jdhmnovel Chapter 186: The Empty Building (Part )
Chapter 186: The Empty Building (Part )
There are not many people running errands in Qingshui Town. The one with the best reputation is located opposite Cheng Tianshui Medical Clinic. It is a carriage and horse station. Because of the large number of staff, it also takes on some errand running work.
Tao Yao thoughtfully packed up Chu Huanjun's wardrobe of clothes and jewelry, along with the white jade porcelain box, and put them all into a sack. Carrying the sack, she walked straight to the door of the coach and horse post, placed the sack on the counter, and said, "Boss, I want to send something."
The shopkeeper was a man. He glanced at Tao Yao when he heard the voice and said calmly, "Fifty cents."
Tao Yao was a little puzzled. She hadn't even told him where she wanted to send these things, and the shopkeeper hadn't even weighed her things, yet he had already directly priced them at fifty coins. This was the first time she had seen a business done this way.
At this time, Tao Yao naively thought that the shopkeeper was just confused for a moment, and even helped to remind him, "Shopkeeper, I want to send these things to the capital, which is only a few steps away from Qingshui Town."
Before Tao Yao could finish her words, the shopkeeper snorted in disdain and said, "Our shop charges fifty cents for all errands and deliveries, regardless of distance. No bargaining."
Tao Yao was speechless for a moment, unable to help but curse him in her heart. He was really taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people running errands in Qingshui Town, and he was acting like a local tyrant. Well, there was no better place to send Chu Huanjun's stuff now—who could have been so kind?
Tao Yao pursed her lips and pulled out fifty coins from her purse, reluctantly pushing them onto the counter. The shopkeeper snatched the pitiful few coins away with a cold expression, muttering, "It's only fifty coins, and you're still so shy about such a small amount."
Tao Yao felt a little embarrassed. The day before, she and Chu Huanjun played the role of wealthy ladies who spent money lavishly at the incense tasting conference. Only two days had passed, and her buoyant dream was gone. She turned back into the poor woman who couldn't even afford a few dozen coins.
The shopkeeper tore off a piece of thin paper and pushed it in front of Tao Yao, saying, "Can you write? Here, write down the address you want to send these things to."
Tao Yao didn't say anything else. She took the paper and pen and silently wrote down the address of Prince Yi's Mansion.
After finishing the letter and handing it back, the shopkeeper picked up the paper and glanced at the handwriting on it. His expression suddenly turned into disdain. He once again scanned Tao Yao from head to toe with a sneer of disdain and muttered, "What a joke..."
Tao Yao could see that the shopkeeper was judging people by appearances, and must have thought that a poor girl like her was joking by sending things to the prince's residence in the capital, so she explained on her own initiative: "Oh, the prince stayed in my shop for a while before, and he left in a hurry today, leaving behind some clothes. I found them while cleaning, so I sent them back to the prince. The prince's things are valuable, and I dare not neglect them. I saw that your carriage and horse post has the best reputation in Qingshui Town, so I entrusted the prince's things to you."
The shopkeeper touched the huge sack on the counter doubtfully. Based on the feel, he could vaguely feel that the sack was filled with clothes and accessories, just as Tao Yao said.
"Your shop? What shop?" The shopkeeper finally raised his head, looked Tao Yao in the eye, and asked, "You look unfamiliar, young lady. It turns out you're also doing business in Qingshui Town?"
Tao Yao smiled and pointed to the cosmetics shop not far behind her. "Oh, that's it," she said. "It's understandable that Big Brother hasn't seen me. I've only just started doing business here. We'll be neighbors from now on. Big Brother's business is booming in town, and I, a junior, am counting on you to take care of me."
The shopkeeper coughed twice and said, "Isn't that shop owned by Mrs. Wang...why has the owner changed?"
Tao Yao smiled brightly: "Oh, she has sold that shop - now I run it."
The shopkeeper said nothing more. He took the sack off the counter and put it back in the warehouse. Then he came back and said to Tao Yao, "Okay, don't worry. I will definitely deliver the stuff to you."
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
Watching the sack enter the warehouse, Tao Yao breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly felt extremely relaxed all over.
With an empty wallet, Tao Yao decided to learn from her mistakes and reopen the cosmetics shop. She wanted to make some pocket money from the remaining inventory in the shop so that she wouldn't have to worry about spending even fifty cents like she did today.
Everything in the cosmetics shop was good except for a brand new sign. Tao Yao, used to doing things herself, grabbed a hammer and screwdriver, found a ladder, climbed up to the roof beam, and removed the old sign with her bare hands.
Cheng Tianshui happened to be standing on the second-floor terrace of the clinic watering the flowers and plants at that moment. He saw Tao Yao squatting on the roof of the shop next door, banging on it. He was so frightened that he almost fainted. He put his hand on his chest and called out, "My dear aunt, why did you run up so high? Come down quickly. You are my nephew's future wife. If you fall and get hurt, who will he marry?"
Tao Yao was concentrating on hammering and didn't hear clearly what Cheng Tianshui was calling. She just heard his voice and didn't even bother to wipe the sweat off her forehead. She raised half of her head and looked towards Cheng Tianshui.
Cheng Tianshui ran downstairs in a hurry. After a while, Tao Yao heard a lot of noise downstairs. When she looked down, she saw a huge crowd of people standing downstairs. They were all the reinforcements Cheng Tianshui called for.
All I could hear was the gossips below yelling, "Little girl, don't be upset. It's just that a man left. It's not a big deal. There are plenty of men in Qingshui Town. You can find any type you like. Come down quickly..."
"That's right, there's no need to seek death for a man!" Another group of people nearby echoed.
Cheng Tianshui stood in the middle of the crowd, yelled loudly, and then coughed a few times. The crowd immediately quieted down, and he said in a resounding voice, "You can persuade me, but please don't insult my nephew."
These gossips did not know that Cheng Tianshui's eldest nephew was Prince Yi, and they immediately burst into laughter.
"Isn't your nephew just a little better looking? He's obviously not a serious man. He dresses up all day long and must have frequented brothels and wine alleys."
"That's right, a man like that is better off not wanting one... This girl is so beautiful. She may be a little thin, but her appearance and figure are both excellent. Is there any need to worry about not finding a man who likes her?"
Tao Yao thought the timing was right and decided to take advantage of this opportunity to recruit some staff for the shop so that the shop would be more popular. When the shop opened in the future, with the help of these gossipy ladies, everyone in Qingshui Town would be attracted to come and have a look.