The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 262 Astonishing

Chapter 262: Chapter 262 Astonishing

When Wang Yongzhu and Wang Yongping arrived at the restaurant, it was noon and the place was bustling.

As soon as the shop assistant saw Wang Yongzhu, his heart couldn’t help but race, and he promptly greeted them, "Miss Wang has arrived, are you looking for our shopkeeper?"

Wang Yongzhu nodded.

The shop assistant then ushered Wang Yongzhu and Wang Yongping inside, "Shopkeeper, someone is looking for you—"

Shopkeeper Wu lifted his head from behind the counter and immediately smiled, "Oh, Miss, you’ve come? Please, have a seat! Tea, please!"

The shop assistant swiftly served tea and a plate of pastries.

"Shopkeeper Wu, business seems good today!" Wang Yongzhu observed the almost fully seated restaurant.

"Indeed, thanks to that dried wolf meat you brought, it’s a rare delicacy, and many people want to try it," Shopkeeper Wu said with a gleam in his eyes.

That dried wolf meat, he had taken in, had it processed by the chef and sold it at several times its buying price.

And still, it was in great demand.

"Miss, did you bring something good today?" Shopkeeper Wu looked at the basket Wang Yongping was carrying, sealed tightly, and felt an itching curiosity.

Wang Yongzhu gave a slight smile, "There is indeed something good, and I’d like to have Shopkeeper Wu take a look. I just don’t know if you’d be interested?"

Shopkeeper Wu slapped his chest, "What are you saying? Given our rapport, is there anything off-limits? As long as it’s good, we can talk about the price!"

Wang Yongzhu then had Wang Yongping put the basket down on the table and slowly unfolded the piece of cloth that the owner’s wife had disdained and that Li Jinzhi had laughed at.

As they began to unfold it, the large swaths of blue mixed with patches of white were initially somewhat harsh on the eyes.

But Shopkeeper Wu was no ordinary man. His expression didn’t change at all; instead, he nodded to Wang Yongzhu, indicating her to continue.

"Little Second Brother, give me a hand!" Wang Yongzhu called out with a smile to the shop assistant standing nearby.

The shop assistant felt his soul scatter in excitement and hurriedly stepped forward. Before reaching out, he even took off the towel around his neck to thoroughly wipe his hands.

Only then did he carefully take hold of the cloth.

Wang Yongzhu held onto the cloth, slowly stepping back, gradually revealing more of the fabric she held in her hands.

"This is—" Shopkeeper Wu suddenly stood up, reaching out to touch the cloth but quickly realized the impropriety and drew his hand back, not daring to touch it.

The commotion caught the attention of the dining patrons.

They turned their heads one after another, gasping in surprise, "What is this?"

"It looks like dyed fabric?"

"How could it be dyed? That’s impossible, right? Who can dye fabric to look like this?"

Murmurs of admiration spread throughout the restaurant...

Li Jinzhi and the Cloth Store owner’s wife, who had followed Wang Yongzhu and sneaked in, stood there dumbstruck on the spot.

"What kind of fabric is this? How is it possible? Wasn’t it ruined by the dye?"

Li Jinzhi couldn’t believe everything she was seeing before her eyes.

How could that be considered a botched dye job? What she saw was a piece of blue cloth, on which a pattern of clouds encircled the Butterfly Playing with Treasured Appearance Flowers Pattern, the butterflies depicted were lifelike, with distinct antennae, fluttering amongst the flowers. The veins on the butterfly’s wings and the veins on the petals were all unmistakably clear.

The Cloth Store owner had completely lost her voice, her eyes glued to that piece of cloth, not even daring to blink.

She, who had been in the fabric business for most of her life, had misjudged! How could this be a dyeing disaster? It was clearly an unprecedented dyeing technique and color!

This kind of cloth, once it hit the market, would have no trouble selling at all!

She had actually given up such a business opportunity and a chance to strike it rich, sent packing!

The Shopkeeper was in so much pain she couldn’t breathe!

There, Shopkeeper Wu, had specifically gone to wash his hands, dried them, and then carefully felt the fabric.

At the areas where blue and white met, he scrutinized the ice-crack patterns all the more closely.

Only then did he discover that the ice-crack patterns, the butterflies, and the flowers were all unique, with no two alike.

It was nothing short of miraculous!

"Excellent! Excellent!" Shopkeeper Wu was extremely excited.

Even though he didn’t deal in fabrics, his instincts as a businessman told him that as soon as this fabric went on sale, it would definitely sell out in an instant!

If handled well, it might even end up being used by the nobles of the Capital City, which would be even more incredible!

With this thought, Shopkeeper Wu’s eyes grew more fervent. He and the Shop Assistant carefully put the fabric away, returning it to the basket that Wang Yongzhu had brought, and only then did he notice there was another half-piece of indigo blue fabric underneath the basket.

He took out this half-piece of fabric and carefully unfolded it, only to find that it was just ordinary cloth, but the dye was exceptionally even, giving it a dense look.

The onlookers, who had expected another stunning piece of cloth, felt somewhat disappointed when they saw it was simply blue fabric.

But Shopkeeper Wu’s eyes burned with intensity, for this color, especially the way this fabric was dyed so evenly, was where the real value lay.

Immediately, he put the fabric back down, "Wang Family Young Lady, shall we go upstairs for a detailed discussion?" This was a big deal.

Wang Yongzhu nodded her head.

She gestured for Yongping to heft the basket onto his back. Turning around, she saw Li Jinzhi’s ashen face, filled with disbelief, and the Cloth Store owner’s eager eyes fixed on her, and she cracked a slight smile, "Do you still think the cloth I have is a joke because it’s botched? Do you still think it’s so bad that even a street beggar would despise it if clothed in it?"

Li Jinzhi’s expression fluctuated, uncertain what to think.

The Cloth Store owner was the first to come back to her senses and immediately apologized, "Sister! Sister! It’s my fault for not recognizing your greatness! It was my mistake! I belittled you, treated a treasure like a scrap of trash! It’s my fault! I apologize to you! Sister, I beg you to overlook this lowly one’s transgressions—"

Before the Cloth Store owner could finish, Li Jinzhi started shrieking, "Impossible! How could you dye cloth? How could you produce such dyeing? Wasn’t your dye vat ruined? How could it still yield anything?"

Wang Yongzhu sneered, "You finally admit it? A few days ago, you came to our house pretending to be pathetic, saying you were going back to see your brother and sister-in-law, only to be driven out by them without a bite of food or water. You said you would collapse, implored my gullible Fourth Brother to take pity on your innocent unborn child, and to allow you to our home for a sip of water!"

"My Fourth Brother’s heart softened at the sight of you, a pregnant woman close to passing out, and he took you into our yard. He gave you water to drink and bread to eat! Li Jinzhi, how did you repay my Fourth Brother? While he was in the kitchen boiling water for you, you saw the dye vat in our yard and deliberately ruined our vat of dye!"

"Li Jinzhi, you’re more than just heartless! You lack a heart altogether! You’re too malicious! Even a stray dog given bread would wag its tail in gratitude, but you? You bit the hand that fed you! You cried and pleaded, saying you were fickle and wronged my Fourth Brother, yet begged him to save you! You never forgot to mention how you’d remember his great kindness for life, claiming if there was no chance to repay him in this life, you’d do so in your next life!"

"Indeed, you never planned to repay this so-called kindness in this life; all you’ve thought about is how to bring down my Fourth Brother, to destroy our Wang Family!"