Chapter 174 Second Brother
The shopkeeper’s wife lost face upon hearing this; after all, her store’s fabric selection was the most complete and of the highest quality in town. If she didn’t have it, one might as well not bother looking anywhere else in town.
Swallowing her dissatisfaction, the shopkeeper’s wife asked, "May I know what kind of fabric the lady speaks of? Tell me about it, and perhaps I can help the lady find it. If the lady only says it’s not here, nobody knows what kind of fabric she is after."
That lady smiled lazily, leaning against the counter, "How could this remote place possibly know? It’s a kind of fabric that has become all the rage from the Capital City to the province capital, and then to the county towns. It’s called Twilight Brocade. I hear even the noble ladies in the palace are extremely fond of it. It’s said the brocade is like the morning twilight, with colors of red and purple and a faint touch of gold across it. Clothes made from it are like being enveloped in twilight, unimaginably beautiful. A length of Twilight Brocade sells for at least twenty taels of silver. Shopkeeper’s wife, your little store probably hasn’t even heard of it, have you? Silly me for asking. Our entire county doesn’t have two lengths of it; how could there possibly be any in a town like this?"
With that, she swayed out of the store.
The shopkeeper’s wife’s face turned indescribably sour, filled with both longing for the legendary Twilight Brocade and the embarrassment of being belittled by the customer right to her face.
But as a businessperson, she had a strong heart, and after a while, the shopkeeper’s wife composed herself.
With a forced smile, she approached again: "Miss, what would you like to buy today?"
Wang Yongzhu smiled, "I need to purchase some fabric to make clothes for my parents."
Seeing a genuine customer, the shopkeeper’s wife’s smile became more sincere. As she assisted Wang Yongzhu in selecting fabric, she couldn’t help but complain, "I don’t mean to boast, but in Shiqiao Town, my store has the most complete fabric selection, the most colors, and the fairest prices. Everyone in town knows it. But that lady, after a single trip to the county town, comes here to show off. Twilight Brocade, indeed! Even if my store had it, I wonder if she could afford it. It’s a waste even thinking about it—a single fabric bearing three or four colors is something I haven’t even seen in all my years."