trct_47

Chapter 47: Settlement

Since he'd caught a ride with Shen Nanqi, Ji Qingzhou arrived half an hour earlier than planned—just past eight-thirty, he had already reached the Lu residence.

Ji Qingzhou had long since heard of Lu Xueying's father, Lu Shunxing, a rather powerful and well-known figure in political circles. Though the Lu family residence couldn't compare to the grandeur of the Jie residence, it could still be called magnificent and elegant.

Since he'd arrived too early, once he entered, the servant first showed him up to the second-floor parlor, saying the young lady and her mother were still having breakfast, and asked him to wait a while.

Given that he himself had come early, Ji Qingzhou had no complaints about this at all, and settled in contentedly, eating the nuts and pastries on the table, drinking hot tea, and waiting on the sofa.

The daylight on this rainy day was dim, but the parlor, papered in ginger-yellow wallpaper, was lit with bright lamps, its light clear and radiant.

Beyond the arched black-lacquered lattice windows, a fine, unceasing drizzle drifted on and on, strings of water droplets sliding down the glass, reflecting the amber glow of the room's chandelier, sparkling and gleaming.

After waiting roughly twenty minutes or so, Chen Yanzhu and her daughter finally arrived, right on time.

Two other ladies came along with them. One had a round, full face with delicate, pretty features, wearing a blue plaid Western-style dress, with a pair of mid-heel T-strap leather shoes on her feet. Her smile was lively and charming, bearing some resemblance to Lu Xueying.

The other wore a somewhat old-fashioned wide-sleeved long robe, her hair coiled up, with short, blunt bangs. Her appearance was gentle and refined, giving the first impression of being demure and composed.

"This is my younger sister, Chen Mengyi." Chen Yanzhu first gestured toward the gentle lady in the old-style long robe, then indicated the other, more fashionable woman:

"This is Xueying's aunt, my husband's younger sister, Lu Zhuangqing. Normally, one of them lives in Hangzhou and the other in Nanjing. To celebrate Xueying's coming-of-age ceremony, they came to Shanghai a few days early to visit, and hearing that Mr. Ji is quite skilled at making fashionable new clothes, they tagged along to have a look."

Lu Zhuangqing looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, evidently of a cheerful, outgoing disposition. Hearing this, she burst out laughing and said, "It's only after coming to Shanghai that I realized the fashionable ladies these days aren't wearing Western dresses anymore, they've switched to the new-style qipao instead.

"I'm quite the trend-chaser myself, so I hurried off to a tailor I know to have one made. But then I heard from Xueying that this new-style qipao was originally made by Mr. Ji for Mrs. Jie."

"Oh, that's not quite right, actually. It was made by a craftsman at Yuxiang, I merely suggested the idea to my aunt."

"No need to be modest. I already heard about your skills from my sister-in-law long ago. Xueying's birthday gown was originally already settled, but the moment she saw your sketch, she switched over right away, it must be tremendously beautiful. I simply must get a look at it later."

Please don't heap any more praise on me... Ji Qingzhou thought inwardly.

To change the subject, he lifted the large gift box and handed it to Lu Xueying, saying, "The whole set is here. Go try it on, and if anything doesn't fit quite right, I'll make the alterations."

As Lu Xueying took the gift box, she let out a light exclamation: "It's a bit heavy."

"The fabric itself is quite light, but given how much material was used, it's bound to be a little heavy," Ji Qingzhou explained, specifically worried she might mistakenly think he'd used inferior material.

Lu Xueying had long been curious what her finished gown looked like, and upon taking it, opened the lid right then and there to peek inside. Lifting the lid, she found the garment wrapped in an additional layer of paper, tied with a gold ribbon bow.

Not bothering to unwrap it further, she asked, "Wrapped this tightly, it looks rather grand. Can I put this on by myself?"

"I'll help you put it on. Mengyi, you look after our guests."

Chen Yanzhu was, in truth, quite curious herself about how skilled Ji Qingzhou's work was. Having given her sister this instruction, she rose and took her daughter to the bedroom to try on the gown.

Almost as soon as mother and daughter had stepped out, Lu Zhuangqing's eyes lit up, and she asked impatiently, "Mr. Ji is building his career alone in Shanghai these days, isn't he? Has an engagement been settled yet?"

Ji Qingzhou hadn't expected her to open with such a gossipy question, and laughed helplessly. "I'm already married."

"Married this early? Looking at you, I'd have guessed twenty-one or twenty-two at most."

To a man who'd already been a corporate wage-slave for several years, this could be considered rather high praise indeed.

"Thank you for the compliment, but actually..." Ji Qingzhou did a quick calculation in his head, then said, "I was born in the year '92."

"Ninety-two! Then you really do look quite young for your age." Lu Zhuangqing felt a quiet pang of regret.

1892—three years older than her, a fitting enough age gap. And on top of that, he was Shen Nanqi's nephew, so his family background was decent enough too.

Though tailoring as a profession didn't sound like it had much of a future, his looks were exceptional all the same, and a man who could give her such a favorable impression at first sight was truly rare.

Just moments ago, she'd nearly gotten as far as picking out names for future children, only to find out the man was already married.

Lu Zhuangqing pondered this, stealing another glance or two at Ji Qingzhou's bright, spirited eyes, and couldn't help sighing inwardly once more—what a pity...

Chen Mengyi, of course, understood full well the purpose behind her sister-in-law's questions.

Though she felt that for her sister-in-law to probe so boldly into a strange man's private affairs was frankly frivolous and forward, utterly lacking the reserve and dignity befitting a proper young lady, Lu Zhuangqing was, after all, the sister of this household's master, and she wasn't really in a position to stop her.

So once there was a brief lull in their conversation, she immediately cut in to change the subject: "Mr. Ji, in your opinion, if I wanted to have a new-style qipao made, what color and style would suit me best?"

Ji Qingzhou held his teacup, looked her over briefly, and said, "That depends on what sort of look you're going for. There are many styles of qipao, but most of them would suit a mature woman like yourself quite well. As long as you avoid colors that are overly aged or overly gaudy, you're free to experiment according to your own taste."

Chen Mengyi had only asked this offhandedly to change the subject, having no particular interest in novel fashions herself.

But a woman always harbors some measure of longing for beautiful clothes, and hearing him offer such encouragement now, she couldn't help feeling a stir of eagerness to try.

She soon asked, "Do you happen to have any free time recently? I don't know many tailors in Shanghai, why don't I just have one made here with you?"

In her view, a tailor who'd caught the eye of her exacting elder sister-in-law must have some genuine skill; even ordering blind, the odds of it turning out badly seemed slim.

"My schedule isn't completely full at the moment, but it would still take at least ten to twenty days at the least. You won't be staying here too long, will you?"

Hearing this, Chen Mengyi immediately found it troublesome, and began to have second thoughts.

Seeing her hesitate, Lu Zhuangqing chimed in, "No trouble at all. Once it's done, just send it straight here, and I'll have my sister-in-law mail it to you."

"That would work." Chen Mengyi nodded and said, "Then leave me an address later. I'll go pick out a fabric at your shop."

She had apparently taken Ji Qingzhou's shop for a large-scale fashion house like Yuxiang, assuming it would have a wide selection of fabrics to choose from.

Ji Qingzhou felt too embarrassed to admit his shop had no fabric selection to offer, and after a moment's thought, said, "Why don't we do this instead—once I've finished the fitting for Miss Lu, you find me some paper and a pen, and I'll sketch out a design on the spot according to your preferences. If you're satisfied with it, just give me your measurements, and there'll be no need for you to make another trip."

Could it really be done that way?

This was truly Chen Mengyi's first encounter with a tailor who designed clothes for someone on the spot like this.

On one hand, she felt this young man's ideas were rather flashy and unconventional, and worried whether he might not be entirely reliable; on the other hand, she also felt this seemed rather impressive... After a moment's hesitation, she said, "You need paper and a pen, is that right? There's some in the next room, why don't I go fetch it for you now?"

As she spoke, she was just about to rise when the wooden door of the parlor opened from outside. First came Chen Yanzhu, her face full of smiles, followed by Lu Xueying, now changed into the gown.

Moments ago, Lu Xueying's hair had been half-loose, but now, to better highlight the gown's halter-neck design, she had specially pinned her long hair up atop her head, revealing her slender, fair neck.

She walked gracefully into the room wearing the smoky-purple off-shoulder gown, the dark gold silk shawl draped casually over both arms. As she moved, the hem trimmed with gold satin edging bounced lightly, her fragrant shoulders and slender waist coming into view and vanishing by turns—possessing both a young girl's prettiness and, layered atop it, a mature woman's alluring softness.

"Oh my, my little niece, how did you suddenly turn into such an elegant beauty? Is this really you?"

The moment Lu Zhuangqing caught sight of Lu Xueying entering, she immediately rose and walked over, admiring her outfit up close.

"This dress really is gorgeous. The hem extends in layer upon layer, blooming like a flower. No wonder you all wanted to switch gowns, it's truly stunning..."

If, a moment ago, her compliments toward Ji Qingzhou had merely been meant to catch his attention, now, having seen the gown in full with her own eyes, Lu Zhuangqing's opinion of his profession's prospects shifted at once.

Was this even tailoring anymore? This was an artist creating beauty!

"Does Auntie mean I wasn't elegant enough before?" Lu Xueying raised her eyebrows and tilted her head for a moment, making a somewhat childish little gesture, then immediately pressed her lips into a smile and returned to standing elegantly.

"Do you think your auntie doesn't know what a willful little thing you used to be?"

Lu Zhuangqing gave a light snort, and said in a teasing tone, "Your father has complained to me more than once, saying of all people, why did you have to take after me, your auntie, and that I'd taught you bad habits. Talk about a grave injustice, has he ever stopped to think about who raised the two of us in the first place? Shouldn't he be reflecting on himself instead?"

Lu Xueying chimed in her agreement: "Exactly the point."

She then walked slowly over to the tea table and looked at Ji Qingzhou, asking, "Mr. Ji, do you think this suits me? Why do I keep feeling like there's some difference from the sketch? Is it because I'm not tall enough?"

"The body proportions in the sketch are exaggerated for effect. For a real person to pull off the look you have right now is already quite good. Later on, you can pair it with a matching pair of high heels, pink or gold would both work. Good shoes will make the whole look more harmonious and beautiful," Ji Qingzhou said honestly.

He was fairly satisfied with how the gown looked on Lu Xueying, and was relieved she'd ended up choosing this set.

Lu Xueying wasn't actually thin in build, but because of her small frame and sweet features, she gave off a visual impression of being petite and delicate.

Compared to that grand, ornate black-lotus gown, this set's style really did suit her better.

Chen Yanzhu had been watching them the whole while without speaking. Earlier, while helping her daughter into the gown, she had already been struck by its beauty, and now, gazing at this scene, she suddenly felt a pang of sentiment.

The daughter she had doted on and raised in the palm of her hand was, after all, about to come of age. Wearing this gown, she now looked every bit the grown woman, fully capable of coming and going in society on her own.

"Does the fit work? While there's still time to make changes, speak up if there's an issue," Ji Qingzhou said next.

"Hmm... the hem is a little long at the back, but shortening it probably wouldn't look as good..."

Lu Xueying looked down at the hem, considered for a few seconds, then said briskly, "It's fine, let's just leave it as is. I'll be wearing heels for the occasion anyway."

Hearing her say this, Ji Qingzhou couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.

With this order wrapped up, it meant he could rest for a few days.

Just as he was thinking this optimistically, a notebook and a fountain pen suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Chen Mengyi, who had still been somewhat undecided earlier, upon seeing how beautifully Lu Xueying's gown had turned out, couldn't help but admit—even though the trendy style wasn't something she herself could embrace—that the garment was dazzlingly beautiful.

A tailor with both refined taste and superior skill was hard to come by, so she made up her mind and went to the next room to fetch paper and pen.

"Mengyi, what's this for?" Chen Yanzhu looked at her composed, steady younger sister with some confusion.

Chen Mengyi smiled faintly, "Oh, I was just talking with Mr. Ji, I've decided to have a new-style qipao made here. He said he could sketch one out for me on the spot, so I wouldn't need to make another trip."

"I see. But will Mr. Ji have time to make it?"

On the surface, Chen Yanzhu was asking whether her sister's dress could be finished before they left Shanghai, but in truth, she was worried he might drag out the schedule for her own gray gown for too long.

"We've already discussed that too. It'll be sent to Sister's place first, and you can mail it to me whenever you have time."

"Well... alright then." Chen Yanzhu hesitated a moment before agreeing.

She then turned to Ji Qingzhou, as if casually, "Mr. Ji, since Xueying's gown is settled, we can finalize the balance now. If I recall, the deposit was ten yuan, and there's still fifty-eight yuan owed, correct? Plus the ten-yuan deposit for my own gown, I'll bring it all over to you shortly."

I haven't even quoted a price yet, how have you already decided it's a ten-yuan deposit...

As Ji Qingzhou took the paper and pen, he hesitated for a few seconds, then decided to clarify the pricing now: "For your gown—the bodice, skirt, shawl, and gloves—the total custom price for these four pieces comes to eighty-eight yuan. If you want to add the hat as well, the price could get quite steep.

"You should still remember that little silk hat, the one inlaid with feathers and a great many gemstones. Of course, we could also use similarly-effective but cheaper composite gemstones or semi-precious stones instead, or even glass. What exactly to use depends on your budget."

Hearing this, Chen Yanzhu found herself, unusually, somewhat torn—not because she was reluctant to spend the money, but because, compared to decorating a hat with precious gemstones, she'd rather have those jewels made into a necklace or brooch to wear instead.

Since everyone in the room was family, she didn't need to worry about keeping up appearances, and so said directly, "It's something I'll only wear once or twice, no need for anything especially precious in the way of gemstones. Just find stones that come close to the effect in the sketch. But absolutely no glass, that's too cheap-looking. I can accept the hat's price being kept under eighty yuan."

Ji Qingzhou committed her requirements to memory and said, "Alright. Then a fifty-yuan deposit, with a one-month turnaround, would that work?"

A fifty-yuan deposit was somewhat on the high side, but considering the materials for making the hat were fairly costly, Chen Yanzhu could understand it.

As for the one-month turnaround, that was also a normal requirement for an individual tailoring shop, and besides, the ball she was to attend was in early August—it was only late June now, so there was certainly enough time.

Thinking this over, she nodded and said "Alright" in a light tone, then took Lu Xueying back to her room to change out of the gown.

Once mother and daughter had left again, Ji Qingzhou sat back down on the sofa, flipping open the blank notebook and uncapping the fountain pen, while looking at the other Ms. Chen and asking, "What's your occupation? What colors do you prefer? What style?"

"I don't have an occupation. If I had to say something, I occasionally write poetry drafts to send to newspapers," Chen Mengyi answered, though unsure of the purpose behind his question. "As for color, I like understated, elegant tones—some small patterns are fine, but overall I'd prefer something leaning classical and traditional..."

As Ji Qingzhou listened to her description, he quickly sketched a tall, slender model onto the page.

After a brief moment of thought, he sketched a long qipao with a full front opening and bust darts but no waist darts, only a slight waist-nipping effect.

"Summer's here now, so how about slightly shorter sleeves, reaching to about the middle of the forearm? Would that be acceptable?"

"That should be fine... it's not really an issue."

Ji Qingzhou then, drawing on his memory of the fabric swatches he'd cut before, picked out a pattern that matched her preferences, sketching in faint hints of coin-link motifs across the qipao.

In under ten minutes, a relatively complete design was finished. Ji Qingzhou handed it to Chen Mengyi and explained, "The fabric's pattern effect would look roughly like what's shown here, the print is fairly light. As for the color, the base would be pine green, with the print in moon-white."

Lu Zhuangqing, who had been sitting on the other sofa, grew quite curious upon hearing this, and got up to sit beside Chen Mengyi, leaning in to look at the drawing in her hands.

"Oh, that's really lovely." Lu Zhuangqing had always found traditional motifs rather old-fashioned, but whether it was the skill of the drawing or the way the style flattered the pattern, this coin-motif qipao struck her as unexpectedly light and pleasant.

Since arriving in Shanghai, Chen Mengyi had seen no shortage of women wearing new-style qipao, but they were either too flashy and unconventional, or plain and unremarkable, so she'd never had much of an opinion about this newly popular garment.

But this qipao was designed very much to her taste—possessing both the slim, graceful fit of the new-style qipao and no lack of the gentle, refined charm of tradition, and the more she looked at it, the more she liked it.

She couldn't help smiling and saying, "This is quite good. Let's go with what you've drawn here."

"Alright." Ji Qingzhou snapped the pen cap shut decisively, sighing quietly to himself inwardly.

Having money coming in was certainly a good thing, but with so many outstanding orders piling up, the pressure was rather considerable too!

After a while longer, Chen Yanzhu came back, bringing over a total of one hundred ten silver dollars, covering the balance owed plus deposits for the two new orders.

These silver dollars, each bundle of ten wrapped in kraft paper, made for quite a substantial weight altogether.

Ji Qingzhou said little, simply putting all eleven bundles of silver dollars into his bag.

Money was the sort of thing that never felt too heavy, no matter how much of it there was.

Chen Yanzhu then verbally invited him to attend her daughter's birthday banquet in a few days, and Ji Qingzhou smiled and accepted, then rose to take his leave.

.

On the way to the Lu residence, he'd had a car to catch a ride in; on the way back, all he could do was squeeze onto the tram.

The air on this rainy day was damp and thick, and the tram was filled with a kind of murky, stale smell.

Ji Qingzhou gripped the sticky-feeling handrail, one hand pressed against his heavy bag, gazing at the window blurred with condensation, mentally tallying up his total earnings since opening the shop.

After deducting the costs of fabric and trimmings, rent, utilities, and so on from the various large and small orders so far, his net operating income came to roughly eighty yuan. With today's balance settled, and the deposits added in, that now came to a full one hundred ninety yuan.

Beyond that, there was also the allowance Shen Nanqi gave him—adding up these past three months, that came to eighty yuan as well.

But between paying his employee's wages, covering lunch expenses, and his own daily spending—which wasn't particularly frugal, buying whatever he felt like eating, paying for a monthly coffee subscription without a second thought—there wasn't much left over. By his reckoning, he had about thirty-two silver dollars remaining.

Though that deposit money did include the cost of materials for the garments, still, one way or another, at this moment, his total savings had at least crossed the two-hundred-yuan mark.

If, going forward, the newspaper's monthly payment of sixty-four yuan came in as well, his income would be even more stable!

One had to consider that, in this era, among the well-paid class, a doctoral graduate returned from studying in Britain or America earning two hundred a month was already someone widely envied.

For him, the owner of a small tailoring shop, to have saved up this much in under three months, was truly a stroke of good fortune.

Thinking of this, Ji Qingzhou couldn't help but smile.

Excellent. Heaven rewards the hardworking laborer!

Things were progressing smoothly, and the future looked bright!

Previous | TOC | Next