The Comments Section Said She Was My Wife - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

◎ There was a bolt of red fabric sitting right on the rack ◎

After wandering around the county town for nearly half an hour, the two finally arrived at the Liu family’s fabric shop in the east end.

The shop front wasn’t large, and the sign looked somewhat aged, showing that it had been in business for many years. Business was decent, with customers coming and going and the shop assistant greeting everyone with a smile; the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

Xia Shi took Chu Tang’s hand and walked inside. The assistant, seeing them holding hands, made a quick estimation of their relationship. His gaze shifted to Chu Tang: “What would the two young ladies like to buy?”

The assistant seemed to have misjudged the dynamic—Chu Tang, whom he assumed was the one in charge, simply turned her head to look at Xia Shi.

Xia Shi spoke first, stating her intention: “Take out the fine linen you have, or show me any other fabric that’s soft—something comfortable.”

The assistant immediately understood. This woman cared deeply for her wife and wanted her to be comfortable. In their small, modest Fengle County, fine linen was expensive and less durable than coarse hemp—let alone the even softer, more delicate fabrics they were asking for, which cost more and wore out faster.

For the shop, however, such customers were exactly what they wanted. The assistant’s smile grew even more sincere. He brought over a sample book of fabrics for them to examine: “Please take a look, young ladies. This is our fine linen. And this here is a new fabric that came from the south this year; it’s woven from cotton, much softer than linen, though we don’t have much of it in stock.”

“Not much stock” was a polite way of hinting that the price was high. Xia Shi caught the implication but didn’t mind. The assistant wasn’t a swindler—he hadn’t tried to push silk on them based on their appearance, so even if the cotton was expensive, it wouldn’t be silk-level pricey. She could afford it.

The Liu shop was very professional; their sample book was made of fabric swatches, which allowed customers to feel the texture without needing to unroll entire bolts.

Xia Shi touched the two fabrics the assistant recommended. The difference in texture was significant; after touching the cotton, she decided against the fine linen. She turned to Chu Tang: “Take a look. How would this fabric be for making your clothes?”

Chu Tang had certainly seen cotton before. Touching it, she knew this cotton was far inferior to what she had seen in her past life. However, times had changed, and she felt compelled to urge Xia Shi: “When we left, Sister-in-law Tian warned you to buy fabric in the west end, and yet you came to the east end. If you buy even more expensive cotton, people might see it, and that wouldn’t be good.”

Human hearts are unpredictable. Tian Er’s wife might not be the jealous type, but once the clothes were made and worn, others would surely notice. Liu Sheng had already become obsessed with the idea that hunting was easy, if this stimulated someone else to run into the mountains, it would only bring them trouble.

Xia Shi understood Chu Tang’s concern immediately. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, finding the situation stifling.

Chu Tang squeezed her hand in comfort. Just as she was about to tell the assistant to bring a bolt of fine linen, Xia Shi spoke up: “One bolt of cotton, one bolt of fine linen.” She winked at Chu Tang: “Cotton for the undergarments; clothes worn against the skin should be soft. In a few days, I’ll head up the mountain and hunt a few beautiful furs. Let them envy that.”

Xia Shi had hunted many furs before, but being a solitary hunter who couldn’t tailor, she had always traded them for silver. She didn’t plan on doing that this year. Beautiful, warm furs were meant to be made into winter clothes for her wife.

Seeing Xia Shi’s attitude, Chu Tang couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile and let her have her way.

The assistant moved efficiently. Once the colors were chosen, he brought the two bolts from the shelves behind him. As Xia Shi asked about the price, her gaze inadvertently swept across the fabric shelf, and she suddenly froze.

There was a bolt of red fabric sitting right on the rack, its color pure and beautiful. It was the kind meant for weddings…

After leaving the Liu fabric shop, Xia Shi seemed distracted, lost in her own thoughts.

Chu Tang looked at her several times, but she didn’t notice. Finally, Chu Tang had to ask: “The fabric is bought. Are we heading back now?”

Xia Shi came back to her senses, glanced at the sky, and said: “There’s still time. Should we wander around the county town a bit more? Or is there something you’d like to eat? We can buy some to take home.”

Truth be told, Chu Tang wasn’t particularly gluttonous and could handle the simple meals of a hunter’s home. But since Xia Shi asked, she didn’t want to refuse the kindness: “If you think there’s something delicious in town, buy some. I’ll leave it to you.”

Xia Shi thought for a moment and found a target: “There’s a stall at the end of the street that sells roasted duck. It tastes pretty good. Let’s buy one to eat.”

Chu Tang had no objections, and the two headed toward the end of the street. Xia Shi carried the two bolts of fabric, but feeling like something was missing, she grabbed Chu Tang’s hand, finally feeling at ease.

As they walked, Chu Tang’s pace suddenly slowed.

Xia Shi took two more steps before realizing it. She turned back and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Chu Tang was startled by the question. She pulled back her gaze, shook her head, and stepped forward to catch up: “Nothing. Let’s go.”

But Xia Shi had already seen everything. Following her gaze, she saw a bookstore on the side of the road. Xia Shi couldn’t read more than a few words, so she couldn’t recognize the sign and had never stepped inside.

Whether she knew what it was or not didn’t matter. The moment she saw the bookstore, Xia Shi remembered that her wife was literate and perhaps quite well-educated. Seeing the bookstore, Chu Tang must have wanted to read. Previously, when Xia Shi suggested roasted duck, Chu Tang had looked uninterested, but now she couldn’t pull her feet away—clearly, she liked books.

Xia Shi had never studied and didn’t love books, but she had one good quality: she didn’t dismiss what others liked. Since Chu Tang preferred books over roasted duck, she was happy to indulge her. She pulled her toward the shop: “You want to read? Let’s go buy two books.”

Books were never cheap; a single volume cost far more than a roast duck.

Chu Tang shook her head, not wanting Xia Shi to waste the money: “No need. I just remembered something, I don’t intend to buy books.”

Xia Shi assumed she was just being modest and pulled her toward the bookstore: “Let’s just look. What if you find something you like? Life in the mountains is hard. When I go hunting, you’re all alone at home. It’ll be nice to have something to read when you’re bored.” She remembered something and added: “And you said you were going to teach me to read. We need to buy some paper and brushes. I don’t know anything, you’ll have to handle that.”

Chu Tang couldn’t resist her and was pulled inside.

Behind the counter sat a scholarly looking shopkeeper. He didn’t mind the two village-dressed women entering, but he didn’t acknowledge them either, choosing to keep his head buried in his own book.

Xia Shi had been determined when pulling her inside, but once they were truly in the bookstore, she felt stifled, her eyes darting around, unsure of how to behave.

Chu Tang was much more composed. She walked in, swept her gaze across the room, and quickly spotted a small stack of paper in a prominent place. They were bulletins transcribed by the shop for students striving for the imperial exams.

Since these bulletins traveled from the capital to a small place like Fengle County, they were hopelessly outdated, but they offered a glimpse of the outside world, especially the political situation in the capital.

As her eyes fell on the bulletin, Chu Tang’s heart skipped a beat. The fingers in her sleeves clenched and released, but she couldn’t help but step forward and flip it open. The shopkeeper looked up alertly, but seeing it was a woman, he hesitated and didn’t stop her.

Of course, Chu Tang had her limits. She knew these things were sold for information, and since shops didn’t allow people to read them for free, the shopkeeper had only refrained from stopping her because she was a lady, but he wouldn’t let her read it in detail. Chu Tang flipped through it quickly, ten lines at a glance, scanning the contents.

Finally, her hand paused, and then she slowly closed the bulletin.

Xia Shi stood by without disturbing her, asking only when she stopped: “What is it? Do you want to buy this?”

Chu Tang shook her head, the darkness in her eyes fading instantly. She walked to the shopkeeper and bought brushes, ink, and a ream of paper—the tools of a scholar were truly expensive. Without even buying books, these items already cost more than Xia Shi’s two bolts of fabric.

Xia Shi felt a pang of heartache at the price, but before paying, she asked: “Just paper? You aren’t buying books? Buy two and read them.”

Chu Tang walked out of the shop clutching the paper and pointed to her own head: “No need. Most of the books in this shop are already in here.”