GBP Chapter 69 The scholar’s wife is here, please come in!
Chapter 69 The scholar’s wife is here, please come in!
Li Xiuxiu was holding the household allowance given by her daughter in her arms, so she had a plan in mind. This time she wanted to go shopping, so that she could have a shopping experience without having to be frugal. She asked Yun Qingsong to park the mule cart on the side of the road, and he got off the cart. She went into a shop selling cloth and ready-made clothes.
Yun Qingsong tied up the mule cart and went to a bookstore next to the cloth shop. His daughter had secretly given him twenty taels of silver as pocket money this morning, so he wanted to buy a few books. Among them was a book that he had been thinking about for a long time but had not been willing to buy.
Li Xiuxiu often comes to this shop to buy cloth. The shopkeeper is a woman in her thirties. When she saw Li Xiuxiu come in, she greeted her with a smile: "Mrs. Scholar, you are here. Please come in! Are you going to buy cloth or ready-made clothes today? You came at the right time today. We just received a few pieces of cloth yesterday. The patterns and colors are very beautiful!"
"Madam, please show me the beautifully patterned cloth you just got. It's for making clothes for girls."
The shopkeeper took out all the new patterns and colors for Li Xiuxiu to choose from.
My dear scholar, please look at these pieces of cloth. The pink one is as beautiful as the colorful clouds in the sky, and the light blue one is even more beautiful. It is really suitable for making clothes for girls! Even for people of our age, it looks good to make a long coat with a skirt or pants. If you match a pink coat with a blue skirt for a girl, she will look like a flower! Or match it with the dark blue pants, it will also have a unique flavor.
The dark blue one is durable and stain-resistant for making clothes for boys at home. The light blue one is also very beautiful when made into a coat, which complements the pink skirt perfectly! How many sets do you need to make? I will calculate how many feet of cloth you need and help you match the colors.
Li Xiuxiu thought about it and decided that if she cut the cloth into clothes for adults and children, she could make eight sets of clothes. Two sets for each adult and child, that would require three pieces of cloth. She would have to ask her second aunt and her three younger brothers and sisters to help her make the clothes. She could also make a set for her second aunt's grandchildren. In this way, she should have some left over from buying four pieces of cloth, and could make a pair of shoes for everyone in the family.
"Shopkeeper's wife, I have many children at home. If I buy all four pieces of cloth, pink, light blue, dark blue and the dark blue next to it, how much discount can you give me? In this way, you don't have to worry about measuring the size and cutting, and you don't have to worry about not being able to sell the remaining pieces at a high price.
I also need some white cotton cloth for undergarments, and a piece of linen to make a few sets of work-wear for the adults.
When the shopkeeper's wife heard that the scholar's wife was an important customer, she became more attentive. It was rare for country people to buy several feet of cloth at once to make a set of clothes, so she became more attentive.
My dear scholar, you bought so much at once, which really surprised me! Don't worry, the price will definitely make you smile with satisfaction! My fine cotton cloth is first-class quality goods, and it usually costs 15 wen per foot! If you want more, I will give you a big discount, 2 wen per foot, only 13 wen per foot. Don't you think this price is like pie in the sky? Such good things, such a good price, are really hard to find even with a lantern!
Li Xiuxiu calculated in her mind that this piece of cloth was 40 feet long and cost 13 wen per foot, which equaled 520 wen.
"Madam, I won't bargain with you. I'll give you 500 coins for this piece of cloth. Is that okay with you? If so, I'll take all of them."
The shopkeeper thought that although the price was cheap, he could still make a profit. It was not easy to meet a big customer, so he would just treat it as attracting a regular customer. "Well, I will sell you these pieces of cloth at the price the scholar's wife asked."
"Boss, I also want one roll of linen and two rolls of white cloth. How much do you think they are?"
"Linen is cheap, 8 wen a foot, this piece is 320 wen, I will charge you 300 wen. White fine cotton does not need to be dyed, the cost is slightly lower, so I will charge you 400 wen a piece. Scholar, I will give you some scraps of cloth to make the edges of your clothes or skirts or to make buttons, which will look good. You know that my profit from linen and white cloth is very low, there is really no profit. I will sell all of these to you at a low price, and I hope you will come to my house again when you buy cloth in the future!"
Li Xiuxiu thought about it for a while and nodded in agreement, "Okay then, you can calculate the price for me and have someone send it to my mule cart outside."
The total amount was 100 wen, which was taels of silver and copper coins. Li Xiuxiu originally planned to buy some cloth and cotton and make two more quilts, but it was really painful to spend so much money. Fortunately, summer was approaching and there were enough quilts at home, so she put aside the idea of buying them for the time being. She thought that when the weather got colder in winter, she would make a thick quilt for everyone, and then they would all be covered with new quilts to keep warm during the winter.
Li Xiuxiu paid the silver, went to the rice shop and bought ten kilograms of millet, and then went to the bookstore to find Yun Qingsong.
Yun Qingsong had already bought the books he needed, and also some pens, ink and paper. The shopkeeper packed them and placed them on the counter. Li Xiuxiu had not come to find him yet, so Yun Qingsong concentrated on reading a book in front of the bookshelf.
When the two men came out, the owner of the cloth shop had already had the cloth packed and put on the mule cart. The owner also thoughtfully gave them some thread of the same color as the cloth.
The two of them went to the market and bought some radishes and cabbages. The vegetables from the family garden were still small, so they were reluctant to eat them. The radishes and cabbages were also stored in the cellar last year, so they were not very fresh. But something was better than nothing. There were so many people in the family that they couldn't live without vegetables, so they bought some more. They also bought two fish, but not meat because they had wild boar meat at home.