The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 925: Chapter 903: Top Student in the 1980s 31

This person Xiangling really knows well, it’s the man she encountered in the Provincial City.

”Big brother, it’s you.”

Xiangling greeted him with a smile.

The man smiled as he walked over, ”What a coincidence.”

He gestured Xiangling to step aside, ”Come with me to the inner room to sit.”

Xiangling followed the man into a room that served as a small reception room.

The room was neatly tidied, with two sofas inside, several delicately styled chairs, and a marble coffee table set in the center with tea, melon seeds, and snacks upon it.

On the other side, there was a rack filled with high-quality fabrics that looked incredibly premium.

Xiangling glanced around, ”Big brother, do you work here?”

The man smiled, ”This is my family’s shop.”

Xiangling paused for a moment.

Originally, she thought the man seemed down-and-out, not realizing he had such a solid family background.

The man could guess what Xiangling was thinking, ”That day I happened to be going to the Provincial City’s spinning mill to check on fabrics, made a pre-order and intended to return. But got delayed by the heavy snow. I nearly paid all in deposits, so I didn’t dare to indulge in food or drinks, thinking to fill up with cold steamed buns. Who’d have thought to meet such a kind young lady who spared me a meat-stuffed pancake?”

Xiangling hadn’t anticipated such circumstances, ”It’s really nothing, big brother, if you hadn’t met me, you’d meet another kind-hearted person.”

The man looked at Xiangling, ”I am called Hou Jun, and what is your name, young lady?”

”I’m Zhang Xiangling.” Xiangling walked to the rack, looking at the neatly arranged fabric above, ”Big brother, may I look at these materials?”

”Go ahead.”

The man handed Xiangling a cup of water, which she took and drank a few sips, then attentively selected fabrics.

She chose a blue-gray woolen fabric, then picked a dark blue one which felt quite sturdy, ”Big brother, please make a woman’s coat with this material, and with this, make a set of men’s Zhongshan outfit, I’ll note down the measurements.”

Hou Jun brought over paper and pen, and Xiangling quickly jotted down the measurements, ”Big brother, can you work overtime and finish it before the year ends?”

Hou Jun laughed, ”Sure, I’ll personally make these two outfits, and assure you will be satisfied.”

Xiangling picked for a while longer and still didn’t find material for making clothes for Anning.

She asked Hou Jun if he had any other materials, Hou Jun inquired who they were intended for, and Xiangling mentioned they were for children. Hou Jun went around the storeroom and returned carrying a roll of red fabric and brought along a roll of lace trimmings.

He placed the fabric down, took the pen and paper, drew a picture to show Xiangling, ”Don’t make those ordinary pants and jackets, make them into a woolen dress with lace edges on cuffs and hem. Add a thick faux-fur coat outside; the coat is white, absolutely looks great wearing it, and absolutely unique in the county.”

Xiangling looked at the clothes in the picture, and indeed they were beautiful.

Hou Jun jokingly said to Xiangling, ”You make one set for your sister, and make one for yourself, you two wearing matching sister outfits would surely look great.”

Xiangling was somewhat tempted.

However, she couldn’t make up her mind.

Though she had arrived in the county, followed by Secretary An, learned a lot, and became much more lively than when she was conservative in the village.

Yet, she still felt being over thirty, making such pretty clothes was somewhat out of place.

Hou Jun smiled, ”You don’t have to wear red, other colors are fine too. Inside is a black dress, with a red coat outside, it certainly looks spirited.”

This indeed appeared more stable than red paired with white, Xiangling thought for a while and nodded, ”Alright, thanks big brother.”

Hou Jun waved it off, ”What’s to thank, you aren’t not paying for it, anyways urgent orders like this will cost more.”

In one sentence, Xiangling laughed again, ”Certainly adding, can’t have big brother busy for free.”

Xiangling’s days were indeed prosperous.

But the days in Zhang Erzhu’s house were simply tumultuous.

Zhang Gouxiong wouldn’t listen to anyone, insisted on marrying Chunfeng. If he couldn’t marry her, he would make a fuss; either starving himself or causing trouble at home, beating this one, and that one, making the four sons extremely irritated.

There was no way out, the sons couldn’t control him, and had to let him act according to his will.

Chunfeng’s days weren’t quite great; Zhang Gouxiong had barely mentioned marriage when she hurried to urge him to proceed.

The two never held a banquet, being at such an age, they didn’t have the face for it. However, they did obtain a marriage certificate.

This left Erzhu’s brothers especially upset.

Old Madam spent her life with Zhang Gouxiong without a proper marriage certificate, yet this Chunfeng coaxed Zhang Gouxiong into completing the documentation and even took photos.

When Chunfeng arrived at Zhang Erzhu’s house, she directly took command of the family’s decisions.

The family didn’t split, all the sons had to heed their father, with Zhang Gouxiong making decisions, Chunfeng feared nothing.

She coaxed quite a lot of money from Zhang Gouxiong, transferred her daughter to the primary school in Tuliang Village, bought her son new clothes and a new backpack.

In terms of food, though it appeared fair on the surface, secretly Chunfeng prepared extra meals for her children and Zhang Gouxiong, only giving Zhang Gouxiong the tastiest food, coaxing him into a daze.

She was especially adept at speaking, telling Zhang Gouxiong, ”Brother, I’m younger than you, this is beneficial too. You handle things now, support me and the children, when you grow old, I’m still strong, so we wouldn’t call on the children to serve. If anything, I’ll serve you. People say about old companions, that when you’re old you must accompany each other. Moreover, having the children serve how does that compare to spouses?”

These words warmed Zhang Gouxiong’s heart, treating Chunfeng even better.

Chunfeng was quite skillful at being a person.

Earlier when Second Pillar’s mother was around, she was harsh, poorly relating with neighbors, rarely spoken of positively in the village.

But Chunfeng was different.

She was eloquent, not personally stingy, willing to lend a hand when someone had an issue. It didn’t take long for folks in the village to praise her, saying she was more adept at being a person, much better than Second Pillar’s mother.

Second Pillar’s mother, when she was alive, was extremely stingy. She wasn’t just thrifty towards outsiders, even to herself, begrudging to eat or wear, leaving her with no image.

However, Chunfeng was great at dressing up; she appeared very bright usually when going out, even at home, dressed neatly. This certainly coaxed Zhang Gouxiong’s inclination towards her.

Zhang Gouxiong was at ease.

But Erzhu’s brothers watched all the money their mother had saved her entire life spent by this woman, their mother suffering while this woman arrived to enjoy, unable to internally reconcile, feeling blocked and distressed regardless of how they thought.

Especially Zhang Erzhu.

He felt particularly uncomfortable at home.

Seeing Chunfeng made him uneasy.

At times, he even felt like dying.

Zhang Erzhu would often go to his mother’s grave to cry a session and return even more silent.

When New Year arrived, Chunfeng’s son returned, her daughter also stayed with the Zhang family. Their mother and Zhang Gouxiong laughed and chatted, behaving like a family, making Erzhu’s brothers appear even worse.

Zhang Erzhu really couldn’t bear it.

He didn’t even celebrate New Year, directly packed his things, bringing a couple of changes of clothes, and left.

He told people he was going out for work or something, basically indicating he wouldn’t often return to the village in the future.