Chapter 29
“It’s a memorial picture for Father, of course I won’t rush it . I will take my time . ” The fish had already taken the bait, if she were to reel it in too quickly, the line would break . So, she will reel it in, loosen it a little, then reel it in again, till it reaches her hand .
“Shopkeeper, how much would the thread cost? I naturally want the best for Father, but seeing that these thread are such great quality, I’m afraid I do not have enough silver for all of them . I shall only buy the ones that I urgently need . ”
“Ah, Lady, don’t rush . You are so young and already so filial, I am thoroughly moved . I can give Lady some of these thread . But not all the colours are here…could lady perhaps tell me your stitching speed, perhaps I can get my servants to collect all the thread faster . ”
“If I really do tell you, you might think that I am bluffing . I have seen many mountains and rivers pictures with Father, so I am extremely familiar with every colour and thread . If I were to rush, it would take me about two months to finish . ”
“Lady is telling the truth?” Although he was a bit suspicious of her claim, if it really were to be true, he might be able to get incredible benefits from it . “Excuse my rudeness, but seeing Lady and your family’s clothes, I think that you belong to an ordinary family . All these high grade thread and cloth, on the other hand, are incredibly expensive . ”
Mu Yunyao’s smile did not fade . “Shopkeeper is right . Thus, I decided to take my time to accumulate the silver that I need to buy the thread . In the end, I will still be able to finish my mountains and rivers picture . ”
“I have a suggestion, Lady . I can use my own wealth to give you the best thread and cloth . ”
Mu Yunyao’s expression immediately changed into a guarded one . “Why is shopkeeper so nice?”
“Do not panic, Lady . Your Flying Needle technique has been lost for a very long time . Seeing it today has filled my heart with immense satisfaction . An elder from my family is going to have his birthday soon, if Lady has the heart to give up the picture, I will buy it at a very high price to give it to my elder as his birthday present . ”
“This is for Father, I do not want to sell it . ” Instead of begging other people to buy her picture, why don’t she get them to beg her to sell it? This way, the picture will fetch an even higher price .
“I understand Lady’s hesitation, but if Lady were to stitch the picture using the best thread and cloth, it might take Lady many years to get enough money to buy them . I am very aware of this fact and I don’t want Lady to go through this torture . If Lady finishes stitching out the picture, it would already serve as a filial action . Then, selling it to me would earn you enough silver to make your lives better, and also allow me to be filial to my elder . That is killing three eagles with one arrow!”
(T/N: There is this Chinese phrase “一箭双雕” that means “one arrow two eagles” in the literal meaning . It has the same meaning as “killing two birds with one stone” . Originally, the phrase in this story was “一举三得” which literally means “one action three benefits” which sounds a little weird? So yeah, I changed it…)
Mu Yunyao studied him . With this silver tongue of his, she could understand how he was able to become the shopkeeper of Spring Embroidery . “Shopkeeper’s words do make sense . ”
Seeing that Mu Yunyao was starting to waver, the smile on the shopkeeper’s face became even bigger . “I can see that Lady is a very kind and honest person . I will pick out some thread and send it to your home . You can think about it while stitching . ”
“Is this not improper?”
“I have been the shopkeeper of Spring Embroidery for many years, I do think that I have a good eye for judging people’s character . Lady can definitely be trusted . Hey, I need two people to help prepare a carriage for the Lady . Also, get one batch of these cloth and thread and send it to Lady’s house . ”
“Shopkeeper, really……,” Mu Yunyao seemed very unsure .
Seeing this, the shopkeeper became even more certain with his decision . “No worries, no worries, I’m doing this to be on good terms with Lady . ” He would not publicise this deal . If he is successful, he would reap immense benefits from this . If this deal fails, the people who are sending the goods to this little girl’s house would know her address . Dealing with a little villager girl would be as easy as lifting a finger .