Chapter 18: Selling Shoes (Part 2)

It had taken Zhao Ruhua nearly two full days to finish a single pair of shoes.

She had paid for the yarn herself and bought the soles with her own money.

It had cost her both effort and brainpower—surely twenty wen wasn’t too much to ask?

Who would have thought, the egg-seller auntie beside her snorted disdainfully.

“These shoes of yours? And you’re asking twenty wen? Who has so much money to waste on shoes like these?”

The uncle selling sweet potatoes on the other side chimed in,

“They don’t look practical at all. Can’t even wear them to the fields. Even if you sold them for two wen, I wouldn’t buy them.”

Zhao Ruhua: “…”

Was her craftsmanship really worth so little?

Not even two wen?

The egg-seller shook her head and said earnestly,

“Girl, listen to your auntie. At twenty wen, no one will buy your shoes.

People aren’t fools. Whether your shoes are worth that or not, everyone knows in their hearts.

Look at my eggs—selling all of them won’t even earn twenty wen.”

Hearing that, Zhao Ruhua couldn’t help but laugh.

She said lightly,

“That’s fine. If they don’t sell, I’ll just keep them for myself. I can change shoes every day and wear them out over a few years.”

Still, having her painstakingly crocheted shoes belittled like that left her a little displeased.

The auntie fell silent after that and began shouting again,

“Fresh eggs! Freshly laid eggs for sale!”

Zhao Ruhua neatly arranged her shoes.

Seeing no one come to look, she didn’t bother hawking her wares.

Instead, she picked up the remaining yarn and began crocheting a sweater.

The weather would turn cold soon, and she didn’t have many thick clothes.

She planned to finish a sturdy sweater before winter came so she wouldn’t freeze.

When Zhao Ruhua worked, she was fully focused.

The egg-seller had already sold half her eggs, while no one had even glanced at Zhao Ruhua’s shoes.

On the other side, the sweet potato vendor was grumbling about his bad luck,

cursing that after so long, he had barely sold any potatoes.

“Eh? Isn’t this Zhao Ruhua?”

A sharp, familiar voice reached her ears.

“You’re selling things here now?

What, planning to make a fortune doing small business in town like us?”

“You think these raggedy little things of yours can make any money?

Can you even sell one or two pairs in a day?”

Zhao Ruhua lifted her head to see Madam Chen.

Beside her was Madam Shen, Li Hongyun’s newly wedded wife.

Madam Shen’s belly had already rounded noticeably.

She stood at Chen’s side, looking Zhao Ruhua up and down with mocking eyes.

“Mother, so this is Hongyun’s former fiancée?

She’s really nothing much to look at.”

Her gaze lingered on Zhao Ruhua’s sun-darkened skin and utterly plain appearance, filled with open disdain.

Clearly, she was thinking that all the scheming she’d done to steal Li Hongyun from Zhao Ruhua had been unnecessary.

This woman wasn’t even worth the effort.

Zhao Ruhua arched a brow at her.

The woman in front of her was indeed beautiful—

Slender willow brows, almond-shaped face, big eyes, fair skin, delicate features—

a first-class beauty.

No wonder Li Hongyun had gone to such lengths to be with her.

If it were Zhao Ruhua in his place, she would probably have chosen such a beauty too.

But it was a pity this beauty had a vicious heart,

her gaze full of pride and scorn—just like Li Hongyun himself.

Hearing Madam Shen’s words, Zhao Ruhua laughed in anger.

Another fool coming to her door to be scolded.

“You are indeed very beautiful—

but you’re newly married, and your belly is already big, carrying another woman’s fiancé’s child.

Your parents really taught you well.”

“I may not be pretty, but at least I was taught properly.

My parents would never teach me to steal another woman’s man.”

“In all my life, this is the first time I’ve seen someone ruin another’s relationship and still act so righteous about it.”

Zhao Ruhua dared to scold Old Madam Lin,

so a mere Madam Shen was nothing to her.

Madam Shen’s eyes reddened with anger, and she immediately turned to cry to Chen,

“Mother, look at her!

She’s insulting me!

How can a woman say such vulgar things?”

Zhao Ruhua: “…”

A white lotus indeed.

Insult her? She was already merciful not to slap her.

If it weren’t for that big belly, she would’ve given her a good one across the face.

Chen said coldly,

“Don’t bother with her. This woman has a malicious heart.

Good thing Hongyun married you instead—

if he had brought her home, our family would’ve been doomed.

Just look at the things she makes. Hmph, no one will buy them.

She thinks earning money is that easy.”

“Come on, let’s go to the shop. Hongyun must be busy without us.”

She tugged Madam Shen along to leave.

Zhao Ruhua had just been thinking of giving these two women a proper lesson when—

a well-dressed middle-aged woman stopped in front of her stall.

“These shoes look quite nice.

Made with yarn, too?

I’ve never seen shoes like this before—they’re really unique.”

“Girl, how much for a pair?”

The woman squatted down and picked up a pair to examine carefully.

Chen and Shen both halted.

Zhao Ruhua swallowed the insults she had prepared and instantly put on a bright smile.

“Auntie, these shoes are twenty wen a pair.”

No sooner had she spoken than she heard Chen and Shen’s mocking laughter behind her.

Even the egg-seller chimed in that Zhao Ruhua’s shoes were overpriced and wouldn’t sell.

The woman ignored them.

She looked at the soles, then the uppers, and asked,

“All made of yarn? And these patterns, they’re crocheted too?”

Zhao Ruhua smiled.

“Yes, all yarn. You have a good eye—you noticed right away.”

The woman didn’t say anything more.

Zhao Ruhua wasn’t anxious.

She simply let the woman examine each pair carefully.

While she was patient, Chen and Shen grew restless, afraid the woman might actually buy them.

But the more they feared it, the more it happened.

After looking through the shoes, the woman said boldly,

“These are nice. I’ll take two pairs.”

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