TRCT_38

Chapter 38: The Beauty Pageant

In the blink of an eye, it was already late May, and as the weather grew increasingly sweltering day by day, the flies and mosquitoes in the deep alleys and lanes had grown rampant as well.

Yesterday evening, because the shop had been too stuffy and hot, Ji Qingzhou had rolled up his sleeves and trouser legs and sat by the doorway working on the main label of a qipao.

As a result, in just those twenty minutes, both his arms and calves had been bitten with seven or eight large welts, tormenting him considerably.

So this morning, he arrived at the shop carrying a potted night-blooming jasmine under one arm.

This flower had been recommended by the Jie family's gardener, who said that the strong fragrance it gave off when blooming was something mosquitoes greatly disliked and avoided.

Its blooming season was also long, lasting from early summer all the way into autumn. Though it bloomed in the evenings, it kept flowering continuously throughout the whole summer, clearly making it a highly cost-effective mosquito-repelling plant.

After placing the two pots of night-blooming jasmine on either side of the doorway, Ji Qingzhou walked into the shop and replied "morning" to Zhu Renqing, who had greeted him.

Though he said "morning," it truly wasn't all that early anymore—having made a special trip to the French Concession to pick out two pots of lushly growing night-blooming jasmine at the flower shop, by the time he arrived at the shop it was already past ten thirty.

Still, the work schedule for these two days wasn't heavy to begin with, so it didn't matter to ease up a little.

About five days ago, he had already completed the custom order for the black jacquard satin qipao and delivered it to Madam Wang, an old schoolmate of Shen Nanqi's from the past.

And yesterday, Ms. Yang Xinzhi's indigo-blue ramie qipao had already finished being sewn; with one more round of pressing today, it would be complete.

Since time wasn't pressing either way, Ji Qingzhou set down his backpack first and sat in the bamboo lounge chair, planning to rest a bit before starting work.

At this point, Zhu Renqing, holding a sketchbook, crouched down beside him and said: "Sir, Miss Shi came by just now, saying she'd like to have another qipao custom-made. You weren't here, so I showed her this sketchbook, and she picked out this one."

Another qipao...

Ji Qingzhou was just about to sigh, but when he turned to look, he found that what Shi Xuanman had picked out wasn't a classic-style qipao at all, but rather a piece of qipao-style fashion wear.

Or rather, what would later become known as the popular 'new Chinese style' dress of future generations.

In the sketch, only the upper half of the garment resembled the qipao's structure, while the lower half's skirt hem flared into an A-line silhouette, with no side slits.

Since it was a summer style, the sleeves were slightly shorter, three-quarter length, and the collar was neither too high nor too low—a small round collar.

The front piece had bust darts at the sides, with the waist tapered both front and back—none of this was anything out of the ordinary. What was slightly different was that the collar opening used a right-offset closure design, and the buttons used weren't the traditional knotted buttons, but small, smooth, rounded pearl buttons.

The fabric used for the garment body had two layers: the inner layer was a bamboo-green jacquard poplin with slender, elongated bamboo-leaf jacquard patterns, while the outer layer was a flowing, drifting pale jade-green sheer chiffon.

Overall, it was a piece of Chinese-style dress with a unified tone, fresh and relaxed in feel.

He recalled that the last time he'd gone to deliver clothing to Shi Xuanman's home, she'd mentioned wanting another qipao in a more casual style, yet he hadn't expected she'd end up choosing this kind of dress instead.

Credit where credit's due—this young lady's eye was really quite distinctive. Since everyone else had started making the new-style qipao, she'd simply gone one step further, forging her own trend-setting path.

The main fabric for this garment had a sample swatch pasted right onto the page, along with the name of the supplying cloth shop written down—Ji Qingzhou wouldn't need to find someone to custom-order the material, which put his mind quite at ease.

He then asked: "How long a turnaround did you quote?"

"I quoted forty-five days, as you instructed," Zhu Renqing answered earnestly, "Miss Shi has already paid the deposit, two silver dollars. I've put it in the coin box and locked it."

"Alright, got it." Ji Qingzhou nodded, stretched lazily, and stood up, pulling his notebook from the drawer to record the new order onto the production schedule.

Zhu Renqing had no particular tasks of his own today either, and seeing his employer had arrived, he took his cup and went across the way to get him a coffee.

So by the time Ji Qingzhou finished writing up the work plan and closed the notebook, he turned to find a steaming cup of coffee sitting on the table.

Perhaps because he'd been drinking too much of it lately, even the smell of the coffee struck him as a bit nauseating, and so he said: "I forgot to mention it earlier, I meant to tell you not to buy me coffee today. But since it's already been made, if you're willing, why don't you drink it for me instead."

Hearing this, Zhu Renqing was momentarily stunned, but then happily agreed.

Despite having made coffee so many times, he had never once actually tasted this foreign thing himself; in truth, he'd always been quite curious about its flavor.

Since his employer had already said as much, he fetched his own water cup, poured the coffee into it, and took a sip.

That single sip alone was enough to make his brows furrow with bitterness.

Ji Qingzhou drank his coffee without sugar, and when Zhu Renqing had smelled it, he'd only caught its rich, heady aroma, much like the toasty, caramelized scent that often wafted out from candy shops—even if it wasn't sweet, he'd assumed it surely couldn't taste all that bad.

Who would have known that in actual taste it was just like drinking traditional Chinese medicine—bitter and sour both.

Ji Qingzhou caught sight of his expression and couldn't help but laugh: "If you're not used to it, never mind, just set it down."

"It's fine, I'll drink a bit more, and I'll get used to it." Zhu Renqing, brows furrowed, lifted the cup and took another sip.

He recalled that on the café's price list, a cup like this cost three jiao, while back when he'd worked at the match factory, a full day's labor had only earned him three jiao in wages.

Even though it wasn't his own money being spent, he still couldn't bear to pour out something this expensive.

Hearing this, Ji Qingzhou didn't press him further.

He then walked over to the table, plugged in the electric iron, rolled up his sleeves, and began pressing the qipao.

Since ramie fabric was a natural fiber, the ironing temperature shouldn't be too high, or else the garment could easily scorch or lose its shape.

So Ji Qingzhou sprinkled water evenly while pressing quickly, and when necessary, laid down a pressing cloth before gently pressing down, to prevent leaving scorch marks.

By the time the qipao was fully pressed, the time had crept close to noon.

Ji Qingzhou folded the indigo-blue garment neatly, wrapped it carefully in bamboo-hemp paper, tied it with ribbon, and set it on the finished-goods shelf, waiting only until after lunch to have Zhu Renqing make a trip to Hengzheng Bookstore to deliver the garment.

When Yang Xinzhi had placed her order, she hadn't left an address, only her husband's workplace address, saying there was no need for a fitting during the sewing process—just have the garment delivered once finished, and if anything didn't fit properly, she'd bring it back for alterations.

For this reason, Ji Qingzhou had deliberately added a few extra centimeters to all her measurements across the board—after all, it was always easier to alter something down than to fix something too small.

After lunch, Zhu Renqing carried the garment out the door, and Ji Qingzhou gave him four copper coins for travel expenses, so he could take the tram there and back.

With the employee gone, the shop grew considerably quieter all at once.

Ji Qingzhou took his notebook and pencil and sat down by the doorway, resting while letting his thoughts wander idly, jotting down inspirations, sketching and doodling on the paper.

The afternoon atmosphere was languid, and even the breeze that blew in carried a trace of heat.

It wasn't even June yet, and already this hot—once summer properly set in, who knew how one would even get through it.

There was no air conditioning to speak of these days either; at most he could buy an electric fan to put in the shop, but for someone like him who'd once enjoyed the comforts of modern life, that function was really little better than nothing at all...

Thinking of this, Ji Qingzhou had already begun worrying about what his living conditions would be like come July.

He idly sketched out a dress, then closed the notebook, stood up, and took down a delicate, dainty little blue dress from the shelf to begin working on it.

Without a doubt, this milk-blue dress was precisely the one he'd promised to make for Jie Linglong.

Since it was meant to be worn by a child, Ji Qingzhou had designed the dress with an adorable sailor collar, sewn from double-layered chiffon that was both soft and had good drape, with the collar's edges bound in a narrow matching-colored ribbon.

He'd also considered that as the weather grew hotter, a child running around would sweat quite a bit, so the lining used was a light, breathable pale blue plain-weave fine cloth.

As for the outer layer fabric, needless to say, it was naturally the pale blue chiffon he'd purchased last time at Taiming Xiang in Suzhou.

The sleeves were double-layered sheer long lantern sleeves, while the skirt itself was a fully pleated, three-tiered full puffy umbrella skirt, with the hem also bound in matching-colored ribbon.

The collar was paired with a blue silk triangular scarf, while small bow accents were added at the cuffs, and a wide, long satin sash was sewn at the waist, which could be tied into a large bow at the back.

All in all, it was a dress brimming with fairy-tale elements and a dreamy atmosphere.

The dress was essentially finished; all that remained was to sew on the front-center buttons, then give it one more pressing, and it would be complete.

Just as he'd threaded his needle and was about to begin hand-sewing the buttons, a soft, clear woman's voice came from outside the door, asking: "Is the owner in?"

Ji Qingzhou turned to look, and saw a young woman standing in the doorway, dressed in a pale purple civilized new-style outfit, with a long braid hanging down over her chest.

"That's me." Ji Qingzhou gave her a quick, unobtrusive once-over, then asked: "Looking to have something made?"

The woman seemed somewhat taken aback, staring for a few seconds at the needle and thread in his hand and the dress, before she believed he really was the owner of this tailor shop, and replied: "I'd like to have a Western-style dress made, one as fashionable as possible. Can you do that here?"

Rare indeed—someone not here to order a qipao...

Ji Qingzhou's interest was immediately piqued, and he quickly stood up, set aside what he'd been working on, and pulled out the client information book to ask: "May I have your surname?"

"My surname is Jin." The woman stepped into the shop, answering as she glanced around at the shop's furnishings, her gaze finally settling on Ji Qingzhou's face, the corner of her mouth curling slightly into a smile.

"Miss Jin, is this Western dress meant for everyday wear, or is there a specific occasion in mind—attending a banquet, perhaps?"

"I need to wear it for a photograph." After hesitating for a few seconds, the woman spoke plainly: "I'm entering the 'Miss Fragrant Nation' beauty pageant, you must have heard of that competition."

"You mean the one where people vote based on photos printed in the newspaper?"

"Exactly that one. I want to secure a good ranking, which means the photograph I submit is especially important. The Western dresses available at the photo studios have all been worn to death already, I need a dress novel and fashionable enough. Are you certain you can manage it?"

"A fashionable style is no problem," Ji Qingzhou said, brow furrowing slightly, with some hesitation, "But doesn't that competition start early next month? Would you have enough time if you start now?"

"If you can have the garment ready for me within five days, then I'll have enough time."

He should have known...

Ji Qingzhou pressed his lips together and asked: "What's your budget? I'll state upfront—completing it within five days requires a rush fee, and the rush fee is one yuan."

This was a rule he'd added after finishing that order for He Lu, precisely to guard against this kind of jump-the-queue rush order.

Upon hearing there'd be an extra charge, Jin Bao'er's brow furrowed slightly, but after a moment's hesitation, her expression smoothed out again.

Being a woman from a brothel household, she didn't have much in the way of savings—every penny had to be carefully rationed in ordinary times.

However, once her adoptive mother had learned she was entering this beauty pageant, she had, rarely enough, been generous for once, stuffing a red envelope into her hands before she left the house, telling her to buy herself a fine outfit.

After all, so long as she could place in the top three of the pageant, the whole brothel's business would benefit accordingly, which was very much to her adoptive mother's advantage as well.

The red envelope the madam had stuffed her with held eight silver dollars—for a woman as habitually stingy as her adoptive mother, that was no small sum at all.

Jin Bao'er had originally planned to go straight to a Western clothing shop and buy something ready-made, but wanting to save money, on her way to Tongfu Road she'd passed by this shop, seen the sign advertising a women's Western-style dress for a mere three yuan in making fees, and the idea had struck her that saving herself one or two yuan would be nice too.

So after thinking it over for a moment, she replied: "Six yuan, then. Including the rush fee, six yuan is the most I can accept."

"Alright." Ji Qingzhou nodded, then asked further: "Do you have any requirements regarding the style or degree of exposure for the dress? Is it acceptable to show the arms, calves, and so on?"

"That's fine, as long as the dress is fashionable and pretty enough. But it's best not to be too revealing either, or else it might not get published in the paper."

Ji Qingzhou let out an imperceptible breath of relief—this order, though not making him much money, at least meant he wouldn't need to hold back when designing the dress.

"Alright, Miss Jin, I'll draw up a design sketch for the Western dress tonight. Around nine or ten tomorrow morning, if it's convenient for you, you're welcome to come by and see whether you're satisfied with the design, I can offer one free revision."

Jin Bao'er blinked, taken aback, feeling quite surprised inwardly.

She'd had clothes custom-made at tailor shops before, but at most she'd pick a fabric and describe what she wanted, leaving the rest entirely to the tailor's own judgment.

But to have the tailor first draw up a sketch before even starting the work, for her to discuss and choose the style from—this was the first time she'd ever encountered such a thing.

Perhaps it was just how Western dress commissions worked?

Seeing she didn't speak, Ji Qingzhou continued: "Also, remember to give me your body measurements when the time comes. As for exactly which measurements are needed, I'll list them out for you in a moment. If there's nothing else, please pay a two-yuan deposit plus the one-yuan rush fee first."

Jin Bao'er blinked and asked: "Won't you be the one taking my measurements?"

Having lived in the Republican era for so long now, Ji Qingzhou had grown accustomed to habitually avoiding any physical contact with women he didn't know.

Hearing this, worried he might have caused offense, he saw that the woman's expression genuinely seemed indifferent to the matter, and only then nodded and said: "If you don't mind, then of course I can."

"It's just taking measurements, what's there to mind." Jin Bao'er pressed her lips together in a smile, then took out a small embroidered silk pouch, counted out three silver dollars from inside, and handed them to him.

Ji Qingzhou took the silver dollars and was about to put them in the drawer when he suddenly noticed a small card tucked in among them.

It was a small square cut from red paper, carrying a faint scent of face powder, finely made, with the characters "Jin Bao'er, Third Road" written on it in brush calligraphy.

"I'm generally free from noon until midnight," Jin Bao'er said, raising her eyes with a hint of a smile as she looked at him, "If you should ever have need of me, you can send an errand boy with word, and I'll come."

Ji Qingzhou truly hadn't expected that her line of business might extend even to a tailor like himself.

The card in his hand suddenly felt rather hot to hold—awkward either to keep or to refuse. After a few seconds of silence, he said politely: "I'll hold onto the card. Nothing else will be necessary though."

The moment Jin Bao'er saw his reserved, awkward demeanor, she knew at once he was a proper, upstanding man—likely someone who had never once called for such company, and perhaps had never even set foot in those little lanes off Third Road.

She let out a light chuckle, then said in earnest: "Boss, do you have a card of your own? If you do, why not give me one—if you do good work, I'll gladly bring my sisters here often to have clothes made."

This was actually something Ji Qingzhou needed quite a bit. Though he wasn't short of custom orders at the moment, once he expanded the shop later on, the more customers the better, without question.

As for what Jin Bao'er's identity or occupation was, he honestly didn't care—either way, it was simply a tailor-and-customer relationship, and he wasn't some celebrity with a constant presence in the papers, so he had no fear of any scandal getting out.

Hearing this, he pulled a business card from the drawer and handed it over.

T/N;

1). 'In the sketch, only the upper half of the garment resembled the qipao's structure, while the lower half's skirt hem flared into an A-line silhouette, with no side slits', 'Since it was a summer style, the sleeves were slightly shorter, three-quarter length, and the collar was neither too high nor too low—a small round collar', 'The front piece had bust darts at the sides, with the waist tapered both front and back—none of this was anything out of the ordinary. What was slightly different was that the collar opening used a right-offset closure design, and the buttons used weren't the traditional knotted buttons, but small, smooth, rounded pearl buttons', 'The fabric used for the garment body had two layers: the inner layer was a bamboo-green jacquard poplin with slender, elongated bamboo-leaf jacquard patterns, while the outer layer was a flowing, drifting pale jade-green sheer chiffon', and 'Overall, it was a piece of Chinese-style dress with a unified tone, fresh and relaxed in feel'. The following are sketch and dress generated by AI based on the description for reference:

2). 'milk-blue dress', 'worn by a child, 'with an adorable sailor collar, sewn from double-layered chiffon that was both soft and had good drape, with the collar's edges bound in a narrow matching-colored ribbon', 'the lining used was a light, breathable pale blue plain-weave fine cloth', 'As for the outer layer fabric, needless to say, it was naturally the pale blue chiffon', 'The sleeves were double-layered sheer long lantern sleeves, while the skirt itself was a fully pleated, three-tiered full puffy umbrella skirt, with the hem also bound in matching-colored ribbon', 'The collar was paired with a blue silk triangular scarf, while small bow accents were added at the cuffs, and a wide, long satin sash was sewn at the waist, which could be tied into a large bow at the back', 'All in all, it was a dress brimming with fairy-tale elements and a dreamy atmosphere', and 'all that remained was to sew on the front-center buttons, then give it one more pressing, and it would be complete'. The following are sketch and dress generated by AI based on the description for reference:

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