Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Two Chapters in One
It was just daybreak and the yard had been swept. Juxiang threw the broom aside and went into the house to see that the dough was almost proofed. She began to peel it out of the basin, pinch it into pieces, and after rolling it with a rolling pin, she quickly made dumplings with shepherd's purse filling and put them in the steamer.
The embroidery shop opened today, and the owner specifically instructed us to do dry work so that we wouldn't go hungry easily.
While waiting for the steamer to start boiling, Juxiang went to fetch another bucket of water. The Wei family was really convenient, as there was a well at the kitchen door, and the well water was sweet.
When the dumplings were almost cooked, she put the charcoal in the stove at the bottom, spread some fine charcoal on top, and reluctantly filled the copper hot water bottle with water. Of course the charcoal is for the girl, but the hot water bottle is for Aying. This boss is good in every way except that he is too lenient to the servants. However, I am also a servant, so it makes me feel balanced when I think about it this way.
Jinniang's stomach had shrunk a lot because she had been losing weight effectively over the past six months. She only ate five or six of these delicious dumplings.
But Chen Xiaolang was still growing up, and he ate sixteen of them in one breath. This little brat really ate me to death.
After entering the front hall, Jinniang, Aying and Chen Xiaoniang looked at each other and went about their respective duties. Ah Ying first brought the charcoal basin to Jinniang, and then brought over a small red clay stove. She picked out some Shizitang, Xichuan lactose, Ringo Xuan, peach rings, jujubes, and pear rings in a storage box and put them in the tea cabinet.
Chen Xiaolang opened the door and stood at the entrance to solicit customers. He was shy at his age and could not shout out. The girl did not force him and just told him to go out from time to time to ask people if they needed needlework.
"Little boy, go set off the firecrackers outside the door." Jinniang said.
The whip at the door went off like smoke. After an hour, no one came. Chen Xiaolang and Aying were impatient. Jinniang smiled and said, "You two little brats, I'm making the collar. Don't worry, it's always like this."
Tianshui Lane is behind Xiu Lane, and next to it are bead shops, silk shops, and tea houses. The people here are even richer than those who visit Xiu Lane, otherwise Jinniang would not have spent thousands of strings of cash to buy a piece of land.
After that, she called Chen Xiaolang in to warm up: "Don't get cold, go to your sister Aying and get a hot water bottle to warm your hands."
Before he could finish his words, a maid in lake-colored satin came in. Ah Ying and Chen Xiaolang were quite excited, but they heard the maid say, "Second Miss, our wife said she felt dizzy when she got up today and couldn't come, so she sent me here to deliver the gift."
This girl is Rong Niang's maid. Jin Niang of course knows that Rong Niang will not come. These people seem to be indifferent and only allow themselves to have fun. They like others to watch them have fun. Once others may surpass them, they will feel uncomfortable.
Looking again, what Rongniang gave was a piece of silk worth about five cents. Jinniang asked Aying to keep it and gave the girl five cents of silver as a reward.
Yingniang's husband Anping came over and said, "Second sister, Yingniang asked me to bring this. I have to deliver medicine to the people in the east of the city now, so I'm afraid I can't come to support you today."
Yingniang always moves in unison with Rongniang and the others. If Rongniang didn't come, she wouldn't come even if she wanted to. She brought two cans of tea.
"It's okay. In fact, our business here is also steady and sustainable. You can go and get busy." Jinniang didn't want to talk to him directly, so she said through the door.
After the two groups of people left, Jinniang continued to embroider the collar.
Ah Ying came over again and wanted to speak, but remembering Jin Niang's instructions, she just sat there quietly with her head raised high. When a bird flapped its wings at the door, she also wanted to stand up.
The sun is rising and the streets are becoming bustling.
Chen Xiaolang just led a woman in. Behind the woman were two maids. The maids were holding veils in their hands. She must be a lady from a wealthy family who had come out for shopping today.
Jinniang stood up slowly. The woman saw that she was wearing a beige middle-length coat with a light purple satin skirt with folds. The hem of the skirt was embroidered with peonies. She was wearing a pink Zhang velvet satin jacket. She had a hanging bun on her head with a gold comb in the front and a long flowing hairband at the back. The woman took a step back, thinking she had entered some fairy cave.
When he saw Jinniang's shadow, he smiled and said, "I just wanted to come in and take a look."
"It's okay. I can recommend whatever you want to see," said Jinniang.
Seeing how attractive Jinniang was and how kind her words were, the woman suddenly developed a favorable impression of her. Then she saw Aying ordered some tea and brought it to her. She took a sip and saw that the couch she was sitting on was made of the finest brocade.
Then she saw Jinniang bringing over a few pieces of embroidery. She didn't try to sell them to anyone, but just let her look at them herself.
The guests can't handle the over-enthusiasm, which is just right.
The woman pointed at the pillows on the couch and said, "I want to buy this pair of pillows. Is it possible?"
These pillows took Jinniang a lot of effort, so they are not for sale. Jinniang was a little amused and said, "They are not for sale, but if you want to make one, I can make one for you."
The woman was also a little embarrassed. She stood up and looked at a bodice with a look of surprise on her face. The embroidery was really good. The lily of the valley embroidered on the gardenia yellow satin was really refreshing.
"How much does this cost?"
"We have clearly marked the price. This piece is two hundred and fifty cents." Jinniang said with a smile.
The woman immediately felt that it was a good deal. Normally, she would go to Xiuxiang to buy something like this, and it would cost at least three hundred coins. It looked tacky, and some of the items did not even have flowers embroidered on them. So she paid the money.
Ah Ying was stunned. No wonder the young lady was not in a hurry. It was really not easy to open the business, but the profit was huge after opening it.
But this was the only deal that was done today. Ah Ying and Chen Xiao Lang were both worried, but Jin Niang comforted them instead. Because today was the opening day, Jinniang asked Juxiang to prepare four plates and four dishes, and asked Chen Xiaolang to get a pot of wine and a pot of noodles, so that everyone had a full stomach.
After dinner, Jinniang continued to embroider her collar in her room and asked Aying to go and rest first. When you first start doing business, the most important thing is persistence. All stores are built by maintaining them.
Therefore, even though she did not earn even a hundred coins on the second and third days, Jinniang still buried her head in drawing patterns and doing needlework without stopping at all. Ah Ying and Chen Xiaolang were secretly worried. They hoped that the business would be better. If the girl couldn't make money, they might not be able to stay here.
Fortunately, on the fourth day, someone suddenly bought four plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum purses, as well as a pleated skirt and a tube top, totaling exactly one string.
They both breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as she was seeing off the guest, someone came to the door and took the cloth to make two sets of brocade clothes. Jinniang received one string of coins and eight cents as her wage.
"This is the receipt for your deposit. You can come and pick it up with this when the time comes. We recognize the receipt, not the person." After Jinniang said this, she also stamped a seal.
The list stated the time of picking up the goods and the goods to be picked up. Jinniang also made a note on her own receipt, only then did she feel at ease.
After everyone left, she started cutting out a few pieces of cloth. Only experienced people like them could do such direct cutting. The extra scraps were stored for use in making teeth later.
As I was sitting there, I saw a young woman come in from the door. She had a pair of dimples on her cheeks and her smile was very sweet. Jinniang smiled and said, "Fengying is here."
Qu Fengying was the eldest daughter of a nearby silk shop and was well-versed in business. Jinniang got her fabrics from them. The bill is settled every three months, and you will be charged based on your spending.
At the same time, she was also very good at dealing with people. When Jinniang opened her shop, she was not told at all, but when she saw it, she took the initiative to send her a basket of flowers.
Somehow, Jinniang remembered a saying: People go to high places, and water flows to low places. Although this statement may sound a bit snobbish, it is true. Now that she has her own shop and house, the people she comes into contact with are of a higher level. No matter what others think, at least they will not show it.
All in all, everyone is a decent person.
Qu Fengying didn't have so many thoughts. She saw that Jinniang was very kind-looking and could build a house and a shop by herself without relying on her family, so she couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. Her family was originally from Jiangxi, and made their fortune by making porcelain, accumulating a fortune of tens of thousands of taels. Unfortunately, her parents died suddenly, and she was raised by her grandparents. During this period, she was coveted by her relatives and fought overtly and covertly for her, and only then was she able to preserve a thousand acres of fertile land and this shop with a capital of 12,000 taels.
"What are you doing now?" Qu Fengying sat down and saw that Jinniang had already started.
Jinniang smiled and said, "This is a brocade shirt with large sleeves that someone wants to make. The collar needs to be embroidered with gold thread. Look, bring the gold thread with me."
Qu Fengying asked: "How many days will this take?"
"If it's fast, one piece will take one day. If it's slow, it will take about two or three days. My price is the most reasonable." Jinniang shook her head.
But we uniformly tell the public that it will take ten days, so as to avoid being too late in time when something unexpected happens. Doing business is about avoiding many unknown things that may happen.
"Aying, bring some tea."
If she could find a maid who was more outstanding, Jinniang wouldn't have to go outside to introduce clothes herself, as it would be a waste of time sitting together. But there was no other way. If she could hire a maid who was a little bit pretty and capable, it would cost at least twenty taels.
Ah Ying quickly ordered some tea and brought it over. Qu Fengying took a few sips. Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, Jinniang asked, "What's wrong? I see you have something to say."
"It's nothing. My family just arranged a marriage for me. We found a good match and I..." Qu Fengying lowered her head when she said this.
Seeing her like this, Jinniang said, "Are you not happy with it? It's normal to not be happy with it."
"But I'm already twenty-one this year." Qu Fengying held her forehead with her hand.
She couldn't tell such private things to her grandparents, but she could tell it to Jinniang because they were about the same age and neither of them was married.
As expected, Jinniang said, "Marriage is a lifelong thing after all. If you don't like it from the beginning, it will be difficult for you to spend the rest of your life together."
When it comes to Madam Qu's situation, with quite a bit of money in her hands, she naturally wants to choose someone who suits her taste.
These words touched Qu Fengying's heart. She asked Jinniang in confusion, "Aren't you anxious?"
You have to know that Jinniang is almost twenty years old.
Jinniang shook her head, "My parents, brothers and I have a very close relationship. I learned embroidery very quickly. To be honest, I don't have too many regrets in my life. Isn't it said that when the water is full, it overflows, and when the moon is full, it wanes? This time, my marriage is not harmonious, which is probably a good thing for me. Eight out of ten things in life are not satisfactory. If I had everything perfect, I'm afraid disaster would come."
She was very, very satisfied that she had been able to lose weight successfully this year and that the house had been successfully renovated.
This does sound interesting. A life that is too perfect may not necessarily be a good thing.
Qu Fengying said: "I don't know why, but every time I talk to you, I always feel much better."
"Then come more often," she joked.
Before she finished speaking, she saw someone coming in to make an official robe, and Jinniang hurriedly said, "Official robes can only be made bigger or smaller, and private making is not allowed for ordinary people."
No matter what business you are in, you must understand the rules clearly and don't be greedy for small profits, otherwise you will get yourself into trouble.
Seeing Jinniang being so cautious, Qu Fengying couldn't help but offer advice: "We have a customer in our silk shop who wants to make clothes for the women in his family. Why don't you go to my shop and have a look? If you can get in touch with him, you won't have to worry about lack of business."
"Thank you for your kindness, but I can't leave right now." Jinniang is not going to be trapped by one family.
She is just starting out now, so she should accumulate repeat customers of her own. If she only works for one company, she will have to work day and night before the New Year, and the wages she will earn by then will be similar to what she earns here.
Seeing that she was inflexible, Qu Fengying felt relieved. A mutually beneficial relationship would of course last a long time, but if she was a reliable person, they would definitely lend a helping hand if she was down and out in the future.
As a human being, you need to have all kinds of friends.
After hearing what Jing Jinniang said, Qu Fengying trusted her even more, since there was no conflict of interest between them anyway.
She was talking about her family's loan business: "There is a lady who borrowed 500 taels from our family. She paid it back several times before, but she hasn't paid it back yet."
"Did you send anyone to ask for it?" Jinniang lowered her head to make flowers and asked directly.
Qu Fengying shook her head: "As for Mr. Zhaowen's family, we can only forget about it."
Most of the big shops in Bianjing had officials as their backers, otherwise their business wouldn’t have been so big. Therefore, this is also why Jinniang is not willing to make too much progress. Her plan for herself is to earn a minimum of 26 strings of cash per month. She can use 6 strings of cash to pay for loans, and save most of the rest. At the end of the year, she can earn 200 to 300 strings of cash without leaving the house.
Since ancient times, the people have never fought against the officials. After Qu Fengying left, Jinniang took a look at the collar. This time she planned to embroider it using the carving embroidery method, which she learned when she was in the Wenxiu Academy, using embroidery thread to create a convex and concave effect.
Compared to Jinniang's cautiousness, Feng Sheng got into trouble. Although the remuneration for the patient's illness that Zhao Taicheng asked him to treat this time was high and the treatment was very good, the illness was very tiring. He often couldn't go home in the middle of the night, and he didn't even have time to go to the toilet in the coldest days of winter.
But despite this, Feng Sheng still found time to come back when Lin Ge'er invited a teacher. Unexpectedly, he was blamed by Zhao Taicheng, so much so that he dared not eat more than a few words, and even had difficulty going to the toilet, to the point where he felt uncomfortable all over.
Rong Niang advised him: "Why not just forget it and let another doctor treat it. It's the New Year, so you can take a break."
Feng Sheng was already annoyed, and he was even more furious when he heard her say that: "How can I rest? All the doctors in our clinic are the same. Well, let's not talk about outsiders, just your two sisters. Your second sister opened her own shop. It is said that she opens the shop at dawn and works in the embroidery shop late at night, fearing that there will be people who need mending at night. Your third sister used to sell medicine even when she was pregnant. In order to please the wives of those wealthy families, she did everything from shaving people's feet to sending them tonics. If you are more capable, why should I do this?"
There was always nothing nice to say when they quarreled. Rong Niang pointed at him with tears in her eyes and said, "I never thought that you saw me like this? I told you not to buy such a big house, but you insisted on buying it, and you also took out a loan of more than 30 guan every month. The family didn't dare to have any big expenses at all, and now you blame it all on me?"
"Oh, why didn't you say anything when you were enjoying the good life with me?" Feng Sheng just felt deeply tired.
Rong Niang ran out angrily. She had planned to go to Ying Niang's place, after all, she had much closer contacts with Ying Niang. But when she remembered that Ying Niang's house had many outsiders such as her parents-in-law and others, she immediately went to Jin Niang's place. After all, Jin Niang opened the shop alone, and her second uncle and second aunt were not outsiders.
When she came over, Jinniang had already finished making a set of brocade clothes, and she took another order for a robe with a peony pattern, which needed embroidery on the chest and shoulders. The labor cost was three strings of cash, and it would also take ten days to complete.
Just as I was handing the list to someone else, I saw Rong Niang coming over. Her hair was still a little messy, and she asked, "Why are you here, elder sister? Ah Ying, serve the tea."
Rong Niang didn't dare to tell the truth, so she just made up an excuse: "I just came to see how your business is going."
"It's just a meal. Please come in and sit down, sister. There is a charcoal basin inside. It will be warmer." Jinniang invited her in.
Rong Niang thought that Jin Niang would ask more questions when she saw her like this, or even ask more questions, but she didn't expect that Jin Niang didn't even raise her head and was busy with her own things. She also had a maid and a young man here, so she had more free time than the boss.
"Why don't you hire a skilled maid so you can relax a little?"
Jinniang covered her mouth and laughed: "Sister, don't I know this truth? A maid with a little bit of beauty would cost more than twenty strings of cash. If she is extremely good at needlework, the price would be even higher."
Is it because I don’t want to go to Tsinghua that I don’t want to?
The most important thing for her now is to hire someone to help her with chores so that she has no worries and can focus on embroidering.
Rong Niang agreed with this, but she couldn't get used to Jin Niang's tone. She felt like she was mocking her for not understanding the market. She thought of the ladies she was on good terms with. They were all like her, relying on their husbands to order servants around, riding in sedan chairs and carriages, and seemingly living a very comfortable life, but in fact, they could not control their husbands.
Some even said to her: "Look, my guy has started dressing up and changing into new clothes recently. I bet he saw some girl. I just hope the one outside can make him feel better. He feels so guilty towards me."
Whenever she met these people, Rong Niang even felt a sense of superiority, because Feng Sheng was not fickle, was positive and motivated, and even did not despise his family.
But she didn't expect that she would be despised as useless.
Just as he was about to say something, Chen Xiaolang came in and said, "Madam, Mr. Cheng from the pearl shop sent a jar of Huixianlou jade wine, two roast ducks, two chickens, a basket of fresh fish, a pig's trotter, and ten boxes of osmanthus cakes."
Jinniang said, "Please copy them into the gift book, and prepare for me a jar of Shilou's Biguang wine, two boxes of abalone and conch, and send one each of lotus root, lotus, water chestnut, taro, water chestnut, arrowhead mushroom, and lily."
Chen Xiaolang desperately took notes with a feather pen and then hurried out to buy some. Seeing Jinniang mention so many names without even a second's thought, Rongniang couldn't help but ask, "Why is Mr. Cheng from the pearl shop giving you something?"
"Oh, I have customers who want to buy beads. I saw that Boss Cheng is not a frivolous person and his beads are of good quality, so I introduced someone to him. Sometimes when customers want beads inlaid on their collars, I let them go and buy them. Boss Cheng is a nice person." Jinniang said with a smile.
Rong Niang nodded. She asked about Jin Niang's business again, but she didn't dare to ask too much: "Can you make 200 strings of cash a year like this?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "About the same. But this business is hard to predict. Sometimes you make more, sometimes you make less."
Rong Niang was suddenly stunned. In fact, Feng Sheng now earns about 50 strings of cash a month, but he only has more than 30 strings of cash on credit. His children, servants and himself all need money, so there is not much left. Although Jinniang's monthly salary was only half of Feng Sheng's, she only borrowed a few taels of silver on credit, and she only had two or three servants, so it wasn't that tiring. It was actually better as it was their own shop.
"Do you feel tired?" Rong Niang asked as she saw Jin Niang's hands never stopped.
Jinniang thought for a moment and said, "Embroidery is something I like. Although I am tired, it is worth it. Besides, it has given me everything I have now. Besides, my hard work is also rewarding."
Yes, other people are tired because they can earn money on their own, but she works herself to the end and gets nothing. Her husband blames himself for being incompetent, and even the children, who obviously give the most, admire and respect their father.
It's boring. It's really boring.
She stood up and left immediately. Jinniang was splitting thread. When she finished and looked up, she found that Rongniang was gone. She asked Aying, and Aying said that she had gone home. Jinniang didn't care much.
No matter whether Rong Niang has problems with her family affairs or something else, it is best not to meddle in other people's family affairs, otherwise you would be acting like a villain.
After having tea and lunch at noon, Jinniang drank a cup of tea and prepared to take a short rest. Unexpectedly, someone came in to choose at this time. Jinniang saw that the person had high cheekbones, triangular eyes, and frowned brows. She was afraid that he was not someone who was easy to talk to, so she went out to take a look.
"Are these all the embroidery you have here?" The woman curled her lips and flipped through the pages.
Jinniang smiled and said, "This is an embroidery shop, not a clothing shop. What do you need embroidered?"
Don't say that those who come to pick out goods are buyers. Some people just come here to find trouble and are not buyers at all. Don't waste time talking to such people and just send them away.
"I just came to take a look." The woman was a little scared when she saw that Jinniang was scheming.
Jinniang said, "Okay, tell me if you need anything." After that, she didn't go in and sat at the counter.
Look at that woman, she looked left and right, she either said the color combination was ugly, or it was out of fashion, or even said the material was too bad, she even lifted up a bra with her two fingernails and said, "Are you ashamed to embroider this? I have to go out and promote it. The things you sell here are not decent."
In this case, there is no need to even show her the album. You have to know that Jinniang's album is her trump card. The lady who embroidered the peony pattern last time made the decision immediately after seeing her album.
She shouted loudly, but found Jinniang lowered her head. Aying and Chen Xiaolang were thinking about the third rule of the embroidery shop, which was to ignore any unreasonable customers if there were no other customers around.
Seeing that no one paid any attention to her, the woman cursed at them angrily and left.
As soon as she left, Ah Ying couldn't stand it anymore: "Just now I almost couldn't help but quarrel with her. Which store doesn't sell tube tops..."
"This kind of person is like a mad dog, there is no need to pay attention to him. Among the people who come to our embroidery shop, there is hardly one such person among ten." Jinniang said lightly.
But after the crazy woman left, another head of the embroidery alley came over and said that someone had reported her for embroidering something evil. Jinniang knew that someone was playing tricks on her, but she got angry and said, "This is really unfair. I used to work in the Wenxiu Academy. Look, this is the sign of the Wenxiu Academy back then. I was also an embroiderer. How could I not know this?"
The head of the group looked at her embroidery again, all of which were very exquisitely embroidered, and guessed: "It must be someone in the same industry who reported it to me. Don't worry, it's all right."
Jinniang heaved a sigh of relief: "It's good to have you in charge. This house and shop are all mine. I have all the contracts and documents."
"Don't worry about it." The leader of the industry was also very sympathetic. There were people like this in this industry. They didn't do their own thing well and were always jealous of others.
Many beautiful and talented new embroiderers were forced to leave in this way.
Jinniang also asked Ah Ying to bring two boxes of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes sent by Manager Cheng and gave them to the head of the group. She couldn't help but say, "I'll ask you to take care of it in the future."
After the leader left, Chen Xiaolang asked, "Will they cause trouble again?"
"Whether they cause trouble for me or not, I will continue to do it. I'm not someone who can be scared." Jinniang will not back down.
Ah Ying was filled with admiration. If an ordinary woman was scolded so harshly and felt it was unfair, she would definitely be depressed and even want to close down the shop. But the girl acted as if nothing had happened. She was not even afraid when someone reported her to the head of the guild. Such a tenacious person is really rare.
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