Chapter 22 Chapter 22
The shopkeeper praised the dress to the sky with an extremely enthusiastic attitude. Jiang Huai couldn't resist the shopkeeper's attitude and reached out to touch it.
The material is really good. The silk cotton inside is very soft and smooth, and the lambskin on the outside is warm to the touch. You can see how warm it will be to wear in winter.
Just by listening to the shopkeeper's description of the clothes, Jiang Huai knew that the clothes would definitely not be cheap. Sure enough, seeing his satisfied expression, the shopkeeper quoted a price.
Sixteen taels of silver.
Although he had not intended to buy clothes, Jiang Huai still couldn't help but take a breath when he heard the price. The price of the land he had walked all the way here was only four taels of silver per mu, and this set of clothes was worth four mu of land.
Jiang Huai silently withdrew his hand. Seeing that the shopkeeper was still trying to persuade him, he didn't want to waste his breath and said, "Shopkeeper, I really can't afford this dress. If you really want to do business, then bring out good quality and low price goods, otherwise I will have to buy it elsewhere."
"It's bitterly cold in Anyuan Prefecture in winter, young master, you can save money anywhere but not on this. If you catch a cold..." The shopkeeper wanted to persuade him again. He took out the clothes. Although he wanted to make money, he also saw that Jiang Huai was weak and needed to keep warm.
"Shopkeeper, I appreciate your kindness, but I'm really short of money. If I buy this dress, I'll have no money for food and expenses in the future." Jiang Huai appreciated the shopkeeper's kindness, but his attitude was still firm.
As for the cold winter, he would definitely stay in the house to warm himself by the fire and try to go out as little as possible, so he would have less need for thick clothes.
The most important thing is that if he wants to buy thick clothes, he should buy larger ones so that both he and Xiao Jingzhao can wear them, which will save some money. He can wait until he makes money next year and see if he can buy them.
Seeing that Jiang Huai's attitude was really firm, the shopkeeper didn't try to persuade him any more. He took the clothes back and took out a few winter clothes. The colors of these clothes didn't look bright and the styles were not good-looking. The only outstanding thing about them was that they were really thick and felt warm.
"How about these clothes?" asked the shopkeeper.
Jiang Huai touched it carefully and made sure that the quality of the clothes was good. Then he looked up at Xiao Jingzhao behind him and asked, "Brother Wei, do you like this dress?"
Xiao Jingzhao thought he was asking for his opinion. He looked at the clothes in Jiang Huai's hand. The color was not bright, but gray, not as good as the one the shopkeeper had just taken out. Although that set of clothes was not very good-looking in Xiao Jingzhao's opinion, these ones were obviously uglier.
"It's not as good-looking as the one just now." Xiao Jingzhao replied.
"Of course, the one just now was specially customized, and this one is a popular style." Jiang Huai explained, but seeing that Xiao Jingzhao was not opposed to it, he measured the size of the clothes, looked at Xiao Jingzhao's figure, and turned to look at the shopkeeper.
"Boss, is there any winter coat that fits my brother's body shape?" Jiang Huai said.
The shopkeeper nodded and went back into the house to get out another item.
"Brother Wei, try it on and see if it fits you?" Jiang Huai said.
Xiao Jingzhao frowned. He came to buy clothes for Jiang Huai, so why was he letting him try them on?
This is what Xiao Jingzhao thought, so naturally he asked this question.
"Let's save some money now. One winter coat can be shared by two people. Buy a bigger one so that you can wear it and I can wear it too. If you buy a smaller one, I can wear it but you can't." Jiang Huai said seriously, then pushed Xiao Jingzhao to try it on.
Xiao Jingzhao was very clean, and the shopkeeper didn't mind if he wanted to try it on.
Being pushed into the inner room by Jiang Huai, Xiao Jingzhao pursed his lips while looking at the winter coat in his hand. He wanted to tell Jiang Huai that they didn't need to be so embarrassed. After all, although he didn't have much money on him, it was still enough for him to live an ordinary life.
However, he had explained to Jiang Huai at the beginning that he didn't have much money on him, so he had no suitable excuse to take out more money now. As for suddenly taking out money and arousing Jiang Huai's suspicion, Xiao Jingzhao sighed and gave up.
After putting on his winter clothes very skillfully, Xiao Jingzhao came out. The shopkeeper looked over at him with his eyes wide open when he heard the sound.
The shopkeeper knew very well what the winter clothes in his shop looked like. It was because of the ugly style and the low material that the price was a little high, so customers who were willing to spend so much money were unwilling to buy them, while customers who didn't mind the ugliness couldn't afford so much money.
But Xiao Jingzhao managed to make an ugly winter coat look beautiful, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and a majestic aura. This is definitely his signature look.
The shopkeeper suspected that if he let Xiao Jingzhao stand outside the door for a while and put up a sign, someone might buy all the remaining clothes just because of how they looked on him.
Jiang Huai's eyes also lit up. He didn't expect that this dress looked like a custom-made one on Xiao Jingzhao. Is this what it means to have a good figure that adds luster to clothes?
Meeting the shopkeeper's gaze, Xiao Jingzhao frowned unconsciously, turned his head to look at Jiang Huai, and found that the other party was also looking at him with bright eyes.
"It looks great!" Jiang Huai gave a thumbs up.
Xiao Jingzhao looked down at the dress, but couldn't see what was good about it. Seeing that Jiang Huai seemed to like it very much, he didn't say anything.
Jiang Huai asked Xiao Jingzhao how the clothes looked. After all, a piece of clothing may look good, but if it is not comfortable to wear, then the clothes are not suitable. Fortunately, Xiao Jingzhao felt that everything was fine.
Since he was sure that the clothes were good, Jiang Huai began to bargain with the shopkeeper. As soon as the clothes were taken out, Jiang Huai found that although the clothes were good, they did not look particularly bright. It was obvious that they were made in the past, but had been kept for a while and not sold.
Since it hasn't been sold, there's room for bargaining on the price of this dress.
"The material and workmanship of this dress are both good. At the current price, you will make a profit if you buy it. Besides, young master, you can see how handsome your elder brother looks in this dress." The shopkeeper refused to give in.
"Boss, I don't say anything about the first half of your sentence. The workmanship and materials of this dress are good, so it's normal that it's more expensive than usual. But this dress looks good when worn. Is it because the dress looks good? It's because my eldest brother is good-looking and a natural clothes hanger. Otherwise, if you let others wear it, you might have to bargain for the price." Jiang Huai raised his eyebrows.
The shopkeeper was speechless. The dress was ugly in appearance and because of this problem and the price, it had been kept in the shop. If it couldn't be sold, he would be losing money.
If Jiang Huai had continued to belittle the dress, the shopkeeper might have simply refused to sell it given his temperament. After all, it was not uncommon for people to use various excuses to lower the price of clothes in the past, but this only made the shopkeeper rebellious and he would become stubborn and refuse to sell it. However, Jiang Huai was also certain that the workmanship and materials of the dress were good, which made the shopkeeper hesitate.
"You can see that my elder brother looks good in this outfit. If the price is right, we can buy the rest next time when we need it." Jiang Huai continued.
This sentence completely hit the shopkeeper's heart. This dress is not easy to sell. It would be nice if there was a possible seller.
But the shopkeeper was still a little confused, after all, the amount missing was money.
Jiang Huai saw the shopkeeper's hesitation, looked back at Xiao Jingzhao, and then looked at the sky outside. The autumn wind was blowing, and compared to outside, the room seemed warmer. He would go to the bathhouse later, and Xiao Jingzhao probably would not go with him. The other party looked like he had just finished taking a bath.
When he took a bath, Jiang Huai thought that he should rub off the dirt on his body and then wash his hair. He must not go out to blow the wind before his hair was dry, otherwise he would easily catch a cold with a wet head. It would take at least an hour. If he let Xiao Jingzhao wait outside for this hour, it would not be good.
As for whether you can wait for people in the bathhouse, it’s hard to say.
Remembering the shopkeeper's look at Xiao Jingzhao, Jiang Huai pulled Xiao Jingzhao aside and said, "Brother Wei, I'm going to the bathhouse later. Can outsiders wait inside?"
Xiao Jingzhao shook his head. He went to the bathhouse the day before yesterday, and there seemed to be no one else waiting inside, so it shouldn't be possible.
"I can wait for you outside, don't worry." Thinking that Jiang Huai was going to the bathhouse for the first time and was afraid to go, Xiao Jingzhao comforted him.
"It's windy outside, and your clothes aren't warm enough, Brother Wei." Jiang Huai shook his head. He would go to the bathhouse later, and he must take this set of clothes with him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have a change of clothes, and Jiang Huai couldn't let Xiao Jingzhao wait for him outside in the wind wearing the clothes he had just worn.
"Brother Wei, do you mind being stared at a few more times?" Although he thought his idea was good and could save them some money, Jiang Huai cared most about Xiao Jingzhao's feelings. After all, not everyone could accept being stared at.
Take a few more glances?
Xiao Jingzhao looked a little confused, not knowing how Jiang Huai's words jumped to this point.
"Given the shopkeeper's attitude just now, Brother Wei, if you are willing to stay and be his clothes hanger in the store for a while, maybe he can lower the price a little more. By the way, I can also let you sit here and wait for me." Jiang Huai explained.
As for the fact that Xiao Jingzhao's clothes were taken away by him, Jiang Huai felt that the shopkeeper might be willing to give him another piece of clothing to wear temporarily.
After all, there is a living person at stake, and it is unlikely that he will just run away with his clothes on.
Before Xiao Jingzhao could speak, the shopkeeper, who had overheard the conversation, jumped out and said, "If this young man is willing to stand at the door for a while wearing his clothes, the clothes can be reduced by three, no, fifty cents."
The shopkeeper was bleeding money, but his strong desire to sell the clothes made him impulsive for a while.
The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Huai eagerly. He could see that although Jiang Huai looked younger than the other two, he seemed to be the one in charge.
Jiang Huai did not respond, but glanced at Xiao Jingzhao and declined politely: "Shopkeeper, I'm sorry, my eldest brother doesn't like this very much, so forget it."
"Hey, if you think this is too little, I can give you a little more. We can discuss this." The shopkeeper was anxious.
"I won't stand outside the door, I'll just sit inside the shop." Xiao Jingzhao thought of how Jiang Huai was haggling over money just now, and was silent for a moment. He couldn't accept standing outside the door, but it would be fine if he just stood inside the shop like a customer.
The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, but before he could think clearly, Jiang Huai spoke again: "My eldest brother doesn't like to show his face. The guests we invite will definitely stare at him. He has to wear a mask, otherwise if the news gets out, he won't be comfortable walking around in public."
"Anyway, these clothes only look at the body, not the face." Seeing the shopkeeper's hesitation, Jiang Huai added, "If it doesn't work, forget it. The shopkeeper should keep these few dozen coins for himself."
"What you said, this, this, this..." The shopkeeper hesitated for a while, and suddenly noticed that because Xiao Jingzhao and Jiang Huai were standing at the door, Xiao Jingzhao's figure had attracted the attention of passers-by, and he became more swayed.
"Wearing a mask might attract more attention." Jiang Huai said in a low voice.
This makes a lot of sense.
The shopkeeper nodded subconsciously, realizing that his thoughts were led astray by Jiang Huai. He was silent for a moment, but finally agreed with Jiang Huai's words.
After all these were agreed upon, Jiang Huai asked the shopkeeper to give him a set of clothes to take to the bathhouse. The shopkeeper agreed directly and did not even charge him for renting the clothes or ask for a deposit.
Just like Jiang Huai said, with a living person being held as hostage here, the shopkeeper has nothing to worry about.
Jiang Huai stood up with his clothes and walked out of the store. A child came towards him, holding some gray fur balls that gave off a fishy smell and selling them to people on the roadside.
Seeing Jiang Huai and noticing the winter coat in his hand, the child hesitated for a moment, but still came forward and said, "Uncle, wool is cheap. Buy some and take it home to make winter coats. It will definitely keep you warm."
"Go away." The shopkeeper came out to drive the child away and said to Jiang Huai, "Young Master, don't be fooled. This wool may look warm, but it smells bad and pricks you. Using it is a torture."
Jiang Huai did not refute. He had also seen the wool just now. It was indeed very bad, but it was not impossible to make use of it.
Jiang Huai suppressed his thoughts and headed towards the bathhouse.
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