Chapter 411: Chapter 213: Shopping for New Year’s Goods (Part 2)_1
Gold is precious, and to increase its added value, jewelry made of pure gold is generally crafted to be more exquisite. Lian Manman had the shop assistant bring out two pairs of the smallest Golden Cloves.
The two pairs of Golden Cloves were of the same design and weighed on scales, with a slight difference in weight. One pair was priced at seven Silver, two parts, while the other was priced at seven Silver, three parts.
"Too expensive," Lian Zhizhi remarked. Such a tiny thing was even more expensive than the Gilt Hairpin Lady Zhang had bought.
Lian Manman was also a little surprised. She had intended to spend less money than Lady Zhang. However, Lian Manman picked up a Golden Clove and placed it on her palm. It was very light, but considering the standard of ten Silver per ounce of gold, plus the cost of craftsmanship, the weight was quite reasonable. She and Lian Zhizhi were still young, and since the jewelry was to be worn on the ears, a lighter piece was more suitable.
The design of the Golden Cloves was simple, but the workmanship was fine.
Worth buying, Lian Manman judged in her heart.
"Manman, let’s pick something else," Lian Zhizhi urged, pulling Lian Manman.
"Young miss, this is pure gold, crafted with great effort by the old artisans in our shop. This price is the cheapest, with no deceit at all. We are an old-established shop, honest to all ages. You must be from a nearby village. We’re all fellow villagers here, and I’ll tell you the truth. This pair of Golden Cloves, if sold in the big stores of the county or Prefecture City, would dare to ask for an ounce of Silver from you," said the shop assistant, seeing one sister eager to buy and the other finding it expensive and afraid of losing a customer. He hurriedly spoke, "We only have these two pairs of Golden Cloves in our shop, perfectly prepared for you sisters. Wearing them during the New Year will surely look distinguished and beautiful."
"Manman, we don’t have that much money," Lian Zhizhi whispered to Lian Manman, afraid she might be persuaded.
"Manman, Zhizhi, what have you found?" Lady Zhang, Lian Shouxin, accompanied by Wu Lang and Xiao Qi, came over.
"Sister, I want to buy them," Lian Manman said. Although they had agreed that the communal funds would pay, these Golden Cloves were a bit expensive. "Sister, why don’t we use our own money in addition to the communal funds to buy them, okay?"
"Let the communal funds give you each One String of Coins," Lady Zhang looked at the Golden Cloves and liked them too. She said, "Each of you will get five hundred Wen Money, and the rest you will pay for yourselves."
That way, each of them only needed to add a little over two hundred Wen Money to buy the two pairs of Golden Cloves. Young girls always loved shiny, beautiful jewelry, and Lian Zhizhi’s eyes also brightened.
Lian Zhizhi and Lian Manman had been working in the shop these days, saving their wages without spending much. Now they had nearly one hundred Wen Money each, and they had just gotten another fifty Wen Money each from Lian Shouxin.
"That’s still one hundred and fifty Wen short," said Lian Zhizhi.
"... Can I and my sister get an advance on our wages for one month? Would that be okay?" Lian Manman discussed with her family.
"Mother’s wages haven’t been spent either," Lady Zhang said, (aside from the regular expenses for Xiao Qi, Lady Zhang’s wages were also being saved by Lian Manman), "How about this, for that one hundred and fifty Wen, Mother will give you one hundred Wen, and the remaining fifty Wen will be deducted from your wages next month."
"Great," said Lian Manman immediately.
"Mother, then you won’t have any money left," Lian Zhizhi said to Lady Zhang. Lady Zhang’s monthly wage was only one hundred and fifty Wen. After deducting the one hundred Wen and the regular small expenses for Xiao Qi, she would have very little left.
"I don’t have anywhere to spend money anyway," Lady Zhang said, glancing at Lian Shouxin. Regardless, she was much better off than Lian Shouxin. Lian Shouxin’s wages had long been spent, and he probably even had an advance on a lot of it. Who knows if there will be any of Lian Shouxin’s wages left next year!
Lian Manman happily took out the money from her purse to pay the shop assistant. The assistant accepted the money and then fetched two small boxes, putting the two pairs of Golden Cloves inside before handing them to Lian Manman.
"Miss, keep your items safe, the market is crowded today... If you want to buy something else, just come to our shop, I assure you’ll be satisfied." Clearly, the assistant hoped that Lian Manman and her sister would become regular customers of the shop.
After leaving the jewelry shop, the family headed towards the market.
From a distance, they could hear the crackling and popping of firecrackers. It wasn’t until they got closer that they realized that on both sides of the market entrance were firecracker stalls, whose owners were demonstrating the loudness of their goods by setting off firecrackers intermittently. With several stalls together, the sound of firecrackers rose and fell ceaselessly, adding to the lively atmosphere.
