TRCT_08
Chapter 8: The Clothing Store — A Good Family Man
In the slanted afternoon sunlight, the young man's warm and mellow voice blended into the soft, gentle music, like an old film quietly unfolding its story.
Ji Qingzhou's English was fluent, his accent refined, carrying an emotion that was neither too heavy nor too light, reading aloud felt remarkably pleasant.
Especially paired with the soft, slow music from the record player, the sense of immersion deepened all the more, and listening to it left Jie Yu'an drifting into a daze.
In a world surrounded by darkness, the beating of a heart rose and fell—sometimes slow, sometimes urgent—expanding and contracting as if under someone else's command.
He read through more than ten pages in one breath, and when the record came to a stop, Ji Qingzhou closed the book and picked up the teapot from the table to pour himself a cup of water.
"I'll stop reading. My throat is about to go up in smoke."
He lifted the teacup and gulped down several mouthfuls of warm water, joking at his own expense: "I used to make a living with this voice, after all, I'd better take good care of it."
When he finished speaking and saw that Jie Yu'an had nothing to say, he asked again: "Do you still want to listen? I can call A' You in to read."
"He can't."
"Oh."
After a moment, Jie Yu'an asked in an even tone: "Where did you learn your foreign languages?"
"Self-taught," Ji Qingzhou leaned back against the chair, both arms resting on the armrests, his expression unchanged:
"After all, I'm something of a well-known figure in the capital, I have quite a few friends who've studied abroad, and if I want to maintain those relationships, I ought to know a few languages, don't I?"
"Your pronunciation is almost flawless."
"Thank you for the compliment. I'll admit, in this area, I do have a bit of a natural knack for it," Ji Qingzhou spoke with ease, delivering the words with great conviction.
"Of course, I also have my few foreign friends who are obsessed with Chinese opera to thank, their encouragement and guidance helped my foreign language skills improve by leaps and bounds."
Whether Jie Yu'an believed him or not, he didn't press further.
Ji Qingzhou leisurely flipped through the book for a while, and after a few minutes, he suddenly sat up straight and leaned over the edge of the table, lowering his voice: "I want to discuss something with you."
Whether it was from having spoken for so long, his voice had gone slightly hoarse.
Jie Yu'an felt as though something had lightly grazed his ear— a faint, ticklish sensation.
"I," Ji Qingzhou continued on his own, "I'm thinking of opening a clothing store."
Jie Yu'an's brow arched ever so slightly upward, and he almost thought he had misheard.
"What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing's gotten into me. I just thought, haven't I married into a wealthy family now? For the sake of your family's reputation, I can't keep doing the kind of work I used to do that put me so much in the public eye. But I'm still young, perfectly able-bodied. I can't just do nothing and freeload off you all, can I?"
Ji Qingzhou scratched at his rather eye-catching hair and said: "To be honest, alongside performing opera, I also learned tailoring. I'd like to think I have some talent for it, and I believe I could make a living from it."
Jie Yu'an fell silent, and after a moment's hesitation, said: "You speak multiple languages, if you want to earn money, why not try working as a translator or a teacher?"
"The country has always been short of talent in this area. Schools, whether private or public, are never stingy with their pay."
"When it comes to foreign languages, I only know how to converse verbally and read and write common words, anything more in-depth is beyond me. How would I teach? Wouldn't that just be leading students astray?"
Ji Qingzhou wrinkled his nose slightly, "Besides, I have no interest in that. What I love is designing clothes, making beautiful garments for the right people to wear. That's where my real passion lies."
Another ten or so seconds of silence passed, and Jie Yu'an spoke: "Do you know how many clothing shops there are in Shanghai?"
"How many?"
"Over two thousand," Jie Yu'an said, "At least forty thousand tailors make their living this way. Among them, what advantage do you have?"
"I understand what you mean. Yes, if it were purely a competition of skill and experience, I couldn't hold a candle to those veteran tailors who've been at it for decades."
Ji Qingzhou leaned even further forward, and said in a near-whisper: "But my selling point isn't in the making of clothes! Fashion design. It's about creative ideas and a distinctive eye. In that regard, I won't be any worse than any of them."
At a distance of less than half a meter, Jie Yu'an felt as though his voice was sounding right against his ear— low and soft, lightly grazing at it.
He turned his head away without any change in expression, his tone indifferent: "If you've already made up your mind, then go ahead and do it. There's no need to seek my opinion."
The reaction was like that of someone who, having failed to talk a wayward soul back onto the right path, simply decides to let them be, too tired to waste any more words.
Ji Qingzhou curled the corner of his lips and straightened up, saying without ceremony: "I wasn't planning to seek your opinion in the first place. This was just a notification."
Waited on you for two days, and you've already started acting like the man of the house— managing this, managing that, asking about everything under the sun.
He couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
In truth, Ji Qingzhou also understood why he didn't have faith in him. After all, up until now, his identity had been that of a professional opera performer, he had never undergone any systematic training or practice in tailoring.
And how could an amateur tailor hope to carve out a place in Shanghai, a city where the garment industry was fiercely competitive? It would be nothing but a waste of time and capital.
Seen in that light, Jie Yu'an advising him against this line of work—though the words were unpleasant and came across more like cold mockery—could still be considered a fulfillment of some duty as a bedfellow. Ji Qingzhou didn't find himself angry over it.
"The reason I'm discussing this with you is that I was thinking, if I really do open a shop later on, as your good-luck charm, I'll be heading out every now and then, and the old madam would likely be displeased if she found out."
Ji Qingzhou laid out his true purpose: "If she calls me to account over it, would you be able to put in a word for me then? After all, you wouldn't want me hovering around you all the time annoying you, would you?"
The latter half of that excuse struck right at the heart of what Jie Yu'an actually wanted.
It wasn't as though he had never encountered someone as talkative as Ji Qingzhou, but someone with so little sense of boundaries, bold enough to talk back and trade barbs with him less than half a day after meeting, was truly the first.
A person of such temperament, as a constant daily companion— never mind accumulating good fortune, it would be a blessing from heaven itself if he didn't get so vexed his lifespan was cut short.
With that thought, Jie Yu'an calmly replied: "As long as it's normal work, she won't stand in your way."
"True enough. Even as a good-luck charm, there's no need to be together every single moment. The old madam should understand that," Ji Qingzhou nodded thoughtfully.
"Besides, by then I'll be going to work at nine in the morning and clocking off at six in the evening, with a two-hour break to come home for lunch and rest at noon. When you add it all up, that's still quite a long time spent keeping you company each day. With a schedule like that, who wouldn't give a nod of approval and call me a devoted family man?"
"……"
Jie Yu'an offered no comment on this.
With the question of the Jie family's attitude no longer a concern, what Ji Qingzhou needed to worry about next was where the startup capital for the shop would come from.
Although Shen Nanqi was an obvious and well-paved road he could take, Ji Qingzhou was reluctant to become too entangled with the Jie family.
He thought, judging by the old photograph at Qiu Wenxin's former residence, Jie Yu'an would recover from his illness one day, and sooner or later, he too would have the day he left the Jie family.
By then, if his shop had come to nothing, so be it— but if it succeeded and grew to the scale of something like Yuxiang Fashion Company, turning a profit of hundreds of thousands or even millions a year, would the Jie family truly refrain from taking a cut?
Better to rely on himself.
Ji Qingzhou thought inwardly.
But for the time being he had no proper source of income whatsoever, his only earnings were still the eight silver dollars Jie Yu'an had given him from their wager.
Perhaps he ought to go work at Yuxiang Fashion for a few months first?
Or borrow some money from Jie Yu'an?
He didn't trust the Jie family, that was true, but when it came to Jie Yu'an himself, he instinctively felt that this person's character was reasonably reliable.
Turning this over in his mind, Ji Qingzhou lifted his gaze toward the man sitting across the writing desk.
Jie Yu'an rested silently against the chair, dark strands of hair falling across his forehead, and beneath the black blindfold covering his eyes, the contours of his profile and neck were traced into graceful lines by the faintly warm natural light.
When this fellow didn't speak, he truly did fit his aesthetic...
The thought couldn't help but flash through his mind.
Having stared at the man for a while, Ji Qingzhou lightly cleared his throat and spoke: "I have an idea. In light of the fact that we are, after all, a married couple, I'll give you an opportunity.
"Before I grow big and strong and become the leading name in Shanghai's garment industry, would you like to invest early in this stock with great potential?"
He threw out this grand promise with the attitude of having nothing to lose, but Jie Yu'an didn't move a muscle, and said in a cool, clear tone: "Throwing a meat bun at a dog, that's not something I do."
Ji Qingzhou froze for two seconds, and once the meaning sank in, the indignation had him shooting to his feet wanting to leave, only to calmly sit back down again, a curse word nearly flying out of his mouth before he snapped it shut at the last moment.
In the end, he simply pointed a thumb at the man across from him, and said through gritted teeth with a smile: "Only you could pull that off, what a sharp eye you have."
Jie Yu'an was unmoved by his 'compliment'.
Ji Qingzhou picked up his teacup and took a couple of sips of water, just thinking about how to elegantly fire back at that line about "throwing a meat bun at a dog," when a knock suddenly came at the door.
Assuming it was Huang Youshu with something to attend to, he called out: "Come in."
But when the door opened, the person standing in the doorway was the housekeeper, Aunt Liang.
Ji Qingzhou noticed she was holding a thick envelope in her hands, sensed that something of importance might be afoot, and adjusted his expression to ask: "What is it, Aunt Liang?"
"Young Master, Mr. Ji," Aunt Liang nodded in greeting first, then stepped inside and held the envelope out toward Ji Qingzhou: "This is the Madam's allowance for you this month."
"Allowance?" Ji Qingzhou's eyes went wide, genuinely caught off guard.
If he truly were Shen Nanqi's nephew by a collateral line, that would be one thing— but he was nothing more than a tool brought in to ward off ill fortune!
Day in and day out he ate the Jie family's food and lived under their roof, and his very clothes had been bought for him by them— and now Shen Nanqi was giving him an allowance on top of all that. Wasn't this going a bit too far?
"There are twenty silver dollars inside, please count them."
After the housekeeper finished speaking, she watched him count through the money and confirm the amount was correct, then withdrew from the room.
But Ji Qingzhou held those twenty silver dollars in his hands and felt oddly unsettled. Thinking back on the experience of accompanying Shen Nanqi on her shopping trip earlier that day, he couldn't help but sigh: "I feel like a palace eunuch."
Jie Yu'an hadn't intended to pay him any attention, but the comparison was too peculiar, and so he asked: "Whatever do you mean by that?"
Ji Qingzhou shook the heavy envelope: "After keeping the Empress Dowager happy, you receive your reward."
Jie Yu'an turned his head away in silence. This time, he truly had no desire to engage with him.
.
In the end, Ji Qingzhou kept those twenty silver dollars after all, setting them aside as startup capital for the shop alongside the eight silver dollars he already had.
At the same time, he had no intention of letting any other opportunity to acquire money slip by.
That night, after reading Jie Yu'an his bedtime passage and barely having switched off the lamp and lain down, Ji Qingzhou became like a patient hunter— quietly waiting for his prey to fall asleep, cross into forbidden territory, and then be caught and fined.
Who could have known that less than two minutes after the light went out, Ji Qingzhou felt the mattress at the foot of the bed sink down, pressing in on one side.
He stretched out his foot and felt around, and unsurprisingly kicked against Jie Yu'an's calf. His heart leapt with delight at first, then quickly gave way to suspicion.
— Even if Jie Yu'an could fall asleep at the drop of a hat, he couldn't possibly fall asleep this fast!
And what's more, after he kicked the other man, the foot remained completely still— resting on his half of the bed as though without any sensation, as if it had been placed there deliberately.
Ji Qingzhou thought it over for a moment, then turned his head to look toward the right: "You're not planning to cross the boundary for one silver dollar and stay there the whole night, are you?"
Jie Yu'an: "Did I break the rules?"
Just as he suspected.
"Underhanded!"
Ji Qingzhou muttered a curse under his breath and kicked at Jie Yu'an two more times, but failed to boot the man back to his side. Left with no choice, he reluctantly gave up on his grand money-making scheme, rolled over, and focused on falling asleep.
The night at the Jie residence was exceptionally quiet, with only the occasional whisper of wind stirring through the leaves.
Having already adjusted after one night, Ji Qingzhou no longer had trouble sleeping in a strange bed, and that night he slept even more soundly than Jie Yu'an.
Early the next morning, when he was roused by the sound of sweeping in the corridor and opened his eyes, he found that Jie Yu'an had already gotten up, washed, and dressed, and was now seated on the sofa by the window, letting the morning breeze wash over him.
Ji Qingzhou flipped over and sat up, and just as he was about to climb out of bed, he felt a silver object slide down from his forehead and land on the quilt with a soft thud.
He stared at the silver dollar—its eagle clutching a snake—and stood there for a moment, so exasperated he nearly laughed.
He picked up the silver dollar and closed his fingers around it, threw back the quilt, put on his shoes, and got out of bed. In a cool tone he made his suggestion: "How about keeping a tab and settling up with me in one lump sum at the end of the month? The way things are going, one silver dollar per night, it makes me feel rather undervalued!"
Jie Yu'an picked up his celadon teacup and gave a mild reply: "Oh."
Oh? You actually agreed to that?
Ji Qingzhou's expression shifted through several changes, and in the end, with nothing left to say, he walked into the washroom.
.
By Ji Qingzhou's nature, he was indeed somewhat lacking in patience over small matters, but when it came to important things, he rarely acted on impulse. Thinking up a shop on a whim and simply going ahead with it was, at its core, out of keeping with his personal philosophy of living.
This time, perhaps it was Jie Yu'an's words that had stung him into action, or perhaps it was a desire to give himself something to do—to find a new purpose in life—and so he had been impulsive, just this once.
On the third day since arriving at the Jie household, Shen Nanqi caught an early morning train to Suzhou, and Jie Jianshan and Jie Yuchuan also headed out for work one after the other after breakfast.
Once they had gone, the only members of the household remaining were the elderly grandmother who found it inconvenient to go out, the pregnant Zhao Yanzhi, and the blind Jie Yu'an.
Over the days that followed, Ji Qingzhou would eat breakfast each morning, say a word to Jie Yu'an, and then change into the Western-style casual clothes Shen Nanqi had bought him and head out, traveling on foot and by tram through the surrounding streets and alleyways in search of a suitable shopfront, while doing a bit of market research along the way.
After several days of going back and forth like this, the Jie family had more or less gathered what he was up to, yet no one asked about it.
Just as Jie Yu'an had said, they gave him ample space for his personal activities.
In Ji Qingzhou's view, this kind of hands-off indifference was, in all likelihood, simply because they didn't care.
So long as he returned to the Jie residence each day before dinner to play his role as the good-luck charm, no one gave a thought to whether he spent his days working, drinking, or meeting friends outside.
A nobody like him, in a vast city like Shanghai, there was little chance he could stir up any waves.
Hard work pays off in the end, and after five days of scouting the area surrounding the Jie residence, Ji Qingzhou finally found a suitable shopfront.
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