Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred_1 Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred_1 An Jing then went to ask the attendant, “How much fabric do we need in total for both of our wedding outfits?”
The attendant roughly measured An Jing and Xiao Changyi with a wooden ruler and said to An Jing, “Your wedding outfit in total will need about six chi of fabric, and your future husband will need about eight chi.”
An Jing looked at Xiao Changyi, “Then we’ll buy fourteen chi.”
Xiao Changyi nodded, “Hmm.”
An Jing then asked the attendant, “Do you have tailors here? We’re in a hurry for the wedding clothes and won’t make it in time if we do it ourselves.” She would never admit that she didn’t know how to make them.
The attendant smiled and said, “Of course, we have tailors. But if you want our tailor to make it, there will be a surcharge of ten coins for the labor.”
“That’s quite expensive…” An Jing frowned.
The attendant hurriedly said, “Not at all. You go out and look around to see if anyone’s tailor is cheaper than ours. If you find one, our tailor will make them for free.” Wanbu Pavilion may be a big store, but it never cheats its customers.
An Jing didn’t say anything immediately, but looked at Xiao Changyi. She knew Xiao Changyi must be familiar with Wanbu Pavilion; that’s why he had brought her here. Seeing Xiao Changyi slightly nod in her direction, she then said to the attendant, “Alright then, ten coins it is.”
“Alrighty!” the attendant said loudly. Then, he took an abacus and calculated, “Fourteen chi of top-grade red fabric, thirty coins per chi, comes to a total of four hundred and twenty coins, plus ten coins for the tailor’s labor, bringing the total to four hundred and thirty coins.”
Four hundred and thirty coins?! If she hadn’t covered her mouth in time, Niu Dahua would have definitely screamed out loud.
Then, the look Niu Dahua gave An Jing was full of envy, jealousy, and hatred. Her own wedding dress only cost ten coins per chi at that time! Her family didn’t even have four hundred and thirty coins in savings!
An Jing didn’t immediately ask Xiao Changyi to pay but asked the attendant, “When can the clothes be ready?”
The attendant replied, “They can be done in one day, the customers can come to collect them this time tomorrow.”
An Jing nodded and then looked towards Xiao Changyi.
However, Xiao Changyi didn’t take out any money to pay; instead, he supported An Jing as they walked towards a counter on the right. But after only a step, they saw a familiar figure hurriedly passing in front of them at the counter on the right.
Watching the young married woman briskly exit Wanbu Pavilion, An Jing frowned, “Isn’t that Niu Dahua?”
Niu Dahua, Niu Er’s elder sister, was already married—she married Xiao Shengcai from the same village a year ago. Xiao Shengcai shared the Xiao surname with Xiao Changyi but had never associated with him.
The village had many gossips, and Niu Dahua was certainly one of them. At this moment, An Jing realized why Niu Er was so talkative; it seemed to be hereditary, the whole family was .
And since Niu Er had refused to help her out of the pit a couple of days before, An Jing felt even less kindly towards Niu Dahua now.
“Hmm,” Xiao Changyi replied with a single word and continued to lead An Jing towards the counter on the right.
An Jing never cared much about irrelevant people. Once Xiao Changyi supported her and they continued on, An Jing also put Niu Dahua out of her mind, as if she had never encountered Niu Dahua at all.
An Jing was somewhat puzzled as to what Xiao Changyi intended to do until he pointed at two bolts of fabric on the counter on the right and asked, “Do you like these two colors?”
“What’s the matter?” An Jing looked at the two bolts of fabric, one lotus-colored, the other apricot-colored, and still didn’t quite understand Xiao Changyi’s intentions.
Xiao Changyi then explained, “To make clothes for you.”
An Jing finally understood and laughed. How could this man be so good to her? She already had clothes, yet he still thought about buying more for her.