Chapter 14 - A Tailor’s Visit

The tailor was an esteemed craftsman who had long served the Williams family. He lived in a nearby town and, after receiving the steward's summons, spent the entire morning preparing before rushing over with his apprentice.

Along with the tailor, a shoemaker had also arrived.

They not only brought fabrics and leather to tailor custom clothes for Wei Wei but also brought several ready-made outfits and shoes.

This was a great relief for Wei Wei. She had been wearing Dolores' clothes, which didn't fit her well, and she had no spare outfits to change into.

The clothes and shoes they brought fit her perfectly. Wei Wei wasn't sure if they had somehow learned her measurements in advance and adjusted the garments accordingly, but judging by how well they fit around the waist and feet, it seemed highly likely.

Wei Wei's only requirement for shoes was comfort. She couldn't bring herself to wear the pointed-toe shoes that were currently in fashion—styles that resembled clown shoes. She instructed the shoemaker to remove the excessively long, pointed tips and instead craft something closer to modern leather shoes.

"If possible, I'd like the soles to be slightly elevated—something like this."

To make herself clear, Wei Wei borrowed parchment from the steward and used a quill to sketch a pair of low-heeled shoes.

"The heels shouldn't be too high—about three centimeters, roughly the width of three fingers placed side by side. Also, the bottom of the shoes should have some anti-slip patterns, something like this."

She quickly drew a few common tread patterns.

"Can you make these?"

The shoemaker carefully examined the parchment. Wei Wei had studied art before—not professionally, but enough to make her sketches clear and detailed.

Although pointed shoes had started becoming popular in Europe, they hadn't yet reached the extreme lengths seen in later centuries. The shoemaker had experience making rounded-toe leather shoes, but he had never crafted shoes with heels before.

Still, he assured her with confidence, "Yes, I can make them."

After some hesitation, he cautiously asked, "My lady, what material should the heels be made of? Would gold or silver be too heavy?"

As the best shoemaker in Sardinson County, he had taken many orders from noblewomen who loved to embellish their shoes with gemstones and precious metals. He assumed Wei Wei would be the same.

Wei Wei twitched at the thought. "Gold and silver? No, wood is fine. Try using a lightweight yet sturdy type of wood. If that doesn't work, a normal sole will do."

"Any decorative preferences?"

"None. Just plain leather, nothing fancy." Wei Wei glanced at the embroidered shoes she was currently wearing. If she wanted elaborate shoes, she could just make them herself.

The shoemaker also stole a glance at her feet. In fact, ever since he saw Wei Wei, he had been repeatedly drawn to her shoes.

He had never seen this kind of footwear before. It was clearly not made of leather, yet its craftsmanship was exquisite—far beyond anything he had ever encountered.

Wei Wei then sketched a few more designs, ordering both ankle boots and knee-high boots. The shoemaker said he would need to experiment with the soles, but everything else was manageable. Satisfied, Wei Wei asked about the price.

Since she didn't require excessive decorations, and the materials were mostly just leather, the cost wasn't too extravagant. However, she had placed multiple orders and requested high-quality leather, so the shoemaker carefully calculated before quoting a price of ten silver coins.

Wei Wei had already learned that, while different European nations had various currency names, their exchange rates were consistent:

1 gold coin = 20 silver coins = 240 large copper coins = 960 small copper coins.

Surprisingly, the purchasing power of this currency was quite strong.

A mere 4 small copper coins were enough to cover a commoner's food expenses for a day (two meals). In reality, most commoners couldn't even earn a single silver coin in a month, as bartering was still the norm.

So, ten silver coins for a pair of shoes was quite expensive.

But Wei Wei was practically sitting on a small mountain of gold—she could more than afford it.

She casually took out a small gold ingot and handed it to the shoemaker. "Will this do? It's roughly worth one gold coin."

The gold she had received from the system was in the form of gold ingots, each shaped like traditional Chinese sycees. According to modern standards, each ingot weighed one tael (about 37.5 grams). In contrast, the standard gold coins of this era weighed around 5 grams each.

This meant one of Wei Wei's ingots was worth 10 gold coins.

In other words, she was sitting on a fortune of 200,000 gold coins.

Even Felix, as an earl, only earned about 5,000 gold coins in annual land revenue. Her wealth was equivalent to 40 years' worth of Sardinson County's tax income.

When Wei Wei first learned this, her jaw nearly dropped. After that, she never worried about running out of money again.

Before meeting the shoemaker, she had asked the system to divide one gold ingot into ten smaller pieces. Now, handing over one of those pieces, she was essentially paying ten times the cost of the shoes in a single transaction.

In reality, due to variations in minting, the gold coins of the Prady Empire weighed slightly less than the standard 5 grams—averaging around 4.5 grams. Their purity was also lower due to crude refining techniques, falling far short of modern 999 fine gold.

Thus, Wei Wei's 100% pure gold was far more valuable than regular gold coins.

The shoemaker couldn't immediately determine its purity, but he could tell it was heavier than the gold coins he usually handled. He bit into it lightly to verify its authenticity and, delighted by his fortune, eagerly praised Wei Wei's generosity. However, he admitted that he didn't have enough silver coins on hand for change and asked if she could send someone to collect the difference later.

Wei Wei was about to tell him to just bring the change when he delivered the shoes, trusting that a reputable craftsman wouldn't cheat her.

But before she could speak, Steward Barton, who had been silently observing, stepped forward and took the gold from the shoemaker's hands.

He addressed Wei Wei seriously, "Miss Wei Wei, the Earl has ordered that all of your expenses in the castle will be covered by him."

In other words, she didn't need to pay—Felix would cover everything.

Wei Wei rejected the offer without hesitation. "No, the Earl has already done me a great favor by letting me stay. I can't let him pay for my personal expenses as well. I'll cover them myself."

Barton tried to persuade her a few more times, but seeing her determination, he had no choice but to relent.

However, he did not return the gold to the shoemaker. Instead, he took out ten silver coins from his own pouch and handed them over. Then, he gave another ten silver coins back to Wei Wei.

As for the gold ingot, Barton decided to hand it over to Felix.

Hopefully, the Earl wouldn't mind the bite mark on it.

The shoemaker was slightly regretful about losing the more valuable gold, but ten silver coins were still a huge profit. Satisfied, he packed up his measurements and sketches and left.

Next, Wei Wei discussed her clothing requirements with the tailor.

Fabric choices were limited in Europe at this time. Silk, imported from the East, was out of the question. Commoners mainly wore coarse linen or nettle fabric, while nobles dressed in fine linen, woolen fabrics, and fur. Cotton was also available but rare—since cotton was still known as "wool from the cotton tree," its production was minimal, making it more expensive than wool.

Wei Wei had always been allergic to wool, finding it unbearably itchy. Apparently, this sensitivity had carried over to her current body, so she ruled out wool entirely and opted for other fabrics.

Since Sardinson was quite cold, and the castle was even colder, she needed thicker clothing and a warm cloak.

She left the fabric selection to the tailor, as long as it wasn't wool. However, she had one key request:

"I don't want these oversized sleeves." She pointed at her arm. "They're too cumbersome."

The tailor hesitated. "My lady, this is the current fashion. If you wear something different, the noblewomen at banquets may mock you."

Wei Wei doubted she'd be attending any banquets soon, but just in case, she agreed to one gown in the current style.

"Make one fashionable dress, but for the rest, use smaller sleeves. Keep the designs simple—no gemstones. Lace is fine, but not too much."

The tailor left looking visibly distressed, feeling that Wei Wei's requests wouldn't allow him to showcase his craftsmanship.

After spending an entire afternoon negotiating with the tailor and shoemaker, Wei Wei was utterly exhausted.

Shopping was fun, but custom orders were truly a hassle.