More than two months later, Wang Xiuxiu stepped into the threshold of Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop again.
The embroidery room remained bustling with activity, the embroiderers focused intently on threading their needles, seemingly oblivious to the outside world's clamor.
Wang Xiuxiu took a deep breath, feeling both anticipation and a slight sense of nervousness.
Since Chen Chunhua was unwilling to come to the county, the task of preparing things for the family naturally fell to Hong Xiaodong and his wife.
Hong Xiaodong was no pushover; every time he went to the county, he would always sneak a few coins out of him.
Although Chen Chunhua was unwilling, she could not find anyone else to replace her.
He could only grit his teeth and keep sending them to buy things every time.
Before the Lunar New Year, Chen Chunhua had intentionally asked Wang Xiuxiu to go to the county to buy some things.
When she returned, I saw that she was not timid at all, but rather knew the prices and goods in the county like the back of her hand and spoke about them in great detail.
This gave Chen Chunhua the idea of sending Wang Xiuxiu to the county in the future.
Compared to her brother and sister-in-law's "ulterior motives," Chen Chunhua trusted Wang Xiuxiu more.
Later, Wang Xiuxiu came to the county twice more to help her family buy things, but she never set foot in Fuyuan Embroidery Shop again.
Two months ago, she reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop, and agreed to bring her embroidery products to discuss cooperation soon.
But she deliberately arrived two months late, her purpose being to test Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop.
She had solemnly instructed Manager Zheng beforehand not to reveal her information to anyone or to inquire about her background.
If the embroidery workshop cannot keep this promise, then she need not discuss cooperation with them anymore.
Before coming, Wang Xiuxiu made a point of walking around the embroidery room a few times and asking several well-informed vegetable-selling women for information.
She pretended to chat casually, asking if Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop had been looking for anyone recently, or inquiring about any special news.
The women shook their heads, indicating that everything in the embroidery room was normal and they had not heard of any unusual activity.
Now that she knew the embroidery workshop had indeed kept its promise, Wang Xiuxiu was finally relieved.
Stepping into the embroidery room, Wang Xiuxiu looked up and happened to see the steward who had received her last time fiddling with an abacus.
That's so cool!
Wang Xiuxiu was filled with envy at those skillful movements, and thought to herself, "I must learn from them when I have the chance!"
“Manager’s wife, do you remember me? I came here to sell handkerchiefs before,” Wang Xiuxiu asked softly.
The manager was taken aback at first, but then quickly realized what she meant, and a look of surprise and delight appeared on her face: "It's you, young lady! Our manager has been waiting for you for a long time!"
“Something came up at home and I’m delayed. If you’re not too busy, could you please help me find Steward Zheng?” Wang Xiuxiu said politely.
"Yes, yes, please have a seat, young lady. I'll go find the steward for you right away!" The steward's wife said and hurriedly walked towards the backyard.
A short while later, Steward Zheng ran over, cupped his hands in greeting upon seeing Wang Xiuxiu, and said with a smile, "Greetings, Miss! We've been waiting for you!"
Wang Xiuxiu also curtsied, "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."
"You're too kind, young lady! May I ask what brings you here today?"
Wang Xiuxiu took out several embroidered handkerchiefs from the embroidery basket and gently placed them on the counter.
Manager Zheng eagerly picked up the embroidered handkerchief and examined it carefully.
Although the patterns on the embroidered handkerchief are not complicated, the stitches are delicate and the colors are well matched. In particular, the lifelike double-sided embroidery is a real eye-catcher.
Manager Zheng became increasingly excited as he looked at the embroidery, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Young lady's embroidery skills are truly extraordinary!"
Wang Xiuxiu smiled slightly and said calmly, "Manager Zheng, you flatter me. I wonder if the embroidery workshop is satisfied with these embroidered pieces?"
Manager Zheng nodded repeatedly: "Satisfied, of course satisfied! Our embroidery workshop is more than we could ask for with your work, young lady!"
Wang Xiuxiu glanced at him, a deep meaning flashing in her eyes: "I was tied up with household chores and was delayed for a while, but since the embroidery workshop has kept its promise, I am relieved."
Upon hearing this, Steward Zheng felt a chill run down his spine and immediately understood Wang Xiuxiu's intention.
She's testing the integrity of the embroidery workshop!
Fortunately, they kept their promise and did not leak any information about her, otherwise things would have been very difficult to handle today.
He quickly smiled and said, "Don't worry, young lady. Our embroidery workshop has always kept its promises and would never do anything to break our word. We will take good care of your embroidery and will never let outsiders know about it."
Wang Xiuxiu nodded, her tone softening slightly: "That's good. Since the embroidery workshop keeps its promise, I'm also willing to discuss cooperation with Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop."
That's right, it was a discussion, not simply agreeing to hire based on Manager Zheng's opinion.
During this period, Wang Xiuxiu was not idle. After making inquiries, she learned how rare it was to find someone with her skills.
Given this unique advantage, Wang Xiuxiu must stand up for herself and stop being a cheap laborer like before!
Upon hearing this, Manager Zheng's eyes flashed with disappointment, but he quickly regained his composure and politely inquired, "So, how would you like to cooperate, young lady?"
“I take on jobs from Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop, and they only pay me based on the difficulty of the embroidery,” Wang Xiuxiu said bluntly.
After a moment's thought, Steward Zheng understood her meaning: "Does the young lady mean that you will not be sitting in the embroidery room, but will take the work home to do?"
"That's exactly right. What does Steward Zheng think?"
Manager Zheng thought for a moment and said, "I will listen to the young lady. Even if it's just Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop, I will still get a promise from the young lady."
"What promise?"
"While you are making embroidery for the embroidery workshop, I hope you will not accept invitations from other families." Manager Zheng's attitude was sincere, but his tone was somewhat tentative.
What Manager Zheng said was quite reasonable.
Wang Xiuxiu nodded and readily agreed: "Of course. To be honest, Manager Zheng, it's just my personality; I don't want too many people to know that I have this skill. I hope you will continue to keep it a secret when we cooperate with Fuyuan Embroidery Workshop in the future."
These words relieved Manager Zheng, and he readily agreed to all of Wang Xiuxiu's requests.
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After returning home last time, she only embroidered a few ordinary handkerchiefs to make do, and embroidered the rest on both sides.
I brought everything with me this time.
After examining the items, Steward Zheng asked, "How would you like to price them, young lady?"
Wang Xiuxiu smiled and asked in return, "How does Manager Zheng think the price should be set?"
Manager Zheng naturally considered this another test, and thus pondered it repeatedly.
Actually, Wang Xiuxiu simply didn't know the market price and wanted to hear his opinion first so she could get a feel for it.
"How about this, the shop will pay you a portion of the money first, and the rest, once the handkerchief is sold, we'll split it 50/50. What do you think, young lady?" Manager Zheng asked cautiously.
Wang Xiuxiu thought it was reasonable, but pretended to be troubled. After thinking it over and over, she saw that Manager Zheng was anxious but did not raise the price any further, so she agreed.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Manager Zheng personally used the abacus to calculate the accounts for Wang Xiuxiu.
While doing the accounting, he secretly rejoiced: This girl is young, but she is very thoughtful and her embroidery skills are outstanding!
If a long-term partnership can be established, it will undoubtedly be a great help to the embroidery workshop.
Fortunately, I gave her a fair price. If I had been more greedy, this girl probably would have turned around and left!
Seeing that Steward Zheng's attitude was sincere, Wang Xiuxiu breathed a sigh of relief.
For the ten embroidered handkerchiefs, Zheng Guan paid Wang Xiuxiu five taels of silver in advance.
He also personally provided Wang Xiuxiu with the finest silk thread and handkerchief, and arranged a date with her for the next embroidery delivery.
Manager Zheng rose to see her off, speaking respectfully: "Please take care, young lady. Fuyuan Embroidery Studio is always ready to assist you."
Wang Xiuxiu nodded, turned around and left the embroidery room.
After stepping outside, she looked up at the sky and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
The plan proceeded smoothly, and she could now focus on embroidering more pieces.
As for those family members with ulterior motives, she didn't need to care about them.
When Wang Xiuxiu first arrived, she wanted to do everything she could to improve the Wang family's life.
But seeing the Wang family's true colors, he decided he'd rather throw them away than feed them!
The family is like this, the father doesn't act like a father, the brothers don't act like brothers, there's nothing to regret...
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