Lady Du secretly tugged at Cai Wei's sleeve, whispering, "Wei'er, don't be silly. If we don't buy coarse cloth, are we going to buy fine cotton cloth?"
As a matter of course, Cai Wei said, "Of course we're buying fine cotton cloth. Coarse cloth is rough. My younger brothers and sisters are young, their skin is delicate, and wearing coarse cloth will harm their skin."
Lady Du pinched the purse in her bosom, hesitating. She agreed with Cai Wei's view and also wanted her children to wear the soft fine cotton cloth. However, the price of a foot of fine cotton cloth could buy three feet of coarse cloth, which was more durable and tough to wear out.
Cai Wei saw through Lady Du's thoughts, feeling a bit sad. Her mother's hesitation was due to their poverty. How could someone who had just been on the verge of life and death from starvation be willing to spend a lot of silver to buy luxurious fine cotton cloth? If possible, her mother would love to split a copper coin in half to spend it!
She lowered her gaze, and then laughed, saying, "Mother, rest assured and just buy. Although our family only has ten taels of silver now, we will have one hundred taels, one thousand taels, even ten thousand taels in the future. Eventually, you will not be able to count how many we have…"
Her smile was calm and determined, as if she was speaking the truth. This made Lady Du burst into laughter, saying, "You child, always teasing me. I dare not dream of having one hundred, one thousand or ten thousand taels. As long as I have these ten taels, to keep my children from starving, I'd already be thankful to Amitabha Buddha! Anyway, let's do as you say this time!"
Naturally, she thought that her daughter was just humoring her. Not having to go hungry was a blessing in itself, let alone dreaming of more. Yet, even knowing that her daughter was just cheering her up, her heart felt a little comforted.
Encouraged by her daughter, Lady Du steeled herself and bought each member of their family a piece of fine cotton cloth, plus four or five catties of top-quality cotton, and some silk threads, soles for shoes and other bits and bobs. After shopping, they ended up with two large bundles.
After sending the mother and daughter away, the shop assistant weighed the silver in his hand, with a broad grin on his face.
The old shopkeeper, holding a teapot, sauntered out from the inner room. He gazed at the retreating figures of the mother and daughter, stroking his white beard in deep thought.
The shop assistant chuckled, shaking the silver in his hand, saying, "Old shopkeeper, who would have thought that those two poor country bumpkins would be so lucrative? Look, they spent over a tael of silver without blinking an eye."
The old shopkeeper smacked the assistant on the head, sneering, "You silly boy, didn't I tell you not to underestimate people? Honestly, even though that woman and her daughter seem destitute now, that girl has the true destiny of a phoenix and will be incredibly noble in the future! And that woman, she'll become a first-class madam someday. You, boy, aren't even fit to carry their shoes, and yet you dare to make fun of them?"
The shop assistant pouted, laughing, "Old shopkeeper, are you pretending to be a magician again?"
The old shopkeeper took a sip of tea with a "sip" sound, and said leisurely, "If you don't believe me, that doesn't matter. Either way, you'll meet them again in the future. By then, you'll know how awesome I am!"
...
After coming out of the cloth store, Cai Wei and Lady Du were each carrying a large bundle, and yet they were still strolling around the street with great interest. They occasionally bought some small items like bits and bobs, cooking essentials, and when they passed a clean, small restaurant, Cai Wei suggested to go in and eat something. They had been busy with the wild boar since morning and hadn't eaten anything. Her stomach had been growling for a while already.
Lady Du initially wanted to buy some steamed buns from the roadside stalls as they were both tasty and saved money. But thinking of her daughter, who almost starved to death yesterday and brought home a windfall today in the form of a wild boar, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. She pinched her purse, steeled her heart, and took her daughter into the restaurant.