Chapter 632 I want this brocade.
A glimmer of light suddenly flashed in Grandma Sun's cloudy eyes, and she looked at Chu Ruohan excitedly: "Madam...you...you understand this?"
"I know a thing or two." Chu Ruohan smiled.
Then he turned his eyes to the waiter, but his smile turned cold. "Such exquisite craftsmanship is only worth five taels of silver in your Jinxiu Pavilion?"
The clerk was choked by her question, his face a little embarrassed, and he said with all his strength: "Our boss's prices are naturally reasonable! Who are you to dare to meddle in other people's business here?"
"I'm the buyer." Chu Ruohan's voice was low but resounding. "I want this piece of brocade. Mother-in-law, will you sell it to me for twenty taels?"
Grandma Sun's lips trembled, she couldn't believe her ears.
Twenty taels was enough for her and her sick grandson to chew for most of half a year.
The shopkeeper Wang with the mustache came over at some point, and when he heard this, his face immediately darkened.
"Madam, everything should be based on first come first served." He said with a forced smile, "Grandma Sun sold this cloth to us first."
"Really?" Chu Ruohan raised an eyebrow. "But what I just heard was that mother-in-law didn't want to sell it, and you guys are forcing it."
Shopkeeper Wang's expression turned completely cold. He looked at Chu Ruohan and Gu Junze, who had remained silent behind her, with a hint of contempt in his eyes.
"In Jinguan City, no one dares to offend Jinxiu Pavilion." He said sinisterly, "I advise you two to mind your own business, so as not to bring trouble upon yourselves."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Junze, who had been standing behind Chu Ruohan, took a step forward.
He said nothing, but just raised his eyelids and glanced at the shopkeeper Wang lightly.
That look contained a murderous aura forged in a sea of corpses and blood.
The flesh on Manager Wang's face trembled violently, and he felt a chill running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his calves began to tremble.
The arrogance he had just shown was instantly extinguished.
The man in front of him was obviously dressed in ordinary clothes, but his eyes were a hundred times more terrifying than the prefect of Jinguan City he had met.
"My wife wants to buy this cloth." Gu Junze finally spoke, his voice low and without a trace of emotion.
"Buy...buy! Please come! Please come!" Shopkeeper Wang broke out in a cold sweat, bowed repeatedly, and could not speak clearly.
Gu Junze didn't look at him again. He took out a silver ingot weighing twenty taels from his arms and handed it to Grandma Sun.
Granny Sun stared blankly at the silver in front of her, then looked at Chu Ruohan's gentle smile and Gu Junze's stern but reassuring face. Her eyes became hot and turbid tears rolled down.
She took the silver with trembling hands and was about to kneel down in front of the two men.
Chu Ruohan quickly supported her.
"Mother-in-law, you can't do that."
"Benefactor, great benefactor!" Grandma Sun held her hand and burst into tears.
Chu Ruohan took the exquisite cloud-patterned brocade from her hand and handed it to Gu Junze.
Then he said gently to Granny Sun, "Granny, we've just arrived in Jinguan City and we're unfamiliar with the place. Could you please take us to a quiet teahouse and tell us stories about this city?"
Granny Sun was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly, her words a little incoherent with excitement: "Madam, if you want to hear it, I will naturally know everything and will tell you everything I know."
Under the guidance of Grandma Sun, the three of them walked through two alleys and came to a teahouse by the river.
The teahouse is not big, but it is clean and elegant. There are several bamboo tables and chairs placed by the window. When you open the window, you can see the black-sailed boats passing by on the river.
Chu Ruohan chose a quiet corner and not only ordered the best Maojian tea, but also ordered a plate of local specialty pastries for Grandma Sun.
Grandma Sun sat awkwardly on the chair, her hands on her knees, looking a little helpless.
This was the first time in her life that she had entered such a clean and decent place.
"Mother-in-law, don't be so reserved." Chu Ruohan personally poured her a cup of tea, pushed it in front of her, and said softly, "Just treat me as a junior from your family and chat with you."
Perhaps it was because Chu Ruohan's attitude was too gentle, or perhaps it was because the cup of hot tea warmed her heart, but Grandma Sun's tense body slowly relaxed.
She held the teacup and looked at the river outside the window, a trace of reminiscence flashing in her turbid eyes.
"Our Sun family has three generations of weavers. The 'cloud pattern weaving' craft I master was passed down from my great-grandmother's generation."
"At that time, the weaving industry in Jinguan City was not dominated by a single company. Each family had its own unique skills, and they competed with each other. Whoever had the best material and the most innovative weaving method could live a good life."
Granny Sun sighed, her voice filled with desolation, "But now, it's no use."
Gu Junze sat quietly aside, tapping the table with his fingers from time to time, his eyes calm, as if he was listening, but also seemed to be thinking about something else.
"That Shopkeeper Wang from Jinxiu Pavilion was originally just the manager of a small weaving workshop. Somehow he got in touch with the government and founded some kind of weaving guild, and he himself became its president."
Granny Sun's voice was tinged with resentment. "From then on, the fabric trade in Jinguan City became his family's responsibility."
"He lowered the price he paid to all weavers. If anyone refused, he would use the guild's authority to prevent all merchants from buying from that weaver."
"Many craftsmen either have to accept the situation and be treated like farmhands, or they have to change their profession and watch their ancestral skills disappear."
Chu Ruohan listened quietly, and understood in her heart.
This small Jinguan City is a miniature court, with complicated forces, tyranny that bullies the weak, and common people struggling to survive in the cracks.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
