Meng Yao agreed with a smile, "Of course. Four beauties, four pieces of Chang'e flying to the moon, four pieces of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Three fours are twelve, for a total of three hundred and sixty taels."
Shopkeeper Liu nodded, "Sister Zhao, don't worry, you won't be shorted on the silver taels. However, we must first settle the contract so that everyone can have peace of mind."
Meng Yao nodded, "That's necessary."
Shopkeeper Liu personally wrote the contract, signed her name, and used the seal of the Hundred Embroidery House.
Meng Yao then signed her name and pressed her fingerprint.
Unfortunately, the writing was somewhat unattractive.
There was nothing to be done about it; she had barely practiced with a brush, and with the complexity of the strokes in her name, just making it legible was already quite an achievement.
In comparison, Shopkeeper Liu's handwriting was much neater.
Even so, Shopkeeper Liu was quite astonished, as in her understanding, rural women were generally illiterate, let alone able to write.
Therefore, she praised Meng Yao a few times.
Meng Yao replied generously, saying it was all taught by Zhao Ting, and also mentioned that her son is currently studying as well.
In these times, scholars easily garner goodwill. She brought up Zhao Dahe to slightly elevate her status. The difference between a family that values literature and farming, and one that relies solely on manual labor, is quite significant!
Sure enough, there was a bit more admiration in Shopkeeper Liu's eyes.
"Three hundred and fifty taels, I'll give Sister Zhao a silver note, and thirteen taels in broken silver," Shopkeeper Liu said.
Otherwise, moving so much silver would be one thing, but it would mostly be too conspicuous.
Although the world is peaceful nowadays, no one can guarantee that someone won't be tempted by wealth.
Meng Yao thanked Shopkeeper Liu for her thoughtfulness, put the broken silver into her purse, and tucked the silver note into her chest.
"So, what will Sister Zhao take this time?" Shopkeeper Liu asked Meng Yao as usual.
Meng Yao decisively refused. Although she inherited the embroidery skills of her original self and found them quite interesting, it didn't mean she was willing to embroider day and night and strain her eyes.
Embroidering constantly for a year yields only a bit over thirty taels. Now that she had an extra three hundred and sixty taels, even if she were to support Zhao Xiaoshu's studies, doing nothing else, she could sustain it for a few years. Moreover, when not embroidering, she could still draw patterns. There was no need to worry about interim financial difficulties.
Shopkeeper Liu was a bit regretful, "I truly admire Sister Zhao's embroidery skills."
"It's not like I'm giving up embroidery entirely. When I feel like embroidering, I'll definitely prioritize the Hundred Embroidery House," Meng Yao said.
One must hold firmly onto one's golden opportunities.
"Shopkeeper Liu, regarding the issue of the patterns coming from my hand, I hope for confidentiality."
The principle of not flaunting one's wealth unnecessarily is one Meng Yao understood well. After all, the Hundred Embroidery House wasn't monopolizing the business, and there were plenty of competitors. If they learned of this detail, wouldn't that place her at risk?
Shopkeeper Liu understood this reasoning as well and immediately promised confidentiality.
After all, Meng Yao's concerns were also her own.
After leaving the Hundred Embroidery House, Meng Yao felt a bit nervous.
After all, she now carried a large sum.
Ancient silver notes were unlike modern bank cards; once lost, you couldn't retrieve them without a password.
If the silver note were lost, anyone who picked it up could exchange it for silver at a money shop, as long as it was authentic.
Meng Yao secretly wished there were a safe place to store the silver.
Strangely, her purse was still there, but the silver was gone, and when she checked her chest, the silver note was also missing.
Having read a few transmigration novels, she knew many transmigrators had special powers, like lucky koi abilities, uncanny foresight, or personal spaces.
From the time she arrived until just now, she had never thought about needing a safe place to store silver, which was why Meng Yao never realized she had such an ability.
Meng Yao focused her thoughts and silently chanted for a piece of broken silver, then felt a bit of weight return to her empty purse.
She was keen to see how large her personal space was, but unfortunately, she dared not risk it on the street.
After all, she had read that some transmigrators fainted when using their spaces, while others became like wooden puppets. The conditions for use seemed quite harsh. It was better to study this at home.
Taking the broken silver out of the space, Meng Yao prepared to go shopping.
Song Xiu'er didn't have many clothes, so Meng Yao bought a few yards of fabric with patterns suitable for her, planning to sew some garments once her confinement period was over. She couldn't very well gift something only to her daughter-in-law and not her son, so she bought a few more yards of coarse fabric, in dark blue and grey, choosing two colors.
As for Zhao Dahe, after some thought, Meng Yao bought two decent tunics suited to his size.
Previously, making clothes for Zhao Dahe was something the original self always did.
Meng Yao was not keen on doing it. Having ample funds, she naturally opted to buy them.
Zhao Xiaoshu didn't have many clothes, and it was time to add a few pieces. To further endear herself to this younger son, Meng Yao decisively purchased fine cotton fabric, intending to hand-make them once back home. As for Zhao Xiaohua, being the only little girl, it wouldn't be fair to favor one over the other, so she resolved to make clothes for her too.
As for herself, the original person dressed quite maturely, and honestly, none of those clothes appealed to Meng Yao.
Yet, considering that rural women typically dressed similarly, Meng Yao didn't dare be too unconventional, so she bought two sets of plain yet quality ready-made clothes resembling what Shopkeeper Liu wore: subtly toned grey-pink jackets with grey pants akin to lantern pants, neat, efficient, and elegant.
The fabric and ready-made clothes together cost eight taels of silver.
Among them, the fabric for Song Xiu'er and the ready-made clothes for Zhao Dahe were the most expensive.
Meng Yao didn't mind too much; money is just money, to be spent and earned again.
Afterward, Meng Yao bought some pastries and preserved fruits and headed straight to Songbai Hall, where Zhao Dahe studied.
The gatekeeper, an old gentleman with an excellent memory, recognized Meng Yao and let her in with a smile, directing her to wait in the small garden room, as there was still a quarter of an hour before classes ended.
Meng Yao thanked the old gentleman and followed her memory's route to the small garden room.
Before long, Zhao Dahe arrived, accompanied by a boy of similar stature but as chubby as Zhao Xiaohua.
For Meng Yao's visit, Zhao Dahe was extremely excited.
"Mom, what good things did you bring for me?"
Meng Yao presented the tunic and handed Zhao Dahe the pastries and preserved fruits.
A slight wane crossed Zhao Dahe's smile, "Mom, this isn't a garment you made. Didn't you say you wanted to personally make all of my clothes?"
"Your sister-in-law needs to recuperate, Xiaoshu needs nourishment, you know what kind of person your big brother is, and Xiaohua hasn't been in high spirits lately either. I'm so busy I could split myself into eight. How could I find the time to make clothes for you? Besides, I still have embroidery work to do. You've always been so considerate since you were little; I'm sure you wouldn't want me to work myself to exhaustion making your clothes. So, I just bought them for you," Meng Yao said earnestly.
With adequate reasoning from Meng Yao, what could Zhao Dahe do? Wear the bought new clothes, of course. At least they're new clothes.
"Alright, alright, don't look so glum. When you come next time, I'll make something delicious for you." Meng Yao teased, knowing that while Zhao Dahe wasn't as much a foodie as Zhao Xiaohua, he was still enthusiastic about food.
As expected, Zhao Dahe's eyes lit up immediately. The chubby boy next to him, however, was staring at Meng Yao like a spotlight.