Could it be that you do not even recognize silver?

"Shoo, shoo, get away! Don't block my shop and ruin my business!" the shopkeeper waved his hand dismissively, spitting, "Bad luck!"

Fang Hong bristled. "How can you talk like that?"

The shopkeeper sneered. "What? Are you planning to hit me? You look like a couple of little thieves to me. No morals at a young age—were you raised without parents?"

Fang Ning stepped forward, shielding Fang Hong behind her. "Shopkeeper, are your own parents dogs? How else could they have spawned a snobbish beast like you with eyes on top of its head? What bad luck. Come on, let's go to the fabric shop across the street."

With that, ignoring the shopkeeper—who was so furious he could only point and stammer "You, you, you!" without managing another word—Fang Ning pulled Fang Yu and Fang Hong across the street.

"Pfft! Little brats, don't let me catch you again, or I'll break your legs!" the shopkeeper cursed vehemently, dragging a stool out to sit by his doorway just to see how much those kids could possibly afford to buy!

"Ning'ning, maybe we should just go back. These shopkeepers are too awful, insulting people the moment we arrive!" Fang Yu's eyes were slightly red; he had never suffered such humiliation before.

"Why should we go back? Don't worry, I have silver. In a moment, we'll piss that dog-like thing off to death," Fang Ning said coldly.

The owner of the fabric shop across the street was a woman who spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

When the three half-grown children walked in, she didn't try to chase them away. Instead, she greeted them with a smile. "Little guests, is there something your family sent you to buy?"

"Shopkeeper, do you have any fabric scraps? We'd like to buy some," Fang Ning looked up, gazing at the owner. "We want to buy some fabric scraps."

"We do. Right over here, take a look and see what kind you'd like," the female shopkeeper led them to a wicker basket filled with scraps and let Fang Ning pick through them.

The patterns on the scraps were quite colorful. Fang Ning suddenly thought that perhaps these pieces could be used to make little animal rag dolls—Fang Fei had never had a doll of her own!

Seeing Fang Ning looking at scraps, the male shopkeeper from across the street ran over to spew sarcasm. "Oh my, and here I thought you were going to buy something grand! Turns out you're just picking through scraps? You should've said so earlier—kneel down and beg me, and maybe I'd toss you some as charity!"

"Shopkeeper Tang, this is my shop, don't you dare act wild in here!" The female shopkeeper's voice suddenly turned frosty. "What they buy is their own business, not your place to flap your gums!"

"Shopkeeper Zhong, I'm only looking out for you. These kids look like troublemakers, don't pick up sesame seeds only to lose the watermelon," Shopkeeper Tang sneered.

Fang Yu's face flushed crimson as he roared, "What we buy is none of your concern!"

Fang Ning pulled him back. "Don't lower yourself to a dog's level. When a dog bites a person, a person doesn't bite it back. Who knows which cesspit that dog ate shit in—wouldn't it be disgusting? Shopkeeper Zhong, we'll take all of these fabric scraps. If you have any more, bring them all out, too.

"Also, give us one bolt of these two kinds of fabric, and cut enough of these three kinds to make clothes—hmm, for someone about my height. And cut some of these three kinds as well, sized for someone one head taller than Shopkeeper Tang."

In one breath, Fang Ning named several kinds of fabric and then slapped a heavy ingot of silver onto the counter with a sharp *clack*.

Shopkeeper Zhong froze, thinking she must have misheard.

"Shopkeeper, are we not doing business?" Seeing no reaction from Shopkeeper Zhong, Fang Ning asked aloud, "Buying this much, does the shopkeeper have any gifts to give us?"

Only then did Shopkeeper Zhong snap back to reality. "Little guest, what are you buying so much for?"

"To make clothes for my family. The silver is right here; surely you don't think I'm just toying with the shopkeeper?"

"Ah, good, good, good! Quickly, come help our guest measure the fabric..." Shopkeeper Zhong beamed from ear to ear, then turned to glare at Shopkeeper Tang. "Thank you, Shopkeeper Tang, for handing such a big piece of business over to me!"

Shopkeeper Tang stared intently at the silver on the counter, his face turning beet red.

He gritted his teeth. "Who knows if that silver is even real? What are you gloating about, Shopkeeper Zhong?"

"Oh, after doing business for so many years, I can still tell real silver from fake. Could it be that Shopkeeper Tang doesn't even know how to identify silver? Ah, well, that would explain a lot."

"You!"

Of course he knew the silver was real, but as long-time rivals with Shopkeeper Zhong, there was no way he could tolerate a mere woman walking all over him!

His eyes darted, and he let out a cold snort. "That silver must be stolen. Which family would ever entrust silver to a child..."

*Crack!*

Fang Ning walked over and delivered a crisp, resounding slap across Shopkeeper Tang's face.

"You really did go eat shit in a cesspit, no wonder your mouth smells like sewage. The three of us brothers have no enmity with you—how dare you slander me like this?"

Clutching his cheek, Shopkeeper Tang stared at the child in utter disbelief. "You dare hit me?"

Fang Ning's gaze was cold and fierce. "You're asking to be abused, so who else would I hit if not you? The three of us brothers are honest folk, and you dismissively branded us as thieves with a single sentence? Who do you think you are?"

"I'll beat you to death today, you little bas—"

*Crack!*

Ducking swiftly, Fang Ning delivered yet another slap.

Shopkeeper Tang was completely dazed by the beating.

Seething with rage, Shopkeeper Zhong grabbed a heavy wooden ruler and smashed it against Shopkeeper Tang's body. "Tang, you dog, get the hell out of my shop! Are my customers someone you can insult as well? Do you take me for a pushover? Someone you can bully around?"

Shopkeeper Tang shrieked in pain under Shopkeeper Zhong's onslaught.

Cowering and fleeing in panic, he bolted out of the shop with Shopkeeper Zhong in hot pursuit. Everyone on the street watched as Shopkeeper Tang hopped and jumped about like a monkey while being thrashed by Shopkeeper Zhong.

"You snobbish trash! When you couldn't make a sale yourself, you came over to disrupt my shop? Did you really think I was afraid of you? If I don't beat you until you call me Granny today, I'll change my last name to yours!"

Fang Ning was dumbfounded.

Was this fierce woman really the same soft-spoken, gentle shopkeeper from moments ago?

The clerk, however, looked entirely unfazed.

Fang Yu and Fang Hong looked deeply worried. "Ning'ning, is she going to beat him to death?"

"Don't worry, this isn't the first time our boss has beaten that guy surnamed Tang," the clerk chuckled. "Little guest, you really are so filial, even buying fabric to make clothes for your family!"

"Our Ning'ning is filial, we didn't have the silver ourselves," Fang Hong blurted out without thinking. "He's amazing at making money! He even knows the young master of All-Flavor Tower and does business with him!"

The clerk cast a surprised look at Fang Ning.

Fang Ning smiled sheepishly. "He's just blowing hot air, big brother, don't believe him."

Fang Yu kicked Fang Hong from behind and hissed in a low voice, "If you don't know how to speak, no one's treating you as a mute."

Realizing he had let slip something he shouldn't have, Fang Hong turned bright red, standing there fidgeting nervously.

"Little guest, here's the thing: we have some older fabrics in the back. The boss said she wanted to clear them out. Would you like to take a look?" Being a shrewd businessman who saw that Fang Ning was generous with her money, the clerk immediately seized the chance to push some aged stock.

The fabric wasn't defective; it had simply sat in storage for a long time, causing the colors to dull slightly, so ordinary people were generally reluctant to buy it.

Moreover, the people around here were common folk who could barely afford coarse cloth, let alone fine cotton.

"Let me take a look then," Fang Ning replied casually.

"Ah, please wait just a moment, little guest, I'll go fetch them right now," the clerk said, his face lighting up as he scurried into the back.