Duan Dayi stood there holding a cloth bag, watching helplessly as his daughter led the customers away from the gleaming silver shop. He was completely stunned and speechless for a moment, just staring blankly at his daughter's departing figure.
Seeing this, Madam Ma hurriedly reached out and pulled Duan Dayi, then lowered her voice and said, "Master, Miss is unhappy with us. I'm afraid we can't stay here for long. We need to think of another way out quickly."
Upon hearing Madam Ma's words, Duan Dayi's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "What exactly happened? How could things suddenly turn out like this?"
Madam Ma had already prepared an excuse. Without even blinking, she made up a story: "It's like this, Miss saw that our daughter was quite pretty and had some designs on her, wanting her to be a maidservant in her dowry and then a concubine for that man. But how could our daughter agree to be a concubine for such a man? So, in a fit of anger, Miss kicked us out."
"How could she do this?" Duan Dayi exclaimed in alarm. "Our daughter is already engaged!"
"That's precisely why we need to make plans sooner," Ma said, seizing the opportunity.
Just then, another customer walked into the gleaming silver shop.
Seeing this, Madam Ma hurriedly stepped forward to help greet the guest, saying, "Esteemed guest, take a look at these two silver hairpins. They are exquisitely crafted and have a novel design. They only cost two taels of silver, and we'll also give you a beautiful silk flower as a bonus."
"Okay, I'll buy it. Wrap it up." The customer was clearly satisfied with Ma's recommendation and readily paid two taels of silver.
Madam Ma quickly put the silver into her pocket, then whispered to Duan Dayi, "Consider this silver the compensation from the Lin family to our family."
Duan Dayi tacitly approved of his wife's actions. He and his son followed Ma's example, raising the price of goods and keeping half of the money in their pockets after selling them.
As he recorded the accounts in his ledger, he said regretfully, "If I had known this would happen, my family should have made this plan a long time ago."
Next door, Qiaoqing, with a smile on her face, led the group into the shop that Xiao Er was looking after.
As soon as she entered, she enthusiastically introduced the shop to the middle-aged woman: "The things in this shop are really great! Not only are they of good quality, but the prices are also very cheap!"
When Mr. and Mrs. Xiao saw Qiaoqing bring in guests, their faces immediately lit up with bright smiles.
They hurried forward and greeted us warmly, saying, "Welcome everyone! Please feel free to look around, and let us know if you see anything you like!"
The middle-aged woman walked into the shop, her eyes immediately drawn to the dazzling array of gold jewelry and various styles of ornaments.
Her gaze wandered among the exquisite ornaments, but suddenly stopped when it swept over the hanging cloth bags.
Compared to the fancy packaging of the shops next door, these cloth bags looked rather plain, even unremarkable.
The middle-aged woman couldn't help but ask, "How much is this bag?"
The shopkeeper smiled and replied, "Ten copper coins each." Hearing this price, the middle-aged woman was clearly surprised and blurted out, "So cheap!" as if she couldn't believe her ears.
Immediately afterward, the middle-aged woman said without hesitation, "Then give me ten." Her tone was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
The shop owner quickly wrapped up the ten cloth bags and handed them to the middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman happily accepted the bag and said with satisfaction, "I'll take it back as a gift. It's practical and inexpensive, just right!"
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Qiaoqing quickly moved closer to Xiao Er's wife, Danshi, and said in a low voice, "Second sister-in-law, I want to see Brother Xiao San. Could you please pass on my message?" As she spoke, she unconsciously touched the gold hairpin in her hair.
Lady Dan's gaze fell upon the gold hairpin, which was exquisitely crafted and dazzling. Upon closer inspection, Lady Dan instantly recognized it as the hairpin her mother-in-law had worn in the past.
A thought struck Dan Shi, and she immediately understood the identity of the young lady Qiao Qing in front of her—she must be the daughter of the Duan family, the woman Xiao San was about to be engaged to.
Thinking of this, Dan couldn't help but glance at Qiaoqing a few more times, secretly marveling at how beautiful the girl was.
Just then, Mrs. Dan remembered what her uncle had said to her and her husband that morning.
At that time, Xiao San excitedly said to them, "Second brother, second sister-in-law, I have finally found an opportunity to get promoted instead of being a servant! I have the chance to become a bodyguard, and maybe even a general in the future! After I succeed, I will definitely not forget you. The first thing I will do is to help a few of my nephews!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Er quickly pressed, "Third brother, what exactly is this opportunity? Tell us about it!"
"My master has always longed for a woman of unparalleled beauty to accompany him, and I went to great lengths to find her!" Xiao San said with a fawning expression. "This woman is the daughter of the Duan family next door. Her looks, tsk tsk tsk, are simply breathtaking!"
"As long as I offer this woman to my master, I'm sure I can become a guard, just like Guard Huang. Didn't he get this lucrative position by giving his sister to the prime minister? Although I don't have a sister, I can find a beauty, even my wife. I'm willing to give her to my master so I can become an official!"
After recalling Xiao San's words, Dan Shi's heart stirred, and she looked Qiao Qing up and down. Qiao Qing's face was like a peach blossom, and her eyes seemed to exude a thousand charms; she was indeed a rare beauty.
This made the Dan family realize that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
It's important to understand that an unmarried young woman would never normally go out alone. Now, Qiaoqing had actually come to visit her, how could Danshi not be overjoyed?
A joyful smile gradually appeared on Dan's face. She said warmly to Qiaoqing, "In that case, I'll take you to see him now. I'm sure he'll like you terribly after he sees you!"
After saying that, Lady Dan warmly took Qiaoqing's hand, turned her head and winked at Xiao Er, then said with a smile, "Husband, you can watch the shop for a while. I'll take Sister Duan out for a bit and we'll be back soon."
Xiao Er was well aware of his wife's thoughts. He smiled slightly and replied, "Okay, go and come back quickly." Then, he added a special instruction: "You must take good care of Duan's sister."
"Don't worry, my husband, I will definitely take good care of Sister Duan."
At this moment, inside the gleaming silver shop, Duan Dayi and his wife and children were busy running their business.
They were busy selling the goods and deducting half of the profit from each sale. As for who Qiaoqing went with and where she went, Duan Dayi, Madam Ma, and Duan Gang had no time to care.
Qiaoqing was extremely excited. She thought to herself, "I'm about to see Xiao San. I must ask him to help me find someone to kill that guy so that the Lin family can get what they deserve!"
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