allonlinenovel Chapter 310 Buying New Clothes
Chapter 310 Buying New Clothes
If they can offer a discount, that would be even better.
"Okay, please go and ask." Lin Xiaotang replied with a smile.
My father was two or three years older than Uncle Shuisheng, and Uncle Wuyu was not much older than Fourth Uncle, so it was easier to buy clothes for the four of them.
She considered it for a moment and saw a rack with neatly arranged men's clothing in light blue, dark blue, azure, lake blue, light green... the styles were almost identical.
Lin Xiaotang picked out a navy blue shirt for her father. His face wasn't fair enough, and light colors would make him look darker. This navy blue shirt was simple and beautiful, and the color made him look calm and composed.
"Dad, what do you think of this one?"
Lin Qingchuan was used to a hard life and didn't care much about clothes. He would wear old, patched clothes as long as they didn't expose his skin or let the wind in.
But since it's about buying new clothes for everyone, he'll definitely buy them all. He grinned and said, "The one Tang'er picked is naturally the best. If Father thinks it looks good, then this is it."
Lin Xiaotang naturally understood her father's personality. He was the kind of person who would wear whatever was given to him and would never choose his own clothes. When you spend money to buy clothes, you can't just pick any one at random.
She looked up at her with a helpless expression and said, "Dad, we're spending money to buy clothes, so we have to pick and choose carefully to make it worth the money. It's not just about whether they look good on us or not; it's also about whether they make us look fat or thin. Since we're spending money, we have to buy something that we're happy with."
Shui Sheng added, "Xiao Tang is right. We should listen to Xiao Tang on this matter. These clothes and fabrics look very nice and must be expensive. We can just take one piece and leave. The shopkeeper is overjoyed that the business is so easy to conduct."
When I was running my own business, I knew all too well how tough and difficult it was. Earning money through hard work wasn't easy, and even now that I have money, I can't spend it like this.
"What if we just pick a couple of clothes and leave, and they don't fit, but we can't bear to throw them away? That would be so frustrating!"
After listening to his daughter and Shuisheng's explanation, Lin Qingchuan felt that what they said made a lot of sense.
"Okay, I'm just used to being casual and didn't think too much about it. You're right, when we spend money on clothes, we should buy what we like."
So they each picked what they liked. After much deliberation, Lin Qingchuan finally chose the one his daughter had picked for him. Shui Sheng also picked a darker color, but Lin Xiaotang persuaded him to change it.
“Uncle Shuisheng, you’re younger than my father and not married yet. Why are you wearing dark colors? Dark colors make you look too serious. You should choose light blue or light green. That would make you look younger and more energetic. Maybe you’ll attract some romance soon. Wait… no, you can’t attract romance. What will happen to my aunt if you do?”
Shuisheng's face flushed red instantly. He said somewhat embarrassedly, "Xiaotang, why are you talking nonsense again? Let's talk about this privately, don't do it outside..."
Lin Xiaotang covered her mouth and laughed, "Is Uncle Shuisheng shy?" She turned her head and looked up at her father, "Father, Uncle Shuisheng and Aunt are a good match. It's fate that we've brought everyone together in our business. When we get home, you and Mother can discuss it and try to matchmake Uncle Shuisheng and Aunt. Wouldn't that make the marriage happen?"
Lin Qingchuan was taken aback and was quite surprised. "Oh, Shuisheng and your aunt? How come I didn't know about this? If this marriage goes through, we'll be even closer relatives. Okay, I think it's a good idea. When we get home, I'll discuss it with your mother. If this marriage really goes through, we'll take care of their wedding arrangements."
"Dad, you're really something! So generous!"
Lin Xiaotang smiled broadly and gave her father a thumbs up.
He saw a light blue cotton dress, the fabric was fine and sturdy, the workmanship was good, and the style was simple and lightweight. She immediately picked it up and handed it to Uncle Shuisheng.
"This looks good, and the color suits you too. Why don't you try it on, Uncle Shuisheng?"
Shui Sheng saw that Xiao Tang had picked out a dress for him, and it was truly the most beautiful dress he had ever seen. He had never seen such a beautiful dress in his entire life.
He rubbed his hands together, then hesitated and said, “Xiao Tang, this dress is so beautiful. Look at the stitches, they’re even finer than your mother’s and aunt’s. I’m very dirty from working. If it’s too expensive and we try it on but don’t buy it, they might not let us leave.”
“Uncle Shuisheng, don’t be afraid. These are all cotton, not brocade, so they won’t cost much more. You’re still young, you should get some new clothes and dress up nicely. Life was just too hard before, otherwise you would have…”
She immediately shut her mouth and swallowed the rest of her words.
Although that is true, things are different now. In the past, everyone's life was hard. Uncle Shuisheng was often ridiculed by the villagers because he was poor and had no children. However, he never argued with anyone. Sometimes he would joke about it himself. But things are different now.
Uncle Shuisheng also saved money. Aunt Xiangqin helped Uncle Si sell breakfast every day. Uncle Si's breakfast stall made money. After deducting the money he returned to Manager Zhang, Uncle Si kept the capital and paid Aunt Xiangqin wages for the rest.
As Aunt Xiangqin and Uncle Shuisheng and his mother became increasingly wealthy, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to keep bringing up the fact that Uncle Shuisheng hadn't been able to find a wife because of their poverty.
She immediately said, "Oh, Uncle Shuisheng, trust my judgment, this dress will definitely suit you. If you don't want to try it on, we can buy it and try it on at home."
Lin Qingchuan, standing to the side, unfolded the azure blue garment and examined it carefully from top to bottom and front to back. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Tang'er has such good taste! How could this garment be made so well? It is indeed more beautiful than what your mother makes, although your mother's garments are more comfortable to wear."
He turned his head and glanced at the clothes in Shui Sheng's hand, saying, "Let's listen to Tang'er; the clothes she picked are beautiful."
So, persuaded by Qingchuan and his daughter, Shuisheng chose the light blue dress.
With such beautiful clothes in sight, all the other clothes seemed ordinary. Shui Sheng felt that apart from the ones Xiao Tang had chosen for him, none of the rest of the clothes were attractive.
Lin Xiaotang carefully selected two more items from the pile of clothes: an apricot-yellow cotton dress for Uncle Wu Yu and a lake-blue dress for Fourth Uncle.
She originally wanted to choose a black one for her fourth uncle, but then she thought that since he made breakfast every day and had to knead dough constantly, black would look dirty if it got covered in flour, so she changed it to a lake blue one instead.
Aunt's dress was peach pink, Mother's dress was orange red, her and Xiaoyu's were apricot, Xiaojiu's was light green, and Aunt Xiangqin's dress was a floral cotton dress. The whole family had all the clothes they bought.
Finally, Lin Xiaotang used her silver tongue to get the shop assistant and manager to give them a discount. Ten pieces of clothing and ten pairs of shoes cost them less than three taels of silver in total.
Before paying, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't bought new clothes for her newborn brother, but this shop didn't sell baby clothes. So, she pleaded with the shopkeeper to give her two pieces of high-quality scrap fabric.
A piece of red cotton cloth and a piece of white satin cloth—leftovers that a clothing shop would not need—were enough to make two small garments for my younger brother.
Newborn babies don't require much fabric.
After the waiter quickly packed their clothes, he politely saw them off and even helped them put the packed clothes onto the carriage.
The three of them went to the East Market and bought two chickens, three fish, ten catties of meat, and several bundles of vegetables to take home.
When they returned to the pig's trotter shop and entered through the back door, Aunt Xiangqin and Xiaoyu were playing in the yard. It was already evening, and the people who had gotten up early in the morning had finished catching up on their sleep and were now busy with their work.
Shen Qianchuan was preparing ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast, while Liu Cai'er and Wu Yu were cleaning pig's trotters and getting ready to braise them. The two female workers had already finished work and gone home.
Xiao Jiu was sitting under a tree, reading a book intently.
"Oh, you're finally back! I thought you'd be coming back in the dark today. How did things go? Do you need to make another trip tomorrow?"
Shuisheng smiled and shook his head, replying, "Mother, we don't need to go tomorrow. We've already taken everything to Pingding County and sold it all."
Aunt Xiangqin moved over and asked in a low voice, "How was it? Did you make a good amount of money?"
Shui Sheng smiled but didn't answer, because this business involved three people. Wu Yu and Lao Si weren't involved, and if he told everyone it was very profitable, it would make people uncomfortable.
He said, “Mom, it’s just a little money. Everyone has been working hard lately. We’ve bought clothes and shoes for everyone, and we also bought crucian carp, cut some meat, and bought vegetables. We’ll have an extra meal tonight.”
Aunt Xiangqin never expected that her son and Qingchuan would spend so much money, buying each of them a set of clothes and shoes, and also bringing back so many vegetables. How much money must that have cost?
The smile on her face froze instantly.
This business belongs to my son, Qingchuan Xiaotang, and the three of them. They made money, so what does it have to do with everyone else?
Buying some groceries to improve the meals would have been fine, but instead they bought everyone a set of clothes and shoes! These three idiots have money to burn!
Aunt Xiangqin felt somewhat uncomfortable; people who had experienced hardship valued money highly.
He pulled his son aside by the arm and scolded him in a low voice, "Whose idea was this, yours or Qingchuan's? How could you be so stupid? Just buy some vegetables and let me and Cai'er cook for everyone. Instead, you bought clothes and shoes for everyone. How much money did you spend?"
When Shuisheng saw that his mother was unhappy, he dared not tell her how much money he had spent.
"Mom, don't worry. We've earned money, so we won't spend much. Besides, these were bought with money from Qingchuan, Xiaotang, and me. We're a big family now, so we can't just earn money ourselves, right?"
Qingchuan and Xiaotang came back to the village to buy turmeric, not because they absolutely had to drag me along. Wu Yu and Lao Si could have gone back to buy it too. Since they chose me, I can't be so selfish after I make money. Mom, don't you think that makes sense?"
Aunt Xiangqin was slightly taken aback before she realized what was happening.
Yes, this family has several grown men. Qingchuan didn't necessarily have to drag his son along. He didn't even bring his own brothers, but he brought Shuisheng along.
My son can earn a few dozen taels of silver this time. Who wouldn't be envious?
Who wouldn't want to take a chance to make money? Who would want to drive a horse-drawn carriage to supply braised pig's trotters to a restaurant and only get paid a small wage?
Thinking about it this way, my son really got a great deal. Compared to the few dozen taels he earned, what's a set of clothes and shoes for everyone?
Besides, these things weren't all bought by Shuisheng alone; he and Qingchuan Xiaotang spent money to buy them together!
Thinking about it this way, Aunt Xiangqin blushed and said with some shame, "It was my fault for being stingy. I only thought about spending money and didn't think about making money. I shouldn't have done that. I won't be so stingy in the future."
Shuisheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was normal for his mother to be reluctant to spend money because she was used to a hard life. But he was reluctant to buy things for everyone when he made money. What if everyone was envious when he went out to do business with Qingchuan in the future?
We all work hard all day, so why is it that he gets to go out and do business with Brother Qingchuan, while everyone else has to stay at the pig's trotter shop with their meager wages and supply the restaurant every day?
Once or twice is fine, but over time, even if everyone is good-natured and of good character, who wouldn't be envious and who wouldn't have complaints?
After Aunt Xiangqin understood, she watched as Qingchuan and Xiaotang unloaded the chicken, fish, and vegetables from the carriage, and she immediately went to help.
"Oh dear, why did you buy so much? It would be a waste if we couldn't finish it all. Today I'll show off my skills and cook a sumptuous meal to improve everyone's diet. Oh, and I'll also make a pot of chicken soup for Feng'er later. She's in her postpartum period and needs to be well nourished."
Liu Cai'er also said, "We did buy too much. We still have eggs and vegetables at home. Buying one chicken and two fish would have been enough."
Lin Qingchuan waved his hand and said, "Our whole family consists of young people. What if we don't buy enough to eat? We've been so busy lately that we haven't had a proper meal. Now that we've finished buying turmeric, it's time for us to have a meal together. Since we're improving our meals, we should make sure we eat our fill."
Wu Yu chuckled, “Brother Qingchuan, Brother Shuisheng, you two are really something. You came back from doing business and didn’t forget about us. Thanks to Manager Su, I was able to work at the pig’s trotter shop. Not only is the work easier than before, but the pay is also higher. Now I can eat and drink well. It’s so great to have met our whole family.”
The fourth brother washed his hands and casually wiped them by his side, saying, "Who says otherwise? If it weren't for the eldest brother and the others, I would still be working as a waiter at Juxian Restaurant in Qinghe Town to pay off my debts. I would be working myself to death every day without earning a single penny. I would go home and eat thin porridge, wild vegetables, and cornbread. Just thinking about those days makes my eyes go black."
He had had enough of that kind of life. He went out to do business with his older brother and sister-in-law, and not only were they able to pay off their debts, but everything they ate, wore, and used was better than before, and life became much better.
Having witnessed such a good life, he absolutely could not accept going back to his old life.
Lin Xiaotang, carrying a stack of clothes, called out to everyone, "Everyone, quickly try on your clothes to see if they fit. If they don't fit, you can change them before you wear them. If they fit, keep them. If they don't fit, we'll change them as soon as possible. But everyone, please be careful when trying them on, because if you get them dirty, you can't change them."
These clothes were all wrapped up by the shop assistants, each one neatly folded and tied with strips of cloth.
Wu Yu was all alone in the county. No one made clothes for him, and he wasn't one to dress up. He rarely went to shops to buy clothes, and the clothes he wore were all quite old. He was the first to go up to her and ask, "Xiao Tang, which one would suit me?"