Having left Hongyu in charge of the house, Madam Zhou and Miss Wufu went to the market to purchase wedding gifts for Zhou Xueli’s upcoming marriage. Besides the customary gifts from Madam Zhou to the newlyweds, as his elder sister, she also had to present a quilt, a rooster, wine, and meat, collectively referred to as the ceremonial gifts.
It was easy to deal with the quilt. Those with ample means could provide a Big Red Brocade Quilt; even those less fortunate could get by with a piece of Big Red Cloth, as long as no one objected.
Madam Zhou, who had previously saved some Silver from her embroidery work, had discussed with Miss Wufu and prepared a three-pound Red Cotton Quilt.
As for the recognition gift for the bride, Miss Wufu took her to the Hundred Treasures Silver Building, saying, "Mother, please decide, whether to give a bracelet or hairpin, anything will do."
"Miss Wufu, you’ve come again." The one who came to greet them was a young attendant named Jin Xi.
"We’d like to see some silver ornaments to give to the newlyweds," Miss Wufu said with a smile.
"Ah, right this way, Madam," Jin Xi glanced at Madam Zhou and quickly ushered her to the counter, taking out some silver ornaments to show them.
Miss Wufu nudged her over, leaning against the counter with a bored glance before shifting her gaze away to the other jade ware on display.
She was rather indifferent towards the silverware but had a genuine fondness for jade ware. Hmm, that Jade Longevity Peach was nicely carved.
As she lingered aimlessly, a commotion arose from the back hall.
"Enough talk, I trusted the Hundred Treasures Silver Building to handle this jade, only to find out that you’re all show and no substance. Look at what you’ve done to a perfectly good piece of jade! This isn’t over," a voice cried out.
A man led the way, forcefully flinging the beaded curtains aside with a few violent shakes.
Miss Wufu looked over to see a man dressed in brocade, portly and with a shiny forehead, his face flushed with sweat and anger.
Following him was Shopkeeper Lin, humbly bowing and scraping as he tried to placate, "Merchant Liu, this was our oversight. Rest assured, we will not shirk away from compensating you."
"Compensation?" Merchant Liu snorted coldly, "Do you think I, Liu Fu, care for a few pieces of Silver? What I care about is that Chicken Blood Stone. Do you realize how rare such a large Chicken Blood Stone is? Not to mention its quality. It’s because I trusted the reputation of the Hundred Treasures Silver Building that I handed it over to you for carving."
"Of course, the error is ours," Shopkeeper Lin managed to maintain a placating smile.
"I meant to give this as a birthday gift to Prefect Li’s mother, and now with the date fast approaching, your mistake has ruined it. Where am I supposed to find another Chicken Blood Stone to give? Eh?" exclaimed Merchant Liu. "I even heard before that your Master Lin lost a stone identification bet to a little girl. It seems that was true. With a ’master’ making such blunders, why bother training disciples? Ptui!"
Shopkeeper Lin’s brow was dripping with sweat: "That, our master has developed an eye condition... "
"Enough, Shopkeeper Lin, let’s not play games. You can deceive others, but you can’t fool me, Liu Fu. Impossible!"
Internally, Shopkeeper Lin cursed, "Pretentious fool, weren’t you the one swindled by a fake jade for a hefty sum not too many years ago, hmph."
However, those were thoughts to keep to himself; he couldn’t voice them aloud. What was important was soothing this irate guest, so he said, "Merchant Liu, don’t worry. I will immediately source a Chicken Blood Stone from another store that nearly matches the quality."
"Nearly matches? Is it the same as my stone? I’ve already had Prefect Li scrutinize it!" Merchant Liu trembled with anger, his layers of fat quivering: "Pheasant and Phoenix, can you even compare them?"
Miss Wufu couldn’t help but snicker.