Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 143 - 138: Sis-in-law, Don’t Smile at Others Casually

Chapter 143: Chapter 138: Sis-in-law, Don’t Smile at Others Casually
The business at Ruyi Cloth Shop seems to be consistently good, with many customers in the store at the moment.
Looking at the colorful ready-made clothes displayed next to the shop, Song Tingfan was momentarily dazed, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.
He thought his sister-in-law’s light yellow ruqun was quite beautiful, but it turns out there are even more beautiful ones.
Sister-in-law would definitely look good in these clothes.
Lin Qiao naturally noticed his expression, thinking he fancied the clothes at the cloth shop. She pondered for a moment, planning to buy him an outfit as a birthday gift later.
Not seeing the waiter from last time, she found another one; this waiter was much younger, around fifteen or sixteen years old, and somewhat handsome.
"Young man, could you help call the shopkeeper and tell them I’m here to deliver the designs?"
The waiter seemed a bit impatient, probably too busy, but after seeing what Lin Qiao looked like, he became slightly shy, "Sure, I’ll call them for you."
Lin Qiaoxin clicked her tongue twice internally; it’s truly all about looks wherever you go. She kept a neutral expression and said with a gentle smile, "Thank you, young man."
The waiter glanced at her a few times, blushing a bit, and stammered, "You’re welcome." Then he ran into the inner room.
Standing nearby, Song Tingfan seemed a bit displeased; he didn’t like the waiter looking at his sister-in-law.
The sister-in-law even smiled at him.
Thinking about this, he pursed his lips and said, "Sister-in-law..."
"Hmm?"
"Don’t smile at others so casually."
"..."
Lin Qiao didn’t expect him to say that, feeling momentarily stuck, and then saw the serious expression on Song Tingfan’s face as he said, "There are many bad people outside."
"Alright, I’ll listen to my little uncle." Lin Qiao’s eyebrows curved as she raised her hand to make a closing motion over her mouth.
For being young, he really has a lot to worry about.
Good thing he was growing up, otherwise what good would that face be?
At this moment, the waiter returned, "Young lady, the shopkeeper asked me to bring you inside."
Then they entered the inner room, where the shopkeeper was still busy. However, upon seeing them come in, he put down his work and said with a cheerful smile, "I thought the young lady was coming tomorrow."
Lin Qiao smiled, "I stayed up drawing them, just thought I’d bring them for you to see if any changes are needed."
The shopkeeper nodded, then glanced at Song Tingfan, "Is this your family member?"
Lin Qiao wore a matron’s hairstyle, and the young man’s long hair was all tied up beside her, so he instinctively assumed that he had come of age, naturally assuming they were a couple.
In fact, Song Tingfan just found it convenient for work.
Lin Qiao wasn’t hearing this for the first time, she smiled and shook her head, "No, this is my little uncle, Song Tingfan. Little uncle, greet the shopkeeper."
Song Tingfan obediently saluted, "Shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper nodded with a smile and said, "My apologies, I mistook."
Then he took the design sheets Lin Qiao handed over. At first glance, he was impressed. The design had a unique style; most of An Yuan’s clothes feature a slanted collar, but the design had a square neck.
An Yuan is relatively open in terms of customs; it’s not uncommon for women to show their necks.
The design notes included suggestions for which fabric colors to use.
Lin Qiao explained beside him, "The color scheme is just my idea, you can choose differently since you are the pros in this field."
The shopkeeper grinned, "The young lady has a good eye; the color scheme is excellent."
"The designs are good and need no changes. For the two design sheets, I will give you four taels of silver."
"If you have more good designs in the future, bring them here, and I’ll prioritize considering the young lady."
Now she had another place to earn some money. Lin Qiao said happily, "Thank you, shopkeeper."
"It’s what you deserve. By the way, young lady, you’ll need to come with me to the embroidery workshop later. I’m afraid the embroideresses might not understand the designs."
"Alright."
...
The embroidery workshop was in the attic of the inner room, quite large and seemingly spanning across the adjacent shops on both sides.
A quick glance showed at least twenty embroideresses at work.
Song Tingfan took a few steps back, standing by the doorway and stammered, "Sister-in-law, I’ll wait at the door for you."
Lin Qiao noticed his reddened ears and knew what he was "afraid" of. She thought, hmm, this bad habit should really be changed. "Alright."
She and the shopkeeper went inside.
They went up to a woman in her thirties or forties at the far end. The shopkeeper was very polite, "Lady Yun, I need to discuss something with you."
Lady Yun put down her work and took the design sheets. The shopkeeper said, "For the next few days, please embroider these two outfits. I’ll assign the other work to other embroideresses shortly."
Lady Yun glanced over the designs, then looked at Lin Qiao with surprise, "Did you draw these?"
"Yes," Lin Qiao nodded.
Lady Yun didn’t ask further. Lin Qiao then explained some details of the designs to her.
The shopkeeper initially thought she wouldn’t know much, but she actually had a clear understanding of fabric sewing, even the raw materials of the fabrics.
After they finished talking, he praised, "The young lady knows a lot. How is your embroidery? If you can, consider coming to Ruyi."
Lin Qiao didn’t brag; she had observed on the way that these embroideresses had excellent skills, skills she couldn’t match. "My embroidery skills aren’t that good."
Besides, she had embroidered enough...
The shopkeeper’s eyes showed a hint of regret, but Lady Yun took a liking to her, "Even if your embroidery isn’t good, you can learn. I find you smart; learning shouldn’t take much time."
She meant to offer to teach her.
It’s worth noting that Lady Yun had never agreed to teach anyone before, despite the shopkeeper having hinted many times.
"Thank you for your kindness, Lady Yun, but I can’t leave home." Lin Qiao feared she might think she was being boastful and further explained, "My husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law have all passed away. It’s just me, my little uncle, grandpa, and grandma. My little uncle needs to study, and my grandparents are elderly and need care."
That she was a widow was unexpected, leaving Lady Yun and the shopkeeper a bit surprised, though they quickly returned to normal, with a hint of sympathy in Lady Yun’s gaze toward her.
Lin Qiao: "..."
Ignoring the unstable antagonist, being a widow was actually quite good.
As she was about to leave the embroidery workshop, Lin Qiao remembered something and stopped, "Shopkeeper, how much is the blue crane outfit displayed in the shop?"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment, "Two taels of silver."
Lin Qiao clicked her tongue. A piece of clothing could cost as much as the provisions for an entire family for two or three months.
The shopkeeper, seeing she was interested in buying, said with a smile, "If you want to buy it, I’ll deduct half a tael of silver for you."
Even at one and a half taels, it was still expensive.
Thinking of the antagonist’s birthday, Lin Qiao gritted her teeth, "Then I’ll take one in my little uncle’s size."
"That outfit is out of stock in other sizes; it will be available tomorrow. Give me the address, and I’ll have it sent to you by one of our delivery staff." The shopkeeper said.
Lin Qiao nodded, then paid the silver, and when she left the shop, not seeing Song Tingfan made her inexplicably anxious. No matter how mature he behaved, he was still just a young boy and easily deceived.
She called out in the corridor a few times, "Tingfan! Tingfan!"
"Don’t worry; nothing will happen inside the shop," the shopkeeper reassured her.
Just as the two were about to go downstairs, they saw Song Tingfan running up. Lin Qiao breathed a sigh of relief, "Little uncle, you scared me to death. I thought you were missing."
The concern in the woman’s eyes was genuine, warming Song Tingfan’s heart. He scratched his head, "Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I saw someone selling flower cakes, so I went to buy a few pieces."
Saying this, he took them out of his chest, "Sister-in-law, have some."
Looking at the flower cakes, Lin Qiao was moved. This silly child, his whole heart was with his sister-in-law.
His sister-in-law never treated him like a person.
She momentarily forgot that she was now his sister-in-law.
She took them and reminded him, "Next time, don’t go out alone. The county town is big, and there are human traffickers."
Song Tingfan obediently nodded.