factory can sell fabric."
The old man sized them up. They were indeed quite raggedly dressed, with many patches on their clothes. However, he could see the clarity in their eyes and knew they weren't troublemakers. He kindly advised, "Where did you hear about selling fabric? This is a garment factory; making clothes has quotas."
Seeing that he didn't outright refuse, Chen Lishu deliberately showed a hint of disappointment, "If there's no fabric, even scraps would do. It's almost the New Year, and everyone else has new clothes."
Upon hearing her mention fabric scraps, the gatekeeper's eyes flickered.