Upon entering, I saw a woman in her forties standing in the hall, wearing a traditional Chinese robe. She spoke with the same sharp and sarcastic tone as Mr. Zou.
Who is this young lady?
“She’s here to buy fabric, take her to the warehouse.”
The woman sized Song He'er up and down, finding her clothes too simple to be of any sort of shopping. She then turned to Boss Zou and shouted, "You old fool! Are you blind?! Why are you bringing just anyone into your home!"
Mr. Zou coughed, pulled the woman down from the hall, and whispered something in her ear.
The woman hesitated slightly upon hearing this, then continued to scrutinize Song He'er from head to toe.
"So thin? Can you manage?"
"Hey, stop nagging and take her away right now."
The woman didn't say anything more. She walked up to Song He'er, waved to her, and said, "Come with me to the storeroom."
Song He'er suspected that there must be something fishy going on between them, otherwise why would they always look at her with such evasive eyes, as if they had done something sneaky?
Out of curiosity, Song He'er followed the woman to the warehouse at the back.
"It's just ahead. What kind of goods would you like to see?"
"The best."
The woman looked at her with disdain: "We don't offer credit here. Do you have enough money?"
"Boss lady, in your opinion, what kind of person is considered rich?"
The woman smiled and said, "Anyway, it's not like you."
Without saying a word, Song He'er took out a jade bracelet that she had taken out of her spatial storage beforehand from her sleeve and waved it in front of the woman.
Have you ever seen this kind of stuff before?
Sure enough, the woman's attitude changed completely the moment she saw the bracelet. She immediately ordered someone to open the warehouse door and gestured for Song He'er to enter.
The warehouse was filled with all kinds of silk and cotton fabrics, with prices ranging from high to low, a dazzling array of goods.
It seems that Boss Zou was right. Other shops in Shanyang City also get their goods from here, so he has essentially monopolized the entire market.
"So, young lady, how many carts do you need?"
Song He'er turned her head to meet the woman's gaze. "I only need enough fabric for twenty people's garments, the style shown at the entrance, in these two colors."
"Only twenty people?"
"What? You think it's too little? This was only after Mr. Zou went to great lengths to ask me to do business with you. If you don't want to do this business with me, I'll leave immediately!"
Upon hearing Song He'er's words, the woman smiled and said, "Alright, please wait a moment, young lady. I'll have someone take your measurements right away."
With that, she strode away with alluring steps.
Song He'er looked around and felt that the courtyard was a bit strange. Not only were all the warehouses locked, but all the workers were women.
Does this shop only make clothes for women?
Song He'er found a step to sit down, but as soon as her bottom touched the ground, she was startled by a voice behind her.
"girl--"
Song He'er was stunned. "What...what are you doing?"
"Girl, you'd better run for your life! I won't tell anyone!"
Song He'er looked her up and down and saw that she was dressed neatly and cleanly and had a good appearance, but there were some unhealed scars on her forehead.
"I came here to buy things, why are you telling me to run for my life?"
“My name is Lu’er, and I’m from Lishui in eastern Zhejiang. This shop is a total rip-off, they just scam young girls from out of town. We came here a year ago looking for our relatives. We thought we could work as odd jobs here and earn some money for our trip... but who would have thought we’d never be able to leave once we got in!”
Song He'er had long suspected that this store was unusual, but she never imagined that they would traffic women.
"Why are they keeping you trapped here? To make clothes?"
The girl named Lu'er answered softly while crying, "The boss here is a heartless bastard. He locks us in the backyard to work during the day, and sends us to Qianchun Brothel to entertain guests at night! We...we can't escape even if we want to. He calls the shots in the whole city of Shanyang. We can't run more than a few miles before we're caught and brought back. Some of my sisters have even been beaten to death because of this!"
Song He'er glanced in the direction the landlady had left. There was a side gate there, but the main gate next to it was sealed off, preventing anyone from passing through. It seemed that leaving this backyard wouldn't be so easy once she entered...
How many girls have had the same experience as you?
Lu'er thought for a while, then whispered, "About eight or nine people. Don't say anything more, miss. I'll cover for you. You hurry up and leave!"
Looking at the beautiful young woman before her, Song He'er felt a pang of pity. All the workers in the courtyard had been swindled and deceived; it was such a waste that they were wasting their prime years in brothels and theaters…
"Don't make a sound, just do what you need to do. Maybe we'll all be able to get out in a bit..."
Lu'er's eyes widened in disbelief: "Don't be ridiculous, girl! We're definitely not going anywhere. You haven't fallen into their trap yet, so you can still escape! Hurry up and go!"
Leave? It's not that easy.
She hasn't even received the materials yet, how can she just leave like this?
Thinking of this, Song He'er first opened the back door, then turned around and went into the warehouse. With lightning speed, she stuffed all the silk, cotton, brocade, and linen in the warehouse into her space.
The warehouse is now completely empty; there's nothing left.
In order to cover their tracks, they must create some chaos and confusion for the other side so that they can take advantage of the situation and slip away from here!
Thinking of this, Song He'er pushed open the warehouse door and shouted outside, "Thief!"
The shouts attracted many girls working there, and even Boss Zou and his wife came out.
"What are you yelling about!"
"Boss, your warehouse is completely empty!"
Boss Zou thought Song He'er was talking nonsense and didn't want to pay any attention to her. "I think you're scared out of your wits and are just spouting nonsense!"
"If you don't believe me, see for yourself!"
The proprietress opened the warehouse door with a mixture of disbelief and delight, and sure enough, all the fabric inside was gone...
"Master! Master!"
Boss Zou sensed something was wrong and immediately rushed over from behind, quickly entering the warehouse.
Sure enough, the once magnificent warehouse is now completely empty, not even a single thread remains!
"This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
"You heartless bastard! Who did you offend?! My goods! This is half a lifetime's worth of hard work! This 1,500 strings of cash! It's all gone because of this!"
The proprietress cried and collapsed to the ground, throwing a tantrum.
Song He'er suppressed a laugh and stepped forward to remind them, "They escaped through the back door, aren't you going to chase after them?!"
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