When the rayon had been soaked in water for forty-nine days, Shen Qing set up a stage outside the shop, invited an opera troupe to perform, and had the maids and servants of the Gao family distribute snacks and candies to passersby, which immediately attracted many people to come and watch the excitement.
She was waiting for the businessman from Guangzhou to arrive.
It wasn't until the afternoon that the other party finally arrived, and instead of entering the shop, they mingled in the crowd watching the excitement.
Shen Qing gave the shopkeeper a wink, and the play stopped.
She walked calmly onto the stage and asked the crowd of onlookers with a smile, "Recently, there have been rumors that our Gao family's fabrics rot and spoil when they get wet. Has everyone gone to buy foreign fabrics again?"
Everyone laughed and shouted:
"We don't want to buy foreign fabric either. It's more expensive than yours, and it's not as pretty or light as yours, but it's durable!"
"That's right. Buying fabric isn't easy, so everyone wants it to last a long time. If it rots after a few washes, then we'll have to replace it frequently, and we can't afford that..."
It's a pity that rayon is good in every way, but it's not as durable as foreign cloth. So even though foreign cloth is more expensive and uglier, I still decided to buy foreign cloth.
Shen Qing listened patiently for a moment, then nodded with a smile: "So everyone thinks this foreign cloth is more durable than our own?"
"Absolutely! Foreign cloth is really durable!"
A plump woman shouted, "If the Gao family's fabrics were as durable as foreign cloth, I would buy ten bolts right away!"
Shen Qing asked everyone, "Does everyone agree with what this lady said—that if my fabric is more durable than foreign cloth, you will come back and buy my fabric?"
The crowd was in high spirits: "Absolutely! We must buy Boss Shen's fabric!"
"With something this cheap, durable, and made of silk, wouldn't it be foolish not to buy it?"
"Exactly! We have to buy it!"
Seeing that the time was right, Shen Qing stepped down from the platform and walked to the two water vats.
All eyes followed her, watching her with curiosity.
She stood beside the sealed jar and said, "This jar was sealed forty-nine days ago. It has a seal on it and has never been opened. Everyone can come and see the seal to verify what I said."
Everyone rushed over to examine the seal on the jar's mouth.
I definitely haven't opened it.
Shen Qing gestured for the shopkeeper to come over and open the seal.
She stood aside supervising: "This contains samples of all the new fabrics from the Gao family, the kind you said would fall apart and rot when it gets wet, as well as all the foreign fabrics available on the market. The soaking liquid is just water."
The crowd gasped: "Why soak foreign cloth?"
Everyone can understand why she soaks fabrics from the Gao family, but no one knows why she soaks foreign fabrics.
Shen Qing didn't explain, but told the shopkeeper to scoop out all the ingredients from the vat.
Place the rayon in one basin and the cotton cloth in another basin, then put them on the table for everyone to look at freely.
Someone went to look at rayon.
It was pulled out of the water, still dripping wet. I smelled it, and it only smelled like new fabric, without any musty odor. The color was still as bright as new.
They pulled hard, even one person on each side, like in a tug-of-war, trying to see if the rayon would break.
The rayon remained unharmed and could not be torn apart.
On the other hand, after being soaked in water for forty-nine days, the colors of the foreign cloth faded and returned to their original old yellowish-brown base color.
Someone gently pulled at it with both hands, and the cloth immediately tore in two.
Everyone was shocked; they hadn't expected that the seemingly thick and coarse foreign cloth would be so fragile.
Shen Qing then ordered someone to set up a temporary fire on the stage to boil water. She placed a large pot of boiling water on the fire and threw in several pieces of rayon fabric.
Everyone gasped, thinking that if the ingredients were boiled like this, they would surely turn to ash.
After boiling for an hour, Shen Qing picked out the material and took it off the stage for everyone to test it by tearing it. He even offered a reward of one hundred taels of silver to anyone who could tear the material.
Everyone was eager to try, and they put all their strength into pulling on the rayon.
The rayon remained intact, without even a single tear.
A large pot of boiling water on the table was still boiling, with scalding white smoke rising upwards. Shen Qing ordered someone to pull out a piece of artificial silk and place it on the left and right sides above the boiling water. The white smoke passed through the fabric and shot upwards.
“The fabric from the Gao family is not only durable, but also very breathable,” she said in a clear voice to the crowd. “Our skin sweats. If we wear non-breathable fabric, the sweat can’t escape and will stick to our skin and clothes. Over time, this can easily lead to prickly heat, tinea and other skin diseases.”
Everyone immediately lowered their heads, looking at the foreign cloth they were wearing, and whispered among themselves.
Shen Qing felt that things had been settled enough, so he asked the shopkeeper to remove the table.
She never said a bad word about Yangbu, yet she made everyone see Yangbu's fatal flaw.
She glanced at the Guangzhou merchants still mingling in the crowd, turned back to her shop, brewed a pot of fresh tea in the inner room, and waited for the customers to arrive.
On stage just now, she paid close attention to the expressions of the Guangzhou businessman the whole time, and she was confident that he would come back and place another order.
Before a cup of tea could be brewed, someone knocked on the door, and the shopkeeper welcomed the Guangzhou merchant in.
Shen Qing smiled and poured him a cup of hot tea: "Boss Bai, still 100,000 horses?"
Mr. Bai took his seat and gave a thumbs-up: "Mr. Shen! You have a bright future ahead of you!"
Shen Qing laughed loudly; the reason for his laughter was obvious to both of them.
She took a sip of tea, and as she placed the teacup on the table, she looked at the other person with her almond-shaped eyes, her gaze revealing a sense of certainty.
"The agreed-upon 50% prepayment was a gesture of goodwill towards you, Mr. Bai. However, your subsequent decision to cancel the order has broken the trust between us. I now require 90% payment in full, otherwise I will not dare to accept your order."
Mr. Bai looked ashamed: "But it is really difficult for me to raise so much money all at once. I originally thought that there was still a year to deliver the goods, so I would save up all the cash I received in that year and pay the remaining 40% then."
Shen Qing stood up, as if to see the guest out.
Now that Boss Bai has witnessed the power of rayon, he shamelessly went to Shen Qing's door again, all for the sake of placing an order.
He cannot leave this room until the order is finalized today.
But we simply don't have that much money.
He opened his purse, took out a stack of silver notes, and placed them in front of Shen Qing to show his sincerity.
"Mr. Shen, it was indeed my fault for unilaterally breaching the contract before, but having gone through this, we've overcome a hurdle, and future cooperation will definitely go smoothly!"
Shen Qing didn't even glance at the stack of silver notes.
Although she knew how important those banknotes were to her.
However, if those who break contracts without authorization are not punished, and are not made to pay the price or compensate, they will repeat the offense next time!
Thinking of this, she looked at Boss Bai: "Your breach of contract has caused me a great loss. I have no problem accepting a 50% prepayment, but..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com