Chapter 75 - 75 Chapter 75. Su Qing is Angry
75 Chapter 75. Su Qing is Angry
“Xiaoying, you’d better keep these words to yourself. You’re not allowed to mention them to anyone.”
Su Qing said to Ji Xiaoying in an unusually stern manner. Ji Xiaoying was so frightened that she nodded her head repeatedly. Although she did not understand why her sister was angry, she remembered what her foster father had said. It was the same as what her sister had said. She did not want anyone to know that her big brother had a peerless beauty.
Seeing that she had scared Xiaoying, her big eyes were like those of an elk being chased by a tiger. Su Qing softened her tone and teased her,
“Xiaoying is quite handsome in men’s clothes!”
Seeing her sister smile again, Xiaoying’s nervous heart finally relaxed. She smiled and turned in a circle.” Am I handsome?”
“Good, let me help you comb your hair.”
Seeing that Xiaoying was no longer afraid, Su Qing told her gently. Xiaoying nodded happily and sat on the bench, waiting for her sister to comb her hair.
She had no mother since she was a child, and only aunt Qiu and aunt Li would occasionally help her comb her hair. She especially yearned for someone to treat her as well as her mother or to have a biological sister who doted on her.
She had felt this kind of warmth from Su Qing, who depended on her.
“Let’s go. Let’s get your brother and Daniu some clothes.”
When Su Qing saw Xiaoying smile again, she pulled her out of the changing room. The young ladies of wealthy families were extraordinary. The shopkeeper at the door was slightly confused when he saw them change into men’s clothes.
“Innkeeper, did you see the three men loading the food into the carriage? Pick three sets of clothes and three pairs of shoes for me according to their size.”
Su Qing pointed at Ji Shuisheng, Li Daniu, and the rest as she ordered the shopkeeper. Today, the three had not abandoned her and helped her in battle. For this loyalty, she should give them a gift.
“Do you want a better one or the same one as what you’re wearing?”
The shopkeeper stood at the door and looked around. After calculating the size of the three people, he returned to ask Su Qing.
“A little better,”
Su Qing thought for a moment. She couldn’t give something terrible; she had to give something good.
“Alright, please wait a moment. I’ll immediately help you choose.”
The shopkeeper’s c.o.ke was broken. Today, he had to offer the G.o.d of fortune incense with more good fruits. This was the biggest deal in half a year.
“Shopkeeper, since we’ve bought so many clothes, how about you give a pair of socks for each set?”
Su Qing did not haggle before, but now she has made a request. Generally, clothes from clothing stores could be haggled, and she did not want to be a sucker.
“… This? Alright!”
The boss’s heart ached a little. He thought that she was a generous lady. Why did rich people also bargain?
However, he still made a lot of money. He was usually better at haggling prices when he sold clothes, so he had never sold so much!
“Boss, please pack our clothes separately.”
Su Qing said to the shop owner. She quite liked the traditional green dress that old Qin had given her. She would wear these two sets of clothes when they arrived at Jingshi Dao.
“Alright,” he said.
The shopkeeper immediately sent someone to help them wrap up the clothes. The professionals folded the clothes neatly, and Su Qing was delighted.
“Miss, ten sets of coa.r.s.e cloth are five hundred Wen each. Ten sets will cost a total of five taels of silver. These three sets of good men’s clothing are two taels of silver each, a total of six taels of silver. The three pairs of shoes will cost a total of three hundred Wen. In total, it will be eleven taels and three hundred Wen.
The shopkeeper clattered on his giant abacus as he reported the amount. Ji Xiaoying’s heart ached as she pulled su Qing aside and whispered, “Sister, it’s too expensive.”
“Miss, it’s not expensive. These clothes would be sold for at least one tael of silver in normal times. Now that it’s not a good year, I’ve already pushed it to the cost price. If I sell any less, the store will lose money. Moreover, I have to give you thirteen pairs of socks. One pair of socks should be at least eight wens, right?”
Hearing Ji Xiaoying’s complaint about the price, the shopkeeper was afraid that this business would go to waste, so he quickly told her about his hard work.
“Wrap it up!”
Su Qing raised her hand to interrupt him and threw a 50 tael silver note on the counter.
“Wrap up that pile of rags for me.”
Su Qing pointed to the pile of cloth on the ground and told the shopkeeper. He had promised to give it to her but had forgotten about it. However, it was okay if he did not forget about it.
“Alright,” he said.
The shopkeeper didn’t want to nod; he thought this girl only wanted a few pieces of cloth. In the end, she wanted all of it. Hey, hey, hey, who asked him to agree?
Su Qing and Xiaoying left the boutique with a big bag of clothes in satisfaction. Ji Shuisheng and the others were almost done loading the cars, but the problem was that they only brought one carriage, but they bought too much food and couldn’t fit it.
“Shuisheng, why don’t we buy a cart? We can use the extra horses to pull the cart and carry more food.”
Qiu Yongkang’s heart ached as he spoke. He only had forty-eight taels of silver left, and a cart was worth a few taels of silver.
“That’s good.”
Ji Shuisheng looked at the two sacks of grain on the ground. He could buy more grain if he bought a cart. This year’s drought was severe, and grain production had been reduced so the price would rise.
“Ask the boss where I can buy a cart.”
Qiu Yongkang went to the store to ask the owner about something. After all, they were unfamiliar with the place and didn’t even know where the market was.
“Big brother, big sister has bought you some clothes.”
Ji Xiaoying ran over happily. She was carrying the clothes Su Qing had bought for Ji Shuisheng, and the rest happily showed them to Ji Shuisheng.
“How could she?”
Ji Shuisheng didn’t look at the clothes but at Su Qing. His expression was very unnatural. It was always a man who gave things to a woman. Why was it the other way around?
Moreover, Su Qing had one for each of them, not just for himself. This proved that he was not special.
As soon as this thought appeared, Ji Shuisheng found it funny. He had no relationship with Su Qing, so why would he expect her to treat him differently from others?
Ji Shuisheng wanted to give the money for the clothes to Su Qing, but he couldn’t even take out a tael of silver. A man with money was a man without money. Ji Shuisheng’s expression was awkward.
“These two hundred and fifty taels of silver are what you deserve.”
Su Qing took out five silver notes worth fifty taels and handed them to Ji Shuisheng. Her face was still cold, and her voice was not warm. It was as if a superior spoke to a subordinate stiffly and coldly.
“Why is it only what I should get?”
Ji Shuisheng was confused by Su Qing. She came up to give him clothes and even silver notes. What was this woman doing?
“Old Qin gave us five hundred taels of silver to thank us for saving him. We did it together, so the money should be divided equally.”
Su Qing impatiently smacked the silver notes into Ji Shuisheng’s hands. She did not feel anything wrong with holding Ji Shuisheng’s hand. She was modern and did not feel anything about the rules between men and women.
Qiu Yongkang and Li Daniu exited the grain store and saw Su Qing holding Ji Shuisheng’s hand. They looked at each other, and Li Daniu asked Qiu Yongkang with his eyes,
“What happened? Something is going on between them?”
“I don’t know,”
Qiu Yongkang shrugged helplessly.
The two of them were so scared that they didn’t dare to speak, afraid that Su Qing would see them and feel awkward.
“Yongkang, keep the silver notes. Pay Su Qing for the three sets of clothes.”
Ji Shuisheng felt that his hand was numb after Su Qing pulled it. The five silver notes were like hot yam. When he saw Qiu Yongkang come out, he quickly threw them at him.
Qiu Yongkang looked at the banknote in his hand and asked Ji Shuisheng, in shock,
“What kind of money is this?”