Chapter 72 Missing You

Chapter 72 Thinking of You

In the parlor on the first floor of the Jie Mansion, Shen Nanqi was watching the dog trainer teach Howie some basic commands while browsing through the *Modern Fashion* pictorial with great interest.

Originally, their household rarely subscribed to such leisure magazines. The *Shanghai Daily* was only subscribed to because Jie Yuan wanted it, while this pictorial was mentioned by Ji Qingzhou yesterday evening, so she had someone buy ten copies this morning.

Aside from supporting the younger generation’s endeavors, she also considered that this was the first issue, making it quite collectible.

"You know, this pictorial is quite entertaining to flip through in spare time. Even those who can’t read at all can still appreciate the beautiful images.

"As for those who understand fashion, they’d likely treasure it like a prized possession. After all, Qingzhou’s designs truly qualify as an art form in clothing."

After browsing a few pages, Shen Nanqi couldn’t help but remark.

Unfortunately, there was no one to share her enthusiasm—aside from the dog trainer and the dog, the only other person present was Jie Yuan, who wasn't into art.

"Oh, there’s even menswear here… This coat looks nice. It’d probably suit you well."

When she reached the second-to-last page featuring menswear, her face brightened.

The male model in the image had black hair and brown eyes, with a tall and upright posture. He wore a simple beige shirt with a gray tie, paired with a double-breasted military-green wool coat, straight-cut gray trousers, and brown Chelsea boots.

The stern and orderly style evoked thoughts of winter’s harsh cold and the hardness of steel.

This outfit practically had her youngest son’s name written all over it.

If not for the fact that the model didn’t resemble Jie Yuan, she might have suspected Ji Qingzhou had used her son as inspiration.

Instinctively, she wanted to share the pictorial with her youngest, but when she turned and saw the young man with the black blindfold, her smile faded and she sighed softly, "Ah, I forgot—you can’t see."

Jie Yuan pursed his lips wordlessly. After sitting for a moment, he suddenly stood up, took his cane, and tapped his way toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Shen Nanqi looked up and asked.

"Going for a walk," Jie Yuan replied indifferently, his tone giving no hint of his mood.

"It’s almost lunchtime. Why go for a walk now?"

Ignoring her, Jie Yuan reached the doorway, paused just before stepping out, then turned back and said, "Save two copies for me. Put them in the study."

Only then did he leave, seemingly satisfied.

"This child… Who does he take after, being so contrary?"

Shen Nanqi shook her head, adjusted her posture, and continued leaning back on the sofa to browse the pictorial.

·

"So, Second Sister Feng, based on your introduction, your father owns a Western tailor shop in Guangdong, and you learned your tailoring skills from him.

"You can make basic Western-style dresses, have assisted your father in crafting men’s suits, can read patterns, and know some common characters. You haven’t learned embroidery, but you're good with needlework. Is that correct?"

In the reception room on the first floor of the studio, Ji Qingzhou sat on one side of the long sofa, looking at the ordinary-looking but kind-faced woman across from him as he inquired.

"Yes," Feng Minjun nodded, replying in softly accented Mandarin. "You don’t need to call me so formally as ‘Ms. Feng.’ I’m the second child in my family, so everyone calls me Second Sister Feng. If you don’t mind, you can call me that too."

"Alright, Second Sister Feng," Ji Qingzhou smiled warmly before continuing, "Then, since your father has a Western tailor shop in Guangdong, why did you come to Shanghai to apply for this tailoring position?"

Feng Minjun fidgeted with the sides of her teacup, then began to explain:

"I have an elder brother and a younger brother, so there’s no way I’d ever inherit the family tailor shop. That’s why I followed my husband to Shanghai to work. He’s a chef at a Cantonese restaurant, while I’ve worked as an assistant in a garment shop and also as a maid in wealthy households."

"It just so happened that someone opened a small school in the area where we rent. About eight years ago, I had a child. To take care of the baby, I quit my job and did some sewing at home to help make ends meet. But now the child has grown up, and after discussing with my husband, we decided to send the child to school. His paycheck alone wouldn’t be enough, so I figured I'd look for work."

"I’ve inquired at several other tailor shops and garment stores. Two were hiring, but only for apprentices. At my age, nobody would hire me. So when I saw your advertisement for a tailor who can make Western-style clothes, I came to ask."

Ji Qingzhou listened carefully and nodded.

Generally, small tailor shops have one or two masters with a few apprentices. Those masters might even be a couple or siblings. These mom-and-pop shops likely don’t earn much, and unless business is particularly good, there’s no need to hire an additional tailor.

Unless it’s a high-end place like Yuxiang, but such well-known establishments surely aren’t short on staff. To become their apprentice, one might even need connections to get in.

"So, you haven’t worked for eight years?" Ji Qingzhou asked, looking at her.

"Yes," Feng Minjun replied, a bit embarrassed, lowering her head.

"But at home, I often took small jobs from neighbors and friends—altering clothes, making skirts, or doing mending. I’ve kept my hand in sewing all along."

Fearing that the gap in her work experience might make her lose the job, Feng Minjun quickly explained.

Though this young boss looked like he'd never worked a day in his life and nothing like a tailor, and the house was exquisitely decorated and comfortable, not exactly looking like a clothing shop, Feng Minjun actually found it more reassuring. She thought this young man was likely a rich man's son, with money to burn and time on his hands, who had opened a fashion shop and thus needed to run it with hired tailors. If so, with effort, she might even have a chance to become the head tailor in the future.

Unaware of her thoughts, Ji Qingzhou considered that good tailors were hard to find these days. Here was someone who had learned Western-style tailoring and could read patterns, even if she hadn’t worked in years. He decided to give her a trial.

After a moment’s thought, he said calmly, "Alright, I understand your situation. I’ll need to see what you can do—a three-day trial. If everything goes well, we’ll sign an employment contract. The salary is tentatively set at thirty-five yuan a month, paid at month’s end."

"The terms of employment are: first, punctuality; second, efficiency—no slacking off or dragging your feet. Work hours are from nine in the morning to seven in the evening, with lunch provided and a one-hour break at noon."

"Time off depends on the workload. Generally, there are no weekends or holidays, though of course, holidays like the Spring Festival will have a few days off. If you need leave, you must ask me, and miss a day's work, lose a day's pay. Occasionally, overtime may be required, with overtime pay tentatively set at a dime an hour. Are these terms acceptable?"

Getting off at seven... Feng Minjun hesitated slightly. That would leave her no time to pick up her child from school or cook dinner.

But such a well-paying job, with lunch provided, didn’t grow on trees... After some consideration, she decided to give it a try.

Her son was already eight, after all—he could walk home from school by himself. Or he could go straight to the Cantonese restaurant where her husband worked, taking care of dinner as well.

With that thought, Feng Minjun put aside her doubts and nodded. "Alright, boss."

"If you’re free today, shall we start now?" Ji Qingzhou stood up and asked.

Though surprised that work would begin so abruptly, Feng Minjun had nothing else to do. The sooner she got through the three-day trial, the sooner she could start earning. So she agreed without hesitation. "Sure."

"Then follow me."

Ji Qingzhou then took Second Sister Feng to meet Hu Minfu before leading her upstairs to the workroom.

Pushing open the pristine white door, they entered a bright, spacious, and fully equipped workspace.

Seeing the young woman bent over a sewing machine, Feng Minjun suddenly realized—this was where the real shop was!

"Yuer, we have a newcomer—come say hello!" Ji Qingzhou ushered the new hire inside and called Song Yuer over, introducing her: "This is Second Sister Feng, a tailor here for a three-day trial. If it goes well, we’ll hire her formally."

Then he introduced the girl to Feng Minjun: "This is Song Yuer, my assistant."

"Hello, Second Sister Feng. Just call me Yuer," Song Yuer greeted politely.

Inwardly, she mused that the master had promoted her from "helper" to "assistant." Maybe someday, she’d become his "student"?

"Yuer, what a lovely name—it sounds so full of life," Feng Minjun remarked cheerfully upon seeing the cute and pretty young girl she'd be working with.

Later, Ji Qingzhou gave the new employee a tour, explaining the functions of the equipment in the room and the ongoing custom orders before promptly assigning tasks.

Currently, the studio was working on a cheongsam order from Zhu Renqing and an autumn outfit in British-inspired style commissioned by Miss Fang.

The teal cheongsam, since Song Yuer already had experience making modern cheongsams, was assigned to her for cutting and sewing after Ji Qingzhou finalized the pattern.

Of course, he would guide and demonstrate each step of the process while ensuring quality control to prevent mistakes that might ruin the fabric provided by the client.

After several days of work, the cheongsam was nearing completion, and Song Yuer had just been busy attaching the trim.

As for Fang Birong’s British-inspired suit, only the fabric had been purchased so far, with a mock-up in muslin made.

If Ji Qingzhou were to make the suit alone, it would take him at least a week. But now, with a tailor who understood Western tailoring and had experience in making Western-style garments, things would be much easier.

He only needed to handle the design and pattern-making, while the cutting, sewing, and pressing could be left to Second Sister Feng—provided her tailoring skills were up to par.

Since it was still a trial period, Ji Qingzhou decided to spend these three days familiarizing Feng Minjun with the work while assessing her foundational tailoring skills.

The morning’s three-hour work session had already been largely consumed by receiving Miss Shi and interviewing Feng Minjun.

Without further delay, Ji Qingzhou tied on his work apron, took the pre-washed dark brown linen fabric from the rack, and spread it flat on the cutting table. "Second Sister Feng, let’s get started. First, we’ll cut the pieces for a shirt."

Feng Minjun walked to the opposite side of the table and watched as he skillfully positioned the pattern pieces along the grain of the fabric, securing them with pins. She thought to herself, impressed—she had misjudged him. This young man really was a tailor...

·

At noon, the midday sun beat down fiercely.

Amid the busyness, lunchtime arrived before they knew it.

At A Fu’s call from downstairs, Ji Qingzhou paused his work and invited Song Yuer and the newly arrived Second Sister Feng to join him for lunch.

Their footsteps followed one another in quick succession on the floorboards as they descended. Only when they reached the stairwell landing did Ji Qingzhou suddenly remember—he had forgotten to ask A Fu to inform the restaurant to prepare an extra serving.

The studio had been open for half a month now, and operations were gradually settling into a routine.

After sampling meals from several restaurants over the past week, Ji Qingzhou had settled on ordering lunch from a nearby local Shanghainese restaurant called "Li’s Kitchen."

The meal for three consisted of one meat dish and two vegetable dishes, with one of the vegetables occasionally swapped for a light soup or appetizers. The owner decided the daily menu based on available ingredients. Originally priced at sixty cents per meal, the owner had offered a discount to fifty cents since Ji Qingzhou planned to order regularly.

These days, around noon, the restaurant’s staff would deliver hot meals to the studio, then return around one in the afternoon to collect the dishes.

Now, with an extra person to feed, they would need additional rice and portions. Later, when the staff came to collect the dishes, Ji Qingzhou would have them inform the owner.

As for today, Ji Qingzhou glanced at the dishes on the table—braised chicken legs, stir-fried green soybeans, and winter gourd soup—none of which particularly appealed to him.

He rarely was picky, but green soybeans and winter gourd happened to be among his least favorites.

Since the portions weren’t enough for four anyway, Ji Qingzhou told the others to go ahead and eat while he stepped out to order a side dish elsewhere.

Having spent so much time with him lately, Song Yuer had come to see him like an older brother. Even when it was just the two of them at lunch, she no longer felt shy or awkward.

Song Yuer glanced up from the table. "Isn’t Mr. Jie bringing you lunch today?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Qingzhou's lips curled slightly. "Him? You don't know, but he's a spoiled rich kid. It’s a big deal when he's in a good mood and brings me food now and then. Like he could do it every day?"

But it's not just "now and then"—he’s here like clockwork every other day! Today’s his usual visit day... Song Yuer thought to herself.

But then again, she was still new here and couldn’t judge his habits based on just two coincidences.

"Alright, Second Sister Feng, you and Yuer go ahead and eat first. I'll snag some takeout," Ji Qingzhou said casually.

As for A Fu, despite Ji Qingzhou repeatedly insisting he could join them, he insisted on taking his bowl with some food to the kitchen.

After speaking, Ji Qingzhou turned to head upstairs for some cash before going out to find food.

But just as he reached the foyer, a familiar little bark came from outside.

Instinctively turning, he saw someone holding a cane in one hand and leading a bouncy little black-and-white pup with the other, coming up the steps, followed by A You carrying a food box.

"Hey, what’s with the surprise lunch delivery? No heads-up this morning?"

Surprised, Ji Qingzhou crouched at the door and caught the puppy leaping toward him, lifting it onto his lap.

"You even brought Howie along!"

Hearing his voice, Jie Yuan stopped and replied calmly, "Claims he missed you."

Ji Qingzhou looked up at him, raising an eyebrow with a teasing smile. "Who? Howie missed me? Did he whisper it in your ear while you slept?"

"At lunch, he camped by your chair, whining his little heart out. Isn’t that missing you?"

"..." Ji Qingzhou shook his head speechlessly and set Howie down.

Then, standing up, he took the leash from Jie Yuan and tied it to the staircase railing in the foyer, chuckling lightly. "C’mon, Yuan Yuan, isn’t it possible he just wanted the food from your bowl?"

"But he was already full."

"He’s a puppy—his nose is a bloodhound’s. If he smells meat, of course he’ll turn into a little beggar. Even if he knows he won’t get any, he’ll still turn on the puppy eyes. Don’t you know such a simple thing?"

After securing the leash, Ji Qingzhou reached out to hold the man’s broad hand, leading him inside while murmuring low by his ear, "Are you sure it was him who missed me? Or was it... you?"

"Me?" Jie Yuan paused involuntarily, first reacting with slight surprise before lowering his voice in feigned indifference. "You’re reading too much into it."

He answered seriously, yet within seconds, a faint sweat inexplicably formed on his forehead.

"Oh, I was just teasing. No need to take it so seriously."

Ji Qingzhou’s grin vanished as fast as it came, pulling him into the dining room.