After leaving the academy, Gu Yanxi didn’t head to the market stalls but instead brought her younger brother to a clothing shop.
“Elder sister, I have clothes to wear. The academy head just gave me two sets of student uniforms. There’s no need to make new clothes.”
They had just paid twenty taels for the tuition offering and one tael for accommodation silver money. They had already spent a lot today.
Gu Yu knew their family’s financial situation and didn’t want his sister to spend more money.
“Your old clothes have all faded from washing. They’re fine for wearing casually while doing chores at home, but at the academy you should dress decently so people won’t look down on you.”
Having received over ten years of education herself, Gu Yanxi knew what schools were like. While she didn’t believe in competing with others, if one dressed too shabbily, they would have to endure others’ scrutinizing gazes.
She had sent her younger brother to study and didn’t want him to develop insecurities because of such trivial matters.
Although their family couldn’t afford silk fabrics, they could still manage cotton cloth.
The shopkeeper was a young woman. Seeing the siblings hesitating, she was familiar with such situations. She knew customers like these usually had difficulties – family members wanted them to dress well, but they themselves were reluctant to spend the money.
She brought out a bolt of light blue cloth. “Miss, young master, this cloth is from last year. The color is slightly faded, but the material is completely new. It’s now half price at only six hundred coins. It can make two sets of clothes. Would the young master like to see if he likes it?”
“No need,” Gu Yu firmly refused.
Gu Yanxi tugged at his sleeve and approached the shopkeeper. She reached out to feel the cloth – soft and comfortable, and cotton was suitable for summer wear as it was breathable.
She could tell the shopkeeper was kind-hearted. Otherwise, given their earlier hesitation, other shops would have already chased them out.
She decided to have clothes made at this shop. “Shopkeeper, this cloth is quite good. However, I want to have two ready-made outfits made for him. How would you calculate the labor cost?”
“The miss wants ready-made clothes? The cost of cloth plus labor would be similar to ready-made garments. I have some ready-made clothes here. Would you like to see if there’s anything you like first?”
The shopkeeper hadn’t expected that these two, who appeared ordinarily dressed, would be willing to spend money.
Most customers would choose to buy cloth and make clothes themselves to save on labor costs, so there were relatively few customers buying ready-made clothes.
Gu Yanxi followed the shopkeeper through a doorway and discovered another room next door, filled entirely with hanging ready-made clothes.
These garments were neatly arranged, with women’s and men’s clothing separated on two sides, making everything clear at a glance.
She went to the men’s section and picked a dark green and a light green long gown, asking Gu Yu to try them on.
“Go try them on quickly. If they don’t fit, we can have the shopkeeper make adjustments.”
Gu Yu ultimately couldn’t resist his sister and had to take the clothes to the back room to try them on. He resolved in his heart that since his sister was so good to him, he would study hard, achieve scholarly honors in the future, and honor his parents and sister!
After Gu Yu tried on the clothes, both sets fit perfectly.
Indeed, clothes make the man. Gu Yanxi found her brother much more pleasing to the eye now – he somewhat resembled a scholar.
She decided to take both sets of clothes for him. Thinking that the other family members also lacked presentable clothing, she estimated her father’s and Niu Qi’s measurements and selected one dark green and one light green long gown each. Moving to the women’s section, she picked a rose-colored top and skirt suitable for her mother, and chose a light green set for herself.
Gu Yanxi selected clothes made of good fabric. The two sets for women were more expensive, totaling five taels and two hundred wen for five sets of ready-made clothes. Seeing she bought a lot, the shopkeeper reduced the price by fifty wen and added two handkerchiefs as a bonus.
With clothes taken care of, next came food.
Although they weren’t wealthy yet, Gu Yanxi wouldn’t skimp on her appetite.
Since she had already spent so much money today, she might as well take advantage of her free time and spend to her heart’s content!
Adding two meat dishes to the table was no problem.
Arriving at the Pork Shop,
Gu Yanxi saw that the meat varieties were quite complete. “Boss, how much is the meat?”
“The fatty pork here is thick with more lard, thirty wen per jin. The streaky pork is cheaper at twenty wen per jin. Lean meat is ten wen per jin.”
Gu Yanxi immediately made up her mind. “Cut two jin of lean meat. How much are the ribs?”
“Ribs are great for stewing soup, very nourishing. See, there’s plenty of lean meat on them too. Same price as lean meat.”
Ten wen per jin wasn’t expensive.You should know, in modern times, a jin of ribs would cost twenty-five yuan, and premium ribs were even more expensive, thirty yuan.
These ribs looked very fresh, from a pig slaughtered today. Gu Yanxi happily bought four sections.
There was also a pair of pig’s ears left, which Gu Yanxi took as well.
After buying the meat, she spent a total of sixty-five wen.
“Sis, can we finish all this meat?”
Seeing his sister buy so much meat, Gu Yu felt both heartache and excitement. Their family table rarely saw meat throughout the year, only during New Year when their father would grit his teeth and buy some fatty meat to satisfy their cravings.
Since following his sister to set up the stall, they occasionally had some meat at home, but never as much as today.
“Don’t worry, there are more people at home now, and three strong laborers. I’m afraid what I cook might not even be enough.”
After buying the pork, Gu Yanxi went to the dry goods store to restock some seasonings needed for the stall. Then she and her younger brother headed to their stall.
When they arrived at the stall, the food was already sold out. Gu Guosheng and Niu Qi were packing up.
“Ah Yan, Ah Yu, you’re back. How did it go? Everything go smoothly?” Gu Guosheng asked anxiously when he saw the siblings.
His hands fidgeted nervously, clearly showing his tension.
Gu Yanxi smiled. “Don’t worry, Dad. Everything went very smoothly. Ah Yu can start school tomorrow.”
“Good, good. Ah Yu, study hard. You don’t need to worry about family matters.” Gu Guosheng patted his son heavily on the shoulder, his eyes red and glistening with tears.
He then turned to look at his daughter, his voice choked. “Ah Yan, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I really don’t know what our family would do.”
The family originally relied on his daily wage of one hundred wen to get by. Now that he lost his job, if it weren’t for his daughter’s stall, the whole family would truly have nothing to live on.
Having minded the stall all day today, he knew the stall brought in considerable income. There was hope for their future days.
Gu Yanxi pretended to be angry. “Dad, what are you saying? Are you treating me as an outsider?”
They were family. There was no need for thanks.
She never experienced family warmth in her previous life. In this life, she truly regarded them as her own family.
Moreover, in this era where sons were favored over daughters, her parents never looked down on her and cared for her attentively. Although setting up the stall was tiring, she felt it was worth it!
“Alright, alright, I won’t say it. I won’t say it anymore from now on. Let’s go home.”
On the way back, Gu Yanxi bought five rabbits to add Cold-Eaten Rabbit to the stall’s offerings the next day. She also gave Niu Qi some silver money and asked him to retrieve the chicken feet.
When they arrived at the doorstep, neighbors saw the family carrying large and small bundles, with the stall cart packed to the brim. They chattered among themselves, saying the Gu Family had struck it rich—how else could they afford to buy so much?
Among the crowd, some spoke with a sour tone, some with envy, but most were consumed by jealousy.