Chapter 675: Chapter 675: Grand Opening

Once the courtyard had running water and electricity, Quincy’s workshop officially opened for business.

Evelyn Ford helped them move out the sewing machines, fabric, thread, and other tools.

Wyatt Vaughn was already very skilled at making clothes, and Quincy picked it up quickly as well. Evelyn Ford also found them some books on clothing construction and design from the storage area.

Annie and Zoe had already registered for the school in the courtyard. Despite the considerable age gap between them, their educational levels were about the same. After enrolling, Evelyn Ford sent them to the courtyard’s kindergarten.

A week after the workshop got going, Quincy decided to pick a date for their grand opening. Evelyn Ford suggested they could knock a hole in the courtyard wall to create an outward-facing window. They could then build a small clothing shop out of red brick just inside the courtyard. This would allow them to display their clothes to passersby without letting strangers into the yard.

It was summer and the weather was quite hot. Once the little shop was built, it would only need to air out for two days before they could move the clothes in.

"I’m getting a little anxious. We’ve made so many clothes, but will anyone actually buy them? Times are tough for everyone right now. Was I too impulsive? Too reckless?" As the opening day drew near, Quincy’s anxiety grew.

"What’s there to be anxious about? If they don’t sell, just hang onto them. You can always trade them to the base later, right?"

Evelyn Ford picked up a garment and inspected it closely. The workmanship was excellent, without a single loose thread. Wyatt Vaughn had even finished the seams with binding and overlocking. The fabric was pure cotton. Even though the material had been soaked in the floods and still bore some stains, the quality was unaffected.

"You two shouldn’t worry. This is your first time starting a business. Whether you succeed or fail isn’t important. What’s important is that you’re there for Zoe as she grows up. This process of living independently from us is a form of growth for you, too. Oh, and take good care of Annie. That child is still quite sensitive." Evelyn Ford waited until the two children had left for school to say this.

Quincy balled his fist and thumped his chest twice. "Don’t worry. In my heart, Annie and Zoe are the same. I won’t play favorites."

"I’m not saying you’d play favorites. It’s just that you can be careless sometimes, and Wyatt Vaughn is pretty laid-back too. Neither of you are the most perceptive people. When you pick the kids up from school, watch to see if any of the other children are ostracizing or bullying them. After all, Annie is quiet and withdrawn, and Zoe is so young. They look like easy targets, and there are more and more little monsters these days."

Only after Evelyn Ford mentioned it did the two of them realize how important this was.

"They’ve both seemed to be in good spirits the last couple of days. They probably aren’t being bullied."

Evelyn Ford sighed. "When I was in elementary school, there was this little tyrant in my class. He didn’t just bully people himself; he’d get other kids to join in on ganging up on one particular student. And this was in first grade. Can you imagine? A six or seven-year-old kid, already that vicious. I saw him with my own eyes, beating another student with an aloe vera leaf he’d broken off from the school’s planters. I was a timid kid, so I didn’t dare get involved. The student he was beating was a girl, and she was bullied for a whole semester just because she didn’t say hello to him first. She ended up transferring schools. Her parents only found out she was being bullied at the end of the term, because that little tyrant had threatened her, saying he’d kill her if she dared to tell her parents."

"A good friend of mine and I were also cornered and threatened by him once. He was tall, with a square face, really dark eyebrows, and a mole by the corner of his mouth. I can still picture his face perfectly. He told my friend and me to give him our allowance as ’tribute.’ That was in second grade. We were on a road that went past a plaza with a fountain. My friend had a fiery temper and grabbed him, ready to take him down with her, which finally scared the little tyrant into begging for mercy."

"After we graduated from elementary school, my friend moved abroad, and the little tyrant moved to another city. When I was a freshman in college, I heard he got into a car crash while street racing. He was killed instantly—crushed flat."

After she finished her story, Evelyn Ford patted Quincy and Wyatt Vaughn on the shoulder. "Bullying is a terrifying thing. Even though I was just a bystander, those events are seared into my memory for life. Don’t underestimate these kids today. Some people are just born malicious. Do you remember those news stories from before the apocalypse? The nine-year-old who threw a four-year-old to their death."

Quincy’s expression turned serious. "I was being too naive. I just assumed that if I sent Zoe to school, she would naturally blend in with the other kids."

"Don’t worry too much," Wyatt Vaughn said, a bit calmer than Quincy. "Zoe has always been smart. If someone makes her unhappy, she’ll definitely tell us." Wyatt Vaughn was more level-headed; based on her understanding of Zoe, she knew the child was no pushover. If someone bullied her, she would absolutely retaliate fiercely.

Annie, on the other hand, was a more difficult case. He was introverted and sensitive. If he were bullied, he would likely overthink things and not want to bother anyone.

"In any case, just keep an eye on them. The kids have just entered a new environment; they’re bound to feel a little anxious and scared."

"Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of them."

...

When the clothing shop opened, Taylor Vance wrote out a celebratory notice and posted it outside the courtyard. On the very first day, quite a few neighbors came over to see what all the fuss was about.

Many people were tempted when they saw the clothes in the shop. After all, most families had children, and no matter how hard life got, you couldn’t let your kids suffer.

The base had distributed clothing when it was first established, but hadn’t given any out since.

Members of the administration could still get fabric rations, but ordinary residents only had one set of clothes, which they had to wash and re-wear, patching them up again and again.

Even the residents here in the courtyard district had few rations or clothes. They didn’t even have spare fabric to patch the clothes they already owned.

The moment the clothing shop opened, it was warmly welcomed by all the neighbors. Some people had previously been wary of Evelyn Ford’s formidable reputation. After the rumors intensified, the courtyard’s service administration, fearing a repeat of past events, had posted an official clarification on the bulletin board outside the supermarket.

Evelyn Ford’s name was finally cleared.

"Hey, owner! This is a private shop you’ve opened here, right? Did the base give you permission? Do you have to pay fees? Where do you get your fabric? Did you make these clothes yourselves, or did you get them from somewhere else?"

Quincy cleared his throat and raised a hand for quiet. "We submitted an application to the base. The leadership told me that as long as you meet the requirements, anyone can open a shop, and there are no fees. As for the fabric, I’m afraid that’s a trade secret. But all the clothes here are handmade by my wife and me. Since they’re for children, we only use cotton and other skin-friendly materials that won’t irritate the skin at all."

You had to hand it to him, Quincy really had a knack for sales. He just stood there, ran his mouth for a bit, and sold dozens of garments just like that.

"Owner, do you have any clothes or shoes for adults?"

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