True Solution of the Sword Dao

Chapter 56: Chapter 52 Shopping 2

Chapter 56 -52 Shopping 2

“Aiyah, little sister, we at You Mengsi never bargain. This is this year’s latest and trendy style, and our wholesale price is only…” She didn’t finish her sentence when she saw Lin You decisively turn around and walk out the door. The female shop owner immediately grew anxious, realizing she had encountered an expert haggler. She quickly put on a losing-profit, grief-stricken face.

“Alright, alright, I’ll sell it to you. Really, it’s a loss-making price.”

Lin You’s face immediately broke into a smile, and she turned back to the shop. “I already asked my classmates about the wholesale prices. I’ve had my eye on this style for a long time.”

She quickly took out two hundred-yuan bills from her small backpack and handed them to the shop owner. Then she started packing up the pants.

Before long, Lin Fei had also finished shopping and came over, carrying a shoebox.

“What did you buy, Xiao You?” Jiang Feng asked curiously, looking at the pants in Lin You’s hand.

“Just a pair of pants,” Lin You replied nonchalantly.

“And how much were they?”

“Not expensive, just over sixty.” Lin You lied with her eyes wide open. She knew all too well about Jiang Feng’s deadly obsession with cost-effectiveness, so she drastically reduced the reported price.

Sure enough, as the three of them walked and talked, Jiang Feng took the pants out of the bag to examine them closely and asked in confusion.

“Why does it have a price tag of 315?”

“That’s fake.”

“And why does the receipt say 200?”

“Why worry about so much? Anyway, I only spent sixty to get them,” said Lin You without blinking an eye.

Lin Fei stood aside, her face the picture of speechlessness.

“Let’s go upstairs and have a look. Today, your mom brought a bit more money so I can really get Feifei something nice.” Jiang Feng said with a chuckle, “Yesterday, I ran into Auntie Feng Yun from the neighborhood, and she said our Feifei is the most pitiable. She never has decent clothes, and if you compare her to others in the same courtyard like Chen Feng and Xie Jiaoyang, our Feifei is the most pitiable. When I heard that, my heart ached.”

Jiang Feng tenderly stroked Lin Fei’s head. “Later on, I thought about it and realized it was true. Feifei doesn’t know how to dress up and is probably not popular at school, plus we give her so little pocket money. We really have been too hard on you.”

Lin Fei shook her head, “Mom, don’t listen to their nonsense. What use do clothes and dressing up have for me? I don’t have the conditions like Lin You. It would just be a waste to buy them.” Although her words carried a tinge of childish consolation, Lin Fei was genuinely touched. The family’s financial situation had deteriorated significantly due to her attending a key high school, and while her sister Lin You tended to spend a bit more on daily life, her school expenses were nowhere near as high.

“That won’t do! Today, mom will buy you something really nice,” Jiang Feng said with a satisfied smile, “Today, we will go to the Fifth Layer.”

Hearing this, Lin You hummed quietly but still took the initiative to follow.

The Fifth Layer Jiang Feng mentioned belonged to the upscale category of goods on the floors of the entire Cube Trade building. In the past, Jiang Feng and Lin You had only browsed the four floors below, where prices were all under 500. It was estimated that the Fifth Layer would probably have prices around seven to eight hundred. But today, Jiang Feng was prepared to splurge and buy something nice for her son.

The three of them took the elevator, and through the transparent elevator walls, they could clearly see everything in the trade building below the sixth floor. There were also two young women in the elevator, dressed quite fashionably. Seeing that Jiang Feng pressed the button for the fifth floor, they made no movements. It seemed they were also heading to the Fifth Layer.

Unlike the previous floors, the Fifth Layer was much quieter, and the music was much softer. There was also no food section, mainly clothing.

One by one, the signs full of English, French, Korean, and Japanese made Jiang Feng, who was visiting this floor for the first time, a bit stunned. She couldn’t read a word on those signs and could only understand what the stores sold by looking from the outside in.

Jiang Feng was completely at a loss when it came to these foreign languages, but Lin You seemed a bit excited.

Standing at the elevator entrance, they occasionally saw a few customers weaving between the various shops. Unlike the shops below, the sales staff here didn’t leave their stores to attract customers.

After making a round, Jiang Feng led her two children to a store that seemed to have a simpler decor.

As soon as they entered, a pretty sales assistant dressed in a white shirt and a black silk skirt greeted them warmly, said “Welcome,” and then stepped aside to chat softly with her colleague by the counter.

Jiang Feng casually lifted a jacket from the rack and saw the price, 799 yuan.

“How about this one?”

Lin Fei shook her head: “Forget it, mom, that’s a bit pricey.”

“I’m asking you how this looks. Don’t worry about the price,” Jiang Feng insisted unexpectedly.

Lin Fei gave a wry smile and still examined the coat closely.

“The craftsmanship is decent, and the style is nice, it’s just a bit pricey.”

“More than just a bit pricey, it could buy me several coats,” Lin You muttered softly on the side.

Jiang Feng carefully picked a few other styles, but it seemed she herself found some of them unsuitable and then led the two out of the store. After a while, she picked another shop with a brand name all in French.

The shop assistant this time was a pretty young girl dressed in a white blouse, a black vest, and slim trousers. As soon as they entered the shop, the trio smelled a whiff of subtle and elegant fragrance.

The store had formal casual jackets and trousers for men on display. The style was somewhat formal.

After a careful selection, Jiang Feng finally picked out a dark brown jacket in the corner to the left.

“This one’s not bad,” she said as she took the coat off the rack and held it up against Lin Fei.

“It’s alright,” Lin Fei said with mixed emotions. He had tried to persuade her several times along the way, but his mother’s determination was unshakable and immovable. He felt somewhat helpless.

There were two other pairs of customers in the store, dressed elaborately, clearly not from ordinary families. Like before, the shop attendant welcomed them perfunctorily and then went off to explain items to the other customers in detail. It was quite clear they didn’t hold much expectation for Jiang Feng and her companions. After all, these sales clerks, who work in this field every day, have eyes like a hawk and could usually gauge the spending power of a customer by their attire, focusing their attention and energy on more promising prospects to avoid wasting time and effort. This was a basic quality required of a shop attendant.

However, to Lin Fei, such business practices seemed to be extremely outdated. In his previous life, many international brands had already started to analyze potential customers, emphasizing the view that even those currently without purchasing power could be important potential clients in the future.

Despite the cold reception, Jiang Feng was still enthusiastic. She picked cheerfully, finally settling on the chosen coat. Lin Fei glanced at the price, 849.

For a family on the lower end of the middle-income bracket, at this time, that was an exorbitant price to pay.

“So, are we getting this one?” Jiang Feng asked again.

“Mom, don’t waste money,” Lin Fei shook his head.

“Don’t worry, your mom brought enough money,” Jiang Feng whispered.

Lin You was pouting on the side, seemingly lost in thought and silent.

Having chosen the clothes, Jiang Feng proactively waved at the shop assistant. Immediately, as they confirmed Jiang Feng was indeed intending to buy, a smiling clerk approached.

“Welcome to Saint Bieying Fashion. Would you like this coat?”

“Yes,” Jiang Feng passed the coat over.

“Then please come to the counter for payment.”

Jiang Feng paused and then said with a smile, “How much for this piece of clothing?”

The sales clerk was taken aback.

“The tagged price is 849 yuan.”

“Make it cheaper, 500 flat,” Jiang Feng cut the price nearly in half decisively. This was her absolute experience accrued from years of shopping: when faced with a high price, chop it in half first.

“Um…”

In a moment, the gaze of everyone around concentrated on them.

The two clerks who were chatting, a clerk who was recommending clothes to another young couple, including the young couple themselves, and a middle-aged couple looking like husband and wife nearby—all their eyes were stunned by Jiang Feng’s words.

At this point, Lin Fei, Lin You, and Jiang Feng also realized that something was amiss.

The clerk holding the coat said with an awkward smile, “Sorry, we don’t bargain here.”

Jiang Feng was also taken aback instantly.