High-class maid

After receiving the silver, the old woman at the gate immediately changed her expression and gave him instructions with a smile.

"Yes, Mother-in-law, don't worry, we know these rules." After saying that, Shen Xing'er didn't want to waste any more time with her, so she pulled Shan Tao and walked out quickly.

"Pah! You greedy old woman! If our masters weren't away from the manor, how could she be so arrogant and domineering? She just wants to make things difficult for us because we're from the capital."

Not long after stepping out of the mansion gate, Shan Tao couldn't help but mutter curses under her breath.

"Alright, alright, if the masters hadn't left the manor, we wouldn't have been able to get out so easily," Shen Xing'er patted her back, comforting her.

"These servants in Jinling are truly laughable. They secretly envy us, yet they pretend to be indifferent. They're so hypocritical," Shan Tao said.

"It's alright, let them envy us secretly. If they knew that our embroidery was worth a month's salary for them, they'd probably be so jealous they'd be pounding their beds."

"Hahaha, I didn't expect Xing'er to be so funny. Yes, let them be jealous, they're all up to no good."

"Alright, let's not talk about them anymore. We only come to Jinling once every few years, so we should be patient. Remember, don't flaunt your wealth," Shen Xing'er instructed.

"Don't worry, I understand that principle," Shan Tao said.

The two walked hand in hand down the street and saw an embroidery shop next to a restaurant. Although the decor didn't look very expensive, it must be doing good business to stand next to such a prestigious restaurant and have so many customers.

Shen Xing'er and Shan Tao exchanged a glance and then went inside.

Upon entering the store, surprisingly, no waiter came to greet them. The two followed the flow of people and strolled around the store. Most of the shops had local Nanjing styles, and the customers were mostly ordinary women.

"Xing'er, our embroidery is so exquisite, will anyone buy it?" Shan Tao looked at the ordinary embroidery on the wooden table and felt a little apprehensive.

"Don't worry, come on, let me go ask." Shen Xing'er patted her hand and walked towards the counter.

"Miss, would you like to settle the bill?" A scholar-looking shopkeeper sat behind the counter. Seeing Shen Xing'er approach, he quickly stood up, but noticing that she wasn't carrying anything, he asked in confusion.

"No, I'm here to sell things," Shen Xing'er said.

"Oh, take out your embroidery and let me see."

The shopkeeper was used to seeing women and young girls who came to sell embroidery, most of whom wore faded clothes. It was rare to see someone like Shen Xing'er, who looked like a young lady from a wealthy family, so he took a few more glances at her.

Shen Xing'er took out a handkerchief she had prepared beforehand. It was a light blue handkerchief embroidered with pink pomegranate flowers, and the large pomegranate flowers were decorated with a few small pearls.

The overall color scheme is clean, simple, and elegant, especially the pomegranate flowers embroidered by the mountain peach. One large pomegranate flower, with smaller ones faintly visible behind it, covers the entire handkerchief, making it impossible to look away.

The shopkeeper only glanced at it before deciding it was a good product. However, years of doing business had instilled in him a habit of remaining calm and collected, so Shantao, standing behind him, couldn't tell whether he was satisfied or not.

"So, can your store accept it?" Shen Xing'er asked.

"The style is nice, and the color scheme is novel, but we've never sold this type before. I don't know if it will sell well or not," the shopkeeper said hesitantly, feigning difficulty.

Seeing that he said such things but his eyes couldn't bear to look away from the handkerchief, Shen Xing'er concluded that he also liked it, but just wanted to lower the price.

"In that case, let's go ask around at other shops. Luckily, we only embroidered this one handkerchief, otherwise we wouldn't be able to sell it."

As Shen Xing'er spoke, she reached for the handkerchief in the shopkeeper's hand.

"Hey, young lady, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Do you have a price in mind?" the shopkeeper asked.

"I don't know your market price either. Why don't you name a price first? If it's right, we'll sell it; if not, we'll keep it for ourselves." Shen Xing'er then passed the question on to the shopkeeper.

Seeing her indifferent attitude, the shopkeeper was afraid she would leave without selling, so after considering it for a moment, he said...

“If you are truly willing to sell, young lady, I will offer eight hundred coins. This is the most expensive handkerchief we have ever received in our shop.”

"No way! We spent so many days embroidering this handkerchief. Even the pearls on it cost me over ten coins each. And this fabric—you can't find it in Jinling City. Do you even know anything about goods?!"

When Shantao saw that he only asked for 800 coins, she immediately didn't want to sell anymore and hurriedly argued from behind.

"But I'm just a worker. I have to ask the boss for permission before ordering embroidery pieces that cost more than one tael," the shopkeeper said with difficulty.

"It seems we're destined to be apart. In that case, let's go check out other places." Shen Xing'er picked up her handkerchief and was about to leave.

"Hey, ladies, don't go. Here's what I'll do: I'll give you one tael of silver. I can't decide more than that," the shopkeeper called out to them.

Shen Xing'er and the other woman exchanged a glance, both seeing satisfaction in each other's eyes. Therefore, Shen Xing'er spoke first.

"Alright, we'll sell it to you then. But could you give us a few dozen more coins, sir? It wasn't easy for us to come all this way from the countryside, and we'd like to have a bowl of noodles in the city before we go back."

Shan Tao stared wide-eyed from behind, never expecting the price to be increased so much.

Upon hearing that they were from the countryside, the shopkeeper was quite generous and gave them an extra twenty coins. The transaction was completed, and Shen Xing'er and her companion left the embroidery shop completely satisfied.

"Xing'er, young people are so much better. If it were an old woman like that, she might have wanted to charge us a few more coins." Shan Tao weighed the silver in her hand and excitedly bit it with her teeth.

"Alright, don't be too happy. Don't forget, he's a businessman. A businessman wouldn't do a losing business," Shen Xing'er said.

Shan Tao nodded and made a mental note of it.

Little did they know, after they left, the shopkeeper of the embroidery shop muttered to himself...

"Hahaha, I've struck it rich! I never thought I could get such a fine handkerchief for just one or two taels of silver. It's a pity there's only one, otherwise I could have negotiated the price down even further."

The waiter came over and flattered, "The shopkeeper is really something else; this should sell for three taels of silver."

The shopkeeper composed himself and said, "What are you talking about? It's good enough if it can sell for two taels of silver. When have we in Jinling ever been able to sell handkerchiefs at high prices?"

"Hehehe, that's because they don't have your discerning eye. Otherwise, how could our shop have so many loyal customers?" the waiter flattered.

The shopkeeper didn't respond to him, but instead carefully examined the handkerchief in his hand. The waiter, bored, went back to his work at the counter.

Seeing that he was finally alone, the shopkeeper muttered to himself, "These two girls look so young, but I didn't expect them to ask for such exorbitant prices. If the owner asks me how much I paid, I'll say one tael and thirty coins."

After saying that, he picked up a brush and wrote down one or three taels of cash in the ledger.

At this moment, Shen Xing'er and her companion still felt they had gotten a good deal. If they knew the shopkeeper's intentions, they would probably sigh with regret.

Society is simple; it's people who are complicated.