Chapter 141: A Stunning Red Dress

“It’s me!” The young man named Zhan Congwen was delighted when Du Yun recognized him. He eagerly squeezed into a seat beside Du Yang and began chatting with her.

Du Song was somewhat dazed by the turn of events, though his heart quietly relaxed. He had thought the young master was some lecherous stranger trying to accost his sister, and had been debating whether he should step forward to protect her. Now he discovered that the two of them actually knew each other.

Du Song suddenly felt that the world was a wondrous place. The young master was a wealthy gentleman from the provincial capital, while his own sister was a village girl born and raised in the countryside. How could the two possibly have met? Curiosity scratched at his heart like a restless cat.

“How is your foot now?” After seeing Zhan Congwen, Du Yun found his smiling, cheerful manner quite likable. Besides, he was her elder brother’s employer, so it would have been impolite to treat him coldly. She naturally began chatting with him.

“It’s healed. After I came back and rested for a while, it recovered completely. Your grandfather’s skill is truly remarkable. The doctors all praised the treatment afterward.” Zhan Congwen nodded, speaking with considerable feeling.

“That’s wonderful. That’s wonderful.” Hearing this, Du Yun smiled with relief. Her round eyes curved into crescent moons, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. She looked utterly adorable.

“You are…” Zhan Congwen watched her radiant smile, and for some reason his heart suddenly seemed to pound violently against his chest.

“Oh, these are my eldest and third brothers, and this is my elder sister. She’s getting married, so we came to the county town to see whether we could find her some suitable clothes.” Only then did Du Yun remember to make the introductions. Once she had finished, she suddenly recalled that her elder and third brothers had just addressed Zhan Congwen as the young master, and she could not help feeling a little embarrassed. “Hehe, you already know my brothers, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know them. They both work for Zhan’s.” Seeing Du Yun’s bashful expression, Zhan Congwen’s heart began to pound even harder. He pressed a hand lightly to his chest and smiled at her. “Since your sister wants to look at clothes, why don’t you go to Zhan’s? We have a batch of new garments from the south that haven’t even been put on display yet. I’ll let you choose first.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” What Du Yun wanted most was for her sister to astonish everyone. Since such a good opportunity had presented itself, she naturally could not let it pass. She immediately wanted to follow Zhan Congwen to look at the clothes, forgetting even about eating.

“Take your time, take your time. Haven’t you finished your meal yet?” Seeing Du Yun excitedly set down her chopsticks, Zhan Congwen hurriedly stopped her. She had eaten only one small bun from the steamer on the table.

“Oh, that’s right…” Du Yun turned to look at the buns on the table. Then she thought of the beautiful clothes Zhan Congwen had mentioned and grew so impatient that she wished she could sprout wings and fly over to see them.

“Don’t rush. Eat first. I haven’t eaten either, so we can finish together before we go back. I’ll have someone set the clothes aside. No one will be able to take them.” Seeing Du Yun hesitate, Zhan Congwen hastily reassured her. As he waved his hand, a young man nearby turned and left, evidently to make the arrangements he had just mentioned.

“Then thank you!” Seeing this, Du Yun knew that he genuinely meant to help. She thanked him without further fuss and sat back down at the table. To tell the truth, after eating only one small bun, she was both hungry and craving more. Her excitement had made her forget about food, but now that she was seated at the table again, the delicious meal before her became even more important.

Watching Du Yun eat with such relish, without the slightest affectation, Zhan Congwen suddenly felt ravenous as well. Before his own buns had even arrived, he picked up his chopsticks and began eating the buns belonging to the Du siblings.

Before long, all four baskets of buns on the table had been devoured. Fortunately, the buns Zhan Congwen had ordered arrived just then, and everyone indulged in another hearty meal.

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhan Congwen led Du Yun and the others out of the bun shop and strode directly back to Zhan’s. With the young master beside her, Du Yun did not use the side entrance this time but entered through the grand front door, lavishly decorated and magnificent.

Zhan’s shop was enormous, selling practically everything: tobacco, liquor, sweets, tea, fruit, pastries, and, farther inside, clothing, shoes, and socks. It truly was just as Du Yun had once described it—almost like a department store.

“Here we are. Take your time looking around; I’ll leave you for now.” After bringing Du Yun and the others to the clothing section and speaking a few words with the saleswoman in charge, Zhan Congwen turned to Du Yun.

“All right, go on and attend to your business!” Although Du Yun was grateful to him, having an unfamiliar man standing around would certainly make her sister too embarrassed to choose clothes properly. His departure suited her perfectly, and she quickly smiled and nodded.

After Zhan Congwen left, Du Song and Du Yang were each called away in turn because they had other matters to attend to. Only the two sisters remained in the clothing section.

“Yun, this place is so grand. The things here must be expensive, right? Perhaps we should go somewhere cheaper.” Du Zhi looked timidly around the shop. The walls were dazzlingly white, the wooden shelves gleamed with polish, and the bolts of cloth and garments displayed upon them were incomparably finer than anything she wore. They looked terribly expensive.

“Sis, what are you afraid of? Our brother works here. Even if the things are expensive to begin with, he can surely give us a discount.” Du Yun hurriedly took her sister’s hand and encouraged her.

“Then shall we have a look?” Du Zhi was actually filled with curiosity about the dazzling array of goods. It was only her lack of confidence, along with her shyness and timidity, that made her want to flee.

“Let’s look, let’s look!” Du Yun urged her sister on while her own eyes were already sweeping over the shelves.

There were plenty of fine fabrics, though there was not much time left to have anything made into clothing. Buying some to take home as part of her sister’s dowry would be a good choice.

As for the clothes, the styles were somewhat old-fashioned, and the colors—

While Du Yun was examining the merchandise row by row, a garment laid out on the counter suddenly caught her eye.

“Could my sister wear this?” Du Yun’s eyes lit up at the sight of the vivid red dress. She picked it up and shook it open. The fabric was soft silk, and her satisfaction deepened.

“She could.” When the saleswoman saw Du Yun holding the dress, she took in the sisters’ clothing and circumstances. She wanted to warn them that the garment was too expensive, but after opening and closing her mouth, she said nothing. After all, the young master himself had brought them here, accompanied by Du Song and Du Yang. Perhaps they truly could afford it.

“Sis, go try it on!” Du Yun felt a faint thrill of anticipation. She was certain the dress would suit her sister perfectly.

“I…” Du Zhi still hesitated. One glance told her that the material was exceptionally fine and could not possibly be cheap. She loved it dearly, but reason told her that it was too expensive and beyond her means.

“Go on. Trying it costs nothing!” Du Yun urged her with a bright smile.

Du Zhi thought that made sense, so she took the dress and, accompanied by the saleswoman, went to try it on.

Du Yun remained by the counter, examining the various fabrics. Seeing that they cost roughly two dollars a meter, she felt they were not especially expensive. She quietly memorized the patterns she liked, intending to have the shop assistant cut the cloth for them all at once.

When Du Zhi emerged wearing the dress, Du Yun stared at her sister in red and felt as though the breath had been snatched from her lungs.

“Sis, you’re beautiful!”