Chapter 225: Chapter 94: The 60s Cultural Troupe’s Top Star (33)

Without waiting for a reaction, she turned to another woman. "Comrade Peng Shulan, I know which dresses you’re talking about. The styles from Shanghai are certainly novel, but their fabric can’t compare to what we produce right here in our factory."

"If you like the style, I can sketch it out for you later. We can take our factory’s fabric, tailor it to your size, and run it through a sewing machine. I guarantee, Comrade Peng Shulan, you’ll be a vision of summer in our factory!"

Xia Zhaoyun then turned to someone else. "Comrade Yao Yunying, I also know a few summer shirt styles for seniors—simple, elegant, and very handsome! Our factory’s cotton-linen is breathable and sweat-absorbent. I guarantee that if the old mister and missus wear them, they’ll treasure their sweet granddaughter in their hearts..."

The crowd fell silent, all of them staring at her.

It was Yao Yunying who finally sputtered, "Song... Comrade Xia Zhaoyun, if you’re so talented, why don’t you just ascend to the heavens?"

Xia Zhaoyun snapped her fingers and said with a perfectly straight face, "Comrade Yao Yunying, that’s a very creative idea. It’s given me some inspiration. I’m now planning to make some drastic revisions to our group’s performance."

"We’ll just add a segment where someone flies..."

’Was that what they meant?’

Xia Zhaoyun smiled, stood up, and clapped her hands. "Ladies, I’m thrilled that Teacher Su has appointed me to lead you all in preparing for the joint performance gala hosted by our affiliated units here in North City in half a month!"

"What’s more, I got a promise from Teacher Su. If we can place in the top ten, we’ll have the chance to be chosen for the city-wide arts festival in August."

"We’ll be going to the city! You’ll have a chance to meet handsome, genuinely talented young men from all sorts of professions. Aren’t you tempted?" she suddenly asked, lowering her voice.

Her words made the roomful of young women flush beet-red, and the temperature in the room instantly shot up five or six degrees!

"Xia Zhaoyun, you—have you no shame? You’re married, but we’re all still single..." Zhao Si’en bit her lip, her retort lacking any real force.

Xia Zhaoyun laughed heartily. "I’m just stating facts! Take me, for instance. I reunited with Comrade Huo Tianhao at a previous concert. Tsk, tsk. The young men at that concert were all such dapper phonies."

"Comrade Xia Zhaoyun," Yao Yunying ground her teeth. "You at least graduated from high school. Can you not misuse words? That’s a derogatory term!"

Xia Zhaoyun raised an eyebrow. "I think my wording was perfectly accurate. You all want to find a partner who’s handsome, comes from a good family, and has a great job, but they’re judging us by the same standards."

"Some of these rich kids are just looking for a thrill. Once they’ve sweet-talked a girl, had their fun, and taken advantage, they turn right around and marry someone with a similar family background."

The group was both indignant and embarrassed. "We—we aren’t so bad ourselves! This is a new society; judging people based on family background is wrong! When a couple gets their marriage certificate now, it’s entirely their own decision. It has nothing to do with their parents..."

Xia Zhaoyun just smiled. "So for the sake of love, you’d be willing to give up the bride price?"

They nodded emphatically. "Of course! Love is priceless. We have our own two hands; we can start from scratch and still build a wonderful life together!"

Xia Zhaoyun couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Just as the others were about to explode with anger, she cut off her laughter and said coolly, "How naive. You think you’re so noble, that your love for a man is completely free of any self-interest."

"But you won’t get the respect you deserve from his family. Your mother-in-law might even brag to others, ’My son is so capable, he got himself a wife with a snap of his fingers. Didn’t cost a single cent in bride price, and she even brought a huge dowry!’"

"To them, you’re cheap. Someone they can summon and dismiss at will. That’s the reality!"

"You were raised by your family, but you’ll earn money for his family. In the future, just try visiting your parents a little too often or bringing them a few too many gifts, and see the look you get from your husband and his mother."

"You can’t stand seeing your own family as if they’re ’selling’ a daughter, but whether or not your in-laws are willing to give you face is also an assessment of how that family defines your status."

"Perhaps in the future, when people are more enlightened, mothers and daughters-in-law will get along peacefully. We women will be able to stand tall, on equal footing with men in the family, regardless of who is marrying into whose family. But right now, harmonious relationships with in-laws are rare. Even in this new society, the bride price is still a required step."

"You’re not like me. I’m in direct control of my man’s entire savings and salary, plus a house his mother left him."

"If my man dares to treat me poorly, I can walk right out the door with all that money and find a better-looking young man..."

Everyone’s eyes went wide. "Comrade Xia Zhaoyun, you... didn’t you insist on marrying no one but Little Hero Huo? The man is alive and well, and you’re already planning to divorce him?"

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