A poorly dressed young girl carrying a wooden pole across her shoulders, with two brilliantly feathered pheasants dangling from either end, was bound to attract attention wherever she went.
More than a few passersby couldn't help but steal a second glance.

Fortunately, luck seemed to be on Ruan Mingzi's side that day. She had only just turned onto the main street from a side lane when the carriage that had passed her earlier suddenly rolled back and stopped by the roadside.

The ornately carved carriage door swung open.
A young maid with twin buns peered outside, glanced around as if searching for someone, then hopped lightly onto the street.
Her eyes landed on the pheasants.
" Hey, little sister! " she called out,
" Are those pheasants for sale? "

Ruan Mingzi nodded immediately, her smile bright and sweet.
" They are, Sister. My family hunted them in the mountains this morning. They're still alive too— fresh as can be. "

After selling the pheasants, Ruan Mingzi made her way through the county town in search of cloth. Eventually, she found herself standing before a somewhat out-of-the-way fabric shop.

Judging from its quiet interior, business wasn't particularly thriving. Along the way, she'd carefully observed the various cloth merchants lining the streets, and it wasn't difficult to see why.
Many of the fabrics displayed inside this shop were old patterns that had long since fallen out of fashion. Perhaps because the goods had been sitting unsold for so long, the shopkeeper was eager to clear inventory.
The prices he offered were surprisingly reasonable.

Ruan Mingzi had already visited several other cloth shops and compared their prices, so she knew exactly what the market looked like.

The shopkeeper's offer was fair— more than fair, in fact.
After some consideration, she selected a bolt of cloth in a softer, lighter color. Only a small portion remained.

Because it had spent so long hanging outside on display, exposed to wind and sunlight, the color had faded slightly and looked a little worn.
For that reason, the shopkeeper knocked nearly a third off the original price.
The final cost was low enough to make Ruan Mingzi extremely satisfied. After all, there was nothing actually wrong with the fabric.
It had merely lost some brightness from prolonged exposure to the elements.

Once she returned to Yuyuan Slope, she could spend a few copper coins hiring one of the village women skilled at sewing to cut and tailor it.

With the amount she'd purchased, she estimated she and Ruan Mingyan could each get two complete outfits out of it.
Compared to buying ready-made clothing, the savings were substantial.
Cradling the fabric bundle in her arms, Ruan Mingzi left the cloth shop.

Not far down the street, an elderly woman had set up a stall selling hand-stitched kudzu-cloth shoes.
Ruan Mingzi squatted beside the stall and inspected them carefully. The soles were stitched with tight, dense rows of needlework. One glance was enough to tell they were sturdy and built to last.

The prices were reasonable as well. An adult pair cost only ten copper coins.
Children's shoes were even cheaper. A pair suitable for someone Ruan Mingyan's age cost merely six coins.

Using her hand to roughly measure the sole length, Ruan Mingzi selected two pairs.
The shoes were plain and gray, nothing eye-catching.
But they were practical.
Comfortable.
Durable.

And for people in their situation, that mattered far more than appearance.
By the time Ruan Mingzi arrived at the agreed meeting place outside the county town, her arms were laden with purchases.
Fabric.
Shoes.
And a handful of odds and ends she'd picked up along the way.

Her haul was substantial. Her purse, however, was not.
After all that spending, only thirty copper coins remained.

Ruan Mingzi weighed the nearly empty money pouch in her hand and couldn't help but sigh. Money really did have a way of disappearing faster than water flowing downhill.

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