Chapter 126: First Shopping Trip
Outside the window, there was a small river.
By the river, there were willow trees.
Under the trees, women were beating laundry on stone slabs.
Further away, eaves connected to eaves, arranged in neat rows, possessing a compact beauty.
Jiang Mianmian sat before the second-floor window, watching the scenery outside.
Sure enough, sitting a little higher up, the view was different.
The shopkeeper brought out a wooden tray lined with white silk, then placed the jewelry on it one by one.
The white silk reflected light, much like the lighting in a modern jewelry store, making the jewelry appear brighter and more attractive.
She only glanced at the jewelry a few times, lost interest, and turned her head to look out the window.
Aunt Yin saw the little girl start to swing her legs slightly, indifferent to the jewelry on the table, instead looking curiously out the window.
She just loved that spirit in the little girl.
Aunt Yin handed her some water and let her hold it to drink.
Jiang Mianmian comfortably watched the scenery and drank water while waiting for Mother and Sister to shop.
Fortunately, there were no “Daddy’s Daddy” rocking cars downstairs, otherwise she might have gone to take a ride.
Qin Luoxia actually had no shopping experience, at least not in buying jewelry.
She kept Aunt Yin’s words in mind: look more, speak less, and don’t reveal your preferences easily.
She understood this; only when buying goods do you pick and choose.
It was actually the same as buying things before, just a different item.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yu was quite excited.
Just a moment ago, while confronting Jiang Wan, she had acted like an arrogant little phoenix. After coming upstairs, she almost couldn’t hold in her stomach, and her little belly had poked out.
Now that she was seated, she was still a little excited.
Jiang Wan must have been angered by her just now, surely.
Before, seeing Jiang Wan always acting so aloof, as if she didn’t care about anything she did, Jiang Yu had been reflecting on whether she had done something wrong again.
Now that she thought about it, that was what Great-Aunt called “not showing joy or anger on one’s face.”
But just now, she felt that Jiang Wan was very unhappy.
Jiang Yu felt a bit smug, as if she had grasped a bit of Jiang Wan’s pulse; seeing her unhappy, she felt happy.
Great-Aunt is truly amazing. When she gets back, she will make some soup for Great-Aunt to show her filial piety.
Angering Jiang Wan felt even better than picking out jewelry.
She didn’t know much about jewelry and had never bought any, so she didn’t dare to touch it.
She was worried about breaking it and being scammed.
Jiang Yu turned to Great-Aunt and said, “Great-Aunt, please help me pick one.”
Aunt Yin was quite satisfied with this point about Sister Yu; she didn’t pretend to understand when she didn’t, which was very candid.
As for Mrs. Qin, aside from not having seen much of the world, she was actually extremely intelligent. With a little guidance, she could draw inferences, and she wasn’t overly clever, making her easy to teach.
Aunt Yin let Madam choose first.
Qin Luoxia picked a hair stick. It was very simple—just a silver stick with a thick, round head that could secure her hair. Qin Luoxia thought it would be good as a weapon if necessary; pull it from her head, and aim for the heart, the neck, or the head—though she wasn’t sure if it could pierce a skull, as skulls were a bit hard.
When she got back, she would sharpen the tip of this hair stick and try it out on an animal skull.
Aunt Yin nodded slightly; the things in this shop, truth be told, weren’t very good.
Either they were too gaudy, with styles that had been popular in the capital years ago and might have only just reached this place.
Or they were very crude and clumsy.
The hair stick Mrs. Qin chose was already one of the few decent-looking ones among the pile.
When you have nothing, simplicity is actually quite good.
Deliberately making it complex when the craftsmanship isn’t up to par only makes it inferior.
She asked the shopkeeper, “Can we order custom pieces? I saw two hair sticks at the counter downstairs just now that looked quite nice.”
The shopkeeper had just heard Mrs. Wang greeting them downstairs and knew that the people before him were the female relatives of Lord Jiang, so he became even more enthusiastic.
After all, Lord Jiang was currently their local official in charge.
Moreover, with Lord Jiang around, their business was gradually recovering, making things easier to manage.
There were no longer endless demands for various payments.
Calculating it, the profit was actually greater, and he even wanted to contact his old partners to come back and do business here.
“Yes, our shop accepts custom orders. Madam Jiang’s orders will definitely be prioritized and expedited. That hair stick was made according to a design personally delivered by Miss Wan. It’s a style we’ve never seen before, but it doesn’t stump us; we send them to the Prefecture City to be made by master craftsmen. We can handle even the most difficult ones.”
The shopkeeper left something unsaid: besides the two custom hair sticks, Miss Wan had actually given him several new designs and said she wanted to sell them to him.
The shopkeeper was reluctant; wealthy young ladies who had never earned money often asked for exorbitant prices. But after seeing the effect of the hair stick, he was truly stunned and couldn’t put it down, feeling that this style would surely take the capital by storm.
He gritted his teeth and decided to buy the rights to them.
The shopkeeper felt that this Miss Wan was truly quite capable.
Aunt Yin nodded and praised, “That Miss Wan truly has clever ideas, to be able to remember the styles popular in the capital; she is truly amazing.”
The shopkeeper felt a jolt in his heart; something felt off.
“Let me see that pair of earrings.” Aunt Yin just mentioned it briefly and didn’t say anything more.
The Eldest Miss had thick, dark hair; even without a hair stick, she was beautiful.
Her ears were delicate, and while this pair of small pearl earrings was petite, they had a nice luster and suited her.
Her skin was fair, her face round, and they complemented the pearls perfectly.
Aunt Yin also discovered a pair of embroidered shoes in the little girl’s room, which also had pearls on them. They were exceptionally different and didn’t look like something the family would buy.
It was said to be a gift from her Elder Brother’s friend. They had sent many good things, but this was just one of them. The person was exceptionally kind, but there had been no news for a long time, and she was very worried that they might have died.
Aunt Yin:…
People don’t give embroidered shoes as gifts, and it sounded like they were from a wealthy family; this definitely had issues.
However, The Eldest Miss wasn’t enlightened to such things yet.
She would talk about it later.
Aunt Yin felt that when she went back to comb her hair, she might lose another handful.
She worried too much.
Qin Luoxia chose a hair stick and pearl earrings, and for Mianmian, she chose a little tiger made of silver.
Jiang Mianmian held it in her hand to play with and was very satisfied.
In any case, she didn’t like picking things to wear on her head; she was always worried about having thin hair and that wearing things would make it too heavy.
As for ears, neck, or hands, she didn’t want to wear anything. The economic conditions in ancient times were poor; she worried about being sold if she wore them, and she also had a tiny worry about whether there might be lead in the accessories. She simply chose a hand-held piece to play with and collect.
It looked quite cute with its tiger head.
She swayed happily, feeling that she had gained the most.
Her little tiger could lie flat, and there was a hole on its back for a string.
When she got tired of playing, she could hang it on her wrist.
Aunt Yin also gave the shopkeeper several designs on the spot and communicated with him about how to make them.
Jiang Mianmian played with the little tiger, leaning against the window and looking downstairs. From a distance, she saw a team of people. Leading them were Elder Brother and another youth. Elder Brother looked so imposing, riding a horse with a sword, looking straight ahead.
Jiang Yu also saw Elder Brother.
She immediately waved and shouted, “Elder Brother.”
The youth riding the horse downstairs looked up, and the man beside him also looked up.
It was none other than Jiang Feng and Zi Ganjiang.
Zi Ganjiang had come over to ask Jiang Feng for men to go into battle.
Zi Ganjiang looked up and saw the girl smiling so purely, her round eyes filled with joy.
Beside her was a little girl, also waving her chubby hand and shouting sweetly, “Elder Brother.”
“Brother Ganjiang, wait a moment, please excuse me.” Jiang Feng cupped his fists at Zi Ganjiang.
He jumped off his horse, entered the shop, and went straight upstairs, completely failing to see Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan was the center of attention everywhere she went; she never expected that one day she would not only be called an idler but also be completely ignored.
And the man waiting on horseback at the door didn’t look at her either, but kept looking up at the floor above.
Jiang Wan only felt as if she were being thwarted by Jiang Yu at every turn; whenever she encountered her, things didn’t go smoothly.
She hadn’t expected that Jiang Yu wouldn’t become a maid, wouldn’t lose her memory, and would actually be just as ostentatious as she had seen in her dreams—it was infuriating.
Jiang Feng went upstairs and picked up Mianmian.
He greeted Mother and Aunt Yin before saying to Jiang Yu, “What’s so happy that you’re laughing until your gums are showing again?”
Jiang Yu took out the pair of earrings and said, “Great-Aunt picked them for me. I like them.”
“Silly.” Jiang Feng pinched his younger sister’s cheek.
Jiang Mianmian, worried about having her cheeks pinched, held up her little tiger and said, “Elder Brother, my little tiger, it’s for you.”
Sure enough, Elder Brother said he didn’t want it, but ended up rubbing her head hard anyway.
After exchanging greetings, Jiang Feng said he had business and ran off again, generously telling the shopkeeper to put it on his tab.
Jiang Mianmian was so surprised she almost spat out a bubble; did Elder Brother actually have a secret stash? That was impressive.
The family chose their jewelry and prepared to head back to the village.
They still took the carriage.
In the carriage, Jiang Yu stopped pretending and happily hung the pearls here and there, so happy she couldn’t sit still.
Qin Luoxia’s hair stick was already in her hair, showing only a round silver ball, very low-key.
Jiang Mianmian held the little tiger, sitting in Mother’s arms, feeling the carriage sway, and unconsciously hummed a song, without tune, melody, or lyrics.
Soft and gentle, rising and falling.
Aunt Yin sat upright, listening to the little girl’s unconscious humming. She didn’t say a word, just listened quietly, and even Sister Yu and Qin Luoxia in the carriage fell silent.
Jiang Mianmian didn’t notice and continued to play and hum.
Aunt Yin thought it was worthy of being inherited; the little girl was so young, yet this melody she was humming was one she had never heard before and surely no one else had sung. It seemed like random singing, yet it had a special significance.
Her fingers tapped gently on her knees, and she actually memorized it line by line.
Jiang Mianmian got tired of playing, and she fell asleep with her face pressed against Mother’s chest.
Her little head swayed with the carriage, supported by Mother’s large hand. She slept very soundly, her side profile pressed so that her soft flesh squeezed out.
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