Chapter 197 What do you think my sister-in-law’s reaction would be?

Sang Zhixia thought of the various brochures distributed at the mall in her previous life and explained, "There should be a list of categories for gift giving. We can add some variety to the list."

"Second Aunt, sketch out the apparel designs you're going to use to attract people. Have a few skilled artists paint the designs on those exquisite garments and make them into floral paper. Send them out along with the small gifts you've prepared. The recipients will be so moved by the floral paper that they might even come back to the store the next day."

Nowadays, ladies of wealthy families seldom go out, and it is impossible for them to go shopping when they have nothing to do. To order clothes and jewelry, they usually ask an embroiderer they are familiar with to come to their house to take their measurements and have the clothes sent to them after they are finished.

This means that the customers who come to the store are not wealthy people willing to spend money, and those who are willing to spend money may not be willing to hire an embroiderer they are not familiar with.

It’s different if you send the flower note to someone’s door.

The designs are novel and exquisite, and there will always be people who are moved by them when they see them.

Wouldn't the business come to you then?

Aunt Xu's eyes gradually brightened. If she hadn't had paper and pen in her hands, she would probably have spread out paper and started drawing.

Sang Zhixia lowered her head and ate the rice in her bowl. She continued, "I've also asked Boss Liu for the addresses of some skilled embroiderers. I can't rely on Second Aunt to do all the work in the embroidery shop. Once things are settled here, I'll go recruit these available embroiderers. I don't have to worry about too many orders. I can finish them all."

Chen Jing'an listened with a smile on his face. "Did sister-in-law come up with all these herself?"

Sang Zhixia nodded first, then laughed and said, "Not entirely."

"Didn't you teach me to make empty promises?"

As for the rest...

She has never done business herself, but she has seen so many advertisements on mobile phones and TV in her previous life. Even if she has never eaten pork, has she never seen a pig run?

Sang Zhixia tried hard to recall the marketing strategies she had seen in her previous life, and all kinds of unexpected ideas popped up one after another.

At the end of the conversation, even Chen Jing'an was eager to take out a pen and paper to take notes.

Sang Zhixia couldn't eat any more. Under Aunt Xu's disapproving gaze, she left some food behind and put down her chopsticks. She turned the teacup in her hand and said, "When we first opened, we could have a promotion. Buy two pieces of clothing and get a free purse. Buy three and you can get an extra handkerchief, and so on."

"If you can't buy that much at once, or if you don't see a pattern you like, you can save it in advance."

Xu Minghui looked strange: "Pre-save?"

"Storing clothes?"

Sang Zhixia raised her index finger and shook it: "No, it's a deposit."

"For example, a piece of finely embroidered clothing made of fine materials is priced at five taels. This is the same price no matter how many pieces you buy. However, if you deposit twenty taels in advance, the price of each piece will be four taels and eight cents. If you deposit fifty taels, the price of each piece will be four taels and a half cents. The more you deposit, the greater the discount."

"When you deposit money, you can also get some small gifts based on the amount of money, such as fan pendants, purses, handkerchiefs, scented bags, fan covers, and belts. The more you deposit, the better the gifts."

"The deposited money is recorded in the account. Each time you buy something, it is debited. If you don't want to buy it in the future, the remaining money can be refunded in full."

Sang Zhixia swallowed the term "membership top-up system"—a term so unfamiliar to the people present—and thought for a moment before saying, "It's like customers depositing money in the store and spending it whenever they want. To attract more people to deposit, we might as well take a small loss at first and be more creative with the deposit amount."

Chen Jingan narrowed his eyes: "For example?"

"For example, you can tell customers that if they deposit ten taels of silver five days before the opening, it will be recorded as eleven taels and they can buy things worth eleven taels."

Sang Zhixia took a sip of tea and leaned back in her chair, smiling as she said, "If you deposit fifty taels, you'll get an extra five taels in benefits. It's like getting a set of fine clothes for free. The larger the amount, the more benefits you'll get."

"It doesn't matter if we lose some money at the beginning, because those who have deposited money are our confirmed customers. They won't switch to other places before their money is gone. Once the customer base is stable, won't we have nothing to worry about?"

As long as they can attract customers into the store in the early stage of opening, the next critical moment will be for the embroidery to attract people's attention. She really can't help afterwards, and it all depends on Second Aunt herself.

But what she said today was enough.

The surprise in Aunt Xu's eyes was almost overflowing. Thinking of what Sang Zhixia had just said, she opened her mouth and swallowed a big reassurance pill.

Chen Jing'an and Xu Minghui were also inspired and even took on the painter's work while joking.

Xu Minghui said, "Wait until my mother has decided on the pattern for the clothes she wants to draw. My sister-in-law can just tell me what kind of flower paper she wants to make, and I will draw it."

Sang Zhixia was slightly surprised: "Are you good at painting ladies? Can you paint any kind of women?"

Xu Yu was an excellent painter, but he also made it clear that he could not paint figures.

Is Xu Minghui still hiding this surprise?

Xu Minghui burst out laughing when he heard this. After a moment's reflection on Sang Zhixia's casual words, he curled his eyes in a half-smile: "Are you saying that big brother can't draw?"

Sang Zhixia said casually: "He said he couldn't do it, so it's hard for him to do anything."

Xu Minghui smiled with an ambiguous smile and said calmly, "That's a coincidence. I can do it."

"Leave this matter to me."

Sang Zhixia was happy that she had solved another problem. She turned around and talked to Aunt Xu in detail about the next arrangements. While talking, she also bought some things.

Xu Minghui and Chen Jing'an, keeping their distance, accompanied them. When they entered a dim sum shop up ahead, Chen Jing'an's face lit up with amusement: "I remember Xu Yu's figures were also well drawn."

Not only can he draw, but he can draw very well.

Back then, the Xu family's eldest son was a playboy who loved to do evil and even more so to beauties. He was treated as a guest of honor by countless stunning beauties in red-light districts. His portraits were even snapped up and sold at staggering prices of thousands of gold. Everyone was lucky enough to get one of them and they were admired by countless people.

How long has it been and you can't even pick up the paintbrush?

Xu Minghui looked lazy and said calmly, "He painted quite a few, but he never painted faces. The faces of the people in his paintings are unclear. If you don't read the captions and only look at the clothes and attire, you can't tell who is who."

Chen Jing'an clenched his left fist and smashed it against his right palm, suddenly realizing, "Now that you mention it, it suddenly occurred to me that Xu Yu seemed to have stopped drawing after he got engaged to the Sang family girl?"

"It's not that I won't paint anymore."

Xu Minghui: "He only wanted to paint one person with a clear face; the rest of the vulgar objects were out of the picture."

To be precise, those people had never really caught Xu Yu's attention.

As for the meticulously painted mulberry branches and summer...

How could Xu Yu bear to let others see it?

Xu Minghui narrowed his eyes, unable to conceal his sarcasm, and sneered, "Although you and I both know that Xu Yu's romantic exploits back then shouldn't be taken seriously, it's said that his calligraphy is still carefully collected and cherished by many beautiful women."

"What do you think my sister-in-law's reaction would be if she returned to Kyoto one day and heard about those widely circulated romantic stories and recalled what Xu Yu said today?"

Chen Jing'an stroked his chin and thought for a while, with a look of deep pity in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

He curled his lips into a malicious smile and said subtly, "Oh, who could have thought of that when you put it that way?"

But it's definitely fun.

As for Xu Yu, as a brother, there is no need to remind him.

No matter how serious the sins he committed were, Xu Yu still had to taste the bitter fruit himself.

We only have one lifetime to live, and it would be a shame not to see the excitement that we can.

A little bit looking forward to it.