Xia Ziyu stood in front of Luna.

To think that in 1985, there were already such glamorous clothing stores.

“Luna? Jianhua, isn’t this a foreign brand? Let’s not go in, it must be expensive.”

Wang Jianhua also didn’t know if it was a foreign brand.

Foreign goods weren’t sold in Xidan.

Xia Ziyu watched two female customers leave the store, holding magazines with covers identical to the posters in the window.

“Comrade, may I borrow your magazine for a moment?”

The female customer was startled, then smiled, “You’re also a fan of Wang Mingming!”

Xia Ziyu had never been a fan of any celebrity.

Whether from Hong Kong, Taiwan, or the mainland, she didn’t like any of them!

Her time was too precious to waste on any celebrity. Celebrities were all fake, their real faces completely different from what appeared on screen… In moments like these, Xia Ziyu felt like she alone was clearheaded while others were intoxicated.

Xia Ziyu wanted to read the magazine’s introduction.

She caught the key phrase “Luna is a domestic Chinese brand,” returned the magazine, and said to Wang Jianhua, “So it’s not a foreign brand after all. Let’s go in and take a look.”

The clothing store appeared to be doing good business.

Selling clothes should be more profitable than running a snack shop, Xia Ziyu thought as she surveyed the store, picking up a piece of clothing to check the price. A shirt cost 24 yuan, quite expensive considering current wages.

If she made a shirt herself, including labor costs, one of this quality would cost only about ten yuan, right?

But in a store like this, the shirt’s price doubled!

Zhang Cui felt nervous walking on the polished tiles.

Xia Ziyu, however, remained composed.

Wang Jianhua checked the prices and realized his hundred-some yuan could buy a complete outfit, which put his mind at ease.

The store was too luxuriously decorated, even more elegant than the department store counters. Wang Jianhua had worried his pocket money wouldn’t be enough to pay, which would have been quite embarrassing.

Xia Ziyu walked around the store without trying anything on; she was studying the price tags!

There were expensive items and cheaper ones.

But the cheap ones weren’t too low-priced, and the expensive ones weren’t too high.

Low-income earners would be intimidated, while high-income earners could outfit themselves from head to toe with one month’s salary. The three of them didn’t look like typical customers, but Luna’s staff were well-trained – even if customers only browsed without buying, they couldn’t look down on them.

Unless customers touched light-colored clothes with their hands, the staff wouldn’t approach to give gentle reminders.

The store was quite busy now, and they couldn’t spare a clerk to hover around the three of them. The family of three had been classified as browsers rather than buyers.

“Ziyu, why don’t you try something on? Do you like this dress?”

Wang Jianhua took a dress off the rack – red and white stripes, long sleeves, below-knee length – and insisted Xia Ziyu try it on.

When Xia Ziyu emerged from the fitting room, the mirror reflected a transformed person.

Though not as pretty as Xia Xiaolan, she was slightly above average in looks. Her plain, old-fashioned style had dulled her appearance, but just changing clothes significantly enhanced her overall appearance. With careful makeup, if Xia Xiaolan was a 10, Xia Ziyu could be a 7.

The fitting room’s soft, bright lighting added a filter to Xia Ziyu’s appearance.

The scar on her cheek marred her beauty. Xia Ziyu covered it with her hand, and indeed, she looked much better.

Though she’d changed into the dress, she still wore plain black cloth shoes.

The clerk was quick-witted and found her a pair of white leather shoes to try on.

“Comrade, this outfit suits you!”

It did look good – Xia Ziyu had never seen herself like this before.

It didn’t match the plain image she’d carefully cultivated, but plain was never what she’d aspired to!

Her patience had always been for the sake of a life of luxury. She was already 22 years old, and from 1979 until now, she had endured for six years. A woman’s youth was so fleeting – Xia Ziyu didn’t want to wait until middle age to wear such pretty clothes. It was time to change people’s fixed impressions of her.

“Jianhua, I want this dress!”

Wang Jianhua snapped back to attention, “Good, let’s buy it.”

Ziyu was just too frugal.

Back in Anqing, the blue worker’s outfit had been fine – everyone dressed that way. Xia Ziyu had worn two long braids then, full of youthful spirit. But now it was ’85, people around them were changing rapidly, Xia Xiaolan was getting further ahead, and Wang Jianhua felt Ziyu should change too.

People are visual creatures – it would be a lie to say Wang Jianhua didn’t like pretty things.

Wang Jianhua emptied his pockets, spending 38 yuan on the dress, 35 yuan on a light jacket for Xia Ziyu, 12 yuan on spring stockings, and 25 yuan on leather shoes.

This was Xidan – not just clothing stores, but hair salons too.

Xia Ziyu had her long braids cut into an ear-length bob, with the sides permed so the curled ends covered most of the scar on her cheek.

What started as just looking at stores turned into a complete makeover for Xia Ziyu.

She barely recognized herself in the mirror.

Zhang Cui counted on her fingers what Xia Ziyu’s outfit had cost – 110 yuan just for clothes from head to toe, plus the perm… It looked good, but it was bought with money.

To maintain this look, she couldn’t wear the same clothes all spring.

With two or three sets, that would be two or three hundred.

Beyond spring, there were summer and winter clothes too! To replace all of Xia Ziyu’s old plain clothes with this standard would cost at least two or three thousand yuan!

Zhang Cui drew in a sharp breath.

Xia Ziyu was quite impatient, “Mom, money isn’t saved – it’s earned. Don’t worry about my business. Jianhua bought the clothes, why are you so concerned?”

How much would one person spend eating at a snack shop for a year, even going daily?

But there’s no upper limit to what someone might spend on clothes in a year. Once you buy new things, you don’t want to wear the old ones anymore – aren’t all women like that?

A small shop doesn’t make money.

The magazine said Luna had stores in both Beijing and Yangcheng.

That’s what big business looks like!

Xia Ziyu wanted to run such a big business too, but she needed capital. To open a store like this, the renovation costs alone might buy a quadrangle courtyard.

Xia Ziyu couldn’t raise that kind of money, but among the people she knew, only Du Zhaohui could.

She couldn’t wait any longer.

If she could humble herself to secure Wang Jianhua, she could endure anything to achieve her goals.

“Jianhua, could you help me get a plane ticket? I want to go to Yangcheng this weekend.”

…

“This is Section Chief Ma. Section Chief Ma, this is my relative Liu Fen and her daughter.”

Director Wu made warm introductions for both parties. Section Chief Ma was in his forties, stout, with a rather fierce look, but Director Wu said he had a good reputation.

Though Xia Xiaolan was young and beautiful, Section Chief Ma barely glanced at her, showing more interest in Liu Fen, praising her as a heroic woman:

“Even male comrades lack the courage to run such a business, you’re impressive as a woman!”