"I'm looking for leather gloves, is there anything like that here? And then thick clothes for winter and such."
"Ah, yes of course, we also provide gloves. Not only that, but you can also order clothes that fit your body size."
Hearing that answer, I nodded slowly in agreement. Right now, the only clothes I had were the formal uniform and a white coat, so having one or two more suits of clothes probably wouldn't be a problem.
"Then, feel free to measure it, I don't mind."
Taking off the white coat and putting it down, the intricate patterns of the formal uniform I was wearing decorated most of the clothes. At that moment, I saw that the shopkeeper showed a little hesitation.
Although it was a simple formal uniform complete with a white suit, a dark brown shirt and a small black tie, but in the eyes of the Shopkeeper, the woman was almost speechless.
Was it really that difficult?
"I want to make one, similar to the outfit I'm wearing."
"Uhuk... I see, it will take about a week to complete."
Gosh, she didn't even try to hide her hesitation.
Hmm... Let's sow some more fuel. A growing fire is usually warm enough to support comfort.
With momentum, I waited for the woman to measure the size of my hips. As she did, I then played out each sentence on my tongue.
"Speaking of which, I'm an ordinary merchant. A clothing merchant to be precise."
"Haha...Miss does look like a successful merchant."
"Is that so? I'm actually not as successful as you think, in my hometown there are so many competitors, it's exhausting to compete with them all the time. Some business associates were even forced to sell all their business to me when they didn't know what else to do."
"I understand your concern, Miss is really a hard worker."
"-so I was wondering if I should build my business somewhere else. For example, this city."
"Huh?"
"Yes, I heard that this town produces furs and animal skins that can be used as basic materials to make coats. With a design similar to the one I'm wearing, there should be some nobles or rich merchants who will visit my shop."
I noticed that the woman's hands were trembling slightly, and her tone of voice changed as if she was filled with some sort of fear.
Nodding slowly, the woman then replied to me.
"I'm not sure."
"Why? This kind of design is quite in demand in the city where I live. I could have made a lot of profit had there not been so many competitors coming my way."
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"I must admit, that the clothes you're wearing will definitely attract people with a lot of money. But the problem is, there aren't many people like that in this town."
"Not many won't matter either, as long as the basic materials can be easily found, then I can make a sizable profit."
Finished with the measurements, the woman then wrote on the parchment. Black ink formed sentences and letters, but from the quality of the writing, I could see the imbalance caused by the trembling of the tensed hands. Her entire body was frozen with some sort of worry.
The woman was sweating even though the temperature in this room was very cold. I was impressed that the professionalism she showed was filled with patience.
Once again, this shopkeeper woman then opened up another conversation.
"Silk thread here, it's very hard to find, miss. Even if you buy a lot of furs and animal skins, there will be no craftsmen willing to make them into sewable materials."
I saw through the lie, she was lying. The speed with which she responded reminded me of novice merchants who don't have enough experience in global competition.
Such people tend to make some fatal mistakes. Without paying attention to details like this, I then answered as if I hadn't noticed her lie in the first place.
"That's bad. If no one can process it, it will be difficult to make good clothes, if the quality of the clothes I'm going to produce decreases, it won't be able to bring in more buyers."
"That's true. Even I myself can only sell one or two clothes at low prices in a month. It's not profitable at all, if only this shop hadn't been inherited by my mother, I would have sold it."
Looking to the side, the neatly arranged racks of clothes had various empty corners, when looking at the average size in this place, those corners could at least hold five or six clothes, moreover each side was well maintained in order to make buyers feel that all the clothes in this room were of high quality. This means that in one week, this woman could sell five or more garments, and her customers were probably nobles or wealthy merchants.
Ordinary people are unlikely to buy anything that emphasizes beauty, they will definitely prioritize functionality above all else.
"What a pity, I was really interested in opening a shop in this city."
Hearing what I said, the woman then rolled the parchment around her hand.
Her breathing began to regain its regularity as she put on a friendly smile.
"In that case, how about you buy raw materials like furs and animal skins to sell back to your city. I keep seeing people from big cities like yours coming here just to buy furs and hides."
"That seems interesting. But I don't know where I should buy them. Do you know anything."
"Unfortunately I don't know much. I'm sorry."
"I see."
I then grabbed back the white coat and put it on immediately.
Before I left, I didn't forget to put one silver coin. My eyes occasionally looked at the woman.
Her smile is very obviously deliberately made up. She's probably starting to hate me now. I don't know how long she's been comfortable as a merchant in the city, seeing a potential rival like me would only mean red flags.
Then what if I give her some sugar?
"Oh, yes one more thing. How about I teach you how to make clothes modeled after the ones I wear? You can give me two gold coins and find me information. But, ah, sorry offering that won't make you any profit. Why am I so forgetful, you just mentioned that there is no profit in selling clothes in this town."
Taking a step away, the shop door opened and the winter wind began to break through into the room.
Logically, this cold temperature would make everyone feel uncomfortable as well as their moods turning bad. That should also be true for that time, but for some reason, the sweet smile of the shopkeeper had now turned into a different tone of voice.
"Wait."
The voice was low but it sounded very clear. My feet stopped instantly as I blinked my eyes slowly. I wonder what decision she has made?
"I will pay. Two gold coins, right?"
So that was his decision.
I then moved my face to the side to allow my left eye to see her appearance.
Her expression changed, the woman's eyes darkened slightly filled with anger as if she wanted me to leave immediately. I then said.
"May I know what your name is?"
The woman, immediately replied.
"Lidya Tailor."