Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Meeting the Two-Faced Alien...
When Zhao Youtie saw the double-sided, different-color embroidery, he lost his previous arrogance and said guiltily, "Who knows when you started the work? You said twenty days, so it's twenty days?"
Before he finished speaking, many professional embroiderers at the table booed in mockery. Zhao Youtie turned around and said angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
Chen Xi raised her head. "Double-sided embroidery takes twice as long as single-sided embroidery of the same size. This is a consensus in the industry. There are quite a few embroiderers here. Why don't you ask who can finish it in twenty days?"
Jiang Wan watched her apprentice's well-organized response and secretly gave her a thumbs-up. She then said to Lin Xiu Niang, "Boss Lin, you're also a renowned embroiderer. If it were you, how long would it take to complete this double-sided embroidery?"
Lin Xiu Niang's face paled, and she stammered. Now, even the laymen present could see who had copied whom, and they all cast contemptuous glances at Lin Xiu Niang. The handicraft industry values originality and disdains those who plagiarize others' ideas. Immediately, some in the audience started to jeer and urge Lin Xiu Niang to leave, while others even threatened to report her to the police.
Lin Xiu Niang looked at Zhao Youtie for help, but the latter avoided her gaze, as if he was afraid of being implicated.
If proven guilty of plagiarism, her reputation would be ruined. Seeing that Zhao Youtie showed no intention of rescuing her, Lin Xiu Niang closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, Zhao Youtie, if you're unkind, don't blame me for being unfair. Zhao Youtie personally delivered this embroidery sample seven days ago. He paid double the price and asked me to find a few more people to help with the embroidery. I must deliver it today."
Lin Xiu Niang glared at Zhao Youtie angrily. "He taught me what I said just now. I was confused for a moment. If I had known he was going to disrupt the name-changing ceremony, I would never have agreed."
A glass of water came from somewhere and splashed directly on her face.
"They embroider according to a pattern, and they still have the nerve to call it original. It really brings shame to our Suzhou embroidery industry."
"Exactly. Zhao Youtie is a piece of shit. What kind of grudge is that? He even messed up someone else's name-changing ceremony and used such despicable tactics."
Zhao Youtie's face turned pale and he wanted to run away on the spot, but was caught by Jiang An.
Jiang Wan even said directly to Shopkeeper Zhou: "Go report to the authorities."
After the matter was resolved, Chen Xi bowed to the audience and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. My work will be sent to the government for evidence collection later, so it can't be sold for the time being. Please forgive me."
After hearing this, many wealthy people who were interested in buying this double-sided, different-color embroidery expressed regret, but also expressed understanding. Just as the staff were about to carry the embroidery down, a voice came from the second floor:
"We understand sending it to the government, and Qingjiangju did nothing wrong in this matter. The embroidery will definitely be returned. Why not auction it off first and then pick it up when it's returned?"
After all, it's the only double-sided, different-color embroidery in the world, and its value cannot be measured in silver. If you miss this opportunity today, you may not be able to get it again.
Chen Xi looked at Jiang Wan. Seeing her master nod, she agreed, "That's fine. After the bidding today, just pay a 30% deposit, and you can pay the rest when you pick up the goods."
Hearing his apprentice say this, Jiang Wan was deeply impressed. The typical deposit in the industry was 50%, but this time, due to an unexpected situation that caused inconvenience to the buyer, Chen Xi made an exception and changed it to 30%, demonstrating Qingjiangju's sincerity while also appeasing the buyer's dissatisfaction.
Not only has the little girl's skills improved, but she has also become much more mature in her behavior and work. She has really grown up.
For Jiang Wan, this incident also served as a wake-up call. She needed to maintain confidentiality regarding her innovative products. After all, Lin'an wasn't like Xiaofangpancheng, and countless eyes were watching them.
Chen Xi's embroidery was auctioned for an unprecedented 600 taels. At the same time, Jiang Wan also received a system notification:
"Congratulations to the host for breaking the enemy's trap and earning 50 points. The embroidery auction was successful and earned 50 points. The establishment of an embroidery branch earned 100 points."
"Congratulations to the host for completing the name change ceremony, earning 80 points. The total daily revenue of the stores under your name exceeded 10,000 taels, earning 150 points. The industrial restructuring of Qingjiangju is basically complete, topping the list of the handicraft industry, earning 300 points."
"Host's current remaining points: 1300."
This time, the points earned were over 600, and Jiang Wan's remaining points also exceeded 1,000 for the first time. After a few seconds of pause, the voice announcement issued a new prompt:
"If the host's remaining points reach one thousandth, they will receive the title of [Excellent Transmigrator] and unlock two benefits. First, unlimited free human customer service. Second, you can customize the system announcement voice package."
Is there such a good thing? After the renaming ceremony, Jiang Wan handed over the finishing touches to his brother and couldn't wait to return to the rest area to wake up the customer service representative.
A sleepy female voice sounded beside her ear: "Hello, host. Customer service number 0731 is here to serve you."
This voice was different from the previous customer service representative's; it couldn't be the same person. Accustomed to having her own secretary in her previous life, she felt a little uncomfortable and asked, "Can I use the same customer service representative from now on? I've reached 1,000 points, which gives me unlimited free access, and I have no plans to spend any points. If I can, I'll just ask you directly if I need anything."
"Not yet. You need at least 2,000 points to contact a designated customer service representative," said No. 0731. "But if you really need a specific customer service representative, you can spend 10 points to click this link. It will take one hour."
Seeing a string of characters appear in the void, which was quite similar to a certain Xixi's style, Jiang Wan's mouth twitched and he waved his hand quickly.
"Then I won't use it for now," she said. "What is this custom voice pack?"
"A customized voice package allows the host to adjust the voice's tone, volume, speaking speed, and language habits according to their own preferences." The customer service sent a small program, "You can adjust the voice parameters here."
Jiang Wan opened the mini program and found that the parameters inside were quite detailed. In addition to the basic tone, volume and speaking speed, you can also choose the dialect and broadcast tone, and even use artificial intelligence algorithms to train the system's broadcasting language habits and catchphrases, etc., to make the machine voice more humane.
She casually adjusted the parameters and clicked "Test Sound." Her eyelids jumped in surprise when she heard the drastically changed system sound, and she quickly dialed the tone back to the female voice frequency.
After trying it a few more times, Jiang Wan felt a sense of emptiness, even though the girl was sweet and gentle. After a moment's hesitation, she returned to the male voice she had originally set.
She closed the system and opened her eyes, just in time to see Wen Shen's face as he bent over a book. His temples were as sharp as a knife, his eyebrows were as black as ink, and he was more handsome than the celebrities she had seen in her previous life.
Jiang Wan jumped up from his chair. "It's 'The Letter to My Wife' again! It's been a month, and you still haven't finished it?"
"Although it's a folk storybook, you can still learn something from it." Wen Shen closed the storybook and joked, "It's better than Miss Jiang falling asleep as soon as she got back."
Listening to Wen Shen's voice, Jiang Wan's mind became even more confused. It was all because the system was so intelligent. Simply by adjusting the tone, it sounded about 60% like Wen Shen himself, causing her to constantly believe she had left the system on.
Jiang Wan rubbed his head and sat back in his chair: "So what have you learned after watching for so long?"
Wen Shen froze for a moment, awkwardly avoiding her gaze as he lowered his head to take a sip of tea. His dark hair swayed with his movements, revealing a slightly red earlobe. Jiang Wan resisted the urge to pinch it and asked, "Tell me, why did you suddenly need to free up a private room?"
Talking about business, Wen Shen raised his head and said, "Jian Qing has already made some inquiries about the broken sword. The Jinyiwei also found three similar broken swords in different locations outside the capital, with a gap of seven years between them. Judging from the way the swords were made, they were made in Zhao Youtie's ironwork shop."
"But Zhao Youtie is neither an imperial merchant nor does he have the permission to manufacture sabers," Jiang Wan said.
"That's right, so we all suspect this may involve private military training. Right now, the Imperial Guards are combing the mountains, forests, and valleys outside the capital to see if there are any signs of military training."
Wen Shen's eyes were heavy. "If this is truly related to training private soldiers, and it lasted seven years—then the opponent's strength must not be underestimated. When Jian Qing heard this news, he was so angry that he smashed the bookshelf. He insisted on tracking Zhao Youtie personally and not missing a single clue. That's why I'm borrowing a private room from you."
After a pause, he said softly, "Thank you."
Jiang Wan rarely heard him say thank you, and when she heard it suddenly, the word "thank you" felt like a feather gently scratching her heart, making her feel itchy.
"No, it's okay," Jiang Wan muttered. "By the way, have you checked on the concubine in the Shangshu Mansion?"
"We searched her study and bedroom, but found nothing. Even the bank list that Miss He mentioned is gone. I don't know if it was destroyed or moved." Wen Shen sighed.
"We've checked her social connections. She's the younger sister of the wife of the Dunhuang County Magistrate. Five years ago, when she married into the Shangshu Mansion as a concubine, she was quite neglected. But three years ago, she was suddenly promoted to concubine, and since then, she's become increasingly favored. I haven't noticed anything strange about her behavior. The only unusual thing is that whenever the Minister of Personnel entertains guests, he often brings her along, even his wife."
This is absolutely abnormal. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was customary to bring the wife to social events. No matter how favored a concubine was, she could only stay at home. If she was occasionally brought out, it was as a servant to the wife. Even if the Minister of Personnel did not bring his wife, he would bring his concubine. Was it just because they were close friends?
"There's another thing. Miss He discovered that the bank's roster was in the Shangshu Mansion, but it was taken to the Jing'an Marquis Mansion." Wen Shen said, "The two mansions are not related. If we explain their superficial connection, it's that they both have close ties with the Third Prince."
"Could these things be related to party disputes?" Jiang Wan frowned and thought for a moment, then overturned his own words, "No, it shouldn't be."
His Majesty has few children, with only the third prince born to the late Consort De, the fourth prince born to Princess Loulan, and the sixth prince born to the Empress. The fourth prince is of foreign descent and therefore ineligible for the crown prince position; the sixth prince is young, and the Empress has no family support.
If Your Majesty wishes to appoint a crown prince, it must be the Third Prince. In this situation, what need is there for factional strife?
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