Song Miaozhu had originally wanted to be fair and square, planning to make a fourth-rank Yang Paper Dress for each of her little paper servants.
After all, when she first stitched together that dress from the design sketch and let them try it on, they practically went crazy with joy. Even the ones still working at the time switched shifts just to take a turn wearing it.
They might not get paid and always followed her orders without complaint, but after spending so much time with them, Song Miaozhu had grown attached. She wanted to make them happy.
Who would've thought that after seeing the new design sketch, these little things would once again lose all focus? They even came up with the idea of sixty different dresses they could take turns wearing.
They were so enthusiastic that they even offered to wait patiently for her to learn new techniques.
Song Miaozhu began to question her own existence.
Were these little paper servants really created from her spiritual energy, inheriting a bit of her personality and thoughts?
Did she really love pretty dresses that much?
Noticing that she had been silent for a while, the first little paper servant who had gotten a Yang Paper Dress quietly took off its skirt. The others quickly flapped their little fans, lifting the one with the skirt into the air and letting it float gently onto Song Miaozhu's arm. The little paper servant pressed the dress into her hand and even waved at her.
"You want me to wear it?" Song Miaozhu was stunned. "Are you saying I should join the rotation too?"
The little paper servant nodded, its tiny paper hand gesturing to the others before finally pointing at her.
Song Miaozhu understood. "You're saying we're all one, so we should take turns wearing the dresses together?"
All the little paper servants nodded again. Even those who hadn't returned from their tasks sent mental images through the shared link, nodding in agreement.
Clearly, this was the collective will of all her paper servants.
Though still standing in the underworld, Song Miaozhu felt a gentle warmth spread through her body. By the time she realized it, she had already put the dress on.
The little paper servants clapped and cheered, crowding around her and guiding her back to the living world, where they stood before a full-length mirror.
Reflected in the glass was a young woman in a soft lavender dress, her hair loosely draped over her shoulders. She looked gentle and sweet, like a fairy-tale princess surrounded by love—an image of herself she had never seen before.
"I think I get it now. Why you all love beautiful dresses so much," Song Miaozhu murmured as she gazed at the reflection. She had fallen for it too.
The little paper servants were thrilled, linking hands and dancing in a circle around her. In their excitement, they accidentally let their thoughts slip.
"Sixty-one beautiful dresses!"
"If only we had a few more companions!"
Song Miaozhu froze and asked, "So the real reason you wanted me to join... was just to add one more unique dress into the mix?"
"And now you're hoping I'll make even more little paper servants so there can be more dresses to share?"
The little paper servants stiffened for a second, then acted like nothing had happened and continued dancing happily around her.
"…,"
Song Miaozhu looked at them, both exasperated and amused. "Alright! From now on, any beautiful outfit I learn to make will have a version turned into a Yang Paper Dress. We'll all share them together."
She had officially reached the point of sharing a wardrobe with her paper servants.
Luckily, fourth-rank Yang Paper Clothes could adapt to the wearer's shape, never got dirty or damaged, and were perfect for sharing.
The little paper servants: (>_<)!
As they played together, an image from the little servant working at the ghost shop's cashier desk suddenly caught Song Miaozhu's attention. She focused her mind and turned her gaze toward the scene.
"…This concerns the interests of all major paper-crafting shops in Fengdu. Please make sure this invitation reaches Shopkeeper Song of Anshou Hall as soon as possible!"
A ghost wearing a third-rank yellow official robe had entered the shop, not to buy anything, but to hand over an invitation before leaving immediately.
Since Song Miaozhu couldn't return to the underworld again that day, she instructed a little paper servant to bring the invitation to her in the living world.
When she opened it, she saw that it was from the master of Fortune Garment Workshop.
According to the letter, a recent flood of cheap paper crafts had caused a drop in sales across the board. Fortune Garment Atelier had tracked down the source and was inviting all long-standing paper-crafting shops with over three hundred years of history to gather at the Flowing Wine Courtyard in Yunlai Pavilion, No. 454, Cuiliu Alley, at midnight three days from now to discuss countermeasures.
Song Miaozhu had expected some sort of reaction from the underworld's paper-crafting community, but she was still surprised to receive such a formal invitation. She hadn't expected the ghost proprietors to act so quickly—or to include her. Had they sent it because they knew Anshou Hall was connected to the living world, or simply because of the shop's long-standing legacy?
Whatever the reason, she was curious and planned to attend. With her credentials as the owner of a Heaven-ranked ghost shop, her safety in the underworld would be guaranteed. Fengdu City was also known for its excellent public order.
Everyone invited was the owner of a paper-crafting shop that had survived over three centuries. Their shops would surely be backed by capable figures, likely masters of the craft even in the living world.
She might as well go and build some connections.
Song Miaozhu postponed her other lessons for a few days.
Then she reached out to one of the ghost instructors specializing in Republican-era fashion and spent several days attending his classes. With his help, she designed and created a fourth-rank Yang Paper Dress that matched the style of a dignified Anshou Hall proprietor. Clothes make the person, just as saddles dress a fine horse. A fourth-rank paper outfit was the flashiest calling card a ghost could have.
Three days later, at the stroke of midnight.
Song Miaozhu floated out of Anshou Hall, wearing a black velvet qipao embroidered with golden ingots. With time to spare, she wandered through Yinshui Alley to check out the business of other paper-crafting shops.
Compared to Anshou Hall, which had the irreplaceable draw of fourth-rank paper dresses, the others were struggling badly. Shop sales were poor, yet the streets were full of ghostly foot traffic. Turns out, all the customers had been snatched up by street vendors.
There were ghosts selling ingot molds, yellow spirit paper, golden lotuses, paper clothes, and paper shoes. Shops in the underworld used ghost-made paper crafts and materials unique to that realm. Items properly burned from the living world weren't completely empty. Some contained spiritual remnants of longing, transforming them into offerings.
The ones being sold on the streets, though, clearly came from the SEIU. Even the ghosts selling them had those in hand, sometimes offering them at half price, or even for just a tenth of the original.
The desire to save money was universal among both the living and the dead. Aside from the fourth-rank dresses, which were more for show and couldn't match the real ones in quality, the rest of the graded paper goods were quite decent.
Naturally, ghost customers had flocked to the street stalls instead.
Yinshui Alley was the most concentrated strip of paper-crafting shops in the underworld. Ghosts looking for such wares would come here, only to be intercepted by peddlers along the way.
That explained why the streets were bustling with spirits while the shops were eerily quiet.
Some of the vendors were even hawking their wares right outside the shop entrances. No wonder the old shopkeepers were starting to panic and wanted to meet up to devise a plan.
Song Miaozhu shook her head, then turned down a side street and headed toward Cuiliu Alley.