Having made up her mind, Yunling went to the city the next day. Since she wanted to buy ready-made clothes, she had to go to a clothing store. She detoured around the fabric shop and kept going straight ahead, where there was a row of clothing stores.
In previous years, at the end of each year, Zhang and Aunt Yun would take them to a clothing store to choose clothes for the New Year. However, most of the clothes they wore were ordinary people's clothes, and the materials were neither good nor bad.
According to Old Man Yiyun, even if you earn a few coins, you must not forget your roots, you must not be extravagant, and you must not imitate the wealthy by wearing gold and silver.
Yun Ruoxia agreed with this statement. The main reason was that she felt that if someone appeared too glamorous on the surface, it would easily attract thieves with impure intentions, and it would also make it easy for acquaintances or even distant relatives to come and ask them for money.
As for dressing simply, there's nothing wrong with that. Let others laugh at them for being poor; they can afford to have enough money and can afford to eat the finest delicacies.
So Yunling bypassed her usual clothing shop and went to another one that looked more refined. As soon as she entered, she smelled a unique floral fragrance. A gentle-looking woman greeted her and said softly:
"Young lady, you look quite unfamiliar. We have some new arrivals in the shop today, including cotton and linen shirts. I wonder if there are any patterns you like? Feel free to take your pick."
Yunling had a very good impression of this woman, but she felt that with her feet rooted to the spot, it was impossible for her to turn around and leave.
"Do you have any gauze shirts?"
"Yes, come with me here."
Yunling followed her wife inside and spotted gauze shirts among the silks. Just as Yunling was about to rummage through them to take a closer look, her wife had already pulled out two gauze shirts of different colors.
"Young lady, you can take a look and see if this gauze shirt suits your taste. We also have other colors available for you to choose from."
"I don't know if you have any sizes that go all the way to the ankle, or that only go up to the waist to be used as a top. Just these two sizes."
The woman frowned slightly, not understanding what Yunling intended to use it for. These gauze shirts were mostly bought by wealthy families, and the size they bought most often was this knee-length style, which could show off the gauze shirt without hindering the elegance of the inner garments. The size Yunling mentioned was not very common.
However, since they are customers who come to the store, we should serve them wholeheartedly. Even if we don't make a sale in the end, we shouldn't cause them to have any resentment or ruin the feng shui of the store.
"Yes, we do have some, but we don't sell them often, so we don't stock much. To be honest, we still have stock from the past two years sitting in the warehouse. If there are any damaged ones, and you'd like to buy them, I can sell them to you at a lower price."
Are there many colors and patterns available?
"There are quite a few of those that reach the ankle. We only sold two dark red ones before, and kept the rest. As for the ones that only go around the waist, we took fewer of them. We sold three or four, so we don't have many of the patterns left."
Yunling knew what was going on. It seemed the two sizes she had chosen wouldn't sell well in the city. However, her purpose was to showcase the bras, and the gauze dress was merely to make her appear more modest; it didn't really matter.
"I'll have to trouble you to show me the way, my lady. I need to go and take a look at the gauze shirts in the warehouse."
"Young lady, this way please."
Yunling followed the man inside. The backyard was small, and it only took a few steps to reach the warehouse he was talking about. The warehouse was also small, but the items were neatly arranged. There was no fragrance, but there was also no musty or spoiled smell.
Yunling really liked this feeling. If she could open a window and let the sunlight stream in, filling the whole space with that feeling of sunlight, she felt like she could come alive again.
Since the areas where the items are placed are labeled with corresponding names, it is very convenient to find them.
“Young lady, come here. This box contains the kind of gauze dress that reaches your ankles, and the small green box next to it contains the kind that only reaches your waist. Take your pick.”
Yunling nodded, then squatted down and took the gauze shirts out of the box one by one. Before she came, she had an idea in mind: she would match them according to the saturation of the same color scheme.
For example, if the bra and panties are dark-colored, she will match them with a light-colored gauze shirt. If the bra and panties are light-colored, she will match them with white or a color with a lower saturation than white. In short, she can't overshadow the main character.
"I wonder how many copper coins this ankle-length gauze shirt costs? And how many copper coins does that waist-length gauze shirt cost?"
"This gauze shirt is not cheap to begin with. It is ankle-length and uses more material. The craftsmanship is also more complicated. So it sells for three strings of cash and five hundred coins a piece. But it is now stored away. If you are willing, young lady, I will sell it to you for two strings of cash a piece."
Before Yunling could even feel happy, the man said again:
"These only reach the waist, how about I just sell them to you as clearance items for five hundred copper coins each?"
Yunling quickly flipped through the small green box and counted the items. It didn't seem like a lot, but there were still thirty items in total. The problem was that there were very few patterns; these thirty items only had five different patterns.
However, the price is indeed a bargain. In the past, the ordinary clothes that Zhang Shi and Yun Laoniang bought for them would cost five hundred coins each, but now these gauze shirts are only five hundred coins each. Such an opportunity is rare indeed.
Why not just buy them? Who knows, the rest might come in handy when we sell clothes later and need to coordinate outfits?
Yunling made up her mind and then asked:
"I wonder how much those gauze shirts hanging outside cost?"
"Seeing that you're an expert, I might as well be frank. Those hanging outside are all the newest styles this year. Naturally, they're priced at the most favorable price for us: five strings of cash and two hundred coins each. As for the old styles from previous years, they'll sell for three strings of cash."
The price startled Yunling. She had been thinking of buying five knee-length pieces, not for any other reason than to cut them in half and make them into a set similar to the top and skirt suits of later generations.
But since things are like this now, she might as well just buy a few more of those ankle-length dresses. After cutting them, she can make them into long skirts or short skirts, and the extra fabric can be made into gauze flowers to wear as hair ornaments.
"Then I'll take ten ankle-length ones, and all the ones that only reach the waist. Please calculate, madam, how many copper coins will it cost in total?"
"Ten pieces that reach the ankles will cost twenty strings of cash, and thirty pieces that only reach the waist will cost fifteen strings of cash, for a total of thirty-five strings of copper coins."
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