A few days later, two maids came to Chen's mansion. Xianjin was not at home, so Old Lady Qu received them. They kept calling "Manager He" and "Boss" and brought a load of finely refined fruit candies and three or four rolls of Songjiang cloth of different colors, all of which were not too bright. They said, "...It's almost New Year, and our girl has been complaining that Manager He hasn't had new clothes for several years, so we specially left a few rolls of Songjiang cloth for you to make clothes!"
The "girl" mentioned here is Xiong Youyou.
Old Madam Qu was secretly delighted and thanked the two maids repeatedly. She handed them fruits to eat, gave them heavy sachets, and chatted with them about all sorts of things under the sun. She was just about to make a blood oath and become sworn sisters with the two maids.
After the two maids left, Old Lady Qu went to inquire again and found out that Bai Ji had already removed all its silk-cut and painting rice paper from the shelves in disgrace - the father and son of the Bai family had attempted suicide in front of Prefect Xiong's door yesterday, and everyone knew about it. Now that they had removed the goods in disgrace, everyone knew that Bai Ji had not succeeded in getting Prefect Xiong's help.
Today, two maids from Xiong Youyou's side came to give gifts. Madam Qu subconsciously thought that it was Xiong Youyou who helped. After noon, she took Aunt Qu to "Fubai" and urged Xianjin, "...Why don't you prepare a generous return gift for Miss Xiong? If it weren't for her help, the rice paper for engraving and painting would have ended up as a piece of colored rice paper..."
Xianjin narrowed his eyes and turned to ask Aunt Zhong behind him, "Has anyone sent anything to the Zhen family on Longchuan Creek?"
The two stripes on Aunt Zhong's sleeves sparkled, and in the warm sun, the shadow of a third stripe could even be seen. "I just inquired and sent a ruler." After a pause, "Well, the Zhen family has won tickets for both the north and south sections of Longchuan River. When I went there, the Zhen family had opened several jars of wine to celebrate. So I ordered six dishes from the Baixiang Pavilion next door to celebrate."
Xianjin nodded in understanding and said casually, "Keep the account and go from 'Fubai'."
Aunt Zhong replied "yes", her expression calm but extremely confident.
Aunt Qu lowered her head unconsciously: I hope Mrs. Qu is blind and can't see the difference in profession and ability...
Aunt Du beside Aunt Zhong wanted to hide her crossed hands: they all came here together, Aunt Zhong has already taken up a management position, and she is still helping Aunt Zhang. Yesterday she picked more than ten pounds of bean sprouts, sorted three baskets of peppercorns, and fried two large buckets of lard... Thinking of this, Aunt Du straightened her back again: Well, her son once said that leaves have bricks to attack, which means that every leaf has its own brick to attack it, and she is the leaf that attacks Aunt Zhang's position!
Xianjin also instructed Aunt Zhong to prepare new year gifts to send to the Xiong family, in addition to the most basic ones, also add ten gourds of Fuding white tea, three rare ancient books, and a complete set of engraved Shan Hai Jing series of rice paper with interlaced pictures.
The gift is indeed very heavy.
Madam Qu frowned and said, "Prefect Xiong never accepts such a valuable gift."
Xianjin smiled and said, "This year, he will definitely receive it."
Madam Qu felt that Xianjin was unmoved. She turned her thin face away and looked directly at Xianjin. "If our gift is returned, we will be a laughing stock in the whole Xuancheng Prefecture."
Xianjin sighed, his heart a little tired, his mouth a little tired, "He will accept it. The old man has helped Chen Ji so much, he will definitely accept it."
Madam Qu frowned again, "...You mean Bai Ji? No, wasn't it Miss Xiong who helped with this?"
Xianjin stopped talking and said, "If it was You Niang who helped, how could the Zhen family get a ruler and two flight tickets?"
Mrs. Qu suddenly understood.
When a matter involves three parties, it is impossible for each of them to take care of their own affairs.
How is it possible that the Chen family’s favor was sought by Miss Xiong, and the Zhen family’s back door was opened by Magistrate Xiong?
Madam Qu wanted to say something, but Xianjin patted the non-existent dust on the hem of her skirt, made an excuse to go into the inner room to look at new goods, and left Aunt Zhong to keep Madam Qu company while she left.
......
As November approaches, the New Year is imminent, and the New Year atmosphere is getting stronger. "Fubai" immediately launched another set of New Year limited edition rice paper gift boxes with silk-cut clip art. The patterns on the rice paper are very festive, including lanterns, Nian beasts, firecrackers, gold ingots...
The gift box was sealed tightly with melted wax.
Xianjin announced that there were ten gift boxes containing gold ingots weighing two cents and as big as a little finger. Whoever bought them would own them. This was considered a way for Chenji to benefit its old customers.
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Xuancheng Prefecture was in an uproar.
Two taels of gold can basically be deducted from four taels of silver.
The amount alone does not seem to be too much, but gold is very precious, and many poor families have never seen what gold looks like in their entire lives. They have to thank the generous and magnanimous Zhen Dongjia for his strong support.
Therefore, the uproar in Xuancheng Prefecture a few years ago directly affected the "Fubai" store.
From the time it was just getting light in the morning until the lights were turned on in the neighborhood, the door of "Fubai" was filled with people - there was no auction this time, and no consumption amount was considered. A gift box cost 666 coins, and there were two pieces of paper for each gift box, each with a different pattern, all stamped with the "Chen Ji" logo seal. One person could buy a maximum of three gift boxes at a time, and one hundred gift boxes would be given away a day. They would only be sold for five days, until New Year's Eve.
The family who found the gold ingots was so happy that they wanted to tell their ancestors about it three or four times when they visited their graves.
For those who didn't win the gold ingots, think about how they usually have to match the goods and queue up to buy the carved silk-clipped rice paper. This time, they can get several sheets of carved silk-clipped rice paper by paying the money and receiving the goods without any delay. At least they got to taste the novelty. Therefore, even if they didn't win the gold ingots, it is equivalent to eating a Tomahawk steak at the price of KFC. It's a great bargain.
After the launch of the "Fubai" engraved New Year limited edition sandwich rice paper series, the market was just as Bai Ji expected. Once the engraved rice paper entered the market, workshops of all sizes would only bear the pressure brought by the lessons of the past, slowly explore the skills and techniques, and then start to reproduce - everyone makes money together.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Fu Airong launched a new book, which is more like a thin essay booklet than a book, entitled "How to Accurately Distinguish the "Floating White" in Painting Xuan Paper".
It includes a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of everything from the seal style of "Chen Ji" on the paper to the rough edges, pattern texture, and hand feel of the engraved rice paper.
The most vicious thing is that this essay booklet introduces a new term: “high imitation”.
The Chinese people have a subconscious and conditioned resistance to the word "imitation".
When the 16th year of Zhaode arrived, the most vicious curse in Xuancheng Prefecture was: "Your paper looks like a high-quality imitation, and the watermark looks crooked."
It’s like scolding your opponent on the court for wearing fake Nikes;
When shopping, scold others for carrying fake bags;
Its lethality is comparable to attempting to be the other person's father in words.
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