Chapter 128 A Perfect Match
“Wet nurse…”
Shen Yuanzhu waved her fan listlessly, her tone languid: "Tell me, in the entire Suzhou Prefecture, whose brocade is the best?"
Luo said, "Naturally it is the Xie family. Who doesn't know that the Xie family's brocade is famous far and wide? The fabrics woven by the Xie family's looms are as thin as cicada wings, and the patterns and details are clearly discernible."
"Moreover, the Xie family has its own unique techniques, such as Xie family cloud brocade and brocade with floral patterns, which are famous throughout the world."
"The Xie family is excellent at weaving brocade, but not so good at dyeing. If it weren't for the dyeing recipes of our Shen family back then, which gave the Xie family the Crimson Cloud Brocade, the Xie family would still be weaving plain cloth somewhere."
Shen Yuanzhu nodded: "Then do you think our Xiecui Workshop's brocade has a chance to beat the Xie family?"
"Miss is joking."
Luo said, "If we're talking about color, the brocade from our Xiecui Workshop is undoubtedly top-notch, but the weaving technique..."
She shook her head slightly: "The two families were always just one step apart. Otherwise, Madam would not have chosen to get engaged to the Xie family back then."
Shen Yuanzhu nodded: "So, the Xie family is the most likely to win the contract with the Prince's Mansion."
The hand that was fanning herself paused, and Shen Yuanzhu looked unwilling.
Although marrying Xie Qi was not something she expected, she can now see that it's not unbearable.
However, she was prone to holding grudges, and she hadn't yet vented her anger at the time of the marriage fraud.
“Wet nurse…”
"Please speak, Miss."
Shen Yuanzhu said, "Do you think that as long as I get the other half of the Xie Family Farming and Weaving Chart, I'll have a chance to beat the Xie family?"
She would never hand over the dyeing manual in her possession, so as long as she had the complete farming and weaving chart, she might be able to surpass the Xie family and stand out from the crowd.
"This farming and weaving chart may not be so easy to obtain."
"Yeah?"
Shen Yuanzhu said casually, her hand waving the fan pausing slightly: "I don't think so."
Seeing that Madam Luo did not answer, she continued, "The goods to be delivered to the Prince's residence must not be of poor quality. The Dowager Consort's birthday is in two months, which is the height of summer."
"Therefore, this brocade can only be made from the lustrous and delicate silk of Jili Lake or mulberry silk."
"The quantities needed are large, so most families won't use precious materials like gold or silver thread or peacock feather thread..."
With a flick of her wrist, Shen Yuanzhu stood up: "So, wet nurse, you should have your brother find someone to wait at the post station in the direction of Shu in advance. As long as it is not my Xiecui Workshop that is selected, find a way to delay all the top-quality raw silk and prevent the raw materials from entering the city."
"Miss, it may not last long."
"It will only take ten or fifteen days. Five hundred bolts of brocade, two-month deadline. If the raw materials are delayed on the road for a few days, even the Xie family will have difficulty delivering on time."
Even if she doesn't get the complete farming and weaving chart by then, she'll have a backup plan.
"It seems that we don't have much Jili Lake silk and silkworm silk in our warehouse. I'll have Luo Qing go and collect some today."
Shen Yuanzhu nodded and added, "Don't collect too many."
Silkworms prefer dry and cool conditions and are most susceptible to dampness. Therefore, even a family of weavers and dyers rarely stockpiles too much of this precious raw material.
Furthermore, during the rainy season, even if the silk thread absorbs only a trace of moisture, it is particularly prone to becoming sticky and developing green mold spots.
Therefore, not much is usually stored in the library.
Although the silk from that collection is more durable, it cannot be exposed to sunlight for long periods of time. Once exposed to sunlight, the silk will gradually harden and lose its luster.
The silk in this collection is also prone to insect infestation, but it cannot be stored in the same box as camphor wood because it is very easy to be stained and discolored. Therefore, Shen Yuanzhu speculated that even the Xie family would not have so much raw material.
Therefore, if Xie Cui Fang cannot win the sample fabric stage, she needs to ensure that the Xie family cannot deliver the goods, so that she can take over.
As for the other families...
She didn't take it seriously.
Even if Yuanxu allowed them to win the sample cloth competition, shops like Jixia Manor, which relied on opportunism, would still be unable to deliver their goods.
Therefore, Yuan Xu probably won't get involved, since he still has to give an account in the end.
After thinking it over, Shen Yuanzhu felt that with preparations in front and defenses behind, things should go well, so she went back to her room to rest, satisfied.
She was bothered by Xie Qi all night yesterday and had nightmares all night, so she didn't sleep well at all. Now that she has nothing to do during the day, she can catch up on her sleep.
Shen Yuanzhu went to catch up on her sleep, while Xie Qi went to Jixia Manor.
As soon as Yun Zheng saw him, he asked with a smile, "You came today because of that official document from the Textile and Dyeing Bureau this morning, right?"
Xie Qi nodded, but Yun Zheng said, "I think we can't handle this business."
"When dealing with the government, doing well is expected, but doing poorly could cost you your head. Besides, the government won't even give a deposit, so our Jixia Manor really can't afford these five hundred bolts of brocade."
Although they employed several weavers and dyers, they could only produce ordinary goods.
Want to get something into the Prince's mansion? That's going to be extremely difficult.
Yun Zheng fiddled with the abacus, muttering, "Although the new shop opened a few days ago and many merchants from Suzhou came to support us, allowing us to make a small profit, this amount of money is not enough to buy a few brothel machines."
"If we were to find someone to weave it, it would probably take until the year after next."
Xie Qi leaned against the door, arms crossed, and sneered: "Who said that you can't take on business from the Prince's Mansion if you don't have money?"
"If everything requires money, how could my Jixia Manor possibly operate?"
Everything he has now, if not entirely obtained through fraud and deception, is mostly acquired through crooked means and underhanded dealings.
If he hadn't later tricked Yuan Xu, who had just arrived in Suzhou and was biding his time, the two of them would never have met.
Xie Qi touched his nose, thinking about his disheveled appearance back then, and smiled wryly.
He was mistreated by the Xie family in every way back then, and was thrown into Jiucaiju when he was just old enough to recognize people.
Fortunately, the area was remote, and the Xie family ignored him, which gave him the opportunity to climb over the wall and go out every day.
The first silver he earned was from swindling a playboy in the alleyway by gambling with dice.
Unfortunately, the business didn't last long before Yuan Xu caught them red-handed. Although Yuan Xu later broke one of Yuan Xu's arms, the two became friends after their fight.
Over the years, he helped Yuan Xu with his work, and Yuan Xu gave him some extra money, so he gradually accumulated a considerable fortune.
Therefore, in Xie Qi's eyes, there was never any such thing as not being able to do business without capital.
He straightened up, walked around the shop, and when he reached the center and looked at the crimson peony brocade, he chuckled.
Yun Zheng walked over, puzzled.
"Isn't this the one you took out from Eunuch Yuan's treasury to bolster the shop?"
Xie Qi said, "Do you know that this weaving technique is the Xie family's signature skill, and this color is the best color that the Xie family has ever been able to produce?"
"The warp threads of this brocade are made of the finest silk from Jili Lake, and the colored weft threads are made of mulberry silk mixed with gold and silver threads."
"Every petal and leaf on this peony makes every line a different color."
Xie Qi's eyes held a smile: "Do you know what this means?"
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