As soon as she entered the West Market, Jiang Ning was greeted by a bustling scene.
The narrow streets were lined with all kinds of stalls, and the sounds of hawkers calling out filled the air. The smell of various foods wafted through the market.
Jiang Ning didn’t linger; she made her way directly to the fabric shop.
As for ready-made clothes, she wasn’t sure if there was a shop for them, but she thought she couldn’t let her professional skills in fashion design go to waste.
Finally, she entered a shop named “Zhou’s Fabric Store,” mainly because the shopkeeper was a woman.
The shopkeeper, Mrs. Zhou, saw the tattered girl walking in but wasn’t put off. She smiled and asked, “Miss, what would you like to see?”
Jiang Ning scanned the store and finally focused on the linen and cotton fabrics.
“Do you have any cotton fabric suitable for making bed sheets?”
She had no intention of using the bed in her house and wanted to buy a couple of bed sheets to put on the bed in her space for easy washing and changing.
“We do, Miss. Please follow me.”
Mrs. Zhou led Jiang Ning to a corner of the shop, where various cotton fabrics were displayed. “These cotton fabrics are soft and durable, perfect for making bed sheets.”
Jiang Ning noticed that the width of these fabrics seemed to be around two feet, so she asked about the length.
“Is this roll ten zhang long?”
“Exactly. Usually, a bed sheet needs to be about three feet wide and six feet long, but it depends on your needs.”
Indeed, in ancient times, many beds were less than a meter wide, but the length was about two meters, the same as modern-day beds. Some beds were even longer for the symbolic meaning of ‘longevity.’
She estimated that the bed in her space was about 1.5 meters wide, so one roll of fabric could make around four bed sheets.
She picked a white cotton fabric and a light blue one—she would use the blue one for bed sheets and the white one for inner garments. Later, she would also buy some linen fabric to make outer clothes.
“How much is this roll?”
Mrs. Zhou was a bit surprised. The girl didn’t look like she had much money, but she still patiently replied:
“Miss, the two rolls you’re holding are fine cotton. The white one is a bit more expensive than the blue. The white fabric is seven wen per foot, and if you buy the whole roll, it’ll be six hundred wen. The light blue one is six wen per foot, and the whole roll will be five hundred wen.”
Jiang Ning mentally calculated. Five hundred wen per roll of fabric wasn’t cheap.
To put it into perspective, at this time, rice cost at least five wen per pound, and better quality rice was around eight to ten wen per pound.
One roll of fabric could buy a hundred pounds of rice. And one acre of land could yield just over 200 pounds of rice in a season. So, it would take a lot of effort to grow an acre of rice, and a person could only cultivate about three acres of land in a year without risking exhaustion.
“How about the linen fabric over there?” Jiang Ning pointed to the grayish-yellow linen nearby.
“Linen is three hundred wen per roll, and four wen per foot for individual sales.”
“I’ll take these three rolls,” Jiang Ning said, “and how about adding a set of needles and thread as well?”
She wasn’t very good at haggling, but it shouldn’t be too much to ask for a little extra.
She didn’t want to scrimp on food and clothing, so she was willing to spend money where it was necessary.
Mrs. Zhou’s face lit up with a smile. She quickly wrapped up the three rolls of fabric, some needles and thread, a couple of pairs of cotton socks, and a few pieces of scrap fabric, and handed the bundle to Jiang Ning.
“You’re so straightforward, Miss. The total for the three rolls of fabric comes to one tael and five qian. As for the needles and thread, since you’ve asked, I’ll give them to you. I’ve also added two pairs of cotton socks and some extra fabric scraps. I hope you’ll continue to visit my shop in the future.”
Jiang Ning took the bundle that Mrs. Zhou handed over and placed it into her basket. Then, she took out two taels of silver from her space and gave it to the shopkeeper.
“Here’s your change of five hundred wen. Please keep it.”
“Shopkeeper, do you know where I can buy shoes?” Jiang Ning asked, looking down at the worn-out shoes on her feet.
“Miss, if you go right out the door, you’ll find Li’s Shoe Store on the right. They have good quality shoes at fair prices.”
After bidding Mrs. Zhou farewell, Jiang Ning left the fabric shop and headed toward the shoe store. She spent sixty wen and bought two pairs of cloth shoes.
Next, she visited a nearby general goods store, where she spent three hundred wen on various daily necessities, such as oil lamps, fire starters, water bags, cups, soap, and willow twig salt.
After spending half the day shopping for all sorts of miscellaneous items, her basket was completely full. She found a quiet alley and stored everything in her space.
It was already past noon, and Jiang Ning, who was famished, decided to stop at a food stall nearby to buy something to eat.
She chose a busy steamed bun and wonton stall.
“Boss, I’ll have two meat buns and a bowl of wontons.”
The boss smiled and replied, “Alright, Miss. Two meat buns for eight wen each, and a bowl of wontons for twelve wen. The total is twenty wen.”
Jiang Ning took out the money from her space and handed it to the boss. She then received the steaming meat buns and wontons.
She sat down in a corner, eating while observing the passersby.
Just as she finished her meal, she heard a familiar voice exclaim, “Cousin, what are you doing here? And you’re eating out? Did you spend the annulment money that Zhuang family gave you?”
This exclamation, filled with too many implications, immediately drew the attention of everyone around.
Annulment? Eating out?
A dozen pairs of curious eyes turned toward Jiang Ning.
She looked up and saw her cousin, Liu Ruomei, the one who had set the original owner up. Jiang Ning didn’t hesitate to reply, “What? Do you have a problem? Or do you want to treat me to a meal?”
“Well, I suppose that’s not impossible,” Liu Ruomei said, pretending to be casual as she sat down across from Jiang Ning.
“I didn’t expect to run into you here. I’m just surprised. You won’t mind, will you, Cousin?”
Liu Ruomei smiled and tried to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“I mind.”
Jiang Ning stood up, preparing to leave. She had no intention of associating with the one who had caused the original owner so much trouble.
It was Liu Ruomei who had told Jiang Ning that she had witnessed Zhuang Xiucai and Liu Xueying being intimate and had added fuel to the fire by saying how shameless Liu Xueying was for seducing Zhuang Xiucai. This led the original owner to go mad and rush to the academy.
“Cousin, don’t go yet. Are you mad at me? I only spoke the truth. Don’t you want to know the truth?” Liu Ruomei didn’t expect Jiang Ning to have such a temper.
“So, should I thank you for revealing the truth?” Jiang Ning replied coldly.
Seeing that Jiang Ning was angry, Liu Ruomei softened her tone, “We’re cousins. As long as you understand that I’m the one who cares about you the most, that’s enough.”
Jiang Ning glanced at her and smiled. “I’ve thought it over. Since Zhuang Yunqing doesn’t like me, it’s better to let them be.”
“Cousin, how can you think that way?” Liu Ruomei’s voice grew more anxious. “After all, it’s the marriage that your father risked his life to arrange!”
Jiang Ning gave her a blank look. It seemed like Liu Ruomei didn’t know she was already married to someone else.
Didn’t her maternal grandfather mention this when he returned?
But thinking about Liu family’s disregard for the original owner, it was actually normal that they hadn’t brought it up.