Xia Hua picked up the pair of purple bracelets and tried to put them on, but found that she couldn't. She had to pull An Shuyi's hand to help her put the bracelets on. Only after she was sure that they could be worn did she take them off and put them back in the box.
Seeing that she couldn't fit them in, the shop owner carefully reminded her, "Madam, take a look at these green ones, they're more expensive than those two pairs."
She took out the green bracelet and put it on her wrist. Although it was still a little small, it fit and looked pretty. The bracelet's opening wasn't very big; her hands were probably large from years of working, unlike Shushu's small hands.
This bracelet is indeed expensive and beautiful, made of imperial green with excellent texture and clarity. It's also wearable, and it's perfect for her age.
She wore both bracelets on her wrists without taking them off. Looking at the box that the shopkeeper hadn't opened, she opened it and found a jade stone with the auspicious symbols of fortune, prosperity, and longevity—red, green, and purple.
Unfortunately, it's a bit small; at most, you can take out a pair of bracelets and two jade pendants. The remaining scraps can be inlaid into rings, bracelets, and earrings, but that's enough.
"Boss, we'll take all of these. Name your price." It's rare to find such good stuff, and since we have the money, we'll buy them all.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper grinned, revealing eight teeth. "Ladies, although these jade pieces are not yet carved, their colors are beautiful. I won't quote a high price, but five thousand taels of silver. The green pair of bracelets will cost three thousand taels, and the red and purple pairs will cost two thousand five hundred taels each."
"At this price, although I make money, it's not much. If you want this jade to be made into jewelry, I can do it for you for free, without having to pay any more money."
He didn't want to leave the jewelry here to gather dust. If it stayed there too long, he wouldn't be able to recoup his investment, and the jewelry would become dull and lose its luster. It was better to sell it as soon as possible.
Xia Hua nodded, "I'll take them all. You can make the jade here. Also, bring out a few sets of gemstone jewelry, something you can wear every day, preferably red ones."
"Okay, I'll take it now. I'll put this jade away first and send it to my master to make later!" He said, closing the box and placing it under the cabinet. Then he took out a few more boxes.
"Madam, take a look at this set of jewelry. It's a ruby necklace, the largest gemstone in the necklace, a hairpin, a pair of earrings, a ring, a bracelet, and an anklet. Although the other gemstones aren't very large, they're still very beautiful. Do you like it?" The shopkeeper said, looking at An Shuyi.
He wasn't blind; he could tell that this lady liked red. She had come to buy jewelry three times, and each time she had her eye on red. It seemed he needed to make more red jewelry in the future to win over this big customer.
Without saying a word, An Shuyi reached out to examine the set of red jewelry.
Snap
"Hiss!" Looking at his hand, which was red from being hit, he turned his head in surprise.
"What are you looking at, you..."
Snap
Xia Hua looked at the woman who had been slapped to the ground, then at An Shuyi's reddened hand, grabbed the woman, and slapped her several more times.
"Where did this mad dog come from? You think you can fight her? If you miss, just tell me."
"Who are you? How dare you hit someone? Yiyi's father is the county magistrate. He'll throw you in jail!" A girl nearby hurriedly said, "Xiaolan, go and call the magistrate."
The maidservant next to her suddenly remembered that her mistress was being beaten, and hurriedly shielded her mistress. If the madam knew that she had watched her mistress being beaten, she would definitely beat her to death.
Seeing the maid appear, Xia Hua stopped hitting her. "How is it? Does it hurt a lot? This crazy woman." She had been looking at the ruby jewelry with Shu Shu and hadn't noticed anyone coming into the shop, and she even started hitting Shu Shu.
An Shuyi shook her head, "It doesn't hurt that much, but is this woman sick? Why did she hit me?" Does she want this ruby jewelry? But it's not hers, so why did she hit her?
The boss only then realized what had happened. Everything had happened so fast that he hadn't even had time to react before he heard the sound of slaps. He looked at the lady's hand, then at the magistrate's daughter, whose face was swollen from the slaps, as she was being helped up.
That was quite a heavy blow, but he wasn't worried. Others might not know the identities of these two ladies, but he did. The fact that the cholera outbreak in Jinnan City hadn't spread was thanks to these two women. He also knew where they lived: Taoyuan Village, which was a wonderful place.
Although he had never been to Taoyuan Village, he had heard his older brother mention it more than once. His older brother was the owner of Shikelou Restaurant, and the ice, braised meat, and fruit wine in Shikelou Restaurant were all ordered from Taoyuan Village.
"How dare you hit me? My father will never let you get away with this!" the girl said angrily as she was helped up.
She only wanted to hit the country woman because she thought the jewelry was pretty, but the woman next to her actually dared to fight back and even slap her in the face.
"Hurry up and call your father, I'm waiting." Xia Hua said impatiently. No matter if her father was the county magistrate or the emperor, she would still beat Shushu without hesitation.
"Boss, how much is this ruby jewelry? I'll take it all. I'll come back for the rest next time. I'm not in the mood today." He said, taking out a silver note from his pocket.
Before they came to buy, they exchanged their silver for silver notes for convenience. Shushu exchanged 20,000 taels, and she did the same. Although silver is good, it is inconvenient to carry, and it is impossible to bring a box of silver to buy jewelry.
"This set costs two thousand taels, and with the previous ones, it's a total of fifteen thousand taels," the shopkeeper said, deliberately raising his voice.
Xia Hua nodded, handed over the silver notes, then closed the box and placed it in the basket along with the box containing the pair of purple bracelets. As for the pair of red and green bracelets, they were worn on her wrists.
"You can carve that piece of jade into a pair of bracelets and two jade pendants. As for the rest, just do what you think is best."
The boss nodded, "Okay, Madam, but it might take a while, about a month. If you're in a hurry, I'll have the craftsman finish it."
"No need, just take your time." Xia Hua said before turning her head. "Crazy woman, is your father coming to stand up for you? If he's not coming, I'm leaving now. I don't have time to play with you."
"You're not allowed to leave. If you dare hit me, I'll make sure my father throws you both in jail," the magistrate's daughter said. But as she spoke, she seemed a little unsure of herself. She hadn't expected these two women to be able to buy 15,000 taels of goods in one go.
This couldn't be the lady of that family, but there was no one in Jinnan City she didn't know. They looked good, and although they were a bit old, they were probably concubines of that family. Thinking of this, she wasn't so scared.
Xia Hua didn't bother with it, slung her basket over her shoulder, and left with An Shuyi. She needed to hurry back to the village and didn't have time to linger here.
"You're not allowed to leave." The magistrate's daughter tried to stop her, but was afraid of being beaten. Fortunately, she also saw the constables coming in. "Brother Lin, come quickly and arrest these two women and throw them in jail. How dare she hit me!" she said, crying weakly.
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