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462: Three Sets of Purple Clothes and Shoes

As the name suggests, Qiaoshoufang sells everything that can only be made by skilled hands. There are many varieties and a dazzling array of goods. It has been established in Beijing for decades. Customers range from the elderly with gray hair to the young who can just distinguish between beauty and ugliness, all like to come here.

But the things in this Qiaoshou Workshop are not cheap. You get what you pay for. Things made by Qiaoshou are naturally good, so they are also expensive.

Seven out of ten customers of Qiaoshoufang are wealthy and powerful, and the rest are people who exchange the money they have saved for many days for something here.

As Shen Zian and Su Zhi entered, they were greeted with a smile by two girls wearing the same light yellow clothes standing at the door. They then asked them in a sweet voice if they needed any help.

Su Zhi thought that this kind of service was really similar to the services in some modern stores. As expected, business people, whether in ancient times or now, would rack their brains to come up with ways to satisfy customers. She didn't feel embarrassed and smiled and said she wanted to take a look.

"Master, Madam, is this your first time here? This place is very big. Do you need someone to show you the way?"

A girl with a sweet smile asked.

Su Zhi took a look and saw that it seemed to be quite big, so she nodded.

The girl smiled and said, "Then I will show you around!"

Shen Zian and Su Zhi walked forward, listening to the girl introducing Qiaoshoufang. They found it quite interesting to hear her beautiful voice talking about the history of Qiaoshoufang and the types of things sold there. Although Su Zhi came here to find out the truth about her life, she still became interested in the operation of Qiaoshoufang. She thought that now that she had money, if she really liked something, she would buy it back.

There are many kinds of things in this Qiaoshoufang, and each kind of thing is divided into an area, which is divided into courtyards. Just walk along the corridor inside. After a while, you will come to a small courtyard. There are flowers, plants, bamboos and trees in each small courtyard, all of which are very delicate and quiet. The things inside are also very delicate and particularly attractive.

Su Zhi would buy several things in almost every courtyard she visited. They were not cheap, and she spent more than two hundred taels in total. These things were delivered to the front hall and she would take them away when she left.

"Girl, the clothes and shoes here are very nice."

Su Zhi is now in the yard where clothes, shoes and socks are sold. Looking at the rows of exquisitely crafted and colorful clothes and pairs of shoes in front of her, Su Zhi talks to the girl who is in charge of selling clothes here.

The girl knew from the look of the girl who led the way that today's guest was quite friendly and generous, so her attitude was better than usual.

"Madam, our craftsmanship is top-notch. The styles are also good. But the most praiseworthy thing is the skill. Even ordinary styles look good when they come to us. Look at this dress and shoes. If this style was made by an ordinary tailor outside, it would definitely not be as good-looking as this dress here!"

“It’s very good.”

Su Zhi responded casually, and then asked, "You have very nice shoes here. Do you change the styles often? Or as long as they look good, you will still sell them even if they were made a few years ago?"

"Madam, the ladies in the capital love to change their looks the most. Generally, they change their looks once a year. A few years ago, no matter how good the looks were, they had to change them."

The girl smiled and said that the lady in front of her was very pretty and had a nice voice. Her smile made her feel like a spring breeze blowing over her, and listening to her talk was as comfortable as drinking cool spring water. Her skin was white, as if made of snow, and her hair was black as shiny satin. She was still so pretty even when she was pregnant. No wonder her husband was so considerate to her!

Su Zhi said, "Square-toed shoes seemed to be popular in Beijing a few years ago. I don't see them now. When did they stop selling those shoes here?"

The fake Taoist priest drew for Su Zhi the clothes and shoes that Su Zhi had worn when he first saw her. The shoes had square toes, which looked very different from ordinary round-toed embroidered shoes, making them easy to remember at a glance.

"Those shoes seem to have only been sold for one year, and then they were no longer sold the next year. Madam, do you want to buy those shoes?"

"Yeah, I wonder if I can still do it?"

"We replaced the shoemaker here last year. I don't know if he can make shoes, but I think he can. I'll ask my wife if it's possible to make shoes to order."

"Thank you so much. I wonder if I can meet the owner of your shop? I want to make a suit and a pair of shoes. The requirements are very high, so I have to tell her in person. Can you help pass on the message?"

Su Zhi thought that she had finished shopping and could get down to business. She had just asked the girl, but she was new here. The girl who sold shoes back then had already married. If she wanted to ask about clothes and shoes, and if anyone recognized her, she could only ask the shopkeeper.

When the girl heard this, she said, "Of course you can see our boss." Then she asked the girl who had just led the way to take them to find him.

The girl who led the way took them to find the shopkeeper. It seemed that the customers who came to this shop were all rich and powerful, so the shopkeeper was not difficult to find.

Arriving at an elegant room, Su Zhi sat down, Shen Zian also sat beside her, and Liu Yin stood aside. His eyes were almost dazzled by the sight today, and he thought he had really broadened his horizons.

After a while, a woman came in. She was about thirty years old, very pretty and exuding a capable and energetic look.

"Is it this gentleman and lady who want to see me? I am the owner of this Qiaoshou Shop, and my last name is Bai."

"Boss Bai, I'm going to trouble you today."

Su Zhi said politely that this Shopkeeper Bai was really similar to Shopkeeper Su in her hometown town. It seemed that all women doing business were similar.

"Madam is a guest, there is no need to bother. I heard that Madam wants to make a set of clothes and shoes, and she wants to make the square-toed shoes from a few years ago. I wonder what Madam's requirements are? Do you have any ideas?"

"I have drawings here."

Su Zhi asked Liu Yin to take out the blueprint and presented it to the shopkeeper. Shopkeeper Bai opened the blueprint and was slightly startled, then looked up at Su Zhi. Su Zhi immediately knew that the clothes or shoes on the blueprint were something special. She was delighted, thinking that she was worried that the shoes were ordinary goods, and that if there were not a thousand pairs, there would be at least a hundred pairs sold, and it would be hard to say who they would be sold to. Now looking at the expression of Shopkeeper Bai, it was clear that he had remembered these clothes or shoes!

"Shopkeeper Bai, have you ever seen clothes or shoes like this?"

"That's right. I have a good memory. Although I can't remember all the things sold from this craftsman's shop, I can still remember some of the beautiful clothes and shoes that I like. And I just happen to remember all the clothes and shoes on the drawing, madam. Not only because they are beautiful, but also because they were relatively rare at that time."

Shopkeeper Bai said with a smile, and became more polite to Su Zhi, thinking that the fact that this lady could produce the drawings of the limited edition clothes and shoes sold a few years ago showed that she was of high status. After all, the number of these clothes and shoes sold at that time was not very large.

Su Zhi's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she said, "I wonder how many pieces of this dress were sold, and how many pairs of these shoes were sold. Shopkeeper Bai, do you know who they were sold to?"

"There is a rule for the things we make at Qiaoshoufang, that is, things are rare and valuable. The most ordinary things are sold in a hundred pieces at most, while the number of good things is generally less, and there will be some differences. For example, the clothes and shoes that Madam is holding are good ones. I remember that there were only five colors of this kind of clothes at that time: red, yellow, blue, purple and green. The style and pattern were all the same, but the material of the clothes was different. There were three pieces of each color, using different materials, so there were 15 completely different clothes. The same is true for these shoes. But I don’t know what color and material the clothes and shoes are made of, Madam?"

Su Zhi was stunned. She thought that this was a good idea as the search range would be much smaller. However, she had no idea what the material was.

"The dress and shoes are purple, but I don't know what they are made of."

Su Zhi said, looking at Shopkeeper Bai looking at her, she smiled and told the truth: "Shopkeeper Bai, I won't hide it from you anymore. I came here today to find out who bought this set of purple clothes and shoes. You also said that you can remember anything you like, and there are only three pieces of purple clothes in total. You can remember them, right? Please tell me who they are."

Shopkeeper Bai said, "I don't know why Madam asks this. I can't disclose this information casually."

Su Zhi said, "This is not a secret. What can't Shopkeeper Bai reveal? I won't do anything bad. It's just that three years ago, a woman wearing this dress and shoes helped my mother a lot. My mother has always remembered it in her heart, but she didn't see the face of the benefactor, so she could only draw this dress. My mother passed away last year, and she always remembered this benefactor, hoping that I could repay her. That's why I came here now. I can swear to you, Shopkeeper Bai, that I have absolutely no bad intentions in looking for the owner of this dress, I just want to repay her."

Su Zhi made up a lie, but she thought that finding the owner of the clothes could be considered as a way of repaying a favor. After all, the original owner of this body gave up his position so that she could be reborn. Now helping her find her origins was her way of repaying the favor!

When Shopkeeper Bai heard Su Zhi say this, she was also very moved. She thought that Su Zhi, who was pregnant, still remembered to repay her mother's kindness. She was really a filial person. Moreover, she had seen many people and knew that Su Zhi was not a treacherous or evil person. She thought it was no big deal to tell her.

Just like that, who did the three purple clothes that Su Zhi got belong to?

After coming out of the Qiaoshou Workshop and getting on the carriage, Su Zhi lowered her head and thought.

"Wife, these three are all in the capital. We can visit them one by one and find out the truth. Don't worry, I will always be by your side."

Su Zhi smiled and nodded, thinking that no matter what the result was, she was still Su Zhi, she was still Shen Zian's wife, no one could change that, and that was enough.

(Lishu Literature)