Su He looked closely and saw that the fabric of the dress was a coarse red cotton. It wasn’t silk or satin, nor did it have any woven patterns; it was just a very ordinary red cloth that had been dyed evenly.
This set of cross-collar red cotton ruqun consisted of a short top with narrow sleeves and a right-overlapping collar that reached down to the waist and hips. The lower skirt was a plain cloth skirt with a waist tie; it wasn’t wide or bulky, making it very easy to walk around in. In short, the fabric was very ordinary coarse cloth and the style was extremely simple, completely devoid of any embroidered designs, but it won out on its festive color and durability. Down the line, she would inevitably have to go up the mountain and work the land often, so this kind of fabric and color was much better suited for manual labor.
However, on the wedding day itself, she still needed to look a bit brighter, so she also picked out a small overgarment to wear over the dress to block the wind and add to the festive appearance.
Now that she had the clothes, she was only missing a pair of shoes. Thus, Su He picked out a highly durable pair of cloth shoes for herself, which featured a very thick sole.
“Shopkeeper, add it up, please. How much is this set?”
The shopkeeper beamed and clicked his abacus. “That will be three hundred and fifty copper coins in total.”
“Alright, please wrap it up for me.”
Su He quietly clicked her tongue. Her clothes alone cost three hundred and fifty copper coins, whereas the fabric for Wang Guixiang and the other two only cost four hundred copper coins in total. If they weren’t pressed for time, she could have absolutely bought the fabric to bring home and cut herself, and the extra money would have been enough to make another outfit. However, since this only happened once in a lifetime, she felt it was worth it.
But this still wasn’t enough. Thinking about how she didn’t have any undergarments to change into, Su He put down another hundred copper coins for some fine cotton cloth. This was something she could not skimp on!!
Having taken care of her own needs, Su He finally looked over at the men’s ready-made clothing section.
After comparing a few options, she selected a deep blue cross-collar robe for Xiao Zheng. This outfit could be worn on regular days too; it had narrow sleeves and a fitted waist, with matching cloth trousers underneath that tapered tightly at the ankles. A clean cloth belt tied around the waist could replace his usual old leather belt, and the outfit also came with a blue cloth headscarf.
The entire outfit looked very steady and dignified, but for a wedding day, it was a bit too plain. Therefore, Su He picked out a long, thin strip of red cloth that could be stitched onto the edge of the collar or the waist to add a touch of auspicious red.
As for shoes, Xiao Zheng wore the military shoes issued by the army camp; though they were already very old, they were still sturdy. Su He didn’t intend to buy him another pair. She had observed before that the shoes Xiao Zheng wore were already the best in the whole family.
“How much for this set? Size it according to his height.” Su He gestured toward Xiao Zheng, who was already standing there as still as a wooden post.
The shopkeeper turned to look, thought for a moment, and his smile grew even brighter. “Four hundred and fifty copper coins!”
“Alright, wrap it all up. Calculate how much it comes to in total, please.” Su He didn’t dawdle and directly asked the shopkeeper for the bill.
After finishing with his abacus, the shopkeeper joyfully quoted the price, “Young lady, that will be one tael and two hundred and fifty copper coins.”
“…”
Hearing this price, quite a few people in the shop turned to look over one after another. Who was being so lavish?
Standing to the side, Shen Feng was also stunned. Nearly one and a half taels of silver? Did Xiao Zheng spend all the monthly pay he brought home on his new wife? This was way too spendthrift!! Weren’t they going to live their lives after this? If all the money was spent on clothes, what would happen to his family’s banquet tomorrow? Spending so much effort on clothes and appearance was nothing but a superficial display; properly setting up the banquet spread was where true respectability lay!!
Thinking of this, Shen Feng sneered inwardly, waiting to see how the Xiao family would face the fellow villagers tomorrow.
Beside him, the smile on Su Lan’s face crumbled completely. Just a moment ago, she was hesitating over a single red bridal veil, yet Su He had actually bought clothes for the entire family!!
Su Lan’s hand instinctively gripped her handkerchief tightly; she suddenly felt a sensation of being outdone. Furthermore, she was being thoroughly overshadowed by Su He. While she was still nickel-and-diming, the other party was already able to procure a whole wedding dress for herself. This kind of gap made her heart tighten.
It shouldn’t be like this.
Not to mention Shen Feng and Su Lan’s astonishment, even Xiao Zheng, who was accompanying her by her side, was completely dumbfounded!
He had originally thought Su He only came to pick out an outfit for herself. He never expected her to procure clothes for their entire family in one go! Buying all of this in one sweep cost more than a tael…
As expected of someone raised in a wealthy household; she didn’t hold back at all when it came to spending money! It looked like he would have to work even harder.
Su He did not haggle over the price. Instead, she asked the shopkeeper to throw in the bag of fabric scraps in the corner as a freebie. The shopkeeper readily agreed.
Thus, Su He paid the silver swiftly. After this round of shopping, the three taels and six mace of silver she earned from selling the herbs today was now left with only four hundred and fifty copper coins—not even half a tael of silver.
Yet Su He was very happy; these were all things worth buying. Money was meant to be spent anyway, and besides, every single item was used on her own family members without any waste. If her funds hadn’t been limited, she would have bought even more!
Seeing his dazed look, Su He asked directly, “Do you think I’m very spendthrift?”
Only then did Xiao Zheng snap out of it. He shook his head, his tone very earnest.
“No. Everything you bought is useful to the family, it’s not like you wasted it on useless things.”
He paused, then added another sentence.
“Besides, you earned this money yourself. You can spend it however you like.”
These words were the honest truth. The young woman hadn’t asked him for a single cent to buy things; she used her own earnings, and both he and his family were the beneficiaries. So, what right or standing did he have to criticize her? It was already wonderful enough that she didn’t look down on their family for being poor.
Su He glanced at him and nodded inwardly, thoroughly satisfied with his answer and reaction.
Not bad! He wasn’t the type to have unreasonable, chauvinistic ideas.
By the time they came out of the town, they had too many things in their hands to carry.
Xiao Zheng frowned and directly hired an ox cart at the street corner.
“Get on.”
Su He didn’t stand on ceremony either, moving the items onto the cart one by one.
The two sat on the ox cart, slowly making their way back to the military village. The ox cart ambled along, moving slowly but saving them a lot of effort.
The wind on the road was a bit harsh. Su He took out a few pastries she had bought in town from a cloth bag and handed one to Xiao Zheng.
“Line your stomach.”
The two of them ate a quick bite, managing to get lunch out of the way.
By the time the ox cart entered the village, the sun was already dipping toward the west, around the end of the Wei period (about 2:30 PM). Wisps of cooking smoke were already rising in the village as households began preparing their evening meals.
As soon as the ox cart entered the village, it drew a lot of eyes.
“Oh, the Xiao family bought quite a lot of things.”
“This must be for tomorrow’s banquet, right?”
“Wow~ I didn’t expect the Xiao family to be so generous.”
…
Xiao Zheng didn’t say much in response. He simply moved the items off the cart and paid the driver. Only then did the two of them enter the courtyard.
As soon as the courtyard gate opened, Xiao Yue immediately rushed forward to greet them.
“Eldest brother! Sister-in-law!”
The moment she saw the pile of items, her eyes went perfectly round.
“How did you buy so much?”
Wang Guixiang also came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands while frowning.
“Did you move the whole town back with you? Where is the silver? How much is left?”
This was what she cared about the most. Young people were just too loose with their hands; going to town once, they actually brought back so many things!
“Sister-in-law, did all the herbs sell? How much did they sell for?” Xiao Jun asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Su He set the items down and clapped the dust off her hands.
“The herbs all sold, for three taels and six mace in total.”
Hearing this, the house instantly fell into a dead silence for a brief moment.
“How much?!”
Wang Guixiang’s voice pitched up directly, her eyes widening.
“Three taels and six mace?! For just that basket of herbal?”