activa-t Chapter 11 Shopping
Chapter 11 Shopping
The group made their way through the crowded streets to the Jixiang Restaurant, located in the middle of the street.
From afar, a two-story building stands out in the heart of the bustling city, appearing particularly grand amidst the lively street scene. As you approach, the most striking feature is the two colorful lanterns hanging at the entrance of the restaurant, which, in contrast to the restaurant's overall rustic and solemn atmosphere, appear slightly playful yet perfectly harmonious.
Xiao Siyue peeked through the doorway and saw that the restaurant's main hall had about a dozen tables arranged in a staggered manner, all of which were already full. Looking up, she could also see a large crowd through the open windows on the second floor.
Xiao Siyue thought to herself to the system, "This restaurant seems to be doing quite well."
Come to think of it, Jixiang Restaurant and Ruyi Restaurant are the two largest restaurants in town, and almost all the business is monopolized by these two.
"If the host is curious, he can go in and take a look."
"Grandma, Mom, Aunts, what brings you here?" It was Xiao Siqi, the eldest grandson of the Xiao family, who was seeing guests off at the door when he spotted his grandmother and the others walking towards them.
"Siqi, we've come to find your father."
"Dad's busy inside, I'll go call him."
"No need, Siqi, it's nothing serious. Tell your father that we'll buy the things he asked us to buy yesterday ourselves, we don't need him anymore." Old Mrs. Xiao hurriedly called to her grandson, it was getting late, and they didn't want to waste any more time here.
Xiao Siqi stopped in his tracks when he heard his grandmother say that, his ears turning red. He hadn't gone home yesterday, but his father had told him that he wanted to arrange a marriage for him, so he felt a little embarrassed and quickly tried to change the subject.
Then, when I turned around, I saw Xiao Siyue standing next to my third aunt.
"Oh! My little sister is here too." Xiao Siqi was very surprised to see Siyue.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Siyue looked up and saw that Xiao Siqi was tall and handsome, inheriting his family's good looks. Even dressed in a waiter's uniform, his outstanding temperament was still evident.
"Yes, brother, I've come to town to play today."
"Oh, I see," Xiao Siqi said, glancing quickly at Lin Qin's face. He was a little curious, but didn't ask any further questions.
After saying goodbye to their elder brother, they headed towards the bustling market.
The streets are lined with a dazzling array of goods, making it hard to take it all in.
Selling sesame cakes, selling candied hawthorns, selling bamboo baskets...
After strolling around, I came across a dim sum shop called Fu Kee. The shop was not big, but it was quite exquisite. A few steps inside, there was a large wooden counter filled with all kinds of dim sum.
Looking up, behind the counter stood a pretty woman, about sixteen years old, wearing an apricot-colored narrow-sleeved long dress with a blue belt around her waist, greeting customers with a smile in her eyes.
"What would you like to order, gentlemen?"
Lin Qin and her two sisters-in-law were unsure what to choose. In the end, it was Old Lady Xiao who made the decision and bought a pound of osmanthus cake and a pound of peach blossom pastry, which cost a total of 50 coins.
After coming out, Xiao Siyue saw a shop called Liuyue Pavilion.
"Mommy, what's that shop?" Siyue asked curiously, pointing to the shop across the street.
Lin Qin looked in the direction Xiao Siyue was pointing.
That was a cosmetics shop.
Upon hearing this, Siyue immediately suggested, "Mother, I want to go and take a look at that shop." She was genuinely curious about what ancient rouge shops were like.
Seeing that Xiao Siyue wanted to go to the cosmetics shop, Lin Qin turned to her mother-in-law for her opinion.
"You all go ahead, I won't go, I'll wait for you here," said Old Lady Xiao. She was an old woman, why would she care about cosmetics?
The two aunts also said they wouldn't go, as they didn't have the money to buy these things. They had heard that the items inside were very expensive, so it was better not to go in. Otherwise, it would be very frustrating to only be able to look but not buy.
In the end, only Lin Qin and Xiao Siyue went.
This shop is the only cosmetics shop in town. It sells not only rouge and face powder, but also ready-made clothes and other items.
Once inside, I discovered that the shop had two floors. The first floor sold small items such as rouge and face powder, while the second floor sold ready-made clothing. Several young women were introducing the products to customers.
After Xiao Siyue went inside, she followed Lin Qin and strolled around. Inside, there were many kinds of exquisite and beautiful rouge, as well as dressing mirrors, jewelry, and so on.
Suddenly she was drawn to a spot, a corner displaying some rather ordinary items compared to the other exquisite objects.
She walked over quickly and found that they were bar soaps, but these bar soaps were different from what she remembered. They had no fragrance at all and looked particularly greasy.
"Is this the scented soap?" Siyue muttered to herself, somewhat uncertainly.
Suddenly, a gentle and pleasant voice came from beside my ear.
"Yes, little girl, this is scented soap."
Xiao Siyue looked up and saw a gentle and beautiful young woman smiling and looking down at her.
Unlike her mother's gentle and tender nature, this woman possessed a noble air amidst her gentleness; she must be a noblewoman from some wealthy family. But why was she speaking to her?
"Greetings, Madam. And you are?" Siyue greeted her immediately.
“I’m the owner of this shop,” Liu Yue replied.
She noticed the little girl as soon as she came in. She was delicate and cute, with a chubby little face, big grape-like eyes, and a lively and cheerful personality. When she saw the little girl leave her mother and run here, she came over to take a look.
Oh, it's the boss!
"Boss, what's your surname?" Siyue's eyes lit up at the question.
"My name is Liu Yue, and what's yours, little girl?"
"Hello, Mr. Liu, my name is Xiao Siyue."
"Mr. Liu, how much is this scented soap? Is this the only style you have?"
"This costs one tael of silver. Aren't all soaps like this?" Liu Yue asked, somewhat puzzled.
Hearing her say this, Xiao Siyue suppressed her excitement and looked at Liu Yue with bright eyes, saying:
"Mr. Liu, if I were to make a scented soap that's even more beautiful and effective than this one, would you buy it?"
She knew that these kinds of things were generally only affordable for families with some assets. If she sold them herself, she wouldn't have any customer base. But if she put them in this store, it would be different.
"Oh, you can even make scented soap?" Liu Yue didn't believe it, thinking it was just childish play.
Siyue could tell that Boss Liu didn't believe her, but she wasn't in a hurry. She would know once she produced it.
"Yes, yes, I can do it, and I'll make it even better than this, don't worry."
Liu Yue listened to the little girl making a solemn promise to her, feeling both amused and exasperated. This child was like a little adult.
"Okay, as long as you make it, I will definitely accept it."
"Yue'er, Yue'er"
Then came Lin Qin's anxious shouts. Oh no! She was too excited to tell her mother when she saw the fragrant soap!
He quickly said goodbye to Boss Liu and ran towards his mother.
"Mother, I'm here," Siyue said, looking at Lin Qin with a flattering expression.
"Where have you been, you silly child?" Lin Qin had just seen the hair accessory and thought it was pretty, and was about to ask Si Yue if she liked it.
When I turned around, I found that the person was gone. I was terrified and started looking for them everywhere.
"Mother, I'm sorry. I saw some scented soap there and got curious, so I went to take a look." Xiao Siyue felt extremely guilty.
"Alright, don't run around like that next time," Lin Qin said, unable to bring herself to scold her daughter.
"Come here, Mom picked out a hair accessory for you, isn't it pretty?" Lin Qin took Si Yue's little hand and led her to the place where the hair accessories were displayed, showing Si Yue the one she had been looking at earlier.
"It looks beautiful. Mother has such good taste," Siyue flattered Lin Qin.
"Hehe, this child." Lin Qin was very pleased. She took the hair accessory to Siyue Du and went to the counter to pay.
It was getting late, so after leaving the shop, the group bought three catties of meat from the butcher's stall and headed back to Xiaojia Village.