CHAPTER 549: CHAPTER 533: REPLICA

"Mom, it’s not our fault. They have malicious intentions. We’ve made them envious, so this day was bound to come." Lin Yinghui doesn’t know the specifics of the situation now. He’s also anxious about his sister but, as the man of the house, he needs to stay composed. "Yes, Aunt Liang, Xiao Wan spent the entire afternoon in the study, probably thinking of a strategy. Don’t worry."

"Worrying about what?" Lin Wan just went to Shilan’s house and found the door locked, so she ended up in her mom’s yard. As soon as she arrived, she heard them talking about worries.

"Isn’t it worrying about you? Your brother said that Liang Weixiang and her daughter are trying to snatch your business." Looking at her daughter’s unconcerned appearance, Liang Hongmei felt anxious.

"Business competition is normal, it happens in every industry. We started our business as private entrepreneurs, didn’t we also take away quite a few clothing factory deals? Now there’s someone more prominent than us, helping to shield us from trouble." Lin Wan is quite open-minded about these things.

"You mean they dare to imitate your family’s clothes?" Shi Lan asked in confusion.

"They may dare, but they also need money." Lin Wan replied.

"Exactly, didn’t they lose their money? Where did they get it from? I heard they’ve been doing pretty well financially." Lin Yinghui is also puzzled about this.

"Ye Qing lives right next door to them, plus Qiu Hualan has come to help Ye Qing take care of the kids. So naturally, they’ll run into each other. Behind the scenes, Ye Qing is the one advising them. The money is probably Ye Qing’s too. They must be partners in business, but with Ye Qing behind the scenes."

"Ye Qing has kids now? When did she get married?" Liang Hongmei was surprised by this.

Lin Wan was also taken aback, realizing Ye Qing hadn’t mentioned having children.

"Well... this is how it happened...," Lin Wan gave them a brief rundown of Ye Qing seducing Mei Langchi. Mom didn’t know who Mei Langchi was, so Lin Wan explained the relationship between Han Yi and Mei Langchi, including the fact that Mei Langchi was initially married, but the affair with Ye Qing led to a divorce.

"Ye Qing is just... such a waste of a good college education, always doing such irresponsible things." Liang Hongmei actually wanted to add that she was even worse than her own mother back then. Wrecking someone’s marriage, and who knows what she’ll do next, her character is questionable.

"Xiao Wan, I realize Ye Qing seems to have something against you." Liang Hongmei finally snapped to the reality.

"Mom, you just noticed? She was up to no good even when she came to our store in the past." Lin Wan pouted. She and Ye Qing are now enemies, even romantic rivals. In her last life, she didn’t understand why Ye Qing targeted her, but in this life, she’s finally figured it out.

Initially she felt a bit guilty, but after a series of incidents, the only emotion Lin Wan has left for Ye Qing is hatred. We’re destined to be enemies.

"Why do you think she’s like this?" Lin Yinghui is utterly confused.

With Shi Lan around, Lin Wan feels awkward bringing up Ye Qing’s affair with her mother and brother.

After chatting for a while, Shi Lan became reassured knowing Lin Wan had a strategy and went home.

Once Shi Lan left, Lin Wan pulled Liang Hongmei and her brother inside to relay what she knew.

"Xiao Wan... are you saying that back when we were at the movies, Ye Qing..."

Lin Wan nodded affirmatively, "I overheard it unintentionally. She said it herself, brother, you should be cautious too. If I didn’t find her in time, she’d hold this grudge against me, and she’d likely not be fond of you either."

Thinking of how both of them work in the same office now, Lin Yinghui furrowed his brows deeply.

"How can she act like this? Clearly, it’s not your fault, and yet she’s blaming you two. It’s simply unreasonable." Despite feeling sympathetic toward her plight, Liang Hongmei believed Ye Qing shouldn’t misplace her animosity on her daughter. She remembered how Ye Qing seemed overly friendly at the store, even asked to see photos of Han Yi and Xiao Wan, apparently having an interest in him all along.

Ye Qing is indeed good at hiding her schemes, but it’s unclear who she inherited this temper from.

Although Qiu Hualan fell for a bad person, she was honest and decent. She suffered a lot from her relationship with Ye Weijun, who was unreliable.

Both had connections with educated youths in the village, but she was different; at least Lin Guozhi was responsible. As for why there’s no news of Guozhi later, it’s still a thorn in her heart. The village gossip claimed Lin Guozhi left for the city, abandoning her and the kids to start a new family. She didn’t believe it; after years together, she knew his character. He wasn’t the type to abandon family.

But after all these years, if he were still alive, why wouldn’t there be any news? Even if he truly abandoned her, what about the children, who are his flesh and blood? Wouldn’t he want to come back to see them?

Or perhaps... he’s truly gone!

Sometimes Liang Hongmei would rather believe he deserted the family than imagine he’s no longer in this world.

Even as a heartbreaker, he’d still be alive somewhere.

Despite all those years together, she doesn’t want to someday see Lin Guozhi’s name on the martyr’s monument.

"Mom, if we see them again, just be cautious and ignore them. I’ll handle things. Don’t worry."

Both Liang Hongmei and Lin Yinghui were still processing the reality, absent-mindedly nodding at Lin Wan’s words.

Looking at them now is just like how she felt when she first learned about it. Who would’ve thought, at that time, Ye Qing had these experiences.

But Ye Qing managed to keep it well hidden. Probably only her mom knows.

... The next day, Lin Wan was up early handing the child to Liang Hongmei, riding a tricycle to Cotton Street to select fabric first.

Liang Hongmei didn’t stay long at the morning market, bringing the kid back home, her mind preoccupied with worry over her daughter’s business.

Before Lin Wan even left, Su Ling and Yin Peibai hurriedly arrived.

They were quite anxious. "You two arrived just in time, let’s head to Cotton Street."

"Business hasn’t been good these past days, there’s still a pile of goods at home, why are we going there?" Su Ling inquired curiously.

"Having goods doesn’t mean they won’t sell. Yesterday afternoon, I redesigned two outfits and plan to host an event to turn things around." On the road, Lin Wan disclosed her thoughts to them both.

Yin Peibai excitedly slapped her thigh, "Xiao Wan, this idea is fantastic. For such good designs, offering two pieces for six bucks, typically, a single piece of this quality fetches seven or eight bucks."

"Yeah, now those shopkeepers should have nothing to complain about." Su Ling smiled with relief, finally relaxing her anxious heart.

Upon reaching Cotton Street, they headed straight to Old Yang’s shop. Usually, Lin Wan’s clothes were made from fabrics bought there.

The junk station is visited less frequently now. Uncle Wang mentioned the people transporting goods from that clothing factory were caught, causing a long pause in deliveries.

Last time Lin Wan checked out those striped cotton fabrics, they weren’t cheap, costing eighty cents per meter.

Nonetheless, the material absorbs sweat really well and stands up to wear. Available in five colors: black-striped white, white-striped yellow, light blue-striped white, coffee-striped white, black-striped white. Lin Wan didn’t buy too much, taking about a hundred meters each of the patterns.

She also picked up plain white cotton fabric along with light pink and apricot colored ones.

Each with eight varieties, intended for making short-sleeve t-shirts; Lin Wan chose a silky black fabric for the trousers, which doesn’t wrinkle and feels cool.

Black fabric is rarely seen, often costing a dollar per meter. Including processing fees, two pieces would cost three and a half bucks to make. Selling at two for six, while appearing cheap, yields more profit than selling a single piece. With careful cutting, producing a few extra pieces is feasible.

For a refined finish, Lin Wan bought white fabric to make the inner lining at the waist of the pants.

The three of them hauled the fabric home, where Lin Wan quickly cut out a draft, stitched it, and tried it on.

Done right, it felt comfortable wearing it; the design was great, projecting youthfulness and vibrancy. Tucking the t-shirt slightly into the waistband improved the look further, revealing beautifully slender ankles.

Ultimately, Lin Wan cut out another draft, and the three proceeded to busy themselves in the room, quickly cutting the clothes and putting them up on the market.

On this end, Lin Wan and Yin Peibai took care of cutting, with Su Ling and Shi Lan, who arrived last, handling the sewing machines and kept busy.

Everyone was enthusiastic and worked with vigor.