USWHC -Chapter 40 Sweet Words That Could Fool Someone to Death (Part 10)

They walked for a while longer when suddenly Old Madam Ji stopped with unusual seriousness. With overflowing enthusiasm, she grabbed Zhu Jie’s hand and pulled her toward the entrance of a shop.

Her enthusiasm was far too obvious—there was even a hint of urgency in it. Zhu Jie paused slightly in surprise. Could this be the tailor’s shop?

She looked up curiously, only to see a large cloth banner hanging in front of the shop, with a huge red character painted on it in vermilion—

“Pawn!”

A pawnshop? Why would Old Madam Ji be so excited to see a pawnshop?

Before Zhu Jie could figure it out, Old Madam Ji spoke excitedly, “This is the biggest pawnshop in our town! They offer the most reasonable prices here. As long as your goods are good, they’ll give you however much silver it’s worth. Back in the day, I pawned a few things here myself, and they were worth a ton of money! The boss here is nice too—he never bullies people who don’t know the trade. This is the most reliable place to pawn things!”

Hearing this, Zhu Jie couldn’t help but freeze. What exactly did Old Madam Ji mean by this?

She turned and looked at her in confusion, only to see Old Madam Ji’s eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky as she stared at Zhu Jie, filled with eager expectation.

“But Mother, I don’t have anything to pawn,” Zhu Jie said quietly and awkwardly.

The hopeful light in Old Madam Ji’s eyes instantly faded when she heard that. Though it only lasted for a moment, she quickly forced out a smile and said, “I was just saying! You’ve only just arrived, so you’re not familiar with the town yet.”

But the moment she finished speaking, a cold laugh sounded from behind them—one filled with blatant ridicule.

Old Madam Ji immediately turned around in annoyance and shot a glare back. Seeing that Er Gou’s mother was still following them, she angrily demanded, “What are you laughing at?”

“I saw something funny. What, am I not allowed to laugh?” Er Gou’s mother replied boldly.

Old Madam Ji looked extremely angry, but since Zhu Jie was present, she forced herself to swallow it. Stretching out her long horse-like face, she said gloomily, “Why are you following us?”

“Who’s following you? Did you build this road? What, you think you get to control where I walk?” Er Gou’s mother replied with a sly grin.

Zhu Jie clearly felt Old Madam Ji’s grip on her hand tighten. She even thought Old Madam Ji might immediately rush over and scratch Er Gou’s mother’s face to shreds.

But unexpectedly, Old Madam Ji simply turned back and gave Zhu Jie a squinty smile. “Let’s ignore her. We’re going to get clothes made!”

Even so, as she said this, she still glanced unwillingly at the pawnshop. Only after confirming that Zhu Jie truly had no reaction did she grit her teeth and continue walking.

They hadn’t gone far before they arrived at a tailor’s shop. Old Madam Ji seemed very familiar with the place. She lifted the curtain and walked straight inside, loudly shouting:

“Is anyone here?!”

Her voice was extremely loud, as if she was afraid people wouldn’t hear her. The shout immediately brought someone out. Of course, it didn’t just attract the tailor—everyone else inside the shop also turned to look at her.

With the New Year approaching, the tailor shop’s business was especially good. Fewer people were making new clothes now, but many had come to collect the ones they had ordered earlier.

Old Madam Ji looked proudly around at everyone before saying to the old tailor who had come forward, “We want to make some clothes!”

As she spoke, she pulled Zhu Jie in front of the old tailor and said with a smile, “Take proper measurements for my daughter-in-law. Make several outfits for her!”

Hearing this, the old tailor couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. “Sister Ji, how many outfits do you want to make?”

Old Madam Ji glanced at the eyes of the surrounding people and then at Zhu Jie before raising her voice again, “Let’s make five outfits!”

The moment she said this, everyone sucked in a cold breath. Even the old tailor asked in disbelief, “And what kind of standard are you planning for these clothes?”

“Make them the best!” Old Madam Ji shouted boldly.

Even the old tailor seemed choked by her generosity and began coughing repeatedly.

“That won’t be cheap!”

Old Madam Ji secretly glanced at Zhu Jie and immediately showed a sly smile. “It’s fine—we’ve got money!”

The old tailor looked at her in surprise and couldn’t help asking in a low voice,

“Big sister, did your family pick up money somewhere? Last time you came, you only made one outfit for Meizi! How come in such a short time you’re suddenly making five outfits at once?”