Chun Ning had no experience in preparing a dowry for his elder sister. Fortunately, his aunt had drawn up a list, simply asking him to see to its preparation. However, with the amount of silver he had, it was definitely impossible to buy everything on the list; he could only buy as much as he could.
After inquiring about the prices of several items, Chun Ning was a bit dumbfounded: the silver he had on him wouldn’t even buy two things!
A dowry is the confidence a woman’s family provides, not just treasures and silks, but a woman’s entire life.
The scenes of wealthy families marrying off their daughters were vivid in his memory. When his elder sister married, the grand red bed led the way, with a mighty procession of hundreds of servants and attendants escorting her into the Wu family.
Looking at the price of the grand red bed before him, Chun Ning understood why his aunt sighed when drafting the dowry list for his sister: she knew that the entire assets of the Xiao family couldn’t even buy a single grand red bed for his sister.
"Young master, this is a huanghuali wood wedding bed. On which street is your residence? If you fancy it, we can deliver it to your doorsteps."
"Thank you, but I’ll look around a bit more."
It must be said that studying had lent Chun Ning a certain presence. When he stood in a grand house in the Capital, dressed in new-style fabric sent by his elder sister, he exuded an air of nobility.
Seeing him standing before the grand red bed, looking again and again as if making a decision, the shop boy dared not slow down and quickly offered home delivery.
"No need for now, I’ll keep looking."
Inside, Chun Ning felt a pang. If not for his grandfather’s wrongful disgrace, if the Xiao family hadn’t fallen on hard times, his sister’s dowry wouldn’t have been so humble: he couldn’t even buy her a red bed!
"Alright, young master, feel free to look around. All the furniture in our shop is made from the finest wood, and my master’s craftsmanship is top-notch," the shop boy recommended enthusiastically. "It’s no exaggeration to say that in Shuzhou, if my master, Carpenter Guo, claims to be second, no one dares to claim first."
"You have a good eye, young master, choosing our Carpenter Guo’s store. We also provide home measurement and custom furniture services to tailor according to your new house’s layout. You can supply materials or specify the wood."
The craftsmanship was excellent, the materials top-notch, the styles novel, but the prices were high.
This furniture store was unlike others, bustling every day; this was a place where it didn’t open for three days, but one sale could sustain it for three years.
It was rare to encounter a discerning customer, and the shop boy was eager in his recommendation.
"Young master, which style do you fancy..."
"No need, thank you. If I need anything, I’ll come back."
The more enthusiastic they were, the more embarrassed Chun Ning felt, politely preparing to leave.
Watching Chun Ning walk out the store door, the shop boy was still quite regretful.
"You’re truly tireless, talking so much to him. Do you think he looks like someone who could afford this huanghuali wood bed?" a fellow shop worker, more pragmatic, said. "Honestly, when he walked in, I could tell he wasn’t one who could afford it."
"Why?"
The shop boy, a new apprentice, took to heart every word the master had spoken.
The master had said to warmly greet anyone who entered, to introduce the goods in detail, never being negligent.
But how could the senior shop worker tell at a glance that he couldn’t afford it?
Indeed, with the senior worker’s nature, for customers who could afford it, he would flatter like a lackey, his sweet-talking enough to sicken anyone.
"How old do you think he is?"
"Fourteen or fifteen, I guess," the shop boy replied. "It’s normal for sons of wealthy families to get engaged at fourteen or fifteen and marry by sixteen or seventeen, unlike us from poorer families, who might not marry by twenty without some ability."
"Exactly, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old noble son; what kind of family needs an underage child to order a wedding bed himself?"
The shop boy was taken aback.
"Marriage is a major event, dictated by parental approval and matchmakers, with elders overseeing every step from the proposal through the six etiquettes. What child barely mature needs to handle it himself?"
"So that’s how the senior brother could tell he truly couldn’t afford it?" the shop boy wondered. "If he couldn’t afford it, why would he come to look?"
The shop boy thought of all the things he couldn’t afford and wouldn’t dare to even enter the gate.
"By the way, did the senior brother gauge his affordability by his attire?"
"Attire?" The senior brother chuckled a bit. "You are indeed young. His clothing supports the facade; the fabric isn’t available in Shuzhou. If I’m not mistaken, it should be the latest from Jiangnan. This person, not coming from a prominent family but having seen the world, recognizes our quality goods but truly cannot afford them."
"The senior brother is truly brilliant, not only knowing wood but also identifying a customer’s status."