The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

Two months later.

The city of Suzhou was awakened by a deafening sound of firecrackers.

On Guanqian Street, amid the smoke of gunpowder, an indigo-colored sign embroidered with the words "Jinxiu Cloth Shop" swayed gently in the breeze. A few shop assistants were busy stringing the last few strings of firecrackers onto bamboo poles, and the air was filled with a faint smell of sulfur.

"Have you heard? The owner of this shop is a young girl." Old Zhang, who sells candy figurines on the street corner, lowered his voice. "More than a dozen horse-drawn carriages carrying goods came last night."

"That's right." The tea stall owner wiped his sweaty brow. "Cloth prices are skyrocketing now. I can't even bear to buy scraps of cloth to mend clothes. But she chose this time to open a cloth shop."

The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger. Several barefoot children were running around in the crowd, picking up unburned firecrackers. Several peasant women carrying fresh vegetables stopped and stood on tiptoe to look over here.

At this moment, a young woman in a misty green skirt walked out of the store. Her jet-black hair was pinned with a single silver hairpin, yet it made her look as pure and elegant as a lotus flower emerging from the water.

The dragon dance team on the street corner just happened to strike gongs and drums. The golden-red dragon weaved and tumbled through the crowd, immediately drawing the attention of the spectators.

After the dragon dance paused, Sun Heyin bowed to everyone and said in a clear voice, "Dear fellow villagers, our shop is opening today. I am deeply grateful for your patronage. If you need anything, please come in and take a look."

Everyone's attention was on the dragon dance.

Sun Heyin smiled slightly and raised her voice: "High-quality cotton cloth, only five hundred coins per piece."

"Five hundred coins?" A man in brown shorts squeezed forward, his dark face full of suspicion. "Don't be ridiculous, young lady. Even inferior cloth costs eight hundred coins these days!"

Sun Heyin smiled and took a piece of moon-white cotton cloth from the clerk. She unfolded it in front of everyone and said, "Look, my neighbors. How much is this quality of cloth worth?"

The crowd was in a commotion.

A woman in better clothes stepped forward, rubbed her fingers over the cloth a few times, then raised it to her eyes to check its light transmittance. Suddenly, her eyes widened: "This cloth is dense and thick, with distinct warp and weft. It's better than first-rate cloth!"

She turned to Sun Heyin and asked, "Miss, is this cloth really only 500 Wen?"

Sun Heyin smiled faintly: "The way of business is honesty and trustworthiness. Since all of you are here, I will take my words seriously."

She gestured "please" towards the store and said, "We're opening today, and the first ten buyers will receive an additional three feet. If you'd like any, please come inside and take a look at the merchandise."

After saying that, he stepped aside to open the shop door.

Upon hearing this, the woman picked up her skirt and rushed in.

Seeing this, others also rushed to the store door.

Several waiters hurried to maintain order at the door: "Dear guests, please be patient! The store is fully stocked!"

The store suddenly became bustling with activity.

Fortunately, Sun Heyin and her colleagues had anticipated this situation and made preparations in advance, so they were not panicked when dealing with it.

The waiters each performed their duties and led the customers to the cotton and linen areas. The woman behind the counter used a copper ruler to cut the cloth according to their requirements.

The guys in the backyard moved the cloth out of the warehouse and put it back on the shelves, and almost at the same time, it was immediately taken away by customers.

The abacus beads in the hands of the three accountants were about to spark.

Although busy, it is very orderly.

Outside the store, the waiting line had already snaked to the corner of the street.

The people in line were not impatient, as waiters served them cold tea and palm-leaf fans one by one.

A savvy vendor pushed a wheelbarrow beside the line and shouted, "Hot steamed buns!"

“Tanghulu!”

At the same time, the shops on Shantang Street under the charge of Shen Yunfei, Shiquan Street under the charge of Wang Yu, and Changmen Hengjie Street under the charge of Liu Zhu were also crowded with customers.

An Lingrong inspected the four shops and saw that there were crowds of people in front of each shop. She nodded with satisfaction and returned to the courtyard.

She had originally planned to live directly in the workshop's backyard, so she could supervise the work and save time. However, Shen Pingchuan, upon learning of this, adamantly disagreed. The next day, he arranged to buy this courtyard, specifically choosing an address not far from the workshop for a quiet yet convenient location. An Lingrong accepted his offer.

She rubbed her sore shoulders. She had barely slept a full night these past few days preparing for the opening. But looking at today's situation, she knew her efforts had paid off—Jinxiu Cloth Shop had finally established a firm foothold in Suzhou City.

She changed into plain pajamas and lay on the bed, intending to take a nap, but she fell into a deep sleep as soon as she touched the pillow.

When I woke up again, the sun was setting outside the window.

When they arrived at the flower hall, Shen Pingchuan and Song Jiashu were sitting upright. The tea in the cups in front of them had already gone cold, but neither of them moved.

The three of them chatted incoherently, but their eyes kept looking towards the door.

It was not until it was completely dark that a burst of chaotic footsteps was heard in the yard.

Shen Yunfei was the first to enter the main hall. His usual dashing demeanor was gone, his clothes wrinkled, and even the folding fan he always held in his hand was gone. Without a word, he grabbed the teapot on the table and tilted his head back to pour it into his mouth, not even noticing the tea running down his chin and onto his clothes.

Sun Heyin and Liu Zhu, who came in next, were even more disheveled. Their carefully styled buns that morning had undone, strands of hair dangling by their ears, their hairpins tilted to the back of their heads. They sat slumped in the armchairs, one on each side, too exhausted to even speak.

Wang Yu, the last to enter, looked the most miserable. He limped in, his face as pale as paper, his boots covered in mud. He leaned against the doorframe, panting for a long time, and then struggled to move to the chair, almost falling down.

None of the four spoke, they just kept drinking tea.

The maid quickly brewed a fresh cup of tea and brought it up, which was quickly emptied. The teapot had to be refilled three times before they finally recovered.

An Lingrong, Shen Pingchuan and Song Jiashu looked at each other, so shocked by the scene that they were speechless.

In the end, Shen Pingchuan came to his senses first and asked cautiously, "How did things go today?"

Shen Yunfei sighed deeply and said in a hoarse voice: "You three didn't see it..."

He took another sip of tea before continuing, "The shop on Shantang Street has been always full of customers from the moment it opens to the moment it closes! I've been talking so much all day that my saliva has dried up and I haven't even had time to eat..."

"Same thing in Shiquan Street!" Wang Yu replied weakly, his voice almost hoarse. "Those people almost got into a fight over a piece of cloth... My leg was stepped on when I was trying to stop the fight..."

Sun Heyin rubbed her aching shoulders and said with a wry smile, "The situation in Guanqian Street is even worse. The warehouses are almost empty. There was an old lady who almost climbed onto the shelf to grab the last piece of cloth..."

Liu Zhu chuckled, then choked on his tea. He coughed and said, "Changmen Hengjie... cough cough... Those merchants are even more ruthless. They just slapped the banknotes on the counter and said they want to buy everything..."