Chapter 49
49 Selling Bags
It was not until Li Yu finished the second batch of cloth that Zhou Jia brought Ji Xiang to haul the goods.
When Ji Xiang brought people to load the goods, Zhou Jia smiled at Li Yu and said, “Miss Li, yesterday, I gave the bag I took away to a few friends who were studying in the academy. They all like it very much. It might have already spread today. I reckon that we can sell it as soon as we get the goods.”
Li Yu didn’t expect Zhou Jia to know how to advertise in advance. Hearing him say this, she was even more confident in their cooperation. She smiled happily and said, “Alright, I wish us a big sale.”
Zhou Jia smiled at Li Yu. “Of course. Miss Li, I think you should go to Green Mountain City with me to take a look and see what color they like. We can adjust accordingly.”
Li Yu thought for a moment and agreed readily. “Alright, I’ll go with you to take a look.”
Li Yu told Li Mei about going to Green Mountain. Li Mei felt a little worried and came out to say to Zhou Jia, “Mr. Zhou, will Xiaoyu be fine if she goes to Green Mountain City with you? I’m afraid that the Zhang family won’t be kind.”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he promised Li Mei, “Aunt Li, don’t worry. I promise to bring Miss Li back intact before sunset.”
Li Mei looked at Zhou Jia and nodded. “In that case, I’ll leave Xiaoyu to you.”
Li Mei sent Li Yu and Zhou Jia to the mule cart and reminded Li Yu repeatedly before returning to the house to work.
Li Yu got into the carriage and sat down against the wall. Zhou Jia took out a box of cakes from a small drawer and handed it to Li Yu. “Miss Li, eat some cakes to kill time.”
“Thank you.” Li Yu took the box and took a piece of date cake from it. She lowered her head and took a bite. Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu’s uncomfortable expression and took out a school bag. He pointed at the green bamboo embroidered on it and smiled. “I see green bamboo embroidered on the bottom left corner of each bag. Is there a meaning?”
Li Yu took a look. “It’s just like the chili I asked you to draw last time. It’s just a brand mark.”
Zhou Jia took out a teapot from the winter basket and poured Li Yu a cup of tea. “I heard that your pickled jars business is doing quite well. Even the Wei family is looking for you to buy them.”
Li Yu put down the date cake and looked at Zhou Jia. “Is the Wei family very famous?”
“The Wei family has done business all over the country. I heard that the Wei family is as rich as a country.”
“Oh.” The two of them chatted for a while. Li Yu leaned against the carriage and staggered forward, feeling sleepy. Seeing that Li Yu was asleep, Zhou Jia took out his cloak and gently covered Li Yu.
Zhou Jia leaned against the carriage and looked at Li Yu’s sleeping face. He saw that her hair was casually tied into a simple bun and fixed with a wooden hairpin. She was wearing a dark purple thin cloth short gown and a dark green thin cloth dress. She had long and thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, and cherry-red lips. Zhou Jia’s throat moved slightly, and he hurriedly turned his head to the side, not daring to look at Li Yu again.
When the mule cart arrived at the city gate, Ji Xiang alighted and reported to Zhou Jia, “Young Master, are we going to the shop at the academy or the street?”
Zhou Jia instructed Ji Xiang in a low voice, “Send the goods to the shop first. Miss Li and I will walk this way.”
After Ji Xiang agreed, he led the others to leave first. Li Yu and Zhou Jia entered the city and turned into a bustling street. Li Yu lifted the curtain and looked at the bustling crowd on the street. She realized that the pedestrians on this street were dressed better and there were more shops on both sides of the street.
The car stopped in front of a ready-to-wear shop. Zhou Jia lifted the curtain and got out of the car to reach out to Li Yu. “Miss Li, we’re here.”
Li Yu looked up and saw that a sign bearing the words “Zhou Ji Clothing” was hanging at the door of the shop. She got out of the carriage and walked towards the shop. Zhou Jia was stunned for a moment before following with a smile.
Li Yu walked into the shop and saw that most of the clothes in the shop run by Zhou Jia were for men. There were clothes, shoes, and hats inside. A shop assistant was placing the bag on a wooden shelf. The bag was placed on the wooden shelf and looked like a deflated model. Li Yu recalled that when she bought a bag in her previous life, she saw that the merchants had stuffed the bag with useless newspapers. She turned around and said to Zhou Jia, “Mr. Zhou, can you find some rags for me?”
“Okay.” Zhou Jia asked the shop assistant to take out some rags and saw Li Yu stuffing them into the bag. The originally deflated bag looked much better when it was full.
Zhou Jia looked at the bag on the shelf and gave Li Yu a thumbs up. “Miss Li, this is a good idea.”
Li Yu smiled awkwardly. At this moment, a group of scholars entered the shop. The man in the lead was dressed exquisitely. His skin was fair and rosy, and he was round and smooth. When he saw Zhou Jia, he pointed at him and smiled. “If there’s something good, you don’t think about me. You can only think about that old fox.”
Zhou Jia cupped his hands and said with a smile, “Brother Zijing, you’ve really wronged me. Brother Wen Lan happens to be going out for a trip. He had a use for the travel bags.” Zhou Jia pulled him to the shelves and pointed at the bags. “Come, come. You can choose whatever you like.”
“Okay.” Zijing looked at it for a moment, then pointed at a brown bag and smiled. “Let me try that brown one.”
The clerk removed the bag solicitously. Zijing took it and spun it around on his back. He proudly extended his arms to display it. “Does it look good?”
“Nice,” they said in unison.
“Okay, three-colored bags. Big, medium, and small, wrap me a set of each.”
The others also started choosing. Zi Jing pulled Zhou Jia to the side. “Xi’er, are you still not planning to participate in the countryside examination next year?”
Zhou Jia looked down at him. “Don’t call me by my name.” Then, he smiled and shook his head. “No, I’ll wait to hear your good news.”
“I’m not going either.” Zhou Jia looked at Zi Jing in surprise. Zi Jing spread his hands and said, “My uncle said that I’m not ready yet and asked me to wait another two years.”
Zhou Jia raised his eyebrows and looked at him. “You’re bluffing me! How can you not be at the right level?”
Zi Jing glanced at the shop and lowered his voice. “I’ll talk to you in detail when we meet alone.” Zi Jing glanced at Li Yu, who was standing at the side and looked at Zhou Jia wretchedly. “Xi’er, how dare you keep a mistress in your house?”
“You can’t joke about that.” Zhou Jia looked at Zi Jing seriously. “That’s my savior.”
Zi Jing looked at Zhou Jia and frowned. “That old woman hasn’t given up?”
Zhou Jia nodded and pulled Zi Jing in front of Li Yu. He pointed at Zi Jing and said to Li Yu, “Miss Li, this is my good friend, Xia Tao. We call him Zi Jing.” Zhou Jia turned to Xia Tao and said, “This is Miss Li. She’s my savior as well as a partner.”
Xia Tao cupped his hands and smiled. “Hello, Miss Li.” Li Yu also bowed. “Hello, Young Master Xia.”
A tall, thin man shouted from the other side, “Zijing, let’s go. We’ve got it all.”
“Alright.” Xia Tao cupped his hands and smiled at Zhou Jia and Li Yu. “I’ll get going first. Bring Miss Li over for a meal in two days.”
Zhou Jia smiled and patted him. “Alright, go!”
Xia Tao left with a group of scholars. The shop assistant reported to Zhou Jia with a smile, “Boss, we sold more than 20 sets of bags this time.”
Zhou Jia nodded. “Did you note it down? What color do they like?”
The clerk smiled and replied, “Two dark ones and more of the brown ones. Someone else asked if there were any brighter colors they wanted to buy for their wives.”
Zhou Jia turned around and looked at Li Yu. “Miss Li, what do you think?”
Li Yu thought for a moment. “We can nail a piece of cloth the size of a palm to each color and let the guests choose. Let them customize the color they like.”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he clapped and praised, “Yes! That’s a good idea. Xiaocong, just get someone to cut off the cloth and let the guests choose.”
“I’ll go now.” Xiaocong went in to find someone to cut the cloth. Zhou Jia smiled and said to Li Yu, “Miss Li, let’s go eat first.”
“Okay.” Li Yu followed Zhou Jia out of the door and the two of them walked toward the restaurant.