Chapter 99 Even Fan Jin's passing the imperial examination wasn't as exaggerated as yours.
After having lunch at Zhang's house, Sheng An took a walk around the village to provide Zhang Zhaodi with weaving inspiration before leaving Huai Shu Village with his grandparents.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng had lunch at their old neighbor's house and gave him a red envelope because the neighbor's grandson was almost a month old.
The old neighbor felt embarrassed about this, so he specially killed a young rooster to treat them.
There were no oxcarts on the way back, so the three of them chatted as they walked and didn't feel tired.
As they approached the city gate, Sheng An spotted a burly figure walking towards them. Who else could it be but Zhang Dai Kui?
Zhang Daikui never expected to run into the three of them. When he met Sheng An's ambiguous smile, he felt guilty and hid the piece of meat he was carrying behind his back.
Realizing his actions were foolish, Zhang Daikui grinned sheepishly and scratched his head sheepishly, "Sister-in-law, hehe..."
After chuckling, he quickly greeted Grandpa and Grandma Sheng.
Grandpa Sheng saw the meat in Zhang Daikui's hand and asked curiously, "Is this for a guest or for visiting relatives?"
Zhang Daikui dared not tell the truth, yet did not want to lie to the old man, so he just kept scratching his head and grinning foolishly.
Seeing this, Grandpa Sheng stopped asking questions and urged with a smile, "Go quickly, and go home as soon as you finish. It's not safe after dark."
Zhang Daikui secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "I will."
Sheng An didn't expose Zhang Dai Kui, but casually said, "Zhao Di loves to eat pig ears and pig tails the most. Aunt Zhang went to the market late this morning and didn't get to buy any."
Zhang Daikui may be simple-minded, but he's not stupid. He immediately remembered this and gave Sheng An a grateful smile: "Sister-in-law, my mother's sausages are especially delicious. I'll send you some to try in a few days."
Xu Cuilian is indeed skilled at making preserved meats, and she can earn a lot more money every winter.
Sheng An had never tried Xu Cuilian's sausages before, and hearing him say that made his mouth water: "Okay, remember to send some over later, I'll add a new dish to Sheng Yuan's menu."
Zhang Daikui nodded repeatedly: "The sausages need to be dried for a few more days. I'll bring them over as soon as they're done."
Watching the tall, strong figure walk away, Sheng An smiled and shook his head, then smiled at Grandma Sheng who was looking over and said, "This meat is for Zhao Di's family, but Zhao Di doesn't have any feelings for him."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Sheng's face showed regret: "These two children are quite a good match."
Grandpa Sheng glanced at Zhang Daikui's back, then turned and walked forward with his hands behind his back: "That kid is stubborn. Who knows, he might be able to persuade Zhaodi to give in by grinding the tofu."
Grandma Sheng shook her head: "Zhao Di is different from ordinary girls; she definitely won't make it by grinding tofu."
Sheng An listened to the two elders' discussion without saying a word, somewhat regretting that he hadn't asked Liu Huazhi more that day, otherwise he would have known whether Zhang Zhaodi had married Zhang Daikui.
Xu Chenglin returned first and, seeing what Sheng An was holding, casually asked a question.
Sheng An immediately lifted the cover and placed it on the tea table for her father-in-law to admire: "You are a man of great knowledge, take a look and see how much this bamboo weaving is worth."
Xu Chenglin's gaze fell on the "rustic charm," and a look of amazement appeared on his face: "This is actually made of bamboo?"
Sheng An smiled and nodded: "Zhao Di put a lot of effort into making it. There are so many customers who come to Sheng Yuan to eat, maybe they will buy something they like."
Xu Chenglin touched the bamboo weaving with great affection and said confidently, "It can be sold, it definitely can be sold! If we find someone who likes it, selling it for ten or twenty taels won't be a problem."
The official he served back then was fond of bamboo weaving. Once, during an inspection tour, he brought back a woven item of roughly the same size, which reportedly cost him half a year's salary.
Sheng An had a better idea of what to expect, and immediately set a price for this "rustic charm": "Let's make it twenty taels. Once Zhao Di's bamboo weaving becomes famous, the price can be raised again."
However, wealthy people aren't fools, so they had to package Zhang Zhaodi a bit, saying she was the only disciple of a reclusive bamboo weaving master.
This identity is not fabricated. Zhang Zhaodi's maternal grandfather was indeed a well-known bamboo craftsman in the surrounding area. Many people sought him out to make bamboo furniture, and it is not an exaggeration to call him a master of bamboo weaving.
Sheng An quietly crafted a new persona for Zhang Zhaodi, making sure to elevate her to a high level, making her as sophisticated and mysterious as possible, so that customers who wanted to buy bamboo woven art pieces would feel they were getting more than their money's worth.
In the evening, Xu Jinnian returned to the small building, and Sheng An immediately pulled him to admire the bamboo weaving, telling him her plan in detail.
Finally, she asked, "Do you think it's okay?"
Xu Jin gently stroked the smooth, burr-free bamboo weaving, her eyes filled with endless admiration for Sheng An: "An'an's plan is very thorough."
Sheng An smiled brightly, dazzling in the candlelight: "Tomorrow I'll take it to the front yard and place it in the most conspicuous spot, and give Shuqi and the others a good lesson so they can explain it in detail to those guests who like weaving."
Xu Jinnian shook his head: "The Master's birthday is coming soon, and I'm worried about what gift to give him. This bamboo weaving is very nice, and the Master should like it."
Sheng An never expected that before the first bamboo weaving piece was even put on the shelf, it would be taken a liking by her own family.
She thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, we'll buy this bamboo weaving set. I'll give Zhaodi ten taels of silver tomorrow."
Displaying just one bamboo weaving at Shengyuan Garden is too monotonous. Sheng An plans to discuss with Zhang Zhaodi and ask her to hurry up and weave a few more.
We can showcase them together, which will not only allow us to fully demonstrate the exquisite weaving techniques, but also give customers who love bamboo weaving more choices and increase the sales rate.
The next morning, Sheng An excitedly arrived at the Zhang family with the silver.
Ten taels of silver, gleaming brightly, were placed before her. Zhang Zhaodi was completely dumbfounded, unable to believe that her bamboo weaving could sell for so much money.
She looked at Sheng An suspiciously: "Tell me the truth, did you take over the bamboo weaving business yourself to encourage me?"
Otherwise, if they had brought them back yesterday and sold them today, even a ghost wouldn't be so quick to reincarnate.
Sheng An blinked, stubbornly denying it: "How could that be! If you don't believe me, go search my house right now."
They certainly couldn't admit that it was Jin Nian who had taken a liking to her, otherwise Zhao Di wouldn't have accepted the ten taels of silver.
Seeing that her good friend spoke with such certainty, even mentioning searching the house, Zhang Zhaodi believed her and immediately grabbed the silver ingot, biting it hard.
Seeing the faint teeth marks on the silver ingot, Zhang Zhaodi jumped up and hopped around the room like a frog, a foolish, infatuated grin spreading across her face: "Ten taels of silver! I actually made ten taels of silver! I'm rich! I'm rich! Hahaha~"
Sheng An: "..."
Sister, even Fan Jin's success in the imperial examination wasn't as exaggerated as yours.
While she was internally complaining, Sheng An understood her friend's feelings and laughed along with her.
Zhang Zhaodi bounced around several times, and after expressing her overwhelming joy, she suddenly turned around, hugged Sheng An tightly, and puckered her lips to give her a big kiss on the cheek:
"An'an, thank you so much, I'm so lucky!"
As Zhang Zhaodi spoke, her eyes gradually reddened: "If it weren't for your guidance and encouragement, I would never have known that bamboo weaving could be so valuable. You showed me a path I never thought of!"
Zhang Zhaodi was genuinely grateful to Sheng An and felt incredibly fortunate to have such a thoughtful friend in her life.
Sheng An's eyes also welled up with tears. She gently wiped away her best friend's tears and said, "It's because you were determined and seized the opportunity. Otherwise, no matter how much I say, it would be pointless."
Zhang Zhaodi hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face: "No matter what, I have to thank you. You gave me the opportunity to choose a different path..."
She thought that after being jilted by the Liu family, she would either stay at home as an old maid, barely scraping by while watching her younger brother and sister-in-law's faces, or she would be unable to bear it and marry an old man or a widower, living her life numbly like that.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and she was able to earn a living with her own skills, allowing her to stand tall and not rely on anyone else.
The bitterness, helplessness, and bewilderment that had shrouded him like dark clouds for months vanished the moment he gripped ten taels of silver in his hands.
Sheng An was deeply moved and smiled as she gently patted Zhang Zhaodi's trembling back: "Things will get better and better in the future."
Zhang Zhaodi wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously: "Yes, we will all get better and better!"
The two held hands and talked intimately, and discussed how to sell bamboo weaving better in the future. In the end, Zhang Zhaodi agreed to all of Sheng An's plans, and she only needed to focus on making better bamboo weaving artworks.
This time, Sheng An did not stay for dinner. He gave Zhang Zhaodi some instructions and then left in a hurry.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang stood at the door to see her off, watching Sheng An's figure disappear from sight, before they went to their daughter's room with worried expressions.
The couple were stunned when they saw their daughter's bright smile.
My daughter was crying so loudly just now, I thought something bad had happened, but now it seems that it wasn't what they thought.
"Father, Mother, look! Your daughter has earned some money!"
Zhang Zhaodi proudly showed the ten taels of silver to her parents, looking extremely pleased with herself: "An'an helped me sell a bamboo weaving set, and it sold for a whole ten taels of silver!"
What, ten taels of silver?
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were stunned. The price was completely beyond their comprehension. They never imagined that something made from a few bamboo poles could sell for so much money.
You know, they have a lot of land, and the weather has been good these past few years with good harvests, but at the end of the year, they're lucky if they can get three or five taels of silver.
The income from one bamboo weaving project by the daughter is equivalent to the income of the whole family working hard to farm for two years.
Seeing the silver in their daughter's hand, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang had no choice but to believe it, no matter how hard they tried.
At this moment, the two increasingly aged faces revealed a smile of relief and pride: "Our daughter is really amazing!"
Without saying a word, Zhang Zhaodi stuffed ten taels of silver into her mother's hand: "Mother, the New Year is not far away. This year, everyone in our family should get a new set of clothes, and we should also make one for Grandpa and Grandma."
Zhang's mother quickly refused: "Keep the money you earn yourself. If you want new clothes, I'll make them for you!"
These past few months, my daughter has been studying bamboo weaving, saying that bamboo weaving can fetch a high price.
At first, the couple didn't believe it, but they thought that bamboo weaving would keep their daughter from paying attention to the rumors, so they let her do it.
Now that bamboo weaving is selling for a high price, they are extremely glad they didn't stop them back then, and they certainly wouldn't want the money their daughter worked so hard to earn.
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