Chapter 322: I Will Remember You
At sundown, when Lin Yuanshan pushed open the door with heavy steps, the last rays of the setting sun were just hidden by a dark cloud, and the courtyard suddenly dimmed.
He instinctively looked up at the sky, feeling that the weather was as gloomy as his mood at the moment.
The wind chimes at the entrance of Lin’s Cloth Store hadn’t rung for three days, he thought, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the ancestral jade pendant at his waist.
It was specially carved by someone his grandfather hired when Lin’s Cloth Store first opened, and the words “Integrity First” had become somewhat blurred.
“Yuanshan is back!” Zhao Qiao’er’s voice came from the inner room, carrying a deliberately cheerful tone.
When she lifted the beaded curtain and walked out, Lin Yuanshan couldn’t help but pause.
His wife was wearing a brand new peach-colored jacket today, with intricate peony patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs, and three or four golden hairpins in her bun, swaying and glinting with gold as she moved.
“What are you…” Lin Yuanshan frowned. The cloth store was almost unsustainable, how could his wife still have the mood to dress up?
Zhao Qiao’er didn’t wait for him to finish speaking and came up to him, carrying an intense aroma of makeup.
“You’ve worked hard all day, hurry and change clothes to eat. We’re all waiting for you!”
Zhao Qiao’er efficiently helped her husband take off his coat and handed it to the little maid waiting beside them.
“Go, fumigate the young master’s clothes with the agarwood incense we bought last time.”
Lin Yuanshan opened his mouth to say something, but eventually sighed and let his wife do as she wished.
He noticed the Eight Immortals Table in the hall had already been set with dishes, four meat and four vegetarian, with a pot of ginseng chicken soup in the middle.
“Where’s Father?” he asked in a low voice, his tone weary.
“Here I am.” Ms Lin replied.
Mr. Lin, with his hands behind his back, strolled out slowly from the west wing. Although his back was somewhat hunched, his eyes remained clear.
He glanced at his daughter-in-law’s lavish attire, then at the abundant dishes on the table, his brows barely perceptibly furrowing.
After the family sat down, Zhao Qiao’er personally ladled a bowl of soup for her husband, “Drink some soup to warm your stomach first.”
Watching him finish the soup, Zhao Qiao’er then sat down, picked up chopsticks, and started eating.
Lin Yuanshan had just picked up a piece of ham with his chopsticks when Zhao Qiao’er eagerly asked, “Yuanshan, was business good at the cloth store today?”
The chopsticks paused mid-air, Lin Yuanshan placed the ham into his bowl and shook his head.
“It’s been two consecutive days, not a single customer.” Lin Yuanshan’s voice was dry like autumn leaves, “Opposite at Wang’s Cloth Shop, they at least sold two pieces of plain silk yesterday, and we…”
“How could it be!” Zhao Qiao’er abruptly raised her voice, slamming her chopsticks on the table, “Weren’t you just saying we had at least three to five deals a day a few days ago?”
Mr. Lin lightly coughed, and Zhao Qiao’er realized her loss of decorum, hurriedly composing herself, but the urgency in her eyes remained undisguised.
Lin Yuanshan smiled bitterly and set down his chopsticks, “Today I went to the Brocade Workshop again…”
He stopped his words suddenly, his eyes becoming complex.
“How was it?” Zhao Qiao’er asked eagerly, leaning forward unconsciously.
“I originally wanted to ask Mr. Tang if, aside from Mr. Wei, Brocade Workshop had other proprietors, but Mr. Tang wasn’t in the store. So I looked around inside again.”
Lin Yuanshan shook his head, as if searching for the right words.
“The facade of Brocade Workshop alone is more than three times as spacious as ours, with inside lined with mahogany counters. Every customer who enters has a dedicated attendant guiding them, serving tea and water…”
“Nothing but superficial tricks, we at Lin’s have thrived for decades on genuine value…”
“No, it’s not just that.” Lin Yuanshan interrupted her, his fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the table.
Mr. Lin interjected suddenly, his voice hoarse yet steady.
“I went to see it the day before yesterday too. That young Mr. Tang is indeed capable, they are doing some buy-two-get-one thing, customers went crazy, squeezing like sardines in front of the counters.”
“Just that!” Lin Yuanshan said excitedly, “Today they even changed it to ‘lottery on spending ten silver’, the first prize is… a set of Brocade Workshop’s custom four-season attire.”
As he spoke, his voice lowered, “We can’t even think… of ideas like this…”
“We might not come up with it, but we can poach that manager over!”
Zhao Qiao’er suddenly said. In her eyes was a look that said praise me, praise me.
Lin Yuanshan glanced at her, and she wisely closed her mouth.
The dining table fell into a silence, only the candle occasionally let out soft crackling sounds.