Chapter 6

I needed to earn as much money as I could, as quickly as possible.

For my winter holiday job, I chose clothing sales, where I could earn commission.

One day, an older woman came into the shop. She didn’t speak the local dialect very well. In an old padded coat washed until it had gone stiff, she kept circling a children’s outfit priced at 384 yuan. Every so often, longing crossed her face, followed by dismay at the price.

The experienced sales assistant beside me gave her a disdainful glance, then nudged me. “You’re new and still learning. You can have that customer.”

I felt sorry for the woman.

She must have scrimped on her own food and clothes and come all the way into the city with her savings to buy something for a child, never realizing how much prices had risen.

I went over and offered the lowest price I could manage. “This outfit is filled with ninety percent duck down. It was 384, but with the discount it’s 299 for the set. What do you think?”

She still hesitated. “Could you help me get it a little cheaper?”

The other assistant came over, apparently deciding the woman was blocking other customers from looking. “That’s what everything costs these days. Do you want it or not? If you don’t, please move. There are people waiting behind you to try it on!”

The woman knew she was being told to leave.

Disappointed, she turned away. I couldn’t help reaching out to stop her. “Let me talk to the manager for you. How much are you short?”

For some reason, perhaps because she thought I was different from the others, her eyes filled with tears. “What is the world coming to? I’ve been through every children’s clothing shop on this street. You’re the only assistant who hasn’t looked down on me!”

She paused, then said at the top of her voice, “Young lady! For your sake alone, I’m buying winter clothes for every child at our children’s home right here!”

I stood rooted to the spot, as though so much good fortune had hit me at once that it left me dizzy.

“Xuanxuan! Hurry and help her fill out an order!” I hadn’t noticed the owner come back. She patted my shoulder, looking impressed, and whispered, “Keep working hard for me. Bring in enough orders, and I’ll raise your commission!”

That day,

I was the busiest person in the shop.

The owner couldn’t stop smiling. She told me my commission for that single day had already passed ten thousand yuan.