Chapter 115: Paying Money Every Month

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Paying Money Every Month

Su Yue showered the items on Yun Zhen’s stall with a barrage of praise.

Yun Zhen couldn’t quite understand everything tumbling out of her mouth, but she knew Su Yue was complimenting her.

"When you said you knew how to do woodwork, I thought you just meant making little trinkets," Su Yue continued to gush. "But these wooden hairpins and fridge magnets you made are so exquisite! Especially these three jewelry boxes—the unique designs and flawless carvings look like the work of a master. They even have the natural, refreshing scent of the wood. Yun Zhen, you are amazing!"

Yun Zhen felt a little embarrassed by the praise. She hadn’t actually been involved in making these items; the credit mostly belonged to Carpenter Zhao and Hunters Wang. However, seeing Uncle Zhao and Uncle Wang’s craftsmanship recognized by her friend brought a genuine sense of joy to her heart.

"Do you not have to study today?" Yun Zhen asked with a smile. "Or are you reviewing your books by yourself?"

Su Yue had mentioned last time that her year-end exams were coming up, and her teacher had told them to review their books independently. Yun Zhen was sure Su Yue must be an excellent student. She spent her days eating and having fun without a single worry about failing her exams. She definitely had to be extremely well-read to have such confidence.

Su Yue looked confused. "Reviewing my books? You mean studying for finals, right? Yeah, our teacher told us to review the textbook material on our own. We don’t have to attend classes before the exams." She wondered if Yun Zhen’s archaic phrasing was some kind of regional dialect.

"I’ll be done with my exams the day after tomorrow," Su Yue continued. "The day after that, I’ll come here to work part-time for half a month, and then I’ll head home for the New Year.

"So, Yun Zhen, how is it? There’s a big crowd here, so business must be pretty good, right? There are historical sites nearby where people always go to take photos. You must get a lot of people wearing Hanfu coming to buy your wooden hairpins."

"What is Hanfu?"

Yun Zhen had only noticed that the clothing in this world wasn’t very uniform. She saw many people wearing thick, padded coats that bundled up their entire bodies, leaving only their heads and feet exposed. Others wore skirts that didn’t even cover their knees, exposing their bare, pale thighs. She didn’t understand why their legs weren’t red and swollen from the freezing cold; they probably just had a higher tolerance for it. Most people dressed simply, wearing various styles of padded jackets on top, different colored trousers on the bottom, and all sorts of shoes on their feet.

Here at Jiuzhou Mall, however, she had seen many people dressed in magnificent garments with thick fur lining the collars and cuffs. They looked incredibly wealthy, just like young lords and ladies from noble families.

"That’s Hanfu." Although Su Yue was puzzled as to how Yun Zhen could not know what Hanfu was, she pointed to a passerby wearing it to show her.

"So that is Hanfu!" Yun Zhen realized in a flash of understanding. In her world, only the rich and noble could afford such splendid clothing. "It’s true that many men and women wearing Hanfu have come to my stall to buy wooden hairpins," she added.

Just as she spoke, several young women dressed in Hanfu approached her stall.

"What an exquisite jewelry box! There are no metal parts at all, and it has such a rustic feel. Are you sure it’s purely handcrafted?" one of the girls asked Yun Zhen after examining a box for quite a while.

"Of course. I bought the wood and the blueprints and made it by hand. It’s only coated with a layer of wood wax oil to prevent cracking, without any other additives." Yun Zhen smiled warmly. She had already perfected her sales pitch for these items.

Another girl nodded to her companion. "There’s no smell of formaldehyde, and the carvings are very intricate. It doesn’t feel flimsy like cheap wood, and the texture is really nice in the hand. You should consider buying it."

The first girl opened it to look inside. "There aren’t any springs or metal clasps in here either. It’s all made of wood."

Hearing this, she finally decided to make the purchase. "Boss, it’s three hundred yuan. Where’s your payment code?"

Yun Zhen had been ready for this. Over the past two days, many customers who wanted to buy her woodwork had walked away empty-handed because she only accepted cash. But now, she had a phone and a bank card! By linking the two, she could accept digital payments. Brother Zhao had taught her how to pull up the payment code.

She took out her phone, opened the code, and said with a smile, "Hello, you can scan my payment code."

The girl bought a wooden hairpin, two wooden fridge magnets, and a jewelry box.

"Payment of six hundred yuan received," a cold, robotic female voice announced.

Yun Zhen checked her screen several times to confirm the money had indeed arrived. The girl’s companions also bought a wooden hairpin and a fridge magnet each. In just a short time, she had collected over two thousand yuan.

Then, the group of girls left.

"Yun Zhen, since you bought a phone, let’s exchange contact info," Su Yue, who had been watching from the sidelines, said once the customers were gone.

"Okay." Su Yue was her friend.

Brother Zhao had told her that she shouldn’t have too many contacts in her phone. Only people close to her were allowed to add her. Right now, she only had the contact information for Brother Zhao and Sister Lin, which Brother Zhao had added for her. He had explained that since he was her guardian, and Sister Lin could also be considered a guardian, she could contact either of them if she needed anything. Therefore, adding them was necessary, but she absolutely could not add strangers. Brother Zhao had also warned her that having too many contacts and communicating too much would cost a lot of money.

That was when Yun Zhen realized that while the phone was great, she had to pay for it every single month! Thirty-nine yuan and ninety cents a month! At eighty cents a catty, that could buy over forty catties of rice! Yun Zhen made a solemn vow only to add people she knew well and never anyone unfamiliar. It was too expensive!

However, Su Yue was a friend, so adding her was acceptable!

Brother Zhao had taught her how to add a contact. One way was to type it in manually, and the other was by scanning a code.

Su Yue unlocked her own phone. "I’ll scan you."

Yun Zhen tapped the square next to her profile picture, revealing a pattern of countless tiny squares.

BEEP.

Su Yue scanned the cluster of tiny squares on her screen, and just like that, they were connected. They also exchanged phone numbers.

"Now that we have each other’s contact info, we can make plans to hang out," Su Yue said happily.

More customers began to approach.

Knowing Yun Zhen would be busy, Su Yue said, "You get back to selling. I bought some cold medicine for my roommate since she’s sick and feeling unwell. I’ll head back first. If you need me, just call or text."

"Your roommate’s health is more important. You should go," Yun Zhen replied. She knew that a "roommate" was a fellow student who shared the same sleeping quarters.

"Bye-bye."

Su Yue came and went in a hurry.

Yun Zhen focused on selling her goods. With the phone, she no longer had to accept cash, which meant she didn’t have to go through the hassle of counting bills and checking for counterfeits.

"BEEP. Payment of three hundred yuan received."

"Payment of two hundred yuan received."

"Payment of one hundred and twenty yuan received."

"..."

The constant sound of money being received rang in her ears. It was truly a crisp, delightful melody.

Granny Sun smiled and said, "That friend of yours is a university student. How did you two meet?"

Yun Zhen answered during a brief lull in business, "She’s a very kind-hearted person. She bought me milk tea before, as well as starch sausages and milk candies."

"She’s a good kid," Granny Sun remarked. "It’s good for you to have some company." Life as an orphan was undoubtedly hard, and Granny Sun felt a deep sense of pity for this poor child. Having a friend she could easily chat with was definitely a good thing.

Within two hours, Yun Zhen had sold out everything on her stall. She opened her phone to check her balance.

"One-six-four-four-zero... sixteen thousand, four hundred and forty. That’s the exact number, it’s correct!" Yun Zhen counted on her fingers for quite a while to make sure she had enough money.

Because she could now accept mobile payments, customers without cash were also able to buy her wares. As a result, she had sold out all her goods fifteen minutes earlier than the day before.

She beamed a bright smile. "Grandma Sun, I’m going to work at the vegetable market now. See you tomorrow!"

"Good girl, see you tomorrow!" Granny Sun said, waving with a smile.