However, He Jiuniang still refused.
"Thank you for your kindness, shopkeeper, but I really don't have that ability."
Seeing her resolute attitude, and even her somewhat displeased expression, the shopkeeper did not press her further.
"Then Madam He, please go back and think it over. Yuyuantang welcomes you anytime!"
Manager Ren was very enthusiastic, and his attitude was respectful and ingratiating. Even though He Jiuniang didn't have such thoughts for the time being, she still had a very good impression of Manager Ren.
She's the kind of person who likes to read people's attitudes before acting.
Afterwards, Manager Ren calculated the money she had earned from selling the medicinal herbs and even personally escorted her to the door.
"Madam He, you must come once you've thought it through!"
She looked like she was about to wipe away her tears with a handkerchief.
He Jiuniang found it too offensive to look at and hurriedly left.
As soon as she left, the shopkeeper turned around and instructed his assistant, "Prepare paper and pen for me; I need to write a letter to the master!"
He needed to tell his employer immediately that he had discovered a treasure girl!
This Madam He is a highly skilled doctor; her acupuncture techniques are truly dazzling. If he could invite her to practice at the clinic, he might be able to secretly learn a couple of tricks.
Of course, most importantly, their Yuyuantang brand will definitely have a greater reputation.
Doctors were scarce in those days, and female doctors were even rarer. Many women were unwilling to see a doctor when they fell ill because of the strict separation between men and women, which aggravated their illnesses and shortened their lifespans.
But if Madam He were to come to the clinic to practice medicine, not only would she be able to treat some women, but the clinic's business would also improve significantly.
As the manager, he has unearthed such a treasure, and his boss will definitely reward him at the end of the year!
Just thinking about it makes me feel so happy!
He picked up his pen and wrote several pages in a long, flowing style, praising He Jiuniang's medical skills and acupuncture techniques to the skies. After the ink dried, he ordered the young shop assistant to send it to the prefectural city as quickly as possible.
Watching the young waiter ride away on horseback, Manager Ren rubbed his hands together excitedly.
Great! There's hope for year-end bonuses! Yay!
He Jiuniang was unaware of Manager Ren's ulterior motives. She strolled around the streets, bought some odds and ends for the household, and then went to the cloth shop.
There are three larger cloth shops in the county town; the rest are small shops.
He Jiuniang thought that the young women and wives in her family would definitely want to buy some bright colors. Since small shops had fewer choices, she went directly to a larger fabric store.
"Is this lady here to buy fabric or ready-made clothes? For whom? If you don't mind, I can introduce you to some."
A middle-aged woman came out to greet them, dressed in a dark blue cloth shirt, just like the other women and maids in the shop. He Jiu Niang knew that this was an ancient version of a saleswoman.
As she sized up the woman, the woman was also sizing her up. Although she wasn't dressed very well, she was leading a horse and had a full basket on her back, which clearly indicated that she had money. As a result, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened.
Since there was a sales assistant, He Jiuniang was too lazy to look at each item herself, so she said she wanted to buy some fabric for the whole family, young and old.
The woman's face began to light up with a smile; her judgment was always accurate!
"My lady, come with me!"
So the woman led He Jiu Niang to introduce all the fabrics in the cloth shop suitable for farmers, especially the women's fabrics, which she described in great detail, categorizing them by color and comfort.
He Jiuniang couldn't help but admire this woman. If she were an indigenous resident of this era, she would definitely love these fabrics too.
Unfortunately, she had plenty of more comfortable materials in her space, as well as various fashionable patterns, so she wasn't fooled by the woman.
She considered herself very rational and pointed to several pieces of fabric with bright colors that wouldn't look gaudy, intending to use them for the girls and sisters-in-law in the family. She also selected a light blue fabric separately for Sun Shi.
As for the men in the house, they were all given a few bolts of black, gray, and dark blue cloth and that was it.
Men don't care about these things.
The woman's mouth was practically crooked with a grin as she enthusiastically piled up all the bolts of cloth that He Jiuniang had selected. After counting them, she said, "Madam, there are nine bolts of cloth here in total. The four plain bolts cost 210 coins each, and the five patterned bolts cost 230 coins each. That's a total of 1,990 coins!"
He Jiuniang frowned and decided to round it up to a whole number.
My eyes glanced around and I saw a piece of very fresh and fine cotton fabric with delicate floral patterns. It was perfect to buy and make a few close-fitting undergarments for the women.
How much does that cost?
The woman looked in the direction she pointed, closed her eyes and praised, "Madam, you have such good taste! This is the latest fine cotton cloth in our shop, and the pattern is also the most fashionable right now. Although it's only ten feet long, it's still worth ninety coins!"
One zhang is about 3.3 meters, which is enough to make a small garment.
“Alright!” He Jiu Niang agreed immediately. “Give me that foot of cloth, and I’ll give you two taels of silver. Will you sell it or not?”
I instantly lost eighty coins!
The woman's smile froze. Before she could speak, He Jiuniang said, "I've bought so many things from you, and you haven't given me a discount. You've charged me full price for everything. Even if you gave me this piece of fine cotton cloth for free, you would still make a profit. How about that?"
"Oh dear! Madam, we're just a small business here, and besides, our boss isn't here, so I..."
The woman looked hesitant, but He Jiu Niang blinked and said, "Alright then, I won't buy it. I'll go browse other stores!"
As He Jiuniang was about to leave, the woman hurriedly stopped her, thinking that it was rare for her to buy so much fabric at once, and besides, the shop was indeed making a profit, it was just that less money passed through her hands.
"Okay! I can see you're serious about buying it, otherwise I really wouldn't be willing to part with it!"
The woman pulled her along and started babbling on and on. He Jiu Niang had seen this kind of scene many times before, so she didn't care. She just told the woman to quickly wrap it up and tie it to the basket on the horse with a rope.
Just as she was about to leave after paying, a young man walked in. He Jiu Niang didn't pay much attention, but the man recognized her at a glance.
"My benefactor! Are you here for the cloth?"
Upon closer inspection, He Jiuniang realized that it was actually the father of the child she had just met at Yuyuan Hall.
What a coincidence!
"Yes, I didn't expect to run into you again."
He Jiuniang smiled politely. Fortunately, the separation of men and women was quite strict in this era, so there was no need to deal with it too much.
However, the man said very enthusiastically, "My benefactor, this Fengchenfang is my family's shop. Please take whatever you want to buy as a token of my gratitude!"
The woman who had just helped He Jiu Niang with her shopping was also a shrewd person. Seeing this commotion, she quickly came out to say some nice things.
This was something He Jiuniang hadn't expected. This young man was actually the owner of such a large cloth shop; he must be quite capable.
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