"Alright, I will pack these up for you right away." The shopkeeper, seeing that the customer had just bought two rolls of his silk cloth in one go, was overjoyed. "That will be a total of three taels of silver."
Ye Ziping gladly accepted the price and handed over the silver without a whimper.
However, Yang Lichun, having made her purchase, was reluctant to leave. She wanted to see what Yang Chuxia was buying.
Yang Chuxia had sensed her intentions and chose to ignore her, continuing with her own shopping instead. She had a large family, and each person would need at least two sets of clothes. Their cloth was also needed for Old Yang and Ye Zi’an.
She meticulously selected around ten rolls of cloth before calling it a day.
Looking on from the side, Ye Ziping had a flash of hatred in his eyes. Yang Lichun was experiencing similar feelings.
"Hmph, such a poor soul, can’t even afford a roll of silk."
Ironically, Yang Chuxia had not bought a single roll of silk. What she bought was fine cotton cloth. Silk was not suitable for folks from her countryside. But when did it become the business of this little imp [what she bought]?
She scoffed in response, "I may not be able to afford it, but at least the cloth I buy, whether it’s silk or not, is purchased with my own money. It’s unlike certain people, who, although they have not even reached adulthood, rely on men. How shameful it is to only learn the bad and discard the good. Are you intending to follow your ill-behaved grandmother’s footsteps?"
"You..." Yang Lichun was so infuriated by Yang Chuxia’s remark that she almost stomped her foot in rage. And it wasn’t just because of the matter involving Old Lady Hua but also due to the truth in Yang Chuxia’s claim.
Ye Ziping was already in his mid to late teens, an age of budding desires. By chance, he had run into a homeless Yang Lichun and her mother and had taken them in.
They lived off him and shouldered some humiliation in return. If she were a bit older, Ye Ziping would have taken advantage of them already.
The reason Yang Lichun was homeless was due to the rumours about Old Lady Hua spreading to her grandmother’s house. The people there felt humiliated and refused to take them in.
So, both issues brought up by Yang Chuxia unsettled her deeply.
"Alright, alright, Sister Chun, let’s not hassle with her, you still want to buy silver hairpins, right? I’ll take you to purchase them."
With those words, Ye Ziping dragged Yang Lichun away, but before leaving, he gave Yang Chuxia a deep, meaningful glare.
That look made Yang Chuxia feel uneasy, as if a poisonous snake had fixed its gaze on her.
"Xiaxia, now that we have bought the cloth, let’s buy some cotton batting," Ms. Wang’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Yang Chuxia and Ye Zi’an exchanged a glance, said nothing, and followed Ms. Wang to the cotton store.
After considering the needs of everyone in their household, Ms. Wang bought four bags of cotton batting, that cost her nearly two taels of silver.
Ms. Wang knew the family could afford new clothes now, which was a stark contrast to earlier times when she would never have bought so much even if it meant getting beaten.
As they exited the store selling cotton batting, Yang Chuxia noticed a shop next door was up for sale.
"Mother, wait for me a moment." After talking to Ms. Wang, Yang Chuxia pulled Ye Zi’an along. "Brother An, accompany me to check out that shop."
"Are you looking to buy a shop?" he enquired, having noticed the sign on the shop earlier.
"Not necessarily, let’s first check it out. If it’s cheap, we could buy it; otherwise, we’d let it go."
Standing in front of the shop, Yang Chuxia raised her voice to call, "Shopkeeper, Shopkeeper!"