Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 100 Chen Xueru's Visit

"Sir, does Li Hongmei live here?"

"There is a woman named Li Hongmei in our department, but I don't know if she is the one you are looking for."

"Then that should be correct."

"You are……"

"I'm Sister Hongmei's friend, I'm here to deliver something."

"Hongmei, someone's looking for you!"

"Manager Chen, what brings you here?"

"..."

When Li Hongmei came out of the house and saw Chen Xueru in the yard, she was completely stunned.

stunned!

Although she knew Chen Xueru, they had only met once.

I only bought clothes and fabric from Chen's Cloth Shop once.

Privately, they had no interaction.

Seeing Li Hongmei's momentary daze, Chen Xueru couldn't help but chuckle and reminded her, "Sister Hongmei, aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Manager Chen, please come in!"

Realizing her rudeness, Li Hongmei quickly invited her into the house.

Just as Li Hongmei was making tea for Chen Xueru, Chen Xueru took a look around the room and her gaze quickly fell on the sewing machine.

These days, it's relatively rare to find a family with a sewing machine, which means their family is quite well-off.

Actually, it is.

If his family were poor, Li Hongbing wouldn't have ordered such expensive clothes from her shop.

"Sister Hongmei, are you making clothes?"

Chen Xueru noticed the fabric that was half-sewn on the sewing machine and couldn't help but become interested.

"Sigh, I just learned to do it by myself, and I'm not very good at using the sewing machine yet, so please excuse my poor skills."

Li Hongmei knew that Chen Xueru's family owned a cloth shop and that she had studied tailoring, so this statement was not modesty but her true opinion.

If one were to try to teach a professional like Chen Xueru, it would be quite embarrassing.

"Come, have some tea!"

Li Hongmei served the brewed tea to Chen Xueru and quickly asked tentatively, "Manager Chen, is there something you need today?"

"Thank you!"

Taking the tea from Li Hongmei, Chen Xueru said with a smile, "Sister Hongmei, I came here today specifically to bring you clothes."

The two sets of clothes that Li Hongbing had ordered from her shop had been completed thanks to the shop's experienced tailors working overtime. Because of Li Hongbing's special work schedule, Chen Xueru specially delivered the clothes to Li Hongmei.

These two outfits aren't cheap, and Li Hongbing is now a big customer of their store, so it's worth the effort to provide door-to-door service.

Moreover, when the clothes were custom-made, Li Hongmei was not taken to the measurements; they were made according to the size of the ready-made garment she had previously purchased. Now, she needs to try them on to see if they fit properly or if there are any other problems.

If there are any problems, Chen Xueru will take it back to make alterations, and make sure the clothes are satisfactory before Li Hongmei's wedding day.

"Sending clothes?"

Li Hongmei was somewhat caught off guard, clearly unable to connect with Chen Xueru's information.

"It's like this, not long after you came to my shop to buy clothes and fabric last time, your younger brother came to me again to have two outfits custom-made, one of which is your wedding dress..."

As she said this, Chen Xueru took out the finished wedding dress from the package she had brought.

"This... Red Soldier..."

Li Hongmei was stunned.

However, it's unlikely that Chen Xueru would lie to herself about something like this, and this isn't the first time Li Hongbing has acted on his own initiative.

She's still reeling from yesterday's dowry, and now she's pulling this stunt.

Moreover, judging from Chen Xueru's words, Li Hongbing had already started making arrangements several days ago.

All of this was clearly premeditated.

If Li Hongbing weren't away right now, Li Hongmei would definitely give him a good tug on the ear for wasting money everywhere.

She had already bought a ready-made garment from Chen Xueru's shop and also bought a lot of fabric, so she has no shortage of clothes to wear now, and she can't even wear them all.

Li Hongbing even went so far as to order a wedding dress for himself.

"Sister Hongmei, this was designed by your brother himself. Why don't you try it on and see?"

Li Hongmei's reaction was within Chen Xueru's expectations, but knowing what was going on, she didn't care and instead pretended not to know.

"Alright then!"

If it were just the fabric, Li Hongmei could try to negotiate with Chen Xueru to see if she could return it, since it wouldn't affect reselling it to someone else.

The customizable clothes were already made, but Li Hongmei just couldn't bring herself to ask for them.

Helpless, Li Hongmei had no choice but to take the clothes Chen Xueru handed her and go to another room in her house to try them on and change.

Chen Xueru, who was left alone, looked around the room again and found that in addition to the sewing machine, there was also a brand new bicycle.

The sewing machine appears to be new as well.

There are still quite a few new things inside.

These……

It's probably the dowry that Li Hongbing prepared for Li Hongmei's marriage.

Thinking back to the eight summer and winter quilts that Li Hongbing had ordered from her shop, as well as other bedding, Chen Xueru clearly realized something.

Li Hongbing, that little brother, has quite the grand gesture!
Even Chen Xueru, who grew up in a wealthy family, couldn't help but be amazed.

Even by today's standards, these dowries would be quite impressive, even extravagant, for wealthy families, let alone ordinary working-class families.

As her thoughts returned, Chen Xueru subconsciously picked up her cup, took a sip of tea, and discovered that the tea Li Hongmei had brewed for her was not high-quality tea, but rather a fine tea with its leaves perfectly intact.

Especially the aroma of this tea.

Even Chen Xueru, who doesn't drink tea much, found the aroma very refreshing.

Good tea!
She received quite a few pleasant surprises when I came to deliver some clothes today.

……

at the same time.

When Li Hongmei arrived at another room with the wedding dress, she was somewhat taken aback when she saw its full appearance.

Pretty!

It's so pretty.

This was so much better looking than the ready-made dress she'd bought from Chen Xueru's shop last time. Thinking back to what Chen Xueru had just said—that the dress was designed by Li Hongbing—she could hardly believe it.

only.

When Li Hongmei felt the fabric and craftsmanship of the clothes, she couldn't help but feel conflicted.

This wedding dress probably wasn't cheap!
Unfortunately, custom-made clothes are not normally eligible for return.

At this moment, Li Hongmei deeply acknowledged the previous evaluation of Li Hongbing by everyone in the courtyard.

Prodigal!

She's just getting married, but Li Hongbing's series of actions are likely to ruin the entire family's fortune.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have handed over the family finances to him so quickly.

Unfortunately.

It's too late to regret now.

Helpless, Li Hongmei changed her clothes and went straight back to the room she had just been in.

"Beautiful! It's so beautiful!"

When Chen Xueru saw Li Hongmei enter in her wedding dress, her eyes lit up.

She wasn't unfamiliar with this outfit; she had secretly admired it more than once when it was finished.

However, this was the first time Chen Xueru had seen this wedding dress on her.

This wedding dress was custom-made for Li Hongmei, and the size was based on her measurements. Even if Chen Xueru liked it very much, there was no reason for her to try it on for her without permission.

"Manager Chen, how much does this outfit cost?"

Li Hongmei was naturally amazed by the wedding dress, but she was more worried about the price and had no time to appreciate it.

Even the best things, if the price is beyond one's means, will only bring burdens.

The thought that this dress would cost her two or three months' salary, or even longer, made Li Hongmei unhappy.

Li Hongmei already had some understanding of the prices of these nice clothes and fabrics from her last visit to Chen Xueru's shop.

The garment I'm wearing is probably much more expensive than the one I bought last time, even considering all the fabrics combined.

"Sister Hongmei, you don't need to worry about the price. Your brother has already calculated the cost for me."

Chen Xueru deliberately told a little lie.

Knowing Li Hongbing's thoughts, Chen Xueru did not intend to let Li Hongmei pay for the clothes. She would naturally go to Li Hongbing to settle the remaining payment for the two outfits.

"This……"

Although Li Hongmei had already given all the family's money to Li Hongbing last time, she had managed to save up a little money herself.

not much.

It's the salary I have left over after spending money on my family.

She had been worried that it wouldn't be enough, but after hearing Chen Xueru say that, she didn't know whether to be happy or depressed.

“Sister Hongmei, this is a token of your brother’s affection. Don’t worry about how much it costs. Just look at whether the clothes suit your taste and look good.”

"Think about it, you've already spent the money. If you don't pay attention, what if there's a problem with the clothes later? Won't you regret it?"

"If there's anything you don't like or that's not suitable, just tell me now, and I can take it back to the store and revise it for you until you're satisfied."

"But if you don't tell me, won't it be a waste of money?"

"..."

Chen Xueru knew what Li Hongmei was thinking and had seen many customers like her, so she accurately grasped her psychology and gave her targeted "advice".

When Li Hongmei heard this, she realized it was true.

She would be so upset if there were any flaws in such a nice dress.

then.

Li Hongmei could only actively cooperate with Chen Xueru.

In Li Hongmei's opinion, there was nothing wrong with the design and style of the wedding dress; she had never seen such a beautiful dress before.

Moreover, knowing that the wedding dress was personally designed by Li Hongbing, Li Hongmei would never make any alterations, not even the slightest.

As for the workmanship, it's impeccable.

“Sister Hongmei, we might need to collect a little more here, and this…”

"After all, it wasn't made exactly to your dimensions, so there's bound to be some error."

"I think it's fine, so there's no need to change it, right?"

"That won't do. It may seem like a small problem, but it's actually a big one."

"Since it's custom-made, it has to fit perfectly in every way; we can't settle for less!"

"And if you want your clothes altered, the price will still be the same; we won't charge you extra."

"It will be altered in three days at most, or even two days if it's quick, so it won't delay you from wearing it to your wedding."

"Alright then!"

"Sister Hongmei, let me take your measurements first, so I can use it as a reference when we get back."

"..."

There are no major problems, but there are some minor issues.

In Li Hongmei's view, none of these were problems at all.

Chen Xueru, who pursues perfection, could not tolerate these things, and even though Li Hongmei had said not to, she still insisted.

The reputation of Chen's Cloth Shop cannot be ruined in Chen Xueru's hands.

Moreover, Chen Xueru really liked the design of this wedding dress, especially since Li Hongmei would be wearing it for her wedding, so she naturally couldn't tolerate any flaws.

"Sister Hongmei, I'll take this wedding dress back with me first."

"Wait two or three days, then come to the store to try on the clothes."

"The other set of clothes belongs to your younger brother. I'll keep it for him and let him try it on when he gets back."

"If there are any problems, or if anything is not suitable, just have him bring the clothes to the store."

"Sister Hongmei, I'm going back now, don't bother seeing me off!"

"..."

After Li Hongmei changed out of her clothes, Chen Xueru took the wedding dress with her, leaving behind Li Hongbing's formal attire.

Fengzeyuan is close to Chenji Cloth Shop, just a short distance away. It's obviously more convenient for Li Hongbing to come over than for Li Hongmei, as he doesn't have to make a special trip.

Moreover, Li Hongbing wouldn't be back so soon, so Chen Xueru decided not to stay and wait to see how his fitting went.

(End of this chapter)