Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 85 - 51: Busy

"Alright, I’ll give you a better price when the time comes."

Third Miss had failed to buy the clothes she wanted yesterday, so today she was going to Mrs. Ying’s to buy a new outfit. She had brought back several new sets of clothes from the Prefecture, but in truth, the garments she considered fashionable were hardly more stylish than the ready-made ones at Mrs. Ying’s shop in Qingshui County.

Besides, she had heard from her cousins that a woman with exceptionally skillful hands worked at Mrs. Ying’s. This woman specialized in hairstyling and makeup, and her expert touch could transform anyone into an astonishing beauty.

They had actually gone to buy clothes yesterday with the intention of getting a makeup trial as well, but unfortunately, the makeup artist wasn’t there.

But Mrs. Ying had told them the makeup artist would be in early this morning. If they wanted a trial, they could go over a bit earlier today...

’No, I can’t wait,’ she thought. ’If it gets crowded, who knows how long I’ll be stuck there.’

After Third Miss left with her entourage, another regular customer arrived.

Seeing the door open, she circled the shop entrance several times, staring as if it were the strangest sight in the world.

"Miss Chen, your family must not be short on money, otherwise, you’d never run your shop like this."

Chen Wanqing blushed as she welcomed the woman inside. "You’re too kind, ma’am. It’s just a modest business. My mother and I have to make all the fragrances by hand, so we honestly have trouble keeping up."

The woman shook her head in disapproval. "This way of doing things won’t work. You’re losing too much business. I’m not exaggerating to scare you, but in the last half-month, I’ve come to your Qingxiang House at least eight or ten times. Every time, there were people at the door waiting for you to open. Today is the first time you’ve actually been open; the other times, the door was locked up tight."

"I’m truly sorry about that. We’ve had a lot of family matters to attend to recently. What can I get for you? To make it up to you, I’ll take it upon myself to give you a two percent discount today."

The woman’s eyes lit up at the mention of a discount. "Two percent is too little! That doesn’t even make up for the shoe leather I’ve worn out coming here. How about this, make it a ten percent discount."

They haggled back and forth and finally settled on an eight percent discount. The woman, feeling she had gotten a great deal, promptly took a whole box of Moonlight Fragrance.

Chen Wanqing was also pleased. Although she earned less on this box of Moonlight Fragrance than usual, she had maintained her relationship with a loyal customer and moved a large amount of stock in a short time. With the time she saved, she could make even more Moonlight Fragrance.

After that woman left, no one else came into the shop.

The time Chen Wanqing had arranged to meet her mother soon arrived, but her mother was still nowhere to be seen.

Chen Wanqing recalled what Third Miss had said. ’Mrs. Ying’s shop is probably packed today,’ she thought. ’Mother must be too busy to get away.’

But no matter how busy she was, they couldn’t be late for their visit to the Qian Family.

So, Chen Wanqing simply locked up the shop, picked up the gifts she had prepared for her second aunt, and went to find her mother at Mrs. Ying’s clothing store.

Mrs. Ying’s clothing store was located right in the center of the county’s main street.

The shop was large, with two floors, and Mrs. Ying couldn’t manage it all by herself, so she had bought two young girls, about thirteen or fourteen years old, to help out.

Sometimes, things work in strange ways.

An empty shop might never see a single customer walk in, while other shops would have people streaming in one after another until they were soon overflowing.

This was the so-called herd mentality.

Mrs. Ying’s shop was a case of the latter.

When Mrs. Ying saw Chen Wanqing arrive with a wicker basket on her back and another basket in her hand, she quickly reached out to help her.

Once the items were on the ground, Mrs. Ying saw what was inside. At the bottom of the back-basket were either swaddling clothes or a baby’s clothes, hat, and booties. A sheet of oilcloth separated this from the top layer, which held an assortment of items: pig’s trotters, brown sugar, and pastries. The other basket was filled to the brim with red-dyed eggs.

She had heard from Suying that today was the fifth day since Wanqing’s second aunt had given birth.

Seeing that it was getting late, Mrs. Ying grew anxious as well.

"Have a seat first. I’ll send someone to hurry your mother along."

"Don’t rush her, Mrs. Ying. My mother probably saw me arrive from the dressing mirror upstairs. I’ll just wait a moment; she should be down soon."

Sure enough, just as the words left Chen Wanqing’s lips, Xu Su Ying came downstairs with a young mistress and her servant.

The mistress was a young lady of about sixteen or seventeen, tall and striking. Whatever her natural features were, under Xu Su Ying’s skillful hands, she had been transformed into a radiant beauty with a hint of an aloof air. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The young lady was clearly very satisfied with her new look. She said to Xu Su Ying, "On the day of my birthday celebration, I’ll come by ahead of time. Please be sure to save a spot for me, Auntie."

"I will. Don’t you worry, miss."

Exchanging a few pleasantries, the mistress and her servant left, thoroughly pleased. Before she departed, the young lady gave a polite nod to Mrs. Ying and Chen Wanqing.

Chen Wanqing returned the gesture. When she turned back, she saw her mother had already hoisted the wicker basket onto her back. "Wanqing, hurry. Your father can’t make it today, so it’ll just be the two of us going to the Qian Family. We can’t be late."