A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 58: Buying autumn and winter clothes and custom-making wedding dresses for the two ladies in

The weather was getting colder and the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching. At school that day, Gui'er was chatting with He Ruizhu. He Ruizhu said that her parents had prepared the money and were ready to redeem the pawned quilts and cotton clothes for the winter.

Gui'er was very curious and asked, "Why do you pawn your cotton-padded clothes and quilts?"

He Ruizhu sighed and said, "My mother had a difficult labor when she gave birth to my little brother, so she had to be sent to the hospital for treatment. Our family didn't have that much money. Although I had received a two-month advance on my wages from my employer, it was all gone by the time I was discharged from the hospital. My family still had to make ends meet, and my mother and little brother needed nourishment, so I had to pawn my quilts and cotton clothes to scrape together some money to get by."

Gui'er had no idea that cotton-padded clothes and quilts were so valuable in this era. When she woke up after traveling through time, she was on a flower boat. At that time, she was wearing tattered clothes, and now she had no thick clothes to keep warm. She thought it was time to buy some thick clothes, so she decided to go back to Taohua to discuss it.

When school was over, Gui'er was surprised to find Sha Yanxiao there too. Dali smiled and said, "Brother sneezed this morning and felt a chill, so he remembered that you didn't have any thick clothes to wear, so he wanted to take you shopping."

Sha Yanxiao coughed and laughed unnaturally, then said to Gui'er, "Come on, I'll take you shopping for clothes."

Gui'er got into the car happily. They went to Wing On Department Store and went to the children's clothing counter. They bought a wool vest, woolen tights, short leather boots, and a fur hat. After that, Sha Yanxiao said, "Let's go to Yunshang Building and have some cotton-padded clothes and tweed jackets made for you."

Gui'er felt a little bad. She had just bought these, all imported goods, and she had already spent 30 yuan. Yunshanglou was a high-end tailor shop specializing in custom-made clothes for dignitaries, and each piece of clothing could cost tens, hundreds, or even thousands of yuan. She had originally thought that she and Taohua would find some affordable secondhand clothing stores and buy something wearable.

Seeing her pursed her lips and remained silent, Sha Yanxiao quickly asked, "Don't you like what you just bought?"

Gui'er quickly said, "No, it's too expensive. I don't think children need to wear such expensive clothes."

Sha Yanxiao burst out laughing and said, "Why are you acting like a little adult? Don't worry about money. Just eat well, dress warmly, and go to school well."

Gui'er could only say gratefully, "Thank you, Marshal."

A few people were about to leave. When they passed by the women's clothing counter, Gui'er suddenly saw two familiar faces, Sha Yiman and Sha Erfeng. She quickly pulled Sha Yanxiao. Sha Yanxiao looked in the direction she pointed and saw the two people.

I saw them talking to the salesperson.

Sha Yanxiao walked up and asked, "What are you buying?"

The two were startled, and when they saw that it was Sha Yanxiao, they timidly called out, "Second Brother."

Sha Yanxiao looked at the clothes in their hands and said, "Have you chosen? I'll pay."

The two of them seemed to be hesitant to speak again. After a few seconds, Yiman stammered, "My family hasn't said anything about making us wedding clothes yet. Erfeng and I decided that we shouldn't dress too poorly, so we came to see if there was anything suitable."

Sha Yanxiao looked at them for a long time and sighed. Although they were daughters of a military governor, they were wearing homespun cheongsams, devoid of patterns or embroidery, like the daughters of ordinary commoners. Sha Yanxiao said, "Come with me, you two. I'll go to Yunshang Tower to make your wedding gowns." The two young ladies hesitated, but followed him anyway.

Arriving at Yunshang Tower, the shopkeeper greeted Sha Yanxiao enthusiastically upon seeing him: "Young Marshal, what designs are you going to make this time?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "Make two cotton-padded jackets and two coats for this child, and then make wedding dresses for my two sisters. Remember, don't use bright red."

The red one was for wives, not concubines. But the shopkeeper was a seasoned hand, and immediately understood what she meant. His expression didn't change at all, and he smiled and said, "The two young ladies are about to get married. Congratulations! Please come to the inner room to take your measurements first."

As he spoke, he took out a catalogue which contained all the styles of cheongsams. Guier came closer curiously and found out that the tops of these cheongsams were black, while the skirts were red.

Guier pointed to a pattern and said, "This is so beautiful." The shopkeeper quickly said, "Young lady, you have good taste. This is a skirt embroidered with a silver phoenix. The embroidery on it is all embroidered with gold and silver thread."

Sha Yanxiao took a look and said, "Then use this pattern to make two sets, one in each of their sizes." The shopkeeper said yes repeatedly and turned to ask the clerk to write it down.

Sha Yanxiao asked again: "Are there any new imported woolen fabrics recently?" The shopkeeper quickly took out a fabric sample card for Sha Yanxiao to choose.

Sha Yanxiao carefully looked at them one by one, and took out the small pieces of fabric that he thought looked good and put them on Guier to compare. Finally, he selected two imported woolen fabrics, one was light blue and the other was light red. He also specifically instructed the shopkeeper to add cotton and wool as a layer, use mink fur for the collar, and use large round buttons made of buffalo horn.

Gui'er was stunned when she heard this. In modern times, this would definitely be a high-end luxury product.

Sha Yanxiao added, "Make two more cotton-padded jackets, one with a goose yellow Ruyi pattern and full sleeves, and one with a violet brocade floral pattern. The cotton should be thicker."

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. At this time, the two daughters of the Marshal's Mansion had already finished measuring their sizes and came out.

Sha Yanxiao said to them, "Okay, this is the style I picked out for you." Then he showed them the pattern. The two sisters were amazed by the exquisite and intricate pattern and said quickly, "Thank you, second brother."

Sha Yanxiao added, "When they're finished, someone will bring them to your house for you to try on. If they don't fit, you can alter them. Dali, go get a rickshaw to take them back."

After the two sisters left, Sha Yanxiao asked the boss to measure Gui'er again and said, "Although I measured her before, it's been a while. I'm afraid she's grown a little bit."

Gui'er was about to say, "It shouldn't be that exaggerated."

The boss quickly said, "Yes, yes, young master, you have considered everything." Then he asked the female tailor in the store to measure Guier's size again.

After finishing all these, Sha Yanxiao took Gui'er and Dali back to the restaurant on the second floor of Yong'an Department Store for dinner, and then returned to the Marshal's Mansion after dinner.

Gui'er remembered that Taohua had no winter clothes, and she felt a little bad, so she quietly ran to the servant's room to look for her. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the room, Taohua saw her and said happily, "Come and see, these are the thick winter clothes that Zhang the housekeeper gave me."

As he spoke, he took out two woolen vests, a homespun cotton jacket, and a pair of trousers. Gui'er took a look and found them quite thick. Taohua said, "Butler Zhang said this was the young commander's order. He also took you to buy autumn and winter clothes, right?"

Guier nodded.

Taohua said, "It seems we really have met a good person this time. I will work hard in the future to repay the young marshal."

Gui'er was a little panicked. Taohua was a servant and could be rewarded with work, but she lived a life like a rich lady here. Most people around her were very nice to her for Sha Yanxiao's sake. She knew it very well in her heart, but she was powerless to change this situation.