Shen Qing had excellent hearing, and upon hearing these words, he merely smiled and let it pass. He walked toward Shi Fa Ke, greeting her with a smile: “Miss Shi has arrived. Are you here to look at jewelry?”
Shi Fa Ke recognized Shen Qing, as her second brother had mentioned him more than once. However, she hadn’t expected that Shen Qing would actually be able to call her by her surname, and was momentarily surprised. “Shopkeeper Shen, how do you recognize me?”
“Didn’t we meet before?” Shen Qing smiled.
Shi Fa Ke thought about it—they had indeed met before. It was when this Shopkeeper Shen had personally escorted the betrothal gifts to Willow Leaf Lane. However, at that time he was speaking with Uncle Lu, so she hadn’t approached to disturb them. She never expected that this Shopkeeper Shen would actually remember her. Without thinking much about it, she said: “I’d like to look at the newest hair ornaments.”
Father had mentioned before that he had his eye on a newly released set of hair ornaments and was planning to save up money to buy them for Mother.
“The complete sets of hair ornaments are all on the second floor. Please follow me.” Shen Qing made a gesture inviting her to proceed.
…This was Shopkeeper Shen personally attending to her? Shi Fa Ke felt somewhat flattered. Could it be because she had a VIP card?
Upon reaching the second floor, Shi Fa Ke looked around and finally stopped in front of a set of gold-inlaid gemstone hair ornaments. The master craftsman at Golden Pavilion was extremely skilled in filigree work—the entire set of hair ornaments was gorgeous yet still graceful. Particularly that jade leaf and golden cicada hairpin, where the lifelike golden cicada perched atop the distinctly veined jade leaf at the head of the pin, was truly both amusing and endearing.
However, judging by its appearance, the price certainly wouldn’t be low. Shi Fa Ke silently calculated her purse in her mind. If she used the VIP card that Yanyan had given her, buying this set of hair ornaments should still be well within her means.
“I’ll take this set.” Shi Fa Ke turned her head to look at Shen Qing standing beside her, pointing at the set of hair ornaments and asking: “Shopkeeper Shen, how much silver does this set cost?”
Shen Qing glanced at the familiar jade bracelet on her wrist and smiled: “Three hundred taels. The Young Madam has instructed that you are a VIP customer, so with the discount it comes to one hundred and fifty taels.”
Cheaper than she could have imagined!
Shi Fa Ke was extremely satisfied. After settling the account and thanking Shen Qing, she contentedly returned home carrying the exquisitely packaged jewelry box.
Shen Qing stood at the doorway with a smile, watching Shi Fa Ke depart.
“Shopkeeper… that set of hair ornaments at that price, how should we record it in the books?” A young shop assistant asked with a troubled expression.
One hundred and fifty taels—to put it dramatically, what difference was there between this price and giving it away for free?
“Do you know whose surname this shop bears?” Shen Qing glanced at him sideways.
“Lu!” The young assistant perked up immediately, answering hurriedly.
This question couldn’t be answered wrong—the shopkeeper had conducted emergency training on this recently. Following the previous incident where the shopkeeper’s wife and young miss had spoken up, all the assistants who had participated in the previous scheme to switch out Young Master Lu’s betrothal gifts had been dismissed, including the former shopkeeper.
Daring to tamper with the young master’s betrothal gifts… wasn’t that seeking death?
“This Miss Shi is someone your master’s second young master has instructed should be treated well,” Shen Qing said lightly.
The young assistant was momentarily stunned, then immediately nodded very perceptively: “Understood, put it on the second young master’s account!”
Shen Qing stroked his small beard and nodded with a smile, wearing an expression of ‘the student can be taught.’
The young assistant immediately rushed off as if he’d been injected with chicken blood.
Shi Fa Ke naturally had no idea that what she thought was a bargain was actually being charged to Lu Chi’s account. She happily returned home and, while her parents hadn’t yet returned, placed the exquisitely packaged jewelry box on Mother’s dressing table, then turned around and closed the door before leaving.
Concealing her good deed and claiming no credit.
Perhaps because Lu Chi, that insurmountable mountain, was not in Copper Gong Town, Shi Fa Ke’s matchmaking career was simply flourishing with unstoppable momentum.
After Shi Fa Ke took He Ketian’s birth date card home, she immediately went to match their horoscopes. The result was that they were a match made in heaven—a superior marriage fate… what good fortune!
After matching the horoscopes, Shi Fa Ke told her parents about Third Brother and Ketian’s matter. These past few days, Shi Changhuai and Madam Tao were in their honeymoon phase. Upon hearing Shi Fa Ke’s words, Madam Tao adjusted the jade leaf and golden cicada hairpin at her temple and said gently: “Who would have thought that Third Son would be the first to have his match settled… Does Ketian truly fancy Third Son?”
Her words carried a hint of doubt. After all, she had watched that little girl from the He family grow up, and ordinarily she had never noticed any signs of her having feelings for Third Son…
“Mm, Uncle He and Aunt He said the wedding date is set for the seventh day of the eighth month,” Shi Fa Ke said.
“So soon?”
Upon hearing this, even Madam Tao, experienced as she was in matchmaking, was stunned… That couple from the He family really remained as inscrutable as ever after all these decades… If you were to say they were unreliable, their family’s wedding cake shop was thriving, and the couple lived harmoniously together, yet the things they did were consistently puzzling…
“Never mind them. Children have their own fortune. A’ke always acts with propriety—let’s leave this matter to A’ke to handle.” Shi Changhuai patted Madam Tao’s hand and said.
Madam Tao thought about it and agreed. Recently, A’ke had indeed matured considerably. So she nodded, temporarily setting aside her doubts, and said to Shi Fa Ke: “Very well, let’s listen to your father.”
Shi Fa Ke grinned and very perceptively withdrew.
He Ketian had been busy lately comforting the deeply affected Shen Tongyun. She completely understood Shen Tongyun’s recent melancholy—after all, having been a young miss for more than ten years, suddenly being told one day that Golden Pavilion wasn’t her family’s property and that her father was merely a shopkeeper… this was indeed difficult to recover from immediately. Moreover, in this world, human relationships were fickle—many were willing to add flowers to brocade, but few were willing to send charcoal in the snow. Previously, when Golden Pavilion was a large and prosperous business, there were naturally many people surrounding Shen Tongyun, the owner’s eldest daughter, with flattery and fawning. But now, having heard that Shen Tongyun was merely a shopkeeper’s daughter and not some owner’s young miss, each of them had changed their tune. Thus, these past few days, Shen Tongyun had become even more reluctant to leave her home.
He Ketian prided herself on not being one of those people who flattered the powerful and trampled the weak, so naturally she couldn’t possibly turn her back on someone like those snobbish people. Therefore, these past few days she had gone to find Shen Tongyun to talk almost daily, to prevent her from falling ill from being cooped up at home alone. For a while, she had even neglected her parents who had just returned from their travels. These past two days, Shen Tongyun had recovered somewhat, so He Ketian planned not to go out today but to stay home and entertain her parents with colorful clothes, fulfilling her filial duties.
However, she discovered… hmm? Her parents were so busy they had no time to pay attention to her at all.
Looking again, these two were actually examining account books? Had the sun risen from the west? You must know that ever since Big Brother had taken over the family business, Father had become completely hands-off, not willing to get involved in business matters at all. He wouldn’t even touch the account books, claiming it was “trust”… not to mention Mother, who had always been indifferent to everything.
These two suddenly starting to earnestly study the family’s account books together… it was truly a bit horrifying. Could it be that something had gone wrong with the family business? Was she no longer going to be a wealthy family’s young miss?
“Father, Mother, why are you looking at the account books? Is there some problem?” He Ketian asked somewhat apprehensively.
“Problem? What problem?” Madam He looked up at her daughter with a completely baffled expression.
He Ketian’s slightly raised heart immediately settled. She had thought so… how could there be any problem with Big Brother managing the business? Too good—she was still a wealthy family’s young miss.
“There does seem to be a bit of a problem…” Master He suddenly stroked his beard and said with a furrowed brow.
“…What problem?” He Ketian’s just-lowered heart immediately shot up high again.
“How has this business grown bigger and bigger? Is Prosperity Restaurant also ours?” Master He wore a completely perplexed expression. “And how did we suddenly get two more branch stores in the capital?”
He Ketian let out a sigh of relief. She had thought so—how could there be any problem with Big Brother! Big Brother was much more reliable than Father and Mother!
She was still a wealthy family’s young miss! No… she might now be the young miss of the wealthiest family in Copper Gong Town. At the rate Big Brother was making money, perhaps in the future she could even become an imperial merchant, and then she would be the young miss of an imperial merchant family!
Ahem… the focus seemed to have gone off track.
“Father, Mother, why did you suddenly think of looking at the account books?” He Ketian asked with a strange expression.
“We’re preparing your dowry,” Madam He reached out to pull He Ketian to sit down, saying with a kind expression, “Your father and I calculated that besides the things we’ve gradually acquired for you over the years, we’ll add two more shops for you, and also give you that silk fabric shop in the capital… Speaking of which, how is your brother so unfocused? Didn’t our family start with wedding cakes? Why is he running restaurants one moment and dealing in silk fabrics the next…” As Madam He spoke, she couldn’t help but start rambling aimlessly again.
“Wait a moment!” He Ketian quickly interrupted her, catching that fleeting key point. “Dowry? Why are you suddenly thinking of preparing a dowry for me?”
“Eh? Didn’t I tell you? Your wedding date is set for the seventh day of the eighth month. Calculating the time, it’s quite rushed.” Madam He said with a beaming smile.
“What… what?!” He Ketian’s eyes widened in shock.