Gu An'an then elaborated on her ideas in detail.

When Master Liang first heard this, he was so impressed that he almost slapped the table in admiration. “This is a great idea! There are some toy dolls on the market now, like the big Afu doll you mentioned, but they’re so cold and lifeless to touch. Madam Gu’s idea is excellent. Cloth dolls are perfect for the young ladies of wealthy and powerful families to play with. But poor families can play with them too. They can find some scraps of cloth and make their own little toys.”

Magistrate Du glanced at it and said, "A truly poor family is struggling to even put food on the table; they wouldn't be thinking about playing with dolls."

But that's not the point.

"So, according to you, wouldn't we need to find a lot of people?"

“I remember that Su San Niang has an apprentice who serves her. She has been learning Su embroidery from Su San Niang for many years and should have a lot of experience. We can have her teach others.”

Su Sanniang.

Although Su Sanniang was not killed by Gu An'an, there was some connection between her death and Bo Ren's death.

"Manager Gu, aren't you afraid that Su San Niang's apprentice will cause you trouble?" Master Liang wasn't exactly a troublemaker, but the fact that Su Xiu was looking for such a person made him seem rather unsafe.

Gu An'an smiled upon hearing this, "Master Liang, you may not know this, but that child often comes to my place for meals. Before, when Third Sister tried to trick me, this child also mentioned it to me in a veiled way."

"That's even worse. This child was raised by Su San Niang. Isn't this betraying Su San Niang?"

Gu An'an denied it again, "You can't say that. Third Sister attacked me out of jealousy, and this child couldn't stand it. Besides, Third Sister didn't treat her very well either; she beat her quite a bit."

This explanation left Master Liang stunned; this was a situation he had never encountered before.

He looked at Magistrate Du and asked, "What do you think of this matter, sir?"

After a moment's thought, Magistrate Du asked, "Are you sure you can bear the potential losses?"

This question was asked with extreme caution, after all, Gu An'an's opinion was there.

Of course, Master Liang's concerns were not without merit, but how to handle this matter ultimately depended on Gu An'an's wishes, since she was the one who was paying for it.

Gu An'an chuckled lightly, "Just consider it a test of my judgment in choosing people. If it's not good, I won't use outsiders anymore."

What's the logic behind this?

Should we use insiders instead of outsiders? But where would we find so many insiders?

Magistrate Du pondered for a moment, then said, “Alright, we’ll do it your way. But don’t put all your eggs in one basket with this child. I’ll write a letter back home and see if we can find a skilled embroiderer for us.”

Gu An'an asked subconsciously, "Is your hometown in Suzhou Prefecture, sir?"

Master Liang smiled and said, "It's not Suzhou Prefecture, but your ancestral home is Yuhang, which is very close to Suzhou."

This is truly unexpected, mainly because Magistrate Du, although thin, is also tall and slender.

Moreover, neither his sister-in-law nor he spoke with the soft, melodious Wu dialect accent; it was impossible to tell at all.

"It's just my ancestral home." Magistrate Du didn't want to elaborate, and Gu An'an didn't press further, but instead explained the details.

To run a puppet workshop, the most indispensable things are cotton wool and fabric.

Suzhou embroidery is merely the icing on the cake, a reason to sell it at a higher price.

The fabric needs to be soft, yet strong and durable.

Meeting this condition simultaneously is not easy.

Gu An'an thought for a moment and decided that she might have to go out to Songjiang Prefecture to see what kind of fabric would be more suitable.

However, speaking of fabric, Gu An'an suddenly remembered something.

"Sir, I've heard that the Chen Family Cloth Shop in the county is owned by your brother?"

Gu An'an always bought her fabric from Lin's Fabric Shop, one of the two largest fabric shops in Anping County.

However, she was deeply impressed by the Chen family's cloth shop, which was said to be the brother of the county magistrate.

Gu An'an's question left Magistrate Du speechless, "That's the brother of the former magistrate, he has nothing to do with me."

Master Liang, acting as a witness, asked, "Why did Madam Gu suddenly ask about this?"

“I want to buy some fabric, so I thought I’d go to the fabric shop first and ask around. If the Chen family’s fabric shop really has a connection with Magistrate Du, it will be easier for me to find out more.”

Only after hearing this did Du and Liang realize what Gu An'an was thinking.

"But it doesn't matter, I'm quite familiar with the staff at Lin's, so it's the same if I go to him."

These words made Master Liang laugh. "With Manager Gu's good nature, who wouldn't give you face?"

Gu An'an gave a bitter smile. "Manager Bai died because of me. I'm afraid Young Master Lin will take his anger out on me. He's a member of the royal family."

The joking Master Liang immediately stopped laughing.

That makes a lot of sense.

However, Gu An'an clearly did not take this royal relative seriously.

From the time Bai Qiaoyin was captured until her death, Lin Zixing did not send any letters, and no one from Taibai Restaurant even visited her in prison.

This illustrates that Lin Zixing has already given up on Bai Qiaoyin.

Let's leave aside the question of which side Bai Linglong is on.

The key is Lin Zixing's willingness to give up.

He might mutter it to himself at most, but he wouldn't actually cause trouble for Gu An'an.

After all, Anping County was General An Yu's territory, so how could Lin Zixing act recklessly?

As long as Lin Zixing doesn't cause any trouble, Gu An'an has nothing to worry about.

Besides, Lin Zixing isn't in Anping County right now. He's been out of contact since he returned to the capital. What is there for Gu An'an to be afraid of?

He was just saying it to scare Master Liang.

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