The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

"Girls, these are all woven by us at home. They cost three hundred coins each. You can take a look at them. The quality is not bad. You can buy them back and make a few sets of clothes. It's already very cheap."

When Lu Linlang heard her say this, she couldn't help but sigh. Sure enough, the price of these cloths was much lower in Zhuozhou. As far as she knew, in the capital, such a piece of cloth would sell for 500 wen, and in Chongshui, it would sell for 400 wen, a full 100 wen cheaper.

"Miss, the one you like is silk. It costs eight hundred coins per piece. Do you want to buy some?" She took a look and saw that Lu Linlang was wearing silk, which could only be worn by wealthy families, and there had to be an official in the family. If an ordinary person wore it, he would be punished.

The people following her were all wearing cotton clothes, so the woman guessed that Lu Linlang wanted to buy both.

"I wonder if Madam has any silk here, and how much is it?"

"Please stop calling me Madam. I'm just a village woman. Just call me Auntie. I'm out of silk for the time being, but there are people in our village who sell it. There are many kinds of silk, ranging from 800 wen to 6,000 wen. If you want better ones, you can only buy them in the shop."

"Thank you, Auntie. If I buy a lot of these cotton and silk, can you give me a discount?"

"If you can buy all this from my stall, I'll give you a 20-cent discount on the cotton cloth and 50-cent discount on the silk cloth. We won't make any more money if we buy more. If you want coarse cloth, I know people who sell it for 100-cent a piece."

She checked all the cloths one by one and found no problems. Moreover, the selling price was indeed much cheaper than Chongshui's, and even lower than the price Young Master Zhang's people had inquired about in the shop yesterday. She bought all of them directly and had someone send them back first.

Lu Linlang naturally started chatting with her again and learned that every household in their village weaves cloth, and the purchase price of textiles used for clothing has been declining this year. They can't bear to see their cloth not being sold at a good price, so many families have come out to sell the cloth themselves, and some who can't bear the pressure have already sold the cloth for cash.

"Auntie, do you have much cloth left in your village? I'm here to visit relatives and want to bring some back home. If there is any, I can just buy it from you directly."

"Yes, but there are not many left. Everyone is selling them. If you need more, come to Linjia Village to find me. Just ask Qiao Sanmei and they will take you to me. I will take you to buy it."

"Thank you, Aunt Qiao. I'll remember that. Don't forget. I'll go check again. I have relatives who are officials at home. I plan to see if there's anything suitable I can give them as a gift." Lu Linlang revealed that she had relatives who were officials and wanted to buy something expensive, which was also a hint to Aunt Qiao that she also had connections.

When Aunt Qiao heard her say that her family had relatives who were officials, she felt that she had guessed right. Judging from the girl's clothes, she knew she was not an ordinary person.

Lu Linlang took her people to the largest silk shop on the street. The shop assistants were busy running around with smiles on their faces. As soon as Lu Linlang walked in, a shop assistant came forward immediately. However, when he saw Lu Dashui and his group behind Lu Linlang, his eyes were full of contempt.

"We are selling silk. You servants should not come in, lest you damage the silk and ask your master to pay for it." The waiter stopped Lu Dashui and his companions and did not let them in.

He looked up and down at the few people as if they were beggars, and glanced at their hands vaguely, saying "go away, go away".

"Hey, man, these are the people I brought here. They haven't done anything unruly. Others can also bring people in to see us. But you are so mean-spirited. Don't you want to do this business?"

When Lu Linlang heard him say this, she was naturally unhappy. This guy was just selling goods in the shop, but he could be so arrogant, as if he owned the shop.

"Young lady, with all due respect, you can bring in one maid, but forget about the others. Our shop isn't open to just anyone. If they damage our fabrics, I'm afraid we won't even be able to compensate you for this silk piece you're wearing."

The waiter could tell at a glance that although the fabric of Lu Linlang's clothes was silk, it was from a few years ago. This kind of woven pattern was no longer made this year, and she didn't wear many accessories. She was probably a relative of a minor official who was trying to show off, or someone in her family had been an official.

The people who come and go in their shop are the families of the prefect and the vice-prefect of Zhuozhou Prefecture, and even big businessmen from other places come to look at the goods. If this girl wants to act like a big shot in front of him, she needs to practice more.

"Hey, buddy, is this how you entertain customers in your shop? Well, I've seen it all. Let's go, you're not the only one on this street." Lu Linlang spoke a little louder, and everyone around stopped what they were doing and looked over here.

Lu Linlang turned around and left cleanly and neatly. The confidence that Lu Dashui and others had just built up was shattered by the waiter's words, but seeing that the boss stood up for them, they glared at the waiter and left.

"How did you entertain them? How did you offend the guests? Didn't you notice what the girl was wearing? Although it wasn't this year's style, it wasn't something that ordinary officials' families could wear. Only noble families could wear it."

Another guy also saw the farce and ran over to question it.

"What? Could it be that the girl is from a noble family? No way, if a girl is from such a noble family, why does the person she brings with her look so shabby? The clothes look like they were stolen."

"Be careful. If the shopkeeper finds out, you'll be in big trouble."

Lu Linlang and her men found another shop. There were no customers in this shop, and its location was a little worse than the previous ones. The shopkeeper was a woman who was using an abacus. When she saw a customer coming into the shop, she hurried over to greet him.

"I'm sorry for not welcoming you, distinguished guest. Miss, are you here to buy fabrics?" The shopkeeper was very good at dressing up and had a smile on her face. She didn't show any dissatisfaction when she saw Lu Dashui and the others follow in.

"Boss, we are here to look at the materials. Could you please introduce us to some of them?" Lu Linlang saw her smiling face and explained her reason.

"Miss, please sit here. There are stools here. You can all sit down. I don't know what kind of material you want to buy. I will bring all the styles here for you to choose from."

"Thank you, shopkeeper."

Soon the shopkeeper brought over the patterns of each material. She brought out cloth that was one foot wide, and she was very considerate and introduced the price of each material to Lu Linlang.

Although the price of each material is a little more expensive than what Aunt Qiao just said, this is also normal.

"Miss, if you need a lot, we can still negotiate the price. To be honest, although my home is at the end of this Weaver Girl Street, these materials are all good materials. In fact, the shops on our street basically do not rely on selling to individual customers, but sell to those who come to Zhuozhou to sell goods.

So if you buy more, the price won't be this high. Furthermore, I can provide as much as you need, and I guarantee it'll be cheaper than other places on this street. We rely on credibility."

"Thank you, shopkeeper. I'll go back and discuss it. If necessary, we'll come back to place an order with you." This price is indeed similar to what they discussed last night. If they can get such goods in bulk and collect some loose goods privately, it will naturally be more cost-effective.