Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Enemies on a Narrow Road
“Forget it! That’s in the past! Let’s not talk about it anymore,” Xuexue waved her hand impatiently.
“Thank you, miss! You are truly magnanimous,” the waiter said.
“Enough, stop flattering me. I remember you mentioned last time that you are the waiter here?” Xuexue asked.
“Hehe…! Miss has a good memory, yes, I am the shop assistant here at the cloth shop,” the waiter replied.
Xuexue looked up at the cloth on the shelves and said, “We’d like to buy two bolts of cloth. Do you have any recommendations?”
Madam Xie was skilled in tailoring, and making clothes was cheaper than buying ready-made ones, so Xuexue planned to buy two bolts of fabric and have Madam Xie make outfits for each of them.
“Does the young lady want something of higher quality or just average quality?” the strong man asked energetically, as if invigorated by business.
“Average is fine,” Xuexue replied lightly.
Given their current situation at home, everyone in Mo Family Village thought they were poor. Wearing something too lavish might draw suspicion; it was better to keep a low profile.
“Miss, this fabric is quite nice, it’s both cheap and good value, only costing one tael of silver,” the strong man said as he presented a bolt of finely patterned flower fabric on the counter for Xuexue, thankful that they had not held him responsible for the scare they had last time. He recommended it diligently.
Xuexue touched the fabric; it was cotton and quite thick, truly nice and even the color was fitting—a light pink, which was festive for the New Year.
“Good! We’ll take this one,” Xuexue nodded and added, “I need another bolt for a man.”
With her and her daughter getting new clothes for the New Year, it was only proper to make an outfit for Big Bull as well.
The strong man glanced at Big Bull waiting by the door and immediately understood, turning around, he brought out a bolt of blue fabric and placed it on the counter: “Miss, take a look, this one is quite good, suitable for a young man.”
“Hmm! It looks really nice, how much does it cost?”
“This one’s a bit better, slightly more expensive, it costs two taels of silver,” the strong man said cautiously, knowing Xuexue’s modest dress, which had many patches, indicated they were not well-off and worried she might not afford it.
Unexpectedly, Xuexue readily agreed: “Okay!”
This fabric was nice, and two taels of silver were indeed reasonable. Xuexue casually pulled out three taels of silver from her bosom and placed them on the counter: “Waiter, please pack these two bolts together for me; it’s easier to carry that way.”
Having made a sale, the strong man was pleased and quickly tied the two bolts together with a string and handed them to Xuexue.
Having finished their shopping, they were ready to head back.
“Big Bull, let’s go.”
Big Bull, who had been waiting at the door, swiftly shouldered his load and followed Xuexue.
Xuexue, with the fabric slung over her shoulder, walked ahead briskly.
At the area where the ox-cart was waiting, several women were already seated in the cart. Just as they joined, the cart became full, and once they boarded, the ox-cart started to make its journey back.
“Wow! Xuexue, did you strike it rich? Buying so much stuff,” a voice taunted irritably.
Xuexue looked up and saw, as fate would have it, it was Lady Li. She was intently staring at the basket of goods, her eyes filled with jealousy.
“It’s the New Year, even if we’re poor, we still need to buy things for the celebration,” Xuexue coldly retorted.
“Oh, dear! Just these two bolts of cloth must have cost a good deal of silver,” Lady Li eyed the two bolts in Xuexue’s hands gleamingly, and then she reached out to push aside the miscellaneous items on top of the basket, curious to see what else was inside.