Chapter 295: Haggling

It was only the hour of You, and the sky had already darkened completely. Ming Ren stood at the door, looked up for a while, and a sense of urgency welled up within him. "Send invitations to the village elders and the great merchants in the county. Tomorrow the county will host a simple meal at the tavern."

The secretary-ward replied in the affirmative.

At this point, Ming Ren no longer feared passing his cold on to them, and went to see them directly despite his illness.

After a round of feigning poverty, he also pointed out that the Daoist Priest of Mount Sanqing, taking pity on the people's plight, had already donated fifty taels to resettle the refugees.

Those present exchanged glances, and likewise opened their purses generously.

When Pan Yun came to the county town to buy things again, the beggars on the street had all disappeared.

The Shopkeeper who was cutting fabric for her said, "Master Qian is kind-hearted. He knew the house where these beggars used to live every year was being sold off, and once they lost their shelter from the cold, he paid to buy those two houses and rented them to the county office for free, so they could live there."

Pan Yun was surprised. "Two houses, bought just like that?"

"Dilapidated houses in the corners, not worth much to begin with. The one who inquired about the price before was a passing merchant who wanted to buy a house here as a warehouse, and stay a few days whenever he passed through each year. His offer wasn't high. Master Qian is the famous wealthy man of Yushan County, and he's also charitable. Two rundown houses — bought is bought."

Pan Yun: "Your boss is Master Qian?"

The Shopkeeper was a brisk young woman. Hearing this, she gave Pan Yun a playful scold: "I'd love to join the Qian household myself, but my little business is too small — they wouldn't look twice at me."

She said, "But half the cloth from my dyehouse is sold to the Qian family, and half the cloth in my shop comes through the Qian family's trading house. Little Daoist, when it comes to taste, no one in the whole county can match the Qian family, so all my cloth is the best, and the clothing styles are the most popular outside. From now on, if you want to buy fabric or have clothes made, just come to my shop."

Pan Yun said, "I'm a Daoist Priest, I only wear Daoist robes."

"There are many kinds of Daoist robes," the Shopkeeper said. She had watched Pan Yun coming and going up and down this street these past few days, and long knew she was not short of money. What a pity — she had never been able to catch an opening, since a customer who doesn't enter the shop can't be forced to buy, right?

Today she had finally caught her chance, so she came out from behind the counter, grabbed Pan Yun's hand, and said, "Daoist Priest, look at your figure, your grip, your fiery temperament — one can tell at a glance that your Wu Gong is formidable."

"The heroines of the jianghu also like to have me make their clothes."

Pan Yun: "Our Yushan County has heroines too?"

"How could it not? The female Daoists in every Daoist temple — aren't they all heroines?"

Pan Yun paused briefly, then after a moment nodded. "That's not wrong, actually."

"Not to mention far-off ones, just take Sister Xuan Li of the Yuling Abbey — all her clothes are custom-made at our shop, all Daoist robes. I drew the designs, just a moment."

The Shopkeeper went behind the counter and pulled out several sheets of paper she had long prepared, showing them to Pan Yun. "Look at this set — it's for everyday wear, much like the Daoist robe you're wearing now, but with a slightly nipped waist. That makes it much more flattering. The colors come in green, blue, and white. My suggestion is green-and-white or blue-and-white, with more white and green-blue as accents. It looks very nice."

Pan Yun: "You call that a slight nip at the waist?"

"Little Daoist doesn't like this set? No problem, then look at this set." With a swift swish she pulled it away and revealed the next sheet. "Look at this one — it's a straight collar with a large front panel, wide sleeves, only a thin sash tied inside, and a robe on the outside, loose and roomy, comfortable for sitting or moving, suitable not just for at home but also very pleasant for going out."

Pan Yun: "Like County Magistrate Ming wearing a Daoist robe."

In the Ming dynasty, officials and scholars liked to wear Daoist robes in daily life. Over time, Daoist Priests themselves actually came to dislike wearing that style of Daoist robe, and preferred straight-cut, simple, convenient — and ugly.

The Shopkeeper gave Pan Yun a friendly smile, swished it away, and said, "Don't like it? No problem, there's more. Look at this set."

Pan Yun looked down, her brows lifting slightly. This outfit…

The Shopkeeper read her expression and was overjoyed. "Little Daoist likes it too, don't you? This is exactly the set Sister Xuan Li likes best."

"Crossed collar, moon-white as the base, blue as the outer garment, tied with a wide waist sash, arrow sleeves, and bound at the wrists. When Little Daoist goes about righting wrongs and taking action, it's very convenient — absolutely no restriction — and you look dashing and heroic!"

Pan Yun: "Change the color of this outfit, and not to mention looking exactly like my senior sister's, I can't tell the difference."

Shopkeeper: "…Little Daoist's senior sister is Dharma Master Xuan Qiong of the Yuling Abbey?"

Pan Yun tilted her head and thought for a moment. She had only met Xuan Qiong once, and last time she saw her, she wasn't wearing anything like this either.

Thinking of the gossip about her Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister, Pan Yun let out a delighted chuckle, pointed at the outfit, and said, "How much to make this set?"

The Shopkeeper beamed so wide her teeth showed, held up two fingers, and said, "Two taels of silver."

Pan Yun waved her hand. "No, thanks."

The Shopkeeper's smile froze, and she hurriedly said, "Little Daoist, my fabric is of good quality, and the waist sash and robe hem both need embroidery, and the collar needs edging too — it takes quite a bit of work."

Pan Yun struggled to keep a straight face, imitated the stern expression of her eldest martial nephew, held up one finger, and said, "One tael!"

Shopkeeper: …

She gathered up the drawings and said, "I'll keep cutting the fine hemp cloth for you then."

Having said that, she put the drawings away, took up the fabric, and continued cutting for Pan Yun.

Pan Yun leaned against the counter, watched her brisk cutting after measuring, and said, "Shopkeeper, this kind of fabric is what we actually wear."

The Shopkeeper said, "A person, once in a while, should be good to themselves. The innermost layer of that outfit uses soft, skin-friendly silk; the second layer is a drapey, good-looking satin; the outer robe is also silk. The quality is all very good, and it can be worn for a long time."

The shopkeeper glanced outside, saw the clerks loading bolts of hemp cloth onto the cart, and said, "I know, little Daoist is a kind-hearted person just like Master Qian — otherwise you wouldn't have bought so much grain and medicinal ingredients for the Mountain God Temple, nor worried about those little beggars on the street. But there are so many poor and suffering people in this world, you can't help them all. Good deeds should be done, but one's own life should also be lived well, right? Look — for the sake of bags to hold blessed rice, you were willing to come to my shop and buy so much hemp cloth. Why then are you unwilling to spend money on a comfortable outfit for yourself?"

Pan Yun: "This whole cart of hemp cloth for blessing bags is two taels, and one outfit costs two taels…"

She pressed a hand to her chest and said, "Although this poor Daoist has a little money, this poor Daoist is still poor. I can't bear to part with it, really can't bear to. If the shopkeeper were cheaper, I might be willing."

The shopkeeper handed over the cut fabric, watched her roll it into a bundle and toss it onto the cart, and saw that the clerks had almost finished loading the bolts of hemp cloth she had bought. Gritting her teeth, she was still reluctant to give up on Pan Yun as a big client.

So she said, "Little Daoist, you've driven the price down too hard. How about this — add a little, one tael eight mace, how about it? I'll make it for you."

Pan Yun: "One tael."

The Shopkeeper gritted her teeth. "One tael five mace, can't go any lower."

Pan Yun considered briefly, then said cautiously, "One tael two mace, can't go any higher."

The Shopkeeper stamped her foot. "At this price we make nothing — even when Dharma Master Xuan Li brought her designs, we never went this low…"

Pan Yun: "In my whole life I've never worn clothes that cost more than one tael. We're still young, one outfit won't last us long either. Forget it, I won't buy."

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Shopkeeper: "…Fine, one tael three mace."

Pan Yun glanced at her sidelong.

The Shopkeeper said, "Little Daoist, you have to let me earn a little, right?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Fine then, I'll give you my measurements, make it according to them."

Pan Yun took out the money to pay.

The Shopkeeper took the money with a beaming smile and said, "No need, no need — I'll measure you myself, I guarantee it'll be spot on."

Pan Yun: "I'm not making one set, I'm making four sets — oh no, five sets!"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Little Daoist, you're so decisive. Would you like to look at other styles?"

"No need. These aren't all for me, so the sizes are all different."

Pan Yun tapped her finger on the table, wrote down Master Xuanmiao's, hers, Miao Zhen's, Miao He's, and Sister Hong Yan's measurements, and after drawing a circle in front of hers, Miao Zhen's, and Miao He's, said: "Leave an extra inch for me. We're still young—don't let it be unwearable just because the new year has passed."

The shopkeeper said: "Don't worry, little Daoist. We understand. When the time comes, we'll fold the cloth up and store it. Once you've grown taller and broader, just unpick the stitches and let it out."

After placing the order and paying the deposit, Pan Yun finally took the slip and left.

Heh-heh. The next time they went out righting wrongs, they'd have a uniform.

Pan Yun drove the ox cart back to the mountain. Pan Xiaohei had appeared from somewhere and was already sitting steadily on the cart.

Pan Yun glanced at it. "Ever since you woke up after being struck by lightning, your energy seems to be really good."

Pan Xiaohei meowed calmly: "The strength of the divine soul can be reflected in the body. I've grown stronger, so isn't it normal for the parasitic cat body to grow stronger too?"

Pan Yun: "You could be a bit stronger. Learn from Sister Hong Yan. Don't always think about going inside to sleep at night. Bask in the moonlight too, absorb some lunar essence, strengthen the cat body. Otherwise, next time you run into danger, don't even talk about protecting me—you won't even be able to protect yourself."

Pan Xiaohei: "…You're not even going to let me sleep now?"

Pan Yun: "If I could absorb lunar essence and cultivate quickly like you guys, I definitely wouldn't sleep."

Pan Xiaohei: "Go ahead and grind. Grind by yourself. Don't drag us into it. You're already the First Marquis. Why are you working so hard? When you have time, why not do more good deeds?"

Pan Yun: "You really are an egoist. Back when you needed spiritual power to unseal the seal, you urged me to cultivate like my life depended on it. Now that you know merit can unseal it faster, you're urging me to do good deeds."

One person and one cat bickered all the way back to Mount Sanqing.

Pan Yun didn't bring the things up the mountain, but left them in the Mountain God Temple. They would ask the villagers to cut the hemp cloth and sew it together, and when the time came, write a 'fortune' character on it with a brush. Perfect!

Because there were quite a few cloth bags to make and time was tight, they wouldn't only ask people from Fenshui Village.

People from other villages who were interested could also come make them.

The wages weren't high. It was mainly aimed at the vast numbers of rural women who had plenty of time, good skills, and were also poor.

Pan Yun stopped the ox cart, opened the door of the Mountain God Temple where sundries were stored, stood beside the cart, and with a sweep of her sleeve, the rolls of hemp cloth flew in on their own—swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—stacking neatly on the ground one roll at a time.

Wang Xiaojing stood holding the porcelain vase, staring blankly, eyes wide open.

One more chapter

(End of chapter)