Lord of Arcane

Linshui Town, East Street.

After buying clothes, Mrs. Mary continued to go from store to store with her daughter Jasmine. Every time she came across a store with a digital payment logo, she would slow down and take a few more glances, which allowed the alert Jasmine to quickly discover her mother's secret.

Soon, outside a shoe store with a digital payment logo, before Mrs. Mary could react, the sharp-eyed Jasmine was the first to shout, “Mom, Mom, that store has a sign too!”

"Yeah, that one has a mark too!"

Mrs. Mary was stunned for a moment, then she patted her daughter's head lovingly, then she held the clothes she had just bought in one hand, held her daughter's hand in the other, and walked towards the shoe store, saying:

"I'll buy you a few pairs of shoes. You're going to school, and you can't wear straw sandals like you do now!"

Hearing this, Jasmine subconsciously looked down at her shoes. They were indeed straw sandals, but they were still comfortable to wear. Besides, she had other shoes, such as the soft rubber shoes her father brought back for her not long ago.

Those shoes were very comfortable to wear, but in Jasmine's eyes, they were a gift from her father and looked very delicate. She usually couldn't bear to wear them. The shoes she wore most often were straw sandals and shoes made of wood.

But at this time, her mother was going to buy her leather shoes. Even though she was young, Jasmine knew that leather shoes were more expensive, even more expensive than rubber shoes!

So she carefully pulled her mother's hand and whispered, "There are rubber shoes at home. I can wear them to school. They are very comfortable!"

"Rubber shoes are not decent, leather shoes are better. Just buy two pairs and you can wear them alternately!" Mrs. Mary made a decisive decision.

In fact, with their family’s financial strength, they can afford both rubber shoes and leather shoes, and can afford to buy a pair every day. However, they have been used to being poor in the past, and now they are used to saving money.

Not to mention that they also have Jasmine learning magic, which makes it even more difficult for Mary's family to spend recklessly.

Another thing is that ordinary people have a blind admiration for leather shoes, believing that only respectable people are qualified to wear them. Even though the money Mary earns now would have been considered respectable in the past, she still thinks she is not respectable enough.

But my daughter is going to school and may become a wizard in the future, which is decent enough. In this case, how can she do without a pair of good shoes!

In fact, if we really talk about comfort, rubber shoes are the most comfortable. There are various styles with moderate softness and hardness to choose from, and they can even completely simulate the texture of leather shoes.

Although Mary herself had never worn those rubber shoes that completely imitated leather shoes, she usually worked in the rubber shoe factory in the territory in the afternoon. There was a special display area in the factory, and she had passed by there and looked at them countless times.

In her opinion, the process of making rubber shoes is too easy and is not worthy of the identity of a wizard, which is actually what she subconsciously thinks her daughter will be in the future.

She wanted to show this status by buying more expensive leather shoes.

But when her daughter was trying on shoes, Mary couldn't help feeling a little dazed. There were more comfortable rubber shoes at home, but she insisted on making her daughter wear leather shoes for the sake of face.

It doesn’t mean that wearing leather shoes is necessarily more uncomfortable than wearing rubber shoes, but good leather shoes are more expensive, and the actual experience may not be too different from that of rubber shoes.

Thinking of this, Mary suddenly stood up and snatched the pair of leather shoes that her daughter had just tried on from her daughter, then handed them to the apprentice in the store and said apologetically:
"Excuse me, we won't buy leather shoes anymore."

If this practice had happened in the past, the apprentices in the store would have probably cursed in public, but in Daxia Territory, buying and selling requires mutual consent from both parties, and the deal can be cancelled at any time if it has not been reached.

Even if the product has been tried, as long as it does not affect the secondary sales, the customer does not need to pay extra price. Shoes and clothes are typical products that can be tried for free.

However, even if he didn't say anything, the apprentice couldn't help looking at people with some displeasure. After all, this was related to his commission, and it was one of the few opportunities to make money before he finished his studies!
Mrs. Mary didn't dare to look at the apprentice. She pulled her daughter out of the shoe store quickly, and then turned around and went to another shoe store, a store mainly selling rubber shoes. Although there was no digital payment logo, Mary went there anyway.

"Boss, can I see these shoes?"

"Sure, you can look around and try them on."

There are no apprentices in the rubber shoe shop. These shoes are all imported from the Territory Rubber Shoe Factory. The boss is actually a middleman. Even though this store sells shoes now, the boss may think that something else is more profitable tomorrow, so he may sell other things.

When Mary arrived, there were several other people from other places who didn't look like they were from Daxia Territory, choosing rubber shoes. Mary also took her daughter to choose, but did not rush to check out.

She waited until the out-of-town customers had finished their purchases and left before she took the pairs of new and beautiful rubber shoes that her daughter had chosen and said to the boss:

"Boss, these aren't the latest models, right? Why don't you bring out the latest models?"

"Oh, madam is an expert!"

When the boss saw that Mary even knew the styles of rubber shoes, he immediately realized that this woman was no easier to fool than those outsiders, so he rolled his eyes and began to complain:

"The new models are to be exported to the Elven country. Besides, the new models are not easy to make and the price is higher. It is better to buy these old models. Although they are all old models, they are the best-selling ones in the territory. Moreover, compared with leather shoes, these shoes are not outdated at all and are more comfortable to wear!"

It is reasonable for a seller to not praise his own products, but the boss could not have imagined that Mary worked in a rubber shoe factory. Although she was not a front-line shoemaker, she was in the factory and was familiar with some basic processes of rubber shoe production.

The factory does export rubber shoes to the Elf Country, but the production cost of those shoes, excluding the appearance, is actually not higher than other rubber shoes. On the contrary, because enough are produced at one time, the cost is lower!
So Mary immediately revealed her identity as a rubber shoe factory worker. When the boss heard this, his face froze, and then he squeezed out efficiency again and said awkwardly:

"Doesn't the rubber shoe factory provide shoes to the workers? Why are you coming to me? Aren't you trying to make fun of me?"

"Boss, don't blame me. The rubber shoe factory does give shoes to workers, but it's limited to the workers themselves. If my daughter is older, she can wear the shoes the factory gives me. They are given to me regularly, and I have a lot more! But she is still young, and my shoes don't fit her feet. Besides, she will go to school soon, and the ordinary shoes given by the factory are not suitable, so I came to the street to have a look."

Mary's explanation was very accurate. The boss also noticed that Jasmine was still wearing homemade straw sandals. Looking at Jasmine's immature yet strong expression, he couldn't help but feel softened in his heart.

"Okay, then I'll sell it to you at cost price. If you think it's suitable, come to my store next time."

Then, the boss quoted a price. Mary thought it was okay. Although it was higher than the factory price of new shoes she knew, it was impossible for her to ask the boss to sell it to her at the factory price.

After all, it costs a lot to open a store on East Street, and although the rubber shoes here are not the newest, they are not the oldest either. Mary thinks the boss's offer is quite sincere. (End of this chapter)