Chapter 77 Chapter 77 Two Chapters in One
After being chosen as the leader of the group, Jinniang took the initiative to say to Ms. Bao from Binyun Tower: "I am sorry for offending you just now."
Mrs. Bao was very reasonable: "Everything is for the public, and we can still get along normally in private."
Sister Zhen, who was standing aside, had a gloomy look on her face. She had wanted to use Wang's Embroidery Shop to mock Binyunlou. After all, Binyunlou had a clear advantage. Unexpectedly, she was left at a disadvantage.
After returning to the embroidery shop, Aying and Minzhi quickly hung the sign of the head of the embroidery shop outside the shop. Jinniang specially asked Juxiang to cook a few more dishes, and everyone sat together to celebrate.
Jinniang was also happy, but more importantly, she felt that we had finally made a name for ourselves.
She is twenty-two years old this year, at the peak of her career. After this peak, she may start to feel dizzy and dazed. While you are young, you should explore the endless possibilities.
Ah Ying looked at his wife with infinite admiration.
As the head of the guild, the first thing Jinniang proposed was to strictly prohibit embroidery shops from making official robes privately. Every year, there were such embroidery shops that secretly took on private work, and after being found out, the ordinary embroiderers who did the work were pushed out to take the blame.
The new official is still a little too busy when he takes office. There are unemployed embroiderers who need to be assessed, and then registered after the assessment. There are also embroidery shops that are in urgent need of staff who need to be recommended. Then there is the issue of how to allocate the outsourced business of Wenxiu Institute to each embroidery shop this year, and the dispute between the two embroidery shops...
In addition, the materials and labor required by the government were directly levied on the merchants without any payment. Merchants like Jinniang were also subject to heavy taxes and labor on a daily basis.
She did have an idea. It would be better to just cash the money directly. Otherwise, who would be willing to do it when business is at its peak during the Chinese New Year?
Jinniang was busy as always, but Jiang Xian stretched his neck and waited. You know, his wife would send some snacks or shoes and hats every seven days, but now it has been half a month, and there is no news at all.
"Liu Douer..." He called the servant in.
Liu Dou'er came in quickly and asked, "My dear, do you have anything to tell me?"
Jiang Xian said, "Go back and see what my wife is doing, and then tell her that I'm back for the New Year."
I thought Liu Dou'er would be back in an hour or two, but he didn't come back until the evening, and he looked so happy: "My dear, my wife is amazing. She is the head of the army. When I got home, she said that the military uniforms in the Forbidden City were to be made by you and others. She was distributing them to several shops. Those people sent a lot of things. Some sent pepper, some sent tea, but my wife didn't want them. They left and said that my wife would help them make a fortune and personally negotiate the business of the Forbidden Army. How could she let my wife waste her efforts in vain? This is not the case. My wife asked me, Chen Xiaolang, and Uncle Luo to move things to the warehouse. We were busy for a long time. She also said it was Aying's birthday. My wife asked Sister Juxiang to cook a lot of delicious dishes, so I stayed to eat."
So many things happened at home when I was away for half a month.
Jiang Xian asked hurriedly, "Did the lady mention me?"
Liu Douer looked at him with a look that showed that he was not in a good mood: "My wife is very busy."
"I'm busy too, okay?" Jiang Xian really wanted to go home. His home was too lively. Studying at Liu's house was boring, with all kinds of etiquette and social activities. Alas.
But he still had to hold himself back, otherwise Liu Jixiang would definitely think he was being impetuous.
But deep down he still felt a little aggrieved towards his wife. He could always think of his wife even when he was busiest, but his wife, on the other hand, forgot about him when she was busy.
Of course Jinniang did not forget Jiang Xian, but she was still a little busy. This time, she was helping the Imperial Guards to make military uniforms. Her shop was not contracted for the job, but seven embroidery shops did. These people were too busy to find embroiderers, so Jinniang recommended all the unemployed embroiderers and even Jing'an to her.
In the evening, looking at the gifts everyone sent, pepper was very expensive these days. This was a pound of pepper sent by Qiluo Pavilion. Jinniang knew that this pepper was worth three strings of coins per pound and was used to entertain distinguished guests. This time, she not only gave the work of Wenxiuyuan to Qiluoge, but also gave them part of the military uniforms, so they returned the favor.
In addition to the guild's affairs, Jinniang also had to rush to make children's clothes for the little yellow chicken. The moment she saw her daughter, she remembered that her husband was still in the Liu family.
"Come in, little boy." Jinniang shouted.
Chen Xiaolang hurriedly asked, "Madam, what do you want me to do? What are you going to announce?"
Jinniang covered her mouth and laughed: "You are really obsessed with officials. You are addicted to it. I mean, my son-in-law is at Liu's house. I will pack some things over later. If I didn't tell you, you would have forgotten it completely."
Chen Xiaolang scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. His son-in-law was indeed a good person, but he was his wife's man after all.
Now that Jiang Xian lives in the Liu family, how could she not prepare gifts for the New Year? There were two boxes of dried fruits, two boxes of fresh fruits, a jar of top-quality wine, one end of a small piece of plain silk for painting, and six pairs of exquisite purses. The Huang family also sent him in this way. After all, they took Jiang Xian as their disciple at that time, and there were also Xiao Hanlin, Zhuangyuan Mansion and other places, as well as the homes of her husband's in-laws, and her husband's relatives and friends.
Naturally, Jinniang sent Jiang Xian a portion of his favorite fried quail, a box of crispy and golden ones.
After Jiang Xian went to Liu Jixiang's study, he was talking to Liu Dalangjun when he heard that Jinniang had sent him a holiday gift and also sent him some food.
Liu Dalangjun also said: "You will be leaving in a few days, but your sister-in-law is still thinking about you. I wonder what good things she sent you?"
Now Jiang Xian couldn't eat alone anymore. He asked someone to open the food box and saw that they were all his favorite dishes, which only his wife remembered. Liu Dalangjun's family background naturally meant he had everything he needed, but since ancient times, the food from other people's pots was the best. He ate it with great enthusiasm and even sighed, "I've eaten Suhuangdu before, but I've never eaten anything as delicious as this."
"I'll go back and ask my wife where she bought it, and then tell you, brother." Jiang Xian said with a smile.
Whenever my wife went to a place and saw something she ate, she would bring him a portion. If he liked it, she would write it down and send it to him later. He swore that he ate more delicious food after getting married than before.
It’s not a matter of money, but the fact that every gathering before the marriage was held at those places. No matter how rich or poor she is, she will go to try the food if it’s delicious.
Liu Dalangjun nodded and looked outside again: "Last year the weather was warm, even a fur coat was warm, but this year is just like the year before, very cold."
"Yes, I heard from the clinic that many people have contracted lung diseases due to colds." When Jiang Xian said this, he thought of his wife and daughter at home, and couldn't help but think of bringing some medicinal herbs back home.
After the two of them talked for a few words, a servant came over and said that Madam Xun's brother had come, and Young Master Liu went to see his brother-in-law again.
Madam Xun herself was born into a family of officials and married into a family of prime ministers. She leaned back on the couch and put 13 strings of cash per catty of Srivijaya frankincense into the grey-green glaze crabapple-shaped incense burner of the Ge kiln. Soon, wisps of faint fragrance wafted out.
She is three years older than Jinniang, but unlike Jinniang who married late, she has been married for ten years. Although she has a son and a daughter, she also has her own worries. Although my father-in-law is a high-ranking official, my husband is almost thirty years old and still has not completed his studies. If he can only become an official through imperial favor in the future, he probably won't have much of a future.
Perhaps this is the reason why the Liu family recruited several relatives who are studious and ambitious.
But Madam Xun believed that no matter how many scholars she recruited, it would be better for her to work hard herself.
Everyone also knew Madam Xun's methods. Last time, a maid with some looks was taken in by Young Master Liu, and she was beaten with a stick and kicked out the next day. Even a handsome man like Jiang Xian was kicked out because she was suspected by her.
Because of this, when Mr. Liu had a mistress, Ms. Xun could no longer control it and could only turn a blind eye.
Now she would rather something happened between Jiang Xian and Liu Dalangjun. At least Jiang Xian is a man and won't have a child.
But Jiang Xian is not like that now. Although he is handsome, his wife is extremely beautiful. Even the beautiful maid she sent to serve him, Jiang Xian doesn't even look at her twice.
Madam Xun wanted to learn from Jinniang, but unfortunately she seldom visited her and was very careful with her words.
Now there is a concubine who can't hold back and wants to marry into the family because she is pregnant. Madam Xun is naturally very worried, so today she asked her brothers to go to her house and knock on the door to give her some warning.
The knocking actually only delayed the concubine's entry.
Jinniang was also very busy. In addition to the guild affairs, she also had work in her own shop. Now that the son of the Gao family in Nancheng was one year old, he had ordered three sets of fine clothes from the Wei family embroidery shop. After Minzhi had sewed them, Jinniang embroidered on them.
Don’t underestimate these three sets of clothes. One set costs twelve strings of cash, and three sets cost thirty-six strings of cash.
In order to finish it as soon as possible, Jinniang started working hard at night since Jiang Xian hadn't come back yet. Mother Luo was talking to Jinniang: "You are much busier now than before."
"Yes, there is no way. Money is needed everywhere, both at home and abroad. You don't know that I spent nearly 20,000 yuan on festival gifts alone."
When dealing with servants of the Jiang family like Mother Luo, don't pretend to be rich, but talk more about their difficulties. Otherwise, if the news got back to the Jiang family, they would really think that making money was easy for them.
Mother Luo thought that the Madam was still foresighted, otherwise, if she left like this, the Sixth Master would have found a new love. What can I do, brother? He is still so young, and it is unknown when he will pass the imperial examination. It was all thanks to the help of Mrs. Wei.
Jiang Xian came back during the Chinese New Year, and after coming back he told Jinniang about the commotion in the Liu family over the concubine entering the family.
"No way." Jinniang thought that these matters of concubines were too far away from her.
Jiang Xian had his own thoughts: "Actually, I think it was also to fight against Madam Xun, just like why my father finally agreed to marry Madam Zheng."
As soon as his mother died, Xu took complete control of the entire family and became complacent. Even his father had to depend on her for support. Now, he has turned the tables by welcoming Madam Zheng into the family. Madam Xun relied on her family background to control Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu could not do as he pleased and his imperial examinations were not going well, so he could not confront her head-on, and thus this situation happened.
After listening to his analysis, Jinniang couldn't help but say, "This is too complicated. Isn't it just an excuse for men to get tired of the old and fall in love with the new? Xianlang, they are so corrupt, why don't you stay at home and study, and come to your house when you need advice."
"No, now a talented person who studied with me has come to the Liu family, and we can learn from each other." Jiang Xian knew that it would not be easy to go back after leaving the Liu family.
Jinniang had no choice but to say, "Okay, I understand."
The two had just said a few words when Chen Xiaolang came to the study and said that Yixianglou was preparing to move to the north city, and so was Binyunlou. Jinniang's face looked a little heavy, and Jiang Xian hurriedly asked why.
"The owner of Yixianglou is a man, older than me, a native of Bian Jing, and has been running the business for three generations. I heard that he originally thought he would be the head of the guild, but it turned out that the head of the guild chose me." Jinniang spread her hands.
"There were a lot of problems with the management of Yixianglou. He originally drew the designs himself like me and then produced the ready-made clothes. But he had customers come to his door several times complaining that the clothes were different from the drawings and that there was something wrong with the shape, so he got scared and just kept making the old styles."
There were also people who said bad things about Jinniang, saying that her clothes were becoming increasingly outdated, but she always insisted on letting satisfaction dispel these dissatisfactions, which was the reason for her gradual rise.
As for Binyun Tower, Jinniang held her forehead and said, "They pay the most taxes."
Jiang Xian asked: "Why are they doing this?"
"I don't know. I'll go and ask now." Jinniang shook her head and went out again.
The owner of Binyun Tower would naturally not say that he had failed in the competition with Jinniang for the top position. This was just one reason. The fundamental reason was that although Binyun Tower still had the afterglow of its past, it was no longer able to sustain itself.
A folding screen sounds like it costs two hundred strings of coins, but it takes an embroiderer two to three years to embroider a complicated double-sided embroidery. The embroiderers' wages are dozens of strings of coins, plus the costs, so they only earn a few strings of coins more each month.
Even now, with the emergence of new embroidery patterns, Binyunlou's old embroidery patterns are made less and less.
After a while, Jinniang came back and told Jiang Xian about it, saying, "It doesn't matter whether they leave or not. I'm just afraid that someone will say it's because of me."
"Then what should we do? Will my wife still be the temporary leader?" Jiang Xian asked.
Jinniang smiled brightly: "Do it, why not. If I stop doing it because of some gossips from others, then I won't be myself anymore."
She had not married for five years after she came of age. She was not afraid of all the gossip and insisted on her own way. As expected, she got a good marriage. The same was true after she opened the shop. There were many people who made trouble and were picky, but she never backed down.
No matter what you want to do, unless you don't want to do it, you should not not do it just because of what others say.
After the two families released the news, some people talked about it and mentioned that Jinniang was too young to be the leader of the group and could not convince others. Jinniang was busy working to make the best clothes for Gao family's one-year-old son and to ship the last order.
At the beginning of the next spring, the Yixianglou shop was rented by another embroidery shop. There were firecrackers and celebrations, and it was very lively.
Jiang Xian gained a lot of insights from it. He suddenly felt that if one moves forward according to one's goals in life, although one may not be able to see the dawn of hope immediately, as long as he persists, he will definitely see the light.
In the spring, Zhou Cunzhi got a job in the library and did not have to serve as an official in other places, but worked as an official in Beijing.
The Zhou family was very happy, but they were still in mourning and did not dare to celebrate too much. Except for the second daughter who married far away, almost all the girls in the Zhou family returned home to congratulate.
The fourth girl hadn't been back to her parents' home for a long time. She thought Zhang would be very happy, but unexpectedly, Zhang was also indifferent.
Is this the reason why Zhou Cunzhi married Wei Jinniang later on? The couple separated and the man looked for another loving partner outside. It’s a pity that Wei Jinniang and Jiang Xian are together in this life.
Everything written in the previous novel collapsed, all the characters no longer matched. The fourth girl looked up at the sky, and she finally felt reality. She was really going to be in the Song Dynasty, and might spend her whole life there.
"Fourth sister, why are you still here?"
When the fourth girl heard the third girl calling her, she suddenly came to her senses and said with a smile, "I just went to the madam's place."
The third lady walked out of Zhou's house with her and said, "I heard that your elder sister's father-in-law has resigned and is preparing to return to Luoyang. Let's find a day to go to my house to celebrate for her."
The fourth girl certainly had no objection, but at the same time, she looked at the third girl and felt that things had changed. In the past, the eldest and second girls were legitimate daughters, and she and the third girl were not valued much. She was even better off than the third girl because Miao Xiaoniang was more favored. But now, the third girl was the one who married the best.
In feudal society, working well is never as good as marrying well.
The husband will always be honored and the wife will be respected.
Jiang Xian is similar, except that his wife is honored and his husband is respected.
It is also said that when Jinniang first became the head of a brothel, she facilitated two big deals. After that, she was quiet for a while and then began to ask for advice on how to embroider the Guanyin. This kind of consultation does not mean asking others directly, but I often take the opportunity to visit them. They are all people who can embroider, and you will know it by watching them more.
"Ms. Ren, I have found you a master who is very skilled in mounting paintings. When would you like to go over and take a look?" Jinniang said with a smile.
Mrs. Ren mainly embroiders Buddha images. This time, she embroidered a picture of Sakyamuni preaching Buddhism. The face and hands of the Buddha were mainly printed with gold, and the hair was embroidered with seed embroidery. The Buddha's clothes were embroidered with flat embroidery, and the paddy field clothes were outlined with twisted gold thread. Mrs. Jin remembered it silently.
"Thank you for troubling Captain Wei. You always keep my affairs in mind." Madam Ren thanked him.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I don't see what you are talking about. You are my senior, so it's only natural." After she finished speaking, she pretended to be curious and asked, "Why is the Willow Leaf Guanyin hanging over there different from this one?"
Madam Ren said casually, "The threads used are different. That one uses mulberry silk thread."
"So that's how it is. I have a relative who is unable to have children. I originally embroidered Buddhist scriptures, but after seeing you like this, I also embroidered a Buddha statue for her. But I am not very good at it, so you must give me some advice." Jinniang smiled with her hands covering her lips.
Of course she knew that Madam Ren would not teach her, as she was the one making a living, but it would not be a problem if she could give her some pointers and let her figure it out slowly.
If it was before, of course Mrs. Ren would have been perfunctory, but now that Mrs. Jin had helped her a lot as the head of the group, she couldn't afford to offend Mrs. Jin.
Jinniang said, "The backgrounds of the Guanyins I embroider are always dull. How come yours is so shiny, as if it can glow?"
In fact, she had already discovered that the base was embroidered with random stitches, but even so, Mrs. Ren thought that Jinniang didn't see it, and only said something else: "The hands of this embroidered Guanyin are painted, first painted and then embroidered, and it has to be embroidered in several layers."
She thought what she said was vague, but in fact Jinniang already understood it, but she still looked confused.
So, after she returned home, she studied hard and first embroidered a small image of Guanyin in purple. She first painted it by hand on plain silk, and it took her three full days to finish it. Then buy some mulberry silk and split it into the thinnest thread. First, use random stitches to embroider a thin layer of the background, and start embroidering from the face. Use flat embroidery on the face to make the embroidered surface even and flat without overlapping.
Alternate between flat embroidery and embroidery, and use staggered stitches to increase the three-dimensional effect of the background.
Because she doesn't embroider double-sided, she doesn't have to follow others' steps exactly in many places and can make some adjustments on her own.
Despite her careful work, the finished embroidery product was not satisfactory. Jinniang was naturally very annoyed, considering that Buddhist scriptures and statues were embroidered on it.
Ah Ying consoled her, "Madam Ren has been learning this since she could speak. She has been learning it for decades. You have just started learning it, so naturally you are not as good as her."
In fact, Aying already felt that it was very good, but my wife was the type who had to compare herself with the best, so there was nothing we could do about it.
Because of this, Jinniang gave this painting of Ziying Guanyin to the owner of Huixianlou. Naturally, their Wei family embroidery shop could not receive large-scale door curtain orders like Huixianlou. It was not a problem of embroidery skills, but that they were a small and exquisite workshop, not a large embroidery building.
However, for a big customer like Huixianlou, as the head of the embroidery industry, Jinniang had to present a gift on behalf of the entire Nancheng embroidery industry, so she presented her own Guanyin to make up the number.
I didn't think much of it at first, it was probably just thrown into a corner and gathered dust.
However, no one expected that after this Purple Guanyin painting was delivered, the wife of the owner of Huixian Tower, who had been ill and loved Buddhism, hung it in her room. Unexpectedly, after hanging it up, she recovered completely in a month.
You should know that the person who really knows how to brew Yujiu wine in Huixianlou is the wife of the owner.
Once she recovered, the Jade Wine could be brewed again, and the wife of the owner of Huixianlou even went to Jinniang's house to express her gratitude. Jinniang naturally didn't think that her good health was due to the Buddha statue, so she insisted on not accepting it, and said, "It's just fate."
If she doesn't accept it, no one else can.
At that time, Jiang Xian thought that his wife was too upright. That was Yujiu wine, and it was aged at that.
Jinniang also said to Jiang Xian: "In fact, my embroidery is not very good. Now I am slowly learning from them. I realized that I didn't grasp many details well. Fortunately, they are not people of the same craft, otherwise they would not give me wine."
"Actually, I can't see any problem at all, my lady. You have embroidered it very well." Jiang Xian said sincerely.
Jinniang shook her head: "Don't say anything against your will."
Seeing that she was really sad, Jiang Xian went to the kitchen to make her favorite celery dumplings to comfort her. Jinniang was very happy to see the dumplings. She ate a small bowl and asked Jiang Xian to fry a few for her. Jiang Xian knew that his wife was just acting coquettishly towards him. After all, he was studying away from home and his wife took care of everything at home, so he was happy to go again.
Later, there was a poetry gathering at Huixianlou. Jiang Xian was still in filial piety and had no plans to drink today. However, when his friends at the table were about to order drinks, they asked the owner of Huixianlou to send over Yujiu wine.
Zhang Jiulang smiled and said, "This is aged wine. You are willing to take it out."
The host pointed at Jiang Xian and said, "This gentleman is the husband of Wei Xingtou. Madam Wei is a well-known person. She is in charge of the embroidery of Nancheng at a young age. She is talented and wise. A small drink is not a respect, but an honor for us."
It was actually free of charge. Jiang Xian couldn't help but raise her chin, feeling quite honored as a wife and a husband.
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