Cui Zhiling turned her head and noticed that the little girl next to her looked somewhat familiar.
She came to this shop specifically for the hairpin she had been longing for. She was so focused on the hairpin that she didn't notice anyone around her. When she saw An Le and then caught a glimpse of He Yusheng standing behind An Le, her face immediately darkened, and her tone became questioning.
"It's you? What are you doing here?"
Upon hearing Cui Zhiling's words, An Le was taken aback. Oh, so it wasn't that she deliberately ignored it, but rather that she simply didn't notice.
He Yusheng smiled faintly, without any particular reaction.
"Why can't I be here? This isn't your Cui residence."
Cui Zhiling choked, glared fiercely at He Yusheng, turned her face away, and ignored him.
"Madam shopkeeper, I don't want that peony hairpin, I just want this coral hairpin, I've had my eye on it for a long time."
"Since you haven't paid for it yet, this item doesn't belong to her. I'll pay for it now." Cui Zhiling took out a piece of silver and handed it to the shopkeeper's wife.
The shopkeeper's wife looked at Cui Zhiling with a troubled expression, unsure whether to accept the money or not.
This Cui family girl is a regular customer here. If she offends her now, she might not patronize her shop anymore.
Although she will only be working here for another half a month, she can still earn quite a bit from the Cui family girl in that time.
But this hairpin was indeed something that the little girl took a liking to and asked for first, so how could she refuse to sell it to her?
When you open a business, there's naturally a first-come, first-served principle.
However, this little girl wasn't a regular customer here. If they were to do business, it would probably be a one-off deal, and they wouldn't have any further dealings with her afterward.
Compared to that, it would be better to sell this hairpin to the Cui family's daughter.
Faced with this situation, the shopkeeper's wife was in a dilemma. There was only one hairpin, so who should she sell it to?
Anle naturally saw the shopkeeper's wife's predicament, but she didn't want to be a good Samaritan. She had her eye on the hairpin and planned to take it back to give to her fourth sister, so there was no reason for her to give it away for nothing.
"Madam, shouldn't business be about integrity? Can't you take back something you've already decided to sell?"
"Madam shopkeeper! You'd better think carefully about who you're going to sell this hairpin to. I've been hanging around your shop quite a bit in the past, trying to attract customers. You'd better think it through."
Cui Zhiling's last sentence carried a threatening tone and an overbearing attitude, which made An Le raise an eyebrow.
Wow, this little girl is pretty arrogant.
This person is determined to confront her here.
But Anle wasn't the type to give in easily!
If it were someone else today, this young girl might have bought the hairpin, but since it's Anle, she can forget about it.
"Boss lady, I'll take all the items I had my eye on earlier, including this white jade hairpin, the butterfly-shaped red gold hairpin next to it, this peace pendant, and that lotus hair ornament."
The shopkeeper's wife's eyes lit up, and she was about to take it out with great joy, but she stopped abruptly as soon as her hand touched the counter. Her face stiffened as she remembered that there was a little darling standing next to her.
Cui Zhiling glared at An Le through gritted teeth, "You just have to compete with me, don't you?" This little kid actually has so much money in his hands, is he capable of buying so many things?
Even she didn't have the money to order so many things at once.
It's infuriating and infuriating!
Anle glanced at Cui Zhiling, smiling without getting angry, "What do you mean I'm competing with you? I bought it first. If anyone's competing, it's you, who came later, competing with me, right?"
After saying that, he ignored Cui Zhiling and looked indifferently at the shopkeeper's wife.
"Boss lady, hurry up and wrap them all up, I'm in a rush."
The shopkeeper's wife, her face stiff, slowly reached behind the counter. This little girl didn't seem like someone to be trifled with; she was so young yet already able to talk back to the Cui family's daughter like that.
I wonder if she knew the identity of this Cui family girl. She is a young lady from a prestigious family.
However, they seem to know each other.
Seeing that the shopkeeper's wife didn't give her any face, Cui Zhiling's face darkened and she glared at the shopkeeper's wife with a resentful expression.
“When I get back, I’ll tell my grandmother not to rent the shop to you anymore, and I’ll take it back.” This shop is the Cui family’s territory.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's wife paused in her actions, but she was no longer threatened.
“Miss Cui, even if your grandmother hadn’t told me to take back this shop, I planned to finish this half-month period of work and then stop renting your shop once the lease expired.”
I've already discussed this with the steward of your Cui household; now we're just waiting for the appointed time.
Cui Zhiling was stunned. Huh? You're not renting it anymore?
It seems her grandmother had told her that these merchants no longer intended to rent her shop.
Her face flushed with shame and indignation, and she wished she could disappear into a bottomless pit. Finally, she glared angrily at Anle, then turned and ran away without a second thought.
Anle tilted his head and asked casually.
"Does this shop belong to the Cui family?"
"Yes, this shop belongs to the Cui family. It has always been rented from the Cui family, but now that Jincheng is not doing well, business is not easy, so they plan to close this business and quit."
"This shop is in such a good location, why didn't the Cui family use it for business themselves before, but instead rented it to you, the proprietress?"
"I heard that the Cui family doesn't know how to make a living and is somewhat lacking in business. There isn't a single person in the family who knows how to manage a business."
The Cui family now is not what it used to be. The shopkeeper's wife spoke the last sentence a little softly, not daring to be too flamboyant.
Anle raised an eyebrow, then heard the shopkeeper's wife pause for a moment before continuing to speak softly.
"The Cui family has fallen on hard times, and their business is not doing well, so they have rented out all these shops that have been losing money."
Now we merchants are not planning to do business here anymore. If the Cui family's shops lose their tenants, isn't that the same as cutting off their source of income?
The days ahead are probably going to be tough.
I heard from the brokers that the Cui family's steward has put all of the Cui family's properties up for sale at the brokerage. If there's anything they want, they should sell it quickly. It doesn't matter how much money they make, as long as they can get a decent price and get rid of it.
I think he probably doesn't plan to stay in Jincheng anymore. He wants to leave, but he's held back by all his belongings. He won't be able to leave easily unless he's completely settled.
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