A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er went straight to Zhenxiufang after coming out of Yunshang Tower, but since she had promised Taohua, she didn't want to go back on her word.

After that, while helping out in the pharmacy, I was thinking about what to do.

"Guier, look, these are fresh herbs that were just harvested yesterday. Wait a minute, there are fewer customers, let's process them together, Guier."

"Oh, okay, okay." Gui'er came to her senses and quickly agreed.

"What's wrong with you, kid? Are you worried today?" Shopkeeper Liu asked with concern.

Gui'er had no choice but to tell the matter to Shopkeepers Liu and Zhang.

Shopkeeper Liu smiled and said, "I thought it was a big deal. How could you be so stupid? Shopkeeper Zhang runs an embroidery workshop and knows a lot of tailors. Many of their work is just as good as Yunxianglou's. Yunxianglou is only famous because it specializes in entertaining dignitaries."

Shopkeeper Zhang also smiled and said, "Yes, yes, it's just down the alley from us. It's Old Zhou's tailor shop. His workmanship is excellent. He and the shopkeeper of Yunxianglou are brothers in the same school. He's just a simple and honest person, not good at speaking, so he's not very good at attracting customers. But those who have had clothes made by him usually become his repeat customers."

Gui'er said happily, "Really? That's great. Please take me to ask."

Shopkeeper Zhang looked back and saw that there weren't many people in the store, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

After the two of them finished what they had on hand, Manager Zhang brought Gui'er out. They walked deeper into the alley and it took about ten minutes.

At this time, the houses along the road are already a bit run-down. However, because there are many houses in the hutong, many of the first floors facing the street are still rented out to small businesses, where the rent is much cheaper. Most of these small shops serve the nearby neighborhoods, so the prices are generally cheaper.

Shopkeeper Zhang pointed to a doorway in front of him where a bright red velvet cheongsam was hanging and said, "That's the one. He occasionally comes to my house to buy embroidery pieces, but because he only does business with the neighborhood, and the neighbors around here are not rich, he doesn't use them very often."

As he said that, he pulled Gui'er forward.

Guier took a look and found that this store didn't look like a store at all. Apart from a rather eye-catching cheongsam hanging at the door, it really looked no different from an ordinary residence.

"Old Zhou, Old Zhou." Shopkeeper Zhang called out twice.

A figure walked out. It was a man in his 40s, tall and thin, wearing a gray robe.

Guier saw that his face was full of wrinkles and his beard was untidy. Although he had short hair, it was very messy like a chicken coop. It looked like he hadn't had a haircut in a long time. Overall, he looked like he was not in good health, but his eyes were bright and lively.

She quickly said, "Hello, Shopkeeper Zhou. I want to make a wedding dress."

Shopkeeper Zhou glanced at her, then turned to Shopkeeper Zhang and said, "Old Zhang, your child is getting married so early?"

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "No, she's still young and studying. Her best friend is getting married, and she wants to make a wedding dress for her as a wedding gift."

Shopkeeper Zhou seemed to relax a little after hearing this, and said to Gui'er with a smile, "I see. Then you can choose some fabrics. There are all the ones on this shelf, and some new ones too."

Shopkeeper Zhang said, "I don't have much money, so I'll see if I can find any fine and affordable silk fabrics."

Shopkeeper Zhou said nothing, with no expression on his face, and walked into the inner room.

Gui'er felt a little strange and said to Zhang, "Maybe they think we can't afford the price, so they don't want to take it."

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "No, don't worry, he's just like that. Just don't take it to heart."

After a while, Shopkeeper Zhang came out from the inner room, holding a roll of red silk cloth with floral patterns. Gui'er was very surprised when she saw it. The fabric was red, but it had some light red floral patterns inside. It could be used as a wedding dress, and although it was a bit formal for daily wear, it was still acceptable.

"How much is this cloth per foot?" Guier asked him hurriedly. She wanted to check the price of the fabric first. If it was too expensive, she would not be able to afford it.

"Manager Zhang, you are an old customer, so I will give it to you at cost price. Fifty cents a foot. I wonder how your friend will increase the price? You have to measure it to know how much fabric is needed." Manager Zhou said expressionlessly.

Gui'er thought fifty cents didn't seem expensive. But she wasn't sure how much fabric would be needed, so she said, "My sister is about the same height as me. She's only about half a head shorter, but she'll probably grow taller. You can calculate based on my measurements. If it's a good fit, I'll bring her over for a measurement later."

Shopkeeper Zhou looked at Gui'er, thought for a moment, and said, "As for you, you'll need about nine feet of cloth. The total cost of the cloth is 4 yuan. I'll give you the cheapest 5 yuan for the labor. Do you want embroidery? Do you want buttons?"

Gui'er quickly said, "There's no need for embroidery, the fabric already has patterns on it, but I want to make buttons." She then took out the buttons made of peach blossoms and showed them to Shopkeeper Zhou, saying, "I want this style."

Shopkeeper Zhou picked it up and looked at it. "This shape is so complicated. It would take half a day to make a pair, and it costs fifty cents."

In other words, the total cost of making a cheongsam, including fabric, craftsmanship, and buttons, is only 10 yuan, which is only one-fifth of Yunshanglou's cost.

Although 10 silver dollars is not a small amount, it is a wedding and you still have to spend the money.

Gui'er said readily, "Okay, it's settled then. I'll bring my sister over one of these two days, and you can help her take her measurements. Thank you so much. How much is the deposit?"

Shopkeeper Zhou hesitated for a moment and said, "Give me five silver dollars first. When it's done, I'll give you the remaining five."

Guier took out her small wallet and carefully counted out 5 silver dollars and handed them to Shopkeeper Zhou, saying with a smile, "Here are 5 dollars. Thank you for your help."

Shopkeeper Zhou frowned, counted the coins, nodded, put the silver dollars into a box on the table, closed the lid, and then went about his own business.

Gui'er had never seen a shop owner greet customers like this before. No wonder he didn't have much business.

Shopkeeper Zhang seemed to have gotten used to Shopkeeper Zhou's way of treating customers. He said familiarly, "Okay, we'll go back first. You're busy." Then he pulled Gui'er out.

After they walked a distance, Gui'er whispered to Shopkeeper Zhang, "Why do I feel like Shopkeeper Zhou is weird?"

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "That's just how Old Zhou is. Don't take it personally."

Gui'er then remembered that Zhang had called Zhou "Old Zhou," while Zhou had called Zhang "Old Zhang." She had a feeling they were friends, so she looked around to make sure no one was around and said to Zhang, "You two seem to be very familiar with each other. Could he be our comrade?"