"You're here, Mother." Zhao put down what she was carrying, looked at her mother-in-law who was already sitting on a stool waiting, and went over to comb her hair. Because it was her usual hairstyle, it was done quickly.
"Mother, we don't have any jewelry right now, so I'll style your and Aunt's hair into flower buns."
An Shuyi couldn't see what was above her head, so she could only turn her head to look at Xia Hua.
“It looks beautiful. Zhao’s craftsmanship is excellent,” Xia Hua said, turning her head. “From now on, I’ll trouble you to help me comb my and your mother’s hair. When we go to Jinnan City later, I’ll bring you back a silver hairpin.”
"Thank you, Auntie." Zhao hadn't expected that simply combing her mother-in-law's and aunt's hair would bring such a good thing.
"No need to thank me, hurry up and help me comb my hair, your mother-in-law and I still have to go to Jinnan City." He said, sitting down on the stool that An Shuyi had just stood up from.
“Okay, Auntie!” Zhao readily agreed and quickly combed her hair.
The two then led more than thirty clansmen to Jinnan City. An Shuyi also called her eldest son along, as she decided to train him to manage finances in the future. It would be good for him to see more of the world now.
These past few days, she's had her eldest son manage the ice business, and he's doing quite well. He's still not very talkative, but it's much better than before. She originally wanted Xia Hua's son, Li Dong, to join in, but that unfilial son can't read.
Xia Hua is currently training Li Nan, and when the time comes, the two of them will work together, each taking charge of one of the two workshops. As for the other sons, she will make arrangements for them when she comes up with a plan.
After arriving in Jinnan City, An Shuyi and Xia Hua separated, each taking half of their clansmen to get the molds. However, before that, they took each of them to eat noodles. When they went to the blacksmith's shop after eating, the molds were already made.
An Shuyi told them to take the molds. "Changlin, you take them back to the village first. Your sister-in-law and I have something to do and will be back later."
"Okay, sister-in-law, please be careful." Lin Changlin then led the others back first. On the way, they met Lin Changshan and his group, and then they all returned to the village together.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua also met at the designated place, but each of them brought their sons with them.
"Huahua, what should we buy first?"
"Let's buy jewelry first, then meat, and we should also buy grain. We'll also buy two carts and have them haul it back."
An Shuyi nodded, "Okay, let's go then!"
"Greetings, ladies. What kind of jewelry are you looking for?" The shop owner greeted us warmly as soon as we entered.
Xia Hua looked at the jewelry in the cabinet and said, "Bring us some silver hairpins to look at, and some head ornaments like these, suitable for us to wear. Bring us some simple ones, simple but exquisite."
They were just ordinary people, and overly ornate headdresses were not suitable for them, but if they were too plain, they would look cheap. So, the best option was simple yet exquisite hair accessories.
The shopkeeper immediately understood her meaning, took out a box from the cabinet, opened it and found it full of silver hairpins. "Ladies, please take a look at these hairpins first, and I will get you some jewelry." Then he took out several boxes from the bottom of the cabinet.
Xia Hua looked at the hairpins in the box, picked out three different styles, then pushed the box back to the shopkeeper before checking the box the shopkeeper had just taken out.
"Hua Hua, this headdress is pretty, but it's a bit too flashy." An Shuyi showed the headdress she had chosen to Xia Hua. Xia Hua liked it, but it wasn't suitable for her age.
Hearing her say that, Xia Hua took another look at the headdress. There wasn't much; there was no hair crown, only hairpins, hair ornaments, pearl flowers, earrings, and a ring. However, the main stones on the rings were all rubies, and the other kingfisher feather decorations were mostly red, with a small amount of blue and white pearls as embellishments.
"It's not flashy at all, it's just that the gemstone is red. What's there to be afraid of? Buy it if you like it!"
The shopkeeper nodded in agreement, saying, "This lady is right, it's not gaudy at all, it would look absolutely stunning on you." Although the two ladies weren't dressed extravagantly, their overall demeanor spoke volumes about their extraordinary bearing.
He didn't wear anything too elaborate; everything was simple. However, the gemstones on the headdresses were all of high quality, especially the pearls, which made them even more beautiful.
Xia Hua put the items down and said, "Boss, I'll take all four sets of headdresses, and those three hairpins too. What price do you want? Don't be too outrageous."
"You want them all?" The shopkeeper continued after seeing her nod. "Madam, these three hairpins are all three taels of silver each. I won't charge you any other price; they'll still be three taels of silver each. A set of hair ornaments is forty-five taels, and the red set is more expensive at fifty taels."
"Madam, you'll know as soon as you ask around that the jewelry I sell here is the most reasonably priced. Although I do make money, I don't overcharge. After all, I need to eat and pay wages too."
Xia Hua nodded, "Okay, I'll take all of these. Now, bring out two more sets of jewelry for the children."
The shopkeeper took out two more sets from the cabinet. "Madam, take a look. These are our newest arrivals: bracelets, beaded flowers, hairpins, and earrings. These are all suitable for everyday wear. Two sets will cost forty taels of silver. What do you think, Madam?"
"Wrap them all up!" Xia Hua bought all the jewelry in one go. "Shu Shu, we don't have much money now. When I earn more later, I'll buy you something really expensive."
An Shuyi smiled sweetly. She didn't expect that her habit of spending money would still be there after she transmigrated here. She was the same way in modern times. The money her parents gave her was only for their daily use. As for the gifts they bought, they earned them themselves.
"Okay, thank you, Huahua!" She wanted to give her money, but Huahua wouldn't agree because she needed the money in her trading system to buy medicinal herbs.
Moreover, they shared their money; what was hers was Huahua's, and what was Huahua's was hers. She didn't think these pieces of jewelry were cheap; anything given by Huahua was priceless, even a blade of grass.
After the shopkeeper finished wrapping it up, Xia Hua gave him the money and then put it in the basket before leaving together.
"Mom, Aunt, you've finished shopping." The eldest son and Li Nan didn't go in with them, but waited outside.
An Shuyi nodded, "I've bought it all. Let's go buy the rest." Then they headed towards the meat section.
"Boss, how much is this meat?" An Shuyi asked, pointing to a large piece of pork belly.
"Eighteen coins a pound, ma'am, two pounds, please." The shopkeeper moved the meat in front of him, picked up the knife, and waited for her to say how much she wanted before cutting off that amount.
"Make it cheaper, I'll take it all, including this piece of pork." She planned to make braised pork today so everyone could eat together. Perhaps after having a normal meal once, it would inspire the tribespeople's talent for cooking. After all, she was tired of watching them boil vegetables every day.
"Big sister, you want this much? Then it's sixteen coins, I can't go any lower."
An Shuyi nodded, "Okay, weigh these two pieces, this piece, and this bone for me." She also had some radishes, which would be perfect for making soup with the bones.
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