The shopkeeper took a leather measuring tape from the counter, stood behind Shen Qinghe, pressed his left hand on his left shoulder, and gently pulled the measuring tape to his right shoulder with his right hand. Then he said to the young clerk who was taking notes, "Shoulder width is one foot and five inches."
Then he flipped his wrist, letting it hang down along Shen Qinghe's arm, and gently placed it on his wrist bone, saying, "The arm is two feet and five inches long."
After selecting the fabric, Meng Zhao sat on a chair by the window, carefully flipping through the embroidery pattern book that the shop assistant had brought over. However, she couldn't help but glance at the figure standing in the hall out of the corner of her eye. Although she had always known that Shen Qinghe had a good figure, she usually wore those wide robes and sleeves, so she didn't really have a strong feeling about him. But when the exact number was announced, Meng Zhao instantly felt a sense of reality.
As instructed by the shopkeeper, Shen Qinghe raised his hand. The shopkeeper then passed the measuring tape through his back and fixed it in front of his chest. His chest rose and fell slightly with each breath. After pausing for a couple of breaths, the shopkeeper said, "Chest circumference is three feet and one inch."
As the numbers were spoken, Shen Qinghe's figure gradually became clearer in Meng Zhao's eyes. When the black measuring tape wrapped around her waist, she watched as her supple waistline revealed an astonishing curve under the tape's tightening. Suddenly, she felt her mouth dry and hurriedly looked away, drinking two cups of tea to suppress the urge.
The shopkeeper was still announcing the numbers as usual: "Waist circumference is two feet five inches."
With broad shoulders and a narrow waist, she has a perfect inverted triangle figure, plus a tall and slender physique. In modern times, she could easily be a fashion model and be a feast for the eyes. Unfortunately, the current fashion trend is to wear "loose robes and wide belts," so even the most beautiful figure has to be hidden under layers of fabric, which is a real shame.
Lost in thought, a refreshing scent of pine wafted over. "What are you thinking about, sister?" Shen Qinghe had somehow gotten close to her, and his magnified handsome face startled Meng Zhao so much that her hand trembled, and the embroidery pattern book almost slipped from her lap.
Meng Zhao hurriedly calmed himself down, "I wasn't thinking about anything, I was just picking out some patterns."
"What pattern did you choose, sister?" Shen Qinghe sat down next to her, his shoulder gently brushing against her sleeve, causing a slight ripple.
Meng Zhao casually pointed, "How about this one with the ruyi pattern? It's simple and clean, and the meaning is good too."
Shen Qinghe chuckled softly, "Anything my sister chooses is naturally good." He paused, then added, "But... after looking around for so long, you only picked this one?"
Meng Zhao slammed the booklet shut, glared at him, and said, "What, you think I'm taking too long to choose?"
Shen Qinghe's smile deepened as she slowly said, "I wouldn't dare, it's just that I felt that just now, Sister... seemed to be looking at other things more intently."
Meng Zhao's ears burned, and she angrily said, "What's it to you? Go pay your bill."
Shen Qinghe straightened up, her eyes crinkling slightly like a triumphant fox. "Alright, I'll listen to you, elder sister."
Watching him walk back to the shopkeeper, his back straight as a pine tree, his shoulders flowing smoothly into his narrow waist, the image of the measuring tape wrapped around his body just now reappeared in Meng Zhao's mind. She bit her lip and cursed herself for being so weak. She had seen handsome men naked before, so why was she so dazzled by this measurement through his clothes today?
The four of them first ordered their clothes, then strolled around a few shops on the street. At noon, they found a small restaurant, ordered some home-style dishes, and had lunch together. As the sun began to set, Meng Zhao couldn't wait any longer and couldn't help but ask, "Where exactly is that shop? Do you even remember it?"
Seeing that she was about to get angry, Shen Qinghe stopped delaying and led her to a shop. The shop was in a good location, but it didn't even have a decent signboard. There was only a mottled wooden sign hanging above the door, with the words "Rare Goods" faintly visible.
A man in his twenties was reclining on a deck chair by the entrance. When they entered the store, he didn't offer them any warm greeting, nor did he even get up. Instead, he casually said, "Please make yourself at home, sir. If you want to buy anything, come and ask the price." He seemed indifferent to their purchases.
Seeing the shop's contents arranged so haphazardly, Meng Zhao wondered how Shen Qinghe had discovered it.
She wandered around aimlessly, when she suddenly noticed a dusty cloth bag in the corner. The bag was loosely tied, and a few flat grains, which looked like the seeds of some kind of plant, were scattered around it.
Meng Zhao's eyes lit up. He quickly squatted down, carefully picked up a seed, and examined it closely in his palm. The seed was irregularly oval-shaped with fine lines on the surface. The pale yellow seed coat was covered with some fuzz. This... this was clearly a tomato seed!
In modern times, tomatoes were not introduced to China until the Ming Dynasty, where they were called "foreign persimmons". I had been asking around about them since I arrived, but to no avail. I never expected to see them here.
Tomatoes are not just for scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Tomatoes contain natural fructose, citric acid, and glutamic acid, which gives them a sweet, umami, and sour taste. They can be used not only as an ingredient but also as a condiment that combines multiple flavors.
Without tomatoes, Italian cuisine would lose its soul, Mexican cuisine would be reduced by half, and sweet and sour dishes in Chinese cuisine would also suffer a major blow. Fast food restaurants would also lose a major feature if they didn't have tomato sauce.
So when Meng Zhao saw this, she was incredibly excited. She grabbed the bag of seeds and was about to ask the price when Shen Qinghe pulled her back. Meng Zhao looked at him curiously, only to see Shen Qinghe move aside, blocking the shopkeeper's view, and gently shake his head at her.
She then picked up a dusty clay figurine from the shelf and deliberately raised her voice, saying, "Sister, look, doesn't this clay figurine look seven-tenths like you?"
The clay figurine was no bigger than the palm of his hand. Due to its age, the paint on its surface had long since faded and peeled off, and even the facial features were blurred. How could anyone tell who it resembled? Before Meng Zhao could speak, Shen Qinghe turned and walked towards the shopkeeper, holding up the clay figurine and asking, "Shopkeeper, how much is this clay figurine?"
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