☆ Chapter 21: Holding her protectively in his arms, so sweet~~
“They are pitiful, and someone will pity them. I am pitiful, but who will pity me?” Sister Liu curled her lips. “I open my door to do business. If there is profit, I will do it; if there is no profit, I will not do it. Even if Buddha were to punish me, I would still say the same thing. Miss Zhou, is there anything else? If not, I need to check the accounts.”
Zhou Mujiao clapped her hands: "Sister Liu's thoughts are exactly the same as mine! No wonder I felt like I had known you for a long time when I saw you. Maybe we were sisters in a past life!"
Sister Liu instinctively clutched her purse tighter.
Zhou Mujiao chuckled: "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. I do have something I want to ask you. If you don't want to answer, just refuse. I'm not afraid of saying anything harsh, I'm just afraid you'll try to extort me with a bunch of nice things."
"You go first." Her hand was still on her purse.
Zhou Mujiao cleared her throat and asked, "Sister Liu, did you draw the design of this dress yourself, or did you have someone else design it?"
"I drew it myself, but why are you asking?"
"I'd like to bring some clothes here to sell on consignment. I'll design the styles myself, Sister Liu. Don't worry, I'll pay you the stall fee and my hard-earned money no matter whether they sell or not."
Sister Liu thought for a moment and asked, "What if I don't want to sell it on consignment?"
"Then I might open my own shop."
Zhou Mujiao sighed, "It's a pity I just don't know how to run a business. In order to attract customers, I might sell the first few batches at a lower price. I know I'm not cut out for business, but people always have a competitive spirit. What if I succeed?"
Sister Liu laughed: "You're clearly threatening me, but you're making it sound so aggrieved. You're so sharp-tongued, yet you say you don't know how to do business. Compared to you, am I a complete idiot?"
Okay, I'll make an exception for what you just said, 'We might have been sisters in our past lives.' But let me make this clear: you can list it, but I won't guarantee whether it will sell.
Also, if your starting price is fifty coins, but I sell it for one hundred coins, I won't give you the extra fifty coins.
"Sister Liu is beautiful and kind-hearted, she deserves to make a lot of money and become rich."
As she spoke, Zhou Mujiao took out a hairpin from her bosom and put it in Sister Liu's hair, looking her up and down. "Sister, you have a graceful appearance and a good figure. Why don't you wear some more beautiful clothes?"
Sister Liu took out a round mirror and looked at the hairpin in her hair.
It is a peony plated with brass, which looks golden, and the peony is the queen of flowers.
She put down the mirror and smiled: "I'm already in my thirties. If I wear bright clothes now, people will laugh at me for trying to compete with young girls at my age! Besides, what's the point of dressing up if no one appreciates it?"
Zhou Mujiao grabbed a set of solid-colored, bright-colored clothes from the side and shoved them into Sister Liu's hands, saying seriously, "Who said spring is only for young girls? Does the Great Liang Kingdom have any laws? There's an old saying that women dress up for those who appreciate them, which is true, but it doesn't explain everything."
I think "self-pleasing" includes not only others but also oneself. If no one appreciates you, then appreciate yourself, please yourself, is that not okay? Sister Liu, go change and let your sister admire you.”
Sister Liu was very tempted by what she heard. After hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth and took the dress into the changing room. A moment later, a radiant woman came out from behind the curtain.
Zhou Mujiao's eyes lit up, and she blurted out a string of compliments: "Just as I expected, that's exactly how a sister should be—bold and confident! Beautiful and cool! Don't you think so, Brother Zhao?!"
Zhao Yunjing had been standing in the background since he entered the store. When he was suddenly called out, he was stunned for a moment. Zhou Mujiao nudged him with her elbow: "Look!"
Zhao Yunjing glanced at Sister Liu, then at her again, and asked hesitantly, "Is this the owner of the clothing store?"
"you guess."
Zhao Yunjing looked away and answered honestly, "...I think it's impossible, she's too young...Ajiao, I want to buy a few sets like this for my mother too. Maybe she'll look as young and beautiful as the shopkeeper when she wears them."
Sister Liu knew that the two of them might just be saying those things to make her happy, but she did feel comfortable listening to them. There was a mirror in the changing room, and although she could only see a little bit of herself, she thought she should look good.
Zhou Mujiao went to pick out clothes for Aunt Zhao: "Auntie has a plain appearance, so she needs to wear lighter colors to better show off her temperament and complexion. Here, this one, this one, and these two, Auntie will definitely look good in them, let's buy them all."
"Sister Liu, give me two bolts of fabric in every color from your shop."
After Sister Liu got the fabric, Zhou Mujiao picked out a whole bunch of clothes, including her own, her children's, and Zhao Yunjing's.
So never believe a woman who says, "I'm just browsing and I won't buy anything," because she might be itching to take the whole shop home the very next second.
Sister Liu was all smiles. Not only did she give her a discount, but she also gave her some slightly flawed fabrics for free. Zhou Mujiao felt that Sister Liu was a good person to get along with. Besides developing into a business partner, perhaps their relationship could go even further.
She thought for a moment and whispered, "Sister Liu, that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law seemed a bit unusual. What if they really can sell their embroidery to other families for five coins a piece? Are you really going to buy all their embroidery for eight coins next time?"
"The embroidery is so bad that someone would buy it for two coins. That's probably because they feel sorry for her. It's impossible for it to sell for five coins."
"What if?"
"There's no chance of anything going wrong. I've never overlooked anything; those things of theirs won't sell."
Zhou Mujiao smiled and said, "Just because the goods can't be sold doesn't mean they can't make money. If you buy something that can only be sold for two coins for eight coins, they make six coins. Then they can give one coin to the shop that bought their embroidery for five coins, so they can still make five coins per piece."
The shop didn't even require any investment; all it took was for the owner to recite a book for them. If they brought a hundred or even a thousand handkerchiefs next time, the shop owner would make a fortune.
"A business with no investment and huge profits—wouldn't you, Sister Liu, do it? Only a fool wouldn't take advantage of such a chance to make money."
Sister Liu's face froze, and she immediately regretted that she had spoken too confidently. If Zhou Mujiao guessed correctly, wouldn't she lose a lot of money?
"Sister, I'll leave the things with you for now. Please also look after this cart for a while. I'll come back to pick it up in an hour."
Today was market day, and there were many people, men and women dressed in colorful clothes, bustling about. Zhao Yunjing lagged behind Zhou Mujiao by half a step, subtly shielding her from the crowd, worried that she might be pushed or stepped on.
Zhou Mujiao felt a warmth in her heart.
She was raised as the family heir from a young age. From childhood to adulthood, she was accompanied most by bodyguards, not her parents and relatives. These bodyguards were willing to risk their lives for her in critical moments. With them around, she never worried about her safety.
Right now, she only has Zhao Yunjing by her side. She's not sure how far he'll go for her, but the sense of security she feels right now is real, just like the one her bodyguards give her, yet somehow different.
Having finally squeezed out of the crowd, Zhao Yunjing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing that Zhou Mujiao was about to turn around, he immediately withdrew his hand.
But his expression changed drastically the next second!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
