Chapter 16
Sachets are also quite nice.
"..."
That really is like bringing up the very thing you don't want to talk about.
Lu Qin felt very annoyed and really wanted to curse her. Fortunately, Hao Jingshi was not swayed and still defended her, saying, "Children cannot be forced; they require the right time, place, and people. By the way, Madam is frail and sickly, all because of excessive worry. Aunt, you should also worry less and take care of yourself."
"..."
Aunt Zhao gave an awkward laugh and changed the subject again.
She was adept at extricating herself from awkward situations, but no matter what she said, Hao Jingshi would relentlessly mock her, never failing to show the proper respect due to a junior, leaving her speechless on several occasions.
Lu Qin watched the spectacle with glee, occasionally stirring things up and making things awkward for her.
After realizing that the couple was not very polite to her, Aunt Zhao wisely took the opportunity to suggest leaving.
However, she wasn't angry; instead, she secretly chuckled to herself.
Since she has already achieved her goal, what does it matter if she suffers a little loss verbally?
Before everyone left, Lu Qin ran to the clothing shop to pack some clothes for her father.
Unexpectedly, when he returned with his bundle, he saw Lu Ping smiling sweetly at Hao Jingshi.
Lu Qin paused for a moment, her steps faltering.
Beside Lu Ping, Aunt Zhao stood to the side, smiling shrewdly. She seemed to have subtly understood something.
It's likely that Aunt Zhao's purpose this time wasn't just to get her children jobs; otherwise, why would she only take Lu Ping and not Lu Ming...?
By the way, back when they signed the land deed, Lu Ming had already mentioned to Hao Jingshi that he had taken Lu Ping as a concubine, and today...
As Lu Qin thought about it, she became increasingly itchy and stood still, forgetting to move, just watching them.
Hao Jingshi still had his arms crossed, a slight smile on his lips. He said something and then turned back into the clinic.
Lu Ping waved her hand, still lingering on Hao Jingshi's retreating figure. Lu Qin felt a pang of sadness upon seeing this.
But she still walked over as if nothing had happened, handed the bundle to her father, and said goodbye to them with a bright smile.
After seeing everyone off, Lu Qin stood absentmindedly at the entrance of the clinic for a while before turning around and going inside.
Hao Jingshi sat casually in front of the counter, picked up his pen again, and began sketching clothing designs. His expression was relaxed, and his brushstrokes were effortless, indicating that he was in a good mood.
You scoundrel, look how pleased you are with yourself.
Lu Qin inwardly scoffed, but still walked over and said sweetly, "Thank you so much for saving me, husband. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to refuse Aunt Zhao."
"Hmph, there's no need for thanks between us. I just don't like her." Without his elders around, Hao Jingshi reverted to his true nature, abandoning all pretense of politeness. He snorted coldly and raised his head, "Then how do you intend to thank me?"
"..." Didn't I just say there was no need for thanks?
The deer antlers remained still.
Seeing that she had crashed, Hao Jingshi clicked his tongue, waved his hand, and joked, "How insincere. I was going to make a wish. Never mind."
Lu Qin lowered her head and thought about what he might need, but in an instant, Lu Ping's charming smile flashed through her mind again.
In a moment of dizziness, she said, "Since that's the case... Husband, what did you think of my sister today? Are you satisfied?"
Hao Jingshi was a little confused: "What do you mean by 'satisfied' or 'not satisfied'?"
Stop pretending to be a child. Haven't you always wanted to take a concubine with a refined taste? You've been trying to get close to her for so many days now.
Lu Qin opened her mouth, thinking that she might as well go and tell her parents-in-law, and then inform Aunt Zhao to make arrangements for him.
"..." But for some reason, she couldn't make a sound.
I can't explain it.
After hesitating for a while, Lu Qin casually replied, "It's nothing. If my husband doesn't mind, I'll sew a sachet for you myself."
After saying that, she turned around and went back to the clothing shop. However, less than three seconds after she left the shop, she began to feel inexplicably fortunate that she hadn't said it out loud.
Hao Jingshi was puzzled for a moment as he watched her hurried back, but he didn't think much of it.
He picked up a pen and drew on the paper. After a while, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the ceiling and he muttered to himself, "A sachet... that's nice too."
...
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west day after day, and the noise of the streets begins with sunrise and ends with sunset.
Before anyone else came to the shop, Lu Qin tidied up the clothes that the customers had tried on and hung them back up by herself.
Lately, for some reason, fewer and fewer customers have been coming to the clothing shop. Every time she looks through the ledger, she finds that the turnover is declining.
That shouldn't be the case. She has already launched new autumn clothes, and with the change of seasons, the demand should be even greater.
Lu Qin pondered the reason for a few days and felt that the novelty had worn off. So she sent a few servants to observe where everyone was buying clothes and what kind of clothes they needed.
At the same time, in order to showcase more styles and stimulate everyone's desire to buy, she also added some designs to the wall, such as a row of rivets for hanging clothes.
Some clothes were hung too high for her to reach even on tiptoe, so she made her own clothes rack, similar to the kind found in small shops in modern underground shopping malls.
The clothes rack was made of solid wood and was quite heavy. Lu Qin had driven a long nail into the very top, bent it by fire, and made it look like a hook. To prevent the nail from snagling the clothes, she also wrapped the sharp part with a thick layer of cotton cloth.
Because it wasn't as lightweight as a plastic tube, and her body was delicate, she often found it difficult to hold it steady when using it.
As Lu Qin stretched out her arms and wobbled towards hanging up her clothes, someone suddenly took the clothes rack from her hands from behind.
She paused for a moment, unconsciously let go of his hand, and looked back to find that it was Hao Jingshi.
He stood behind her, only inches away, and with a single gesture, he almost encircled her in his arms, effortlessly hanging up her clothes.
After hanging it up, he picked up the clothes hanger with interest and chuckled, "You're quite resourceful."
“Of course.” Lu Qin walked around him and picked up another garment. “But this clothes rack is not as easy to use as my husband’s. Since my husband is here, let’s hang this one up as well.”
Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi deliberately hoisted the clothes rack onto his shoulder and remained motionless, looking up at the sky: "You still want to order me around? Why should I listen to you?"
Lu Qin rolled her eyes and shook her clothes.
She knew what he wanted to hear, so while inwardly cursing him for spoiling her with his bad habits, she sweetly complied with him, saying, "Husband, please hang it up for me, you're the best."
Hao Jingshi rubbed his ears, then said arrogantly, "What? Speak louder, I didn't hear you."
Lu Qin chuckled, leaned close to his ear, and said very loudly, "Huh? How could you not hear me?! Has my husband become deaf at such a young age?!"
"..."
Hao Jingshi's handsome face wrinkled in shock.
After catching his breath, he naturally retorted without backing down: "I'm not deaf, I could still hear the dog barking just now!"
Lu Qin: "What? My husband can bark like a dog?"
Hao Jingshi: "Madam, you're the one who's deaf. Let me fix it for you!"
"..."
The two of them started arguing back and forth, neither willing to give in, while still keeping their work in mind.
As their battle raged on, customers began to arrive at the shop one after another, so the two lowered their voices and secretly continued their competition.
After helping her hang up her clothes, Hao Jingshi returned to the clinic. Before leaving, he tapped her on the forehead and said, "Don't forget my sachet."
Lu Qin gave an "oh" and continued to busy herself with receiving guests.
I initially thought it was no big deal.
But after the guests left, Lu Qin had some free time and suddenly felt a tickle in her heart, constantly thinking about Hao Jingshi flicking her forehead, as if a handful of fluff was rubbing against her.
She rubbed her cheeks and started looking for something to do, tidying her clothes.
After a while, Hao Jingshi came to the clinic again with a lunchbox and called Lu Qin to eat. Lu Qin gave Ling'er a few instructions and went to the rest area to find him.
Hao Jingshi twirled his silver chopsticks in his hand. When she came over, he opened the food box and arranged the food on a plate. To Lu Qin's surprise, he actually remembered what she liked to eat and even specially placed it in front of her.
The rice was a bit too salty, so Lu Qin drank a lot of water in one go.
After finishing his meal, Hao Jingshi left with his lunchbox. Lu Qin watched his arrogant back and felt somewhat unhappy.
It's because she... gradually came to realize something.
Hao Jingshi was with her almost every day, and she could see him every day. To her, he was no longer someone she could easily ignore.
She seems to care about him a little.
This kind of concern is uncontrollable; no matter how deliberately you try to distance yourself, you'll suddenly think of the other person.
Watching Lu Ping talk to him that day, she felt a mix of emotions and realized that her objection to his taking a concubine was probably not for any other reason.
It's because...
"Young Madam?"
Lu Qin sat at the counter, lost in thought, and slowly drifted off into a daze. Ling'er called her name several times, but she didn't hear her.
"Young Madam." Seeing that Lu Qin was absent-minded, Ling'er came over and teased, "Your eyes are practically glued to the young master."
Lu Qin came to her senses and argued, "What's so interesting about him? I only saw a colorful bird in the tree outside."
"Oh." Where in the world would there be a five-colored bird? Ling'er covered her mouth, but her eyes were curved, clearly she was smiling.
As the saying goes, an outsider's perspective is often clear. These past few days, she's been watching the young master and young mistress compete when they meet, and then secretly think about each other when they're apart, and she finds it all quite amusing.
Lu Qin was a little embarrassed by her laughter, so she quickly coughed and changed the subject: "Um, Ling'er, what did you want to see me about?"
Ling'er rolled her eyes, then suddenly remembered that she had important business to attend to and wasn't just there to join in the fun.
She said seriously, "Oh right, young mistress, I have something important to tell you—our servants have been observing outside for a few days and have discovered that there is a newly opened clothing store on West City Street. It is currently holding an opening event and seems to be imitating our store. It also sells on-site and has different sizes."
"Oh, no wonder." Lu Qin didn't take it too seriously. It seems her shop is really popular; they even have counterfeit products now.
Being imitated is common; after all, it's all about making money, so it's understandable.
However, now that she has competitors, it means her shop is no longer unique, and she needs to be more aware of the potential risks.
She needs to see what competitive advantages this new shop has.
Lu Qin thought for a moment and then instructed Ling'er, "Go to that shop and buy me a dress. I want to see what their fabric is like."
If the customer loss isn't due to a difference in quality, then it's not worth worrying about. After all, opening promotions aren't every day, and discounts aren't offered every day either. She's confident she can bring customers back.
"Yes," Ling'er replied, and nimbly ran out to take care of it.
Lu Qin continued to turn around, tidy her clothes, and attend to customers, getting busy.
In the blink of an eye, the sun was setting, casting its slanting rays.
A soft orange light bathed the shop as customers left one by one, while a few servants swept the entrance and inside the shop.
Lu Qin looked at the ledgers at the counter, glancing outside every now and then to see if Ling'er had returned.
Ling'er was gone for a long time and did not return. She waited and waited until the shop was about to close, and then she peeked out the window and caught a glimpse of Ling'er.
Knowing that her master must be getting impatient, Ling'er ran back as fast as she could, her legs moving as if she were on fire, and grabbed the clothes to hand in her report.
Just then, Hao Jingshi came out of the clinic and was walking into the clothing shop. Ling'er was in such a hurry that she couldn't stop and bumped into him from behind.
Caught off guard, Hao Jingshi stumbled and fell to the ground, his knees hitting the threshold with a thud.
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