"Altogether seven thousand and…"
"Altogether seven thousand and thirty wen, equivalent to seven taels of silver and thirty wen. Madam, is this price fair?"
Through the thick counter partition, the shopkeeper's voice still reached Jiang Wan's ears clearly.
Jiang Wan rose to her feet and nodded.
Only after realizing that the other party couldn't see her at all did she speak up in response: "Of course it's fair."
She stepped forward, fumbled through the money pouch in her sleeve, counted out her belongings, and together with the hundred and fifty wen she had placed on the counter earlier, plus the silver the shopkeeper hadn't yet settled, it made up a tidy sum.
With a light "clatter," the copper coins and bits of silver were pushed across together.
"I'd trouble you, shopkeeper, to exchange all of this into silver for me."
Copper coins were simply too bulky.
Carrying them around made a jingling noise wherever one went, and easily drew the attention of thieves.
Though Twin Stone Town was prosperous, it was also a mixed bag of people.
Along the way, she had personally witnessed three people having their pockets slashed open.
The sound of their wailing and lamenting was still fresh in her memory—better to exchange everything into small pieces of silver and keep them hidden close to her person for the safest measure.
Exchanging silver was a trivial favor, and the shopkeeper naturally had no reason to refuse.
Before long, ten taels of official silver and twenty pieces of rejected goods that had been sorted out were placed anew on the counter.
"If you have any more fine goods, Madam, do be sure to think of my humble shop," the shopkeeper said with a polite pleasantry.
"I'll keep that in mind," Jiang Wan replied. She grabbed the silver and the cloth pouch from the counter, turned around, and left the pawnshop without looking back.
Only after she had merged back into the flow of people and found a hidden spot at a street corner did Jiang Wan lean against the rough wall, gasping for breath.
Though the pawnshop keeper had never shown his face, the pressure of a seasoned businessman and his calm, all-seeing composure still sent a chill down Jiang Wan's spine.
Coupled with her own guilty conscience, that discomfort grew all the more pronounced.
She lowered her head and let out a sigh. "I really do need to get out and about more…"
To accumulate more experience, and to make it easier to get around in the future.
After calming herself down, Jiang Wan lifted the corner of her veiled hat, bent over, and began fiddling with the Pickup Point.
Bringing Zhou Xianggui to Twin Stone Town for medical treatment was only one of the things on her agenda. The most important purpose of this trip was still to take the opportunity to resell items from the Mall and scrape together enough silver to pay off her debts.
On the way here, she had already decided what items she would sell on this trip.
For now, the profits from the pearls were securely in hand. Next… it would be the fabric shop's turn.
Ever since Madam Li had mentioned that "white pelts are precious," she had kept that matter close to her heart.
But Yongxing Town was only so big, and the business circle in town was more familiar than familiar.
If she sold the white pelts from the Mall to Madam Li today, word would spread throughout Yongxing Town within the hour.
By then, she estimated that quite a few tenant farmers in town would come sniffing around—whether to buy white pelts from her hands or to investigate where she'd gotten the connections to obtain them, either way it would be trouble.
Until she found a suitable channel for the white pelts to flow through, and until she had crafted a relatively perfect story, she absolutely would not make such a stir at her own doorstep.
And Twin Stone Town.
Located a bit farther from Yongxing Town, on the outskirts of Yongchuan County.
This place became the perfect "fencing ground."
With a flicker of thought from Jiang Wan, the Mall order was placed, and the goods arrived:
[Pure white whole rabbit pelts, 2 pieces / 6.58 yuan]
[Smoke gray whole rabbit pelts, 2 pieces / 7.28 yuan]
[Mixed-color rabbit pelts (slightly flawed), 4 pieces / 6 yuan]
Eight rabbit pelts in total, costing 19.86 yuan.
She didn't dare to sell too many at once, nor did she dare to bring out any top-grade goods that would draw too much attention.
Only by selling in small, steady amounts could she ensure her safety.
She reached into the burlap sack and gave the delivered rabbit pelts a quick once-over.
They felt smooth and supple to the touch—truly top-quality.
Even the ones marked as "slightly flawed" felt just as fine in texture.
Jiang Wan nodded in satisfaction, tightened the sack, and slung her basket onto her back, continuing to wander through Twin Stone Town in search of her next target.
Twin Stone Town had three fabric shops in total, all crammed together on North Street.
They bore the signs of Liu's, Ma's, and Wu's respectively.
Even the farthest apart were no more than a hundred meters or so, making the competition fierce.
Among them, Liu's specialized in ready-made garments and custom tailoring, while Ma's and Wu's primarily sold various bolts of cloth and materials.
Jiang Wan, with her basket on her back, walked up and down North Street three times.
In the end, she chose to step through the threshold of Liu's establishment.
Liu's wasn't as bustling as Ma's or Wu's, but it had its own leisurely elegance.
Most of those browsing inside were well-dressed matrons and young wives.
Each was neatly turned out, adorned with gold and silver, their hair buns combed to perfection.
They gathered in twos and threes, their fingertips gliding lightly over the stitching of the garments, murmuring soft critiques of the craftsmanship.
Occasionally, light laughter would ring out, and the atmosphere was most congenial.
In the middle of the shop stood a two-tiered wooden shelf, upon which sat small baskets woven from vines, filled with various hair ornaments made from leftover scraps of fabric.
These ornaments were arranged by shade, from light to dark, in an orderly fashion.
At the very bottom of the shelf, a stick of incense had been lit, its faint floral scent wafting through the shop as customers moved about.
All of this spoke to the shopkeeper's care and attention.
Jiang Wan removed her veiled hat, and after a brief glance around, her eyes met those of the shopkeeper standing beside the shelf.
The shopkeeper had already noticed Jiang Wan, who stood out like a sore thumb with her basket on her back, but she didn't shoo her away. Instead, she smiled warmly and asked, "Is there something you need, young miss?"
Jiang Wan wore a plain, short jacket that had been washed to a faded white, with a half-worn basket on her back—clearly not someone who had come to buy clothes.
Liu's had its own embroidery workshop and only accepted fine, meticulous work; they would never take in the crude needlework of ordinary households.
So the only possibility was that this peasant woman had come to collect leftover scraps and remnants of cloth.
As the shopkeeper spoke, the other customers in the shop turned curious glances toward Jiang Wan.
Among them were more than a few snickers laced with disdain and contempt, but Jiang Wan seemed not to notice, remaining perfectly composed as she removed her veiled hat.
She turned slightly to the side, revealing the bulging burlap sack in her basket. "Shopkeeper, I'm not here to buy anything. I've brought some rabbit pelts—would you happen to take them in?"
At this, the shopkeeper's brow furrowed. "Rabbit pelts? Well…"
She studied Jiang Wan thoughtfully. Though the woman was shabbily dressed, she stood tall and straight, neither humble nor pushy, as if she truly had something to back her up.
The refusal was on the tip of her tongue, but the shopkeeper sighed instead. "I'll be upfront with you—at this time of year, rabbit pelts aren't really worth taking in."
"Of course, of course. But do take a look, shopkeeper. If it's not to your liking, I'll just try my luck at a couple of other places." Jiang Wan replied with a smile, reaching into her burlap sack and pulling out a white rabbit pelt. She gave it a gentle shake.
In that instant, it was as if a handful of fresh snow had bloomed at her fingertips.
"Whoa—" gasps rippled through the shop.
It was a complete rabbit pelt, its fur pure white, without a single trace of impurity.
Even under the shop's dim lighting, the downy fur seemed to carry a soft, lustrous sheen. The texture was fluffy and fine to a degree that was simply astonishing.
This was a top-grade pelt that even an ordinary housewife with no eye for quality could recognize at a glance as something precious!
The shopkeeper instinctively hurried over, unable to resist reaching out to take the pelt from Jiang Wan's hands.
The rabbit fur was distinct strand by strand, yet densely clustered together. It felt smooth to the touch without the slightest hint of coarseness—this was absolutely not the kind of fur a summer rabbit would have. This was unmistakably a winter pelt!
She turned it over and over, trying to find some flaw that would mar the beauty of the hide.
No needle holes. No bloodstains. Even the leather backing had been treated to be exceptionally thin and supple—this was the kind of tanning work that even master craftsmen might not be able to produce.
How could this possibly be some wild game casually hunted from the countryside?
This was clearly a fine piece that had somehow ended up in the wrong place!
The shopkeeper took a deep breath, her fingers lingering greedily over the pelt.
She had been in business for over twenty years, handling countless bolts of silk and satin, but something comparable to this rabbit pelt was rare indeed—let alone seeing it at the end of summer.
The things ordinary hunters brought in were either stiff and thick in the leather, or dry and brittle in the fur. Where would you ever find something that combined both softness and luster like this?
"This… where did you get this?" The shopkeeper finally lifted her head, and the look she gave Jiang Wan had completely changed—from the earlier scrutiny to outright astonishment.
The customers who had been browsing crowded in as well.
"Oh my, what kind of pelt is this?"
"This fur is so white it's dazzling!"
"Let me feel it… Heavens, this texture—it's like touching a cloud!"
A few young wives reached out, chattering away in excitement.
One bold young woman in a peach-colored jacket was the bravest of them all. She grabbed a handful of the fur directly and let out an exclamation of admiration. "This color is so pure! If I were to make a collar out of this, wouldn't that be something elegant?"
With her movement, even more people crowded around, their fingers lingering over the pelt—one stroking it here, another tugging at it there.
Seeing this, Jiang Wan rescued the pelt from the shopkeeper's hands and asked calmly, "What does the shopkeeper think?"
"It's a fine piece!" The shopkeeper was equally direct, asking outright, "Young miss, just call me Manager Liu. How much are you looking to sell this pelt for?"
Jiang Wan didn't answer directly. Instead, she swept her gaze over the covetous ladies surrounding them. "To be honest with you, Manager Liu, I have several more pelts of this quality. How many can your shop take in?"
Manager Liu's almond-shaped eyes flew wide open. She twisted her embroidered handkerchief in her hands and declared firmly, "If you can guarantee that all the pelts are of this quality, the Liu family will take every single one!"
Hearing this, the women around them immediately grew anxious.
After all, anyone who could browse a ready-made clothing shop had a bit of money to spare, didn't they?
This hide is a rare find—hardly seen once a year. Now that it's finally shown its face, how could anyone pass up the chance to snatch it up?
"Hey, Manager Liu, how can you take it all? I want a piece too!"
"That's right, me too! This fur is just too tempting!"
"This young miss, the new lotus-root cakes at Fu'an Tower are wonderfully crisp. How about we step aside and have a word?"
The atmosphere in the shop heated up in an instant, and the attitude toward Jiang Wan shifted swiftly from the earlier disdain to the present familiarity.
Seeing this, Manager Liu quickly waved her handkerchief to keep order. "Ladies, ladies! First come, first served. This fur was brought to the shop by this young miss, so I must settle the terms with her first!"
Though the women were reluctant, behind Liu's shop stood the Liu family of the county town, so all they could do was cast resentful glances at Manager Liu and take a step or two back.
The hide was being fought over just as she'd expected, and Jiang Wan smiled from the heart. She shifted the basket on her shoulder and spoke slowly, "Manager Liu, I've brought eight pieces of this fur in total, but I'm not obliged to sell only to your shop."
Manager Liu froze for a moment, then a flicker of urgency crossed her eyes. "Young miss, what do you mean by that?"
Jiang Wan gave her a sweet smile.
Then she turned, her gaze landing on Wu's shop across the street. "What I mean is, your shop isn't the only one that can sell this fur. If you, Manager, are sincere about wanting it, then let's talk in detail. If not, I'll just walk a few more steps and take it to another shop instead.
Rare goods are worth hoarding, and I also understand the wisdom of comparing prices at three shops before settling."