Zhao Jiaqi nodded, and he excitedly pulled his wife into the shop!
The materials inside were indeed plentiful, with various patterns. However, his eyes immediately fell on a piece of bright red silk fabric, which also had a faint floral print!
He pointed at the fabric, "Wife, why don't you make a red jacket out of this? Your skin is fair, and you'll look stunning in it!"
Zhao Jiaqi followed his gaze and felt a bit embarrassed. At her age, she was almost a grandmother, yet he wanted her to wear bright red!
If she were a princess, it wouldn't matter if she wore it, but in the countryside, wouldn't going out dressed like this make her a laughingstock!
"No, no, I can't wear this out!" Zhao Jiaqi felt it was embarrassing and immediately refused!
On the contrary, Fan Zehao did not think so. He said very seriously, "Why can't you wear it out? It's tiring to care about what others think. It's better to live for yourself. Your happiness is what matters most!"
This sounded exactly like what she had advised him that morning!
After speaking, Fan Zehao directly asked for a bolt of fabric. However, silk was very expensive. This single bolt could only make one outfit, yet it cost thirty taels of silver!
In this small town, apart from wealthy families, others dared not buy a whole bolt.
The shopkeeper, seeing that they were unfamiliar faces and not local gentry, approached with a smile and asked, "Our fabric is top-notch, but the price is a bit steep. Do you really want a whole bolt, or perhaps half a bolt!"
Fan Zehao only had two taels of silver. He had given one tael to the innkeeper and spent the other on couplets. He was left with nine hundred wen, which was far from enough to pay for the fabric!
"I want a whole bolt. My wife will pay!"
Before Zhao Jiaqi could object, he had already ordered a whole bolt. The silver he had just received was barely warm before it was about to be spent!
Zhao Jiaqi paid the thirty taels of silver with a complex mix of emotions. From the bottom of her heart, she was very happy that this man was thinking of her, but the silver really didn't last long.
Since it was already bought, there was no need to hesitate. Zhao Jiaqi also waved her hand and bought Fan Zehao a bolt of sky-blue silk.
Seeing this, Fan Zehao's mouth split into a grin, a fleeting light in his eyes, and his heart felt warm. Looking at the sky-blue fabric, he tugged at his wife's sleeve and whispered, "This color is too light. I'm afraid I'll get it dirty when I work. How about a dark-colored silk instead? It'll be more resistant to dirt!"
Zhao Jiaqi disagreed, "You're already quite dark. If you wear black, I'm afraid I won't be able to find you in the dark. Let's choose a cleaner and sharper fabric. If it gets dirty, I'll wash it for you!"
Fan Zehao stopped talking and just gazed expectantly at the shopkeeper until the fabric was in his hands. Then, his eyes finally stopped staring at the shopkeeper.
With clothes sorted, the next step was to buy more pure cotton fabric and make two sets of inner garments for each of them. This way, their New Year's clothes would be complete.
Saying this, he asked the shopkeeper for a large bolt of pure cotton fabric, costing sixty-three taels of silver. Zhao Jiaqi originally wanted to haggle further, but the shopkeeper, seeing the situation, smilingly gave them two pairs of shoes.
The material for these two pairs of shoes was also silk. Shoes of this style would cost nearly twenty wen. Zhao Jiaqi thought the shopkeeper was quite a shrewd businessman.
Never mind, she wasn't one to be fussy!
After leaving the fabric shop, she was quietly calculating how much silver was left in her purse when suddenly someone popped out from the front and bumped into her.
Fan Zehao frowned, bent down to stare at the startled man's face, narrowed his eyes, and bared his teeth, "Where are you sticking your paw?"
If he hadn't been quick, this scoundrel would have bumped into his wife, and his paw might have touched her. The thought made him even angrier.
With one arm holding the three bolts of fabric they had bought, he grabbed the young man with his other hand, "Tell me, which paw was it that was being a pervert? I'll twist it off for you!"
The young man was not old, looking only about fifteen or sixteen. His clothes were ragged, like a beggar. As soon as her husband mentioned his paw's whereabouts, Zhao Jiaqi guessed that this might be a thief.
"Husband, don't scare him!"
At his wife's words, Fan Zehao's expression remained stern, but he didn't let go. "Wife, this kid is not well-behaved. If we don't teach him a lesson now, who knows what kind of degenerate he'll become in the future!"
Zhao Jiaqi stepped forward and looked at him carefully. Seeing him with his head down, silent, not complaining of pain, nor begging for mercy, he seemed like a mute!
"Looking at you, you're over ten years old. According to our inner city laws, you're old enough to join the army. Why haven't you?"
The man remained silent, his head still bowed.
Zhao Jiaqi furrowed her brow slightly and shook her head at Fan Zehao, "Let him go!"
"But..."
As Fan Zehao began to speak, Zhao Jiaqi shook her head at him, "Let go. I haven't lost anything, and I haven't been harmed. Let him leave!"
His wife repeated her words. Fan Zehao was not a fool, so he released the young man. The moment his hand loosened, the boy ran away faster than a rabbit, disappearing into the crowd in the blink of an eye!
He couldn't understand, "He's a thief. We should hand him over to the yamen. Why did you let him go?"
Zhao Jiaqi glanced at him sideways, "You should ask yourself, the Prince, how you've been doing. Why are there thieves on the street now? Why aren't people his age serving in the army, but instead appearing on the street?"
"You haven't done it yourself, yet you question local officials? Where is your face!"
Fan Zehao was rebutted by his wife again. He unconsciously touched his face, finding it a little red. He rolled his eyes and decided to conduct a surprise inspection.
Any official in the underworld who was not performing their duties would have their homes confiscated, or be sent to do hard labor. They would not be thrown into jail, as that would still require providing food!
"Wife, don't worry. This time I will thoroughly investigate the entire inner city, from the prefecture city down to the villages. If they can do it, they'll stay. If not, they'll be out. The capable will rise. As long as they do their jobs well, I will not let down the local officials!"
As for passing assessments before being assigned to local positions, all of that would be discarded. He would find capable people locally. As long as they had a clean background, were competent, and were dedicated to the welfare of the common people, he would employ them!
Zhao Jiaqi looked at his frustrated expression and smiled, "I'm counting on you. Go for it!"
This encouragement spurred Fan Zehao on like he had been injected with adrenaline. When they returned to the inn, he diligently sat at the table and began writing his proposal.
Zhao Jiaqi sat beside him, watching. Apart from occasional advice, she remained silent most of the time.
In the evening, after dinner, Zhao Jiaqi opened the window while washing up. She had intended to see if it was snowing outside, but she saw a figure. Squinting, she realized it was the young thief, lurking outside the inn, occasionally looking up at the building.