in2ebook Chapter 115: Cloth from the Cloth Shop
Chapter 115: Cloth from the Cloth Shop
The shopkeeper came over immediately and said respectfully, "Miss, this is a disaster victim. I don't know how he ended up in the cloth shop."
Yu Qingli walked closer and saw that the disaster victim was thin and lying against a tree, dying. Perhaps because he heard the voice, he weakly opened his eyes, which were a pair of pupils like midnight stars.
"It's you?!" Yu Qingli couldn't help but exclaim.
The shopkeeper heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this and asked, "Miss, do you know this person?"
"I guess so." Yu Qingli replied calmly, "There's an empty house in the yard, right? Tell someone to accommodate him. Also, come with me."
The shopkeeper immediately waved his hand and asked a few assistants to do it, while he followed Yu Qingli.
"The rainy season is almost over, and it's time to tidy up the cloth shop and prepare for business." Yu Qingli said lightly, "Is the cloth I asked you to handle a few days ago all right?"
The shopkeeper immediately gave her a thumbs-up. "Young lady, you're truly astute. As you instructed, I've wrapped the fabrics in oil paper and stored them on bamboo racks, keeping them away from the elements. Each shelf has a charcoal basin, keeping the room extremely dry. This morning, I checked, and the fabrics are top-notch in both color and feel, with no sign of damage from the rain at all."
"That's good. Have you counted how much inventory is left?" Yu Qingli slowly sat down on the chair. The shopkeeper immediately handed her an account book. "All inventory is recorded in the book. Please review it, young lady."
Yu Qingli flipped through the account books and knew that she could make a lot of money this time. She didn't believe that those fabric shops could be as thoughtful as she was. After this rainy season, those high-quality fabrics would be affected to some extent. How could they compare with hers?
After thinking about it, Yu Qingli pointed at the last few pages of the booklet with her slender fingers and ordered, "Boss, please bring these materials to me for a look."
The shopkeeper waved his hand, and soon several assistants brought up the cloth.
Yu Qingli stood up and checked them one by one. Seeing that these inferior materials were well preserved, she felt relieved.
"I will give these pieces of fabric away for free tomorrow. Each family of disaster victims can come and get one. It will be enough for their whole family to buy a set of clothes."
"Ah?! Miss, although this is the inferior material in the store, it is also a good satin that costs three taels of silver per foot."
"I asked you to do it, so you did it." Yu Qingli's expression remained unchanged. "Just think of it as us doing our little bit to help the disaster victims."
The shopkeeper nodded upon hearing this and said, "Miss, you are so kind. I will definitely take care of this matter for you tomorrow."
Yu Qingli nodded. "You can handle the rest. You always have more experience than me. I'll go to the backyard. If you need anything, please send someone to come find me."
The shopkeeper bowed and saw Yu Qingli off, then immediately began to organize his employees to start work. This shopkeeper was indeed capable. After a while, half of the capital knew that Yu Qingli would give away cloth for free tomorrow. The people all praised Yu Qingli for his kindness and praised Prime Minister Yu for his good way of educating his daughter.
Yu Zhengsha smiled as he entertained the people who praised him, but he felt vaguely confused as to what Yu Qingli was going to do next. He winked at Jiang Bai beside him.
Jiang Bai immediately understood and retreated, and soon he appeared next to Yu Qingli's cloth shop.
The backyard was very clean. The guys had already cleaned it up quickly. At this time, a small woodshed in the south had been cleared out. The thin man was leaning on a casually made bed. The guys had wiped his body, changed his clothes, and seemed to have fed him some porridge. He looked better than before.
There was no light in the woodshed. He was huddled in the shadow of the corner, only his eyes were like two night pearls, shining brightly in the darkness.
As soon as Yu Qingli stepped into the room, she heard the disaster victim say, "I won't thank you."
"Why?"
"Don't think I don't know that you are Yu Zhengsha's daughter."
"So what? If it weren't for Yu Zhengsha, I'm afraid that after this torrential rain, the entire Luoyang City would have turned into Chu'an Town."
The man didn't expect to be interrupted by Yu Qingli like this, and was speechless for a moment.
Yu Qingli dragged a long bench to sit at the door. The sunlight shone obliquely from behind her, making her feel warm all over.
"I didn't save you for nothing. Now you have two options. First, stay and work as a clerk in my shop. I'll provide you with food and shelter, and you'll be at my beck and call. At the end of the year, I'll give you a share of the money based on the shop's profits. Second, leave today. I won't stop someone who's looking for death."
Yu Qingli spoke in a light tone, the man's eyes were burning, and the voice of the shopkeeper urging the waiter came from a distance, while the small courtyard seemed to be isolated from the world, with only the birds singing and flapping their wings.
Yu Qingli was very patient. She simply stared into those star-like eyes, her heart filled with curiosity. What kind of person was this man to have such eyes? She was completely preoccupied with this question, seemingly not caring at all about the man's choice. Or perhaps she already knew what he would choose. Survival has always been human nature, or perhaps even animal nature.
After a while, the man said, "I have no home, no family."
Yu Qingli nodded, "Many people have lost their homes and families."
"I'm not in good health and can't do any heavy work."
"The work in the cloth workshop wasn't particularly strenuous."
"Aren't you afraid of getting sick? Aren't you afraid that I might harm you?"
Yu Qingli suddenly laughed, "If you were scared, where do you think you would be right now?"
Yu Qingli's smile was as bright as the morning glow. The man was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head. "I'm too weak to work today."
Yu Qingli stood up and said, "Rest well today. The shopkeeper will come and tell you what to do later."
The man suddenly called out to Yu Qingli. Yu Qingli turned and looked at him. He hesitated for a moment, feeling extremely embarrassed, before saying, "Thank you."
Yu Qingli laughed and suddenly felt that this man was a little cute.
The next morning, before daybreak, the entrance to Yu Qingli's cloth shop was already lined with people. They sat or stood silently and in an orderly manner, but there was hope in their eyes.
Yu Qingli rushed over early in the morning. When she saw the hope in the eyes of the victims through the curtain of the sedan chair, and saw that they were all shining like the man's eyes, she couldn't help but smile in her heart.
When you give someone a rose, the fragrance lingers on your hand. Yu Qingli felt that her choice this time was the right one.
The shopkeeper stood at the door with a gong in his hand, banging it repeatedly and ordering, "Come one by one, don't rush. Submit your household registration information for registration. You will receive the cloth according to the information on the household registration. Each household can only receive one. Don't crowd, take your time."
Everything went on in an orderly manner. The cloth was quickly distributed and Yu Qingli took out a few pieces without hesitation. It was the first time she discovered that giving things to others could be so enjoyable.
However, what Yu Qingli didn't expect was that God is always fair. She gave up these dozen pieces of cloth, but got many unexpected gains.
First, she had a very good reputation among the people in the capital. Second, the victims wore clothes made of her fabrics, which was like a living signboard for her.
Those fabrics, although inferior, were still brightly colored and soft to the touch, and immediately became one of the symbols that attracted everyone.
More and more people began to come to Yu Qingli's cloth shop. Some came out of curiosity, some wanted to see how Yu Qingli stored the cloth, and some came purely for Yu Qingli. Although their goals were different, they all did the same thing when they arrived at the cloth shop, which was to buy a lot of cloth.
All kinds of fabrics were sold out in a continuous stream, and Yu Qingli really felt like she was making a fortune.
All of this was seen by Jiang Bai who was watching from afar. He roughly calculated Yu Qingli's gains in his mind and quietly returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
After listening to Jiang Bai's report, Yu Zhengsha pounded the table with his hands and asked in disbelief, "Did she really earn so much?"
"I just made a rough estimate, I'm afraid... it will be more, not less."
Yu Zhengsha pondered for a moment, waved Jiang Bai away, and walked to the window. His thoughtful gaze fell in the direction of the cloth shop.
At the same time, Murong Yanhui was a little furious. He threw the fine blue and white porcelain teacup in his hand hard, snorted coldly, and the air pressure in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.
All the servants couldn't help but shrink their necks and stood aside in silence, not knowing why Murong Yanhui was so angry.
Naturally, they would not understand Murong Yanhui's anxious mood. Ever since he had a quarrel with Yu Qingli over a letter from Murong Feng that day, Murong Yanhui felt that his behavior was really inconsistent with his image as the King of Yan and was too petty. He even regretted the harsh words he had said when he left. Now he really experienced what it meant to be caught in a cocoon.
These days, he wanted to find Yu Qingli, but was afraid of being laughed at by Yu Qingli. He was stuck in the middle, neither sitting nor standing, and his food had no taste. He wanted to sleep and had dreams, which disturbed him so much that he had no peace at all. Naturally, he was in a bad mood.
But for some reason, the more he persuaded himself not to think about it, the more Yu Qingli's beautiful figure came to his heart uninvited and lingered. That feeling was worse than any torture.
Early this morning, Murong Yanhui could no longer bear the torment, and finally found an excuse for himself: Yu Qingli has not seen him for many days, and she must miss him very much, so I will fulfill her wish and save her from the pain of missing him.
So, under self-hypnosis, Murong Yanhui quietly came to the outside of the Prime Minister's Mansion and followed Yu Qingli to the cloth shop. When he saw that Yu Qingli was strategizing in the cloth shop with high spirits, his face was rosy and he didn't look haggard at all, a surge of anger suddenly rushed to his head.