Chapter 20

The Cloth Robe Workshop was neither crowded nor empty. Several clerks were hard at work, showing customers around and introducing their wares. At the very back, a plump woman wore a listless expression, toying with a piece of red cloth in utter boredom, every inch the boss.

A man dressed as Ye Fu was drew most of the eyes in the shop when he entered. He also caught the attention of the plump woman at the back, whose eyes lit up. She was in the cloth business, after all, and the distinctive style of his clothes piqued her interest.

A clerk spotted Qin Sanyue behind Ye Fu and said, "Where did this beggar come from? You've come begging for food all the way to the Cloth Robe Workshop!" He made to shoo her away.

Qin Sanyue's heart tightened. Not wanting to cause Teacher Ye trouble, she felt the urge to retreat. Ye Fu saw it and could not help sighing. He seized her hand and pulled her inside.

As he walked, he said, "A customer arrives, and you drive them away before offering a welcome. Is that the name the Cloth Robe Workshop has made for itself?"

At that verbal jab, the clerk glared and was about to demand an explanation when the plump woman behind him hurried over with heavy steps. "What are you saying? A customer is a customer, no question about it."

"Boss." The clerk deflated and obediently walked away.

The plump woman wore a broad smile, revealing two rows of even, pearly white teeth. Her eyes were full of allure, and the scant fabric she wore exposed a dazzling expanse of white skin.

"Honored customer, I am Zhong Suihua, proprietor of the Cloth Robe Workshop. That clerk just started and doesn't know any better. Please be magnanimous and forgive him." Zhong Suihua bent in greeting and introduced herself, her breath as soft as silk.

Ye Fu waved a hand. "Boss Cuihua, hello."

Zhong Suihua's expression stiffened for a moment. Then she covered her mouth and laughed coquettishly. "Honored customer, great people do tend to be hard of hearing. My name is Suihua."

Ye Fu smiled and pulled Qin Sanyue from behind him to stand in front of him. "I'm here to buy cloth and have some clothes made. Take this girl's measurements first."

Zhong Suihua saw at a glance that Qin Sanyue was a beggar, but as a proprietor well versed in the ways of the world, she showed none of it on her face.

Qin Sanyue's face reddened. Though she and Zhong Suihua were both women, she felt ashamed of herself in comparison.

"Do you have any particular requests?" Zhong Suihua asked, though her eyes kept drifting to Ye Fu's clothes.

"Just something a girl her age would wear," Ye Fu answered. He had noticed Zhong Suihua's gaze and asked, "Boss Zhong, is there a reason you keep looking at me like that?"

Zhong Suihua looked up and laughed coquettishly. "You have a fine figure, honored customer, so I couldn't help taking another look. I hope you don't mind."

Ye Fu smiled back and pulled Qin Sanyue toward the display.

"Sanyue, take a look for yourself. See which colors you like."

Qin Sanyue looked at the finely made, colorful bolts of cloth and felt flustered. "Teacher Ye, you don't need to get me such nice clothes," she said repeatedly. "The ones over there will do." She pointed to the cloth piled on a shelf.

Ye Fu did not need a close look to know it was all the lowest-grade cloth. Not only was it rough, its colors were ugly too.

"That won't do. At the very least, it should be pleasant to look at," Ye Fu said, making his position clear.

Zhong Suihua stood by with a smile, but her eyes remained fixed on Ye Fu's clothes. As the owner of a cloth shop, she could see at a glance that his clothes were made of ordinary material, but their design and the sewing techniques used on the cuffs, collar, waist and other parts were unlike anything she had ever seen on the market. The work was astonishingly fine, with not a seam in sight.

Qin Sanyue agonized over her choice. Not daring to look at the expensive cloth, she picked the cheapest bolt on the display, a jade-green one.

Without another word, Ye Fu said to Zhong Suihua, "This cloth, then. Enough to make her two sets of clothes will do."

"No problem, honored customer," Zhong Suihua said with a coquettish smile.

"About how long will it take?"

"The young lady is on the thin side, but she has a slender, growing figure. Clothes are easy to make for her, so they'll be ready within seven days."

"That long?" Ye Fu asked, frowning.

"That's not long at all. With the whole process of cutting, shaping, sewing, finishing the edges and adding decorative stitching, that's about how long it takes."

Ye Fu frowned in thought. He felt it really was too long. Qin Sanyue could wait seven days, but he himself found her appearance uncomfortable to look at.

After thinking it over, he asked, "Do you have a room here for making clothes? I'll do it myself. Can I pay a fee to use it?"

Zhong Suihua's eyes widened at once. "You can make clothes too, honored customer?" she asked in disbelief.

Ye Fu himself did not know how to make clothes, but in his little immortal-cultivation game, he had unlocked many crafting professions. When he crossed over, he had brought them along with him.

He had considered buying cloth and making the clothes at home, but that would also mean buying tools, and he could not be bothered to do it, so he had not followed through.

"A little."

A thought suddenly occurred to Zhong Suihua. Could the clothes this customer was wearing have been made by him too?

"But even if you do it yourself, honored customer, you still have to go through the whole process. Surely you can't finish in a single day."

Ye Fu certainly was not going to say that his crafting skill was at max level. That would be troublesome to explain, so he said, "Don't worry about that, Boss Zhong. You only need to provide me with a sewing room. As for one day, it's hard to say, but I'll pay you." Ye Fu thought, If it took me a whole day, wouldn't I be letting down all that weighty stuff in my head?

Zhong Suihua had little faith that Ye Fu could finish two sets of clothes in a day. Come to think of it, it was impossible. She said, "You can use it, but I'd like to make a bet."

"What kind of bet?"

"Let's bet on whether you can finish two sets of clothes in one day, honored customer. If you can, I won't charge you. If you can't, give me the outfit you're wearing."

"What do you want my clothes for?" Ye Fu smiled. "They're very ordinary."

Zhong Suihua hesitated briefly, then said, "I know the clothes you're wearing must be very expensive. Such fine workmanship is something I've only seen once in my life. I'm fond of clothes in all kinds of styles and would like to add your outfit to my collection, but I know I could never afford to buy it, so I thought I'd try this."