CHAPTER 364: CHAPTER 361 ACCOMPANY SHOPPING

Miss Xu waited in the carriage for a long time, and still Xie Liangchen had not returned.

The housekeeper lifted the curtain of the carriage and reported, "Miss Xie decided to walk, planning to continue straight down this street, saying it’s more convenient for shopping around the stores this way."

Miss Xu frowned, "Has she still not seen enough?"

The housekeeper said, "No, she’s been to three fur shops already, and has been talking to the shopkeepers, asking about the prices of fur in the past two years."

Miss Xu responded, "Do they understand what they’re looking at?"

The housekeeper nodded, "They should understand, especially in terms of sheepskin and sheepskin cloaks. That Miss Xie knows quite a bit, and the few children with her seem to understand a little too."

Miss Xu pondered for a moment, then stood up and stepped out of the carriage.

"You must wear a veil," the housekeeper hurried forward to assist, "and change into boots, it’s chilly outside."

After bustling around for a while, Miss Xu finally set foot on the ground, following the housekeeper’s lead to look for Xie Liangchen.

Xie Liangchen was in a fur shop, talking to the shopkeeper.

Miss Xu stood outside the shop and could hear the lively conversation inside.

The shopkeeper said, "Marten fur, fox fur, blue mouse fur are nice, but those can only be used by the high-ranking and noble; in our small shop, it’s mostly sheepskins, which are quite useful, aren’t they? A few years ago, woolen goods were selling well, but in the last couple of years, people have stopped buying wool goods, they’re buying thread tassels; thread tassels are good for making clothes of any style one fancies."

Hei Dan’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

The shopkeeper noticed Hei Dan’s expression and asked, "You understand this too?"

"Spring fur isn’t as good as autumn fur," Hei Dan pointed at the thread tassels on the counter, "What you have left here is all made from spring fur."

The shopkeeper laughed, "I hadn’t noticed, you really do understand. Next time I’ll be more considerate when stocking up."

Hei Dan nervously asked, "Are you not selling them anymore?"

"I am," the shopkeeper replied, "It’s just that thread tassels are scarce now; regardless of whether it’s spring fur or autumn fur, they can all be sold. If there’s a larger volume in the future, we’ll naturally need to be more selective."

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he looked at Xie Liangchen, "You all aren’t from the Capital City, are you?"

Xie Liangchen shook his head, "No."

The shopkeeper looked at Hei Dan, "This young man’s accent sounds like he’s from the North."

The shopkeeper then looked at Chen Zigeng, "This young man can read, can’t he?"

Finally, the shopkeeper moved his gaze to Xie Liangchen’s face, "Do you intend to do some business with your brothers?"

Xie Liangchen responded, "Yes, I intend to do some trading."

"Makes sense," the shopkeeper said, "The Eight States have been taken back. It can finally be peaceful for a while, doing some trade is good for livelihood. However, if you plan to sell thread tassels, I’m afraid it’ll be hard to find supplies. You’ll need to inquire about how much silver it costs in the depots of Mingzhou and Chan State, and make sure not to sell for more than the depots, or you won’t be able to sell them."

What the shopkeeper said was sincere advice, seeing that it wasn’t easy for them to come from the North, he gave some tips intentionally.

"That’s true," Xie Liangchen said, "Do you want to go to the North as well?"

The shopkeeper was a bit surprised when he heard this, "How did Miss figure that out?"

Xie Liangchen pointed at the paper next to the shopkeeper, "You’ve drawn a map towards Xingzhou."

The shopkeeper had merely drawn a few lines on the paper, calculating the distance and expenses from the Capital City to Xingzhou, unexpectedly caught by this young lady.

Xie Liangchen stated, "We came south along the way, just passed through these places, so I recognized it at a glance."

The shopkeeper was still amazed. To become familiar with the route after just one trip? That’s truly remarkable.

Xie Liangchen, in a past life, possessed a trading caravan, with official maps from the government office not easily circulating to the public. Most were drawn by the trading caravans themselves, and Xie Liangchen had seen even more rudimentary maps, naturally able to differentiate.

The shopkeeper immediately became interested, instructing an assistant to pour tea, intending to have a thorough conversation with Xie Liangchen and the others.

Xie Liangchen turned to Chen Zigeng and whispered, "We’ll talk here, have Uncle go check other shops."

Chen Zigeng ran out to convey the message and saw Miss Xu standing at the shop’s entrance.

"Miss Xu," Chen Zigeng said, "Why aren’t you going inside?"

In places that sell fur, there’s often a lingering stench, and Miss Xu wanted to know exactly what Xie Liangchen and the others were up to. She feared that if she went in, Xie Liangchen might become reluctant to speak, so she was better off standing outside listening.

Now caught red-handed, she couldn’t well linger at the entrance. So, following Chen Zigeng’s prompt, she walked into the shop.

The shopkeeper saw Miss Xu’s attire and was somewhat surprised.

Xie Liangchen explained, "I’m new to the Capital and know no one here. Fortunately, I have acquaintances willing to guide me."

The shopkeeper then understood.

Xie Liangchen asked, "Do you plan to go North to acquire fur?"

The shopkeeper replied, "Actually, we shopkeepers in the fur business used to go out to check goods ourselves. It’s just in recent years, with the intensified wars in the North, and now seeing the situation stabilize, we consider going again. Northern woolen textiles and thread tassels are sold here, so we thought of going to check them out, while also looking at those depots."

Miss Xu listened to Xie Liangchen and the shopkeeper discussing profitable but trivial matters concerning fur and thread tassels, feeling there wasn’t much depth to it. This Miss Xie seemed truly fond of such things, speaking with little difference from those small-time traders.

Xie Liangchen asked, "If there’s new goods in the North, would you buy some to try selling?"

"Naturally," the shopkeeper said, "Our intent to go was for this. When those thread tassels first came out, we were late to it. Around the Capital, it had already been sold. Buyers came to us, and we had to search for supplies everywhere."

Xie Liangchen nodded.

The conversation having reached a satisfactory point, Xie Liangchen stood up to ask the shopkeeper’s name.

The shopkeeper said, "My humble surname is Jiao, second in my family; everyone calls me Jiao Er."

Xie Liangchen and the group stepped out of Manager Jiao’s shop, Chen Zigeng approached and grabbed his sister’s arm, "Sister, I think this Manager Jiao is good, a capable man."

Xie Liangchen nodded, "Have Uncle bring over the wool felts made from spring fur, and be sure to instruct Manager Jiao on when and how to sell the goods."

After finding a few suitable fur shops, it was time to check out stationery shops.

Xie Liangchen recalled having a guide from the Xu family; if it weren’t for their help, she might have to inquire on her own.

Before Xie Liangchen could ask, Miss Xu inquired, "Where do you want to go next?"

Xie Liangchen replied, "To the stationery shop."

Miss Xu couldn’t help but say, "Are you going to look at paper? The kind of paper from Zhenzhou is not sold here, and the legitimate stationery shops in the Capital have better paper."

Xie Liangchen found it relatively easy to sell northern fur but selling paper was absolutely impossible.

Xie Liangchen said, "I’m going to have a look and buy some pens and ink for the children in the village."

Miss Xu could only follow Xie Liangchen onward.

After the group left, the curtain of Manager Jiao’s shop was lifted again, Chen Yongsheng and Chen Zhongdong walked in.

Chen Zhongdong placed a blue cloth-wrapped bundle on the desk, "Shopkeeper, we’ve come from the North. Do you accept new goods? These are wool felts made from spring fur, different from ordinary wool felts. We made them denser. Would you like to take a close look?"

Manager Jiao quickly went over to inspect. They were indeed wool felts made from spring fur; using some method, these felts were denser and smoother.

Manager Jiao suddenly thought of the few people who had just left, and the noble young lady who accompanied them. Could they be major northern merchants promoting their goods?

Manager Jiao’s expression immediately became more serious.