Chapter 007: Traitor 7
Taking advantage of the fact that it hasn't snowed yet, Aunt Zhao is busy mending clothes at home today.
Aunt Zhao was a little surprised to see Xiao Yan. She immediately led him into the house and kept on talking, "How can you get out of bed? Where's Chen'er?"
"I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you're still a kid, and your body isn't fully recovered yet. Even if you don't think about Brother Chen, you should still think about yourself."
She said very experiencedly, "Don't blame me for being harsh. For a person, living is the most important thing. If something goes wrong, it will all be over and there will be nothing left."
Aunt Zhao looked at the eldest daughter-in-law and her little daughter in the room, and then she felt something was wrong.
Even though Xiao Yan was still young, a ten-year-old boy was considered half an adult, not to mention that her daughter was the same age as Xiao Yan.
In order to avoid suspicion, Aunt Zhao winked at her eldest daughter-in-law, asking her to take Shan Tao back to her room to do embroidery, and then invited Xiao Yan to sit down.
Even though it hadn't snowed yet, it was still very cold that day, so Aunt Zhao had already lit the kang, making it much warmer inside the house than outside.
Xiao Yansi thanked him politely, "No need to bother. I came here today to discuss a business matter with Aunt Zhao."
Without waiting for Aunt Zhao to ask, he explained his purpose: "You know, my parents, my grandmother was a famous embroiderer and passed on her skills to my mother. Although we don't have any girls in our family, I have seen my mother embroider before."
"My father learned some calligraphy while working away from home, and I can also write and paint, so my skills are not bad. Aunt Zhao, your craftsmanship is also well-known, but I just lack some fashionable embroidery patterns. So I want to sell them to you. You can keep 80% of each embroidery and I will keep 20%. What do you think?"
Aunt Zhao: “…”
Aunt Zhao was baffled, thinking to herself, "Could it be that Xiao Yan was just asking her for money in disguise? How could a boy do embroidery? I've never heard of that!"
She was full of doubts and looked embarrassed: "This..."
Aunt Zhao was thinking about how to refuse, but before she could finish her thought, she heard Xiao Yan say, "It's all in vain. How about this? I'll draw you an embroidery pattern, and you can think about it. What do you think?"
At this point, Aunt Zhao didn't want to refuse too directly. Seeing that he was so confident that she would agree, she was half-believing and half-doubting.
I thought that if it was really not good, it wouldn't be too hurtful even if she refused.
After all, she had watched Xiao Yan grow up and had some feelings for him. Moreover, Xiao Yan had always been a well-behaved and sensible child, and would often help her out. She didn't want to make things too awkward with Xiao Yan.
If someone else came here, she would probably kick them out without saying a word.
Xiao Yan opened the cloth bag he was carrying, revealing a slightly yellowed piece of paper, a brush and a small ink stick. These were things given to his original father by his employer when he went out to work.
Seeing the paper and ink stick, Aunt Zhao was startled and said quickly, "Why don't we go back to the ground? These things are very precious!"
She had heard from the villagers that a small piece of ink stick, the cheapest one, cost seven or eight taels! That could cover their family's expenses for more than a year!
Xiao Yan waved his hand and said, "Aunt Zhao, you have always taken care of my family. You are a kind person. How can I take advantage of your kindness?"
"Brothers have to settle accounts, let alone our two families? We've settled the money and goods. If you think it's good, we can make money together. If you think it's not good, don't worry about ruining the relationship between our two families. Let's deal with each other separately."
Xiao Yan spread the paper on the table and used a container to grind the ink stick with water.
This ink stick isn't very good. Generally, high-quality inkstones are black with a sheen, have a rich aroma, and are very delicate. However, this ink stick has coarse grains, a lesser ink color, and a faint fishy odor.
It's better than nothing.
Nowadays, most embroidery products are handkerchief embroidery, shoe embroidery, pillowcase embroidery, and fan embroidery. The better ones are screens and embroidery used as ornaments.
Of course, the latter are generally embroidered by famous embroiderers, or embroiderers employed by wealthy families. Small families in the countryside like them mostly take on small and odd jobs and cannot earn much money. At most, it can be considered as private money or to supplement the family income.
Xiao Yan drew a few bamboos according to the size of the insoles, with bamboo leaves. With just a few strokes, one can already see the charm of bamboo. There are also small words written next to them, which read: Longevity and happiness.
Afterwards, Xiao Yan painted several clusters of blooming plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo, which became the Four Gentlemen.
In addition, there are cute kittens and puppies, festive fat babies, artistic landscape paintings, pictures of labor representing harvest, and even pictures of gods.
The small paintings took up the entire sheet of paper, leaving Aunt Zhao in awe. When she came to her senses, she realized it was already noon.
But she didn't care about anything else. She just stood around the table and watched, but she was afraid of breaking it so she didn't dare to touch it.
She couldn't understand how someone could make people and objects come alive so vividly just by painting on black paper.
The chubby little cat, playing with its tail, looks incredibly adorable, softening one's heart. Then there's the chubby baby in a bellyband, and the image of a deity so divine it's almost unbearable to look directly at. It makes one wonder, could such a deity really exist? It's even more majestic than the deities in Taoist temples, making one wonder, "Is it possible that such a deity exists?"
As soon as the first small painting came out, Aunt Zhao knew that if it was embroidered into an embroidery, many people would come to buy it. But could she really embroider it so well?
Seeing Aunt Zhao's expression, Xiao Yan knew that the matter was almost done. "Don't worry about not being able to embroider it. You can use fine charcoal to draw the outline along the base pattern I gave you. I will then separate the details."
As soon as these words were spoken, Aunt Zhao's heart moved.
She can't draw or write, but she is good at embroidery. It is no different from ordinary embroidery, but it is more complicated. But this also means she can make money, and it is unique!
Even if others wanted to imitate him, as long as the sample pictures provided by Xiao Yan were popular, they would always earn more than others, especially the pictures of gods!
Aunt Zhao knew that the most profitable things were the images of deities. The images of deities usually depicted outside often had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a fierce look, a tuft of beard, or were expressionless. For example, the image of Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth, would have the corners of her mouth raised, a smile on her face, making her appear more approachable.
Some are majestic, some are kind, but none of them are as divinity as those painted by Xiao Yan.
For example, Guanyin Bodhisattva, no matter from which angle you look at her, seems to be looking at you, as if she is looking at all living beings, with a compassionate and solemn expression, as if the compassionate Guanyin has appeared.
Aunt Zhao's heart was burning with excitement. Like those writers who were inspired to write poetry, she wished she could finish the embroidery right away.
Embroidery is not only a way for her to supplement her family income, but also her hobby.
"You take 20%, isn't that a bad thing?" Aunt Zhao saw that she could make a lot of money from these, and she didn't want to take advantage of Xiao Yan.
Ordinary families would quarrel over money, but she knew that for the long term, the best way was to promise equal compensation.
Even though Xiao Yan only provided the base map, the base map is the most valuable thing!
If it weren't for Xiao Yan's idea, in her hands, the embroidery would only be enough to supplement the family income and would never be sold at a high price.
Xiao Yan shook his head: "Just listen to me."
"I'll take 20%. First, I'll only provide the embroidery patterns. You'll handle the needlework, thread, fabric, and embroidery sales. Second, I suggest you ask Sister Zhilan to join us."
Aunt Zhao: “!!!”
Her eyes widened: "Zhilan treated you like this...if others spread it..."
The first thing Aunt Zhao thought of was that Xiao Yan's reputation would be damaged. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, they would not care whether they were working in partnership or not. With the fact that Zhilan was about to 'marry' Xiao Yan, they would only think that Xiao Yan opposed it in words, but was actually being supported by Zhilan in private.
The woman has to support him, and it's not a formal relationship at all. It would be bad if this reputation gets out.
"That's why I want you to keep this secret. It's best if only your family and Sister Zhilan know about this."
"Sister Zhilan is naturally intelligent. Although she's a woman, she's not lacking in vision and connections. If she were with us, we'd have more options. You have to understand that a powerful dragon can't defeat a local snake. We're outsiders in the embroidery industry. If someone were to cause trouble or damage our reputation, we, the common people, wouldn't be able to stop them."
"I heard that Sister Zhilan has good relations with the yamen masters. With her around, we can make money. Of course, you have to share the profits. I suggest 30%. Although you have to pay the costs, connections are also very important."
After hearing Xiao Yan's detailed analysis, Aunt Zhao also understood the reason. To put it bluntly, it was all about human relationships and social etiquette. They even had to pay tribute to their superiors. What they lacked now was connections.
It’s like even if they have pictures of deities in their hands, they know they will make a lot of money, but how can these low-level people like them get to know those wealthy families or even officials?
Don’t think that reality is the same as in the stories, where you can still sell things door to door. I’m afraid that as soon as you get to the door, you will be driven out by the gatekeepers.
Different levels of identity determine the groups you come into contact with.
Chen Zhilan is a butcher, but he is one of the few in the town. Sometimes when wealthy families and restaurants need to slaughter livestock, they will ask her father to come over.
Chen Zhilan had been traveling around with Chen the Butcher since she was a child. She was born smart and quick-witted. She had also sold menus to restaurants, so naturally she had some business dealings with those people.
Otherwise, Xiao Yan would not have mentioned Chen Zhilan. He was not stupid, and their relationship was sensitive.
Chen Zhilan's connections were acquired by Xiao Yan from his worldly background. As an early supporting character, her background was naturally revealed, something only Chen the Butcher knew, but he knew no more than Xiao Yan did.
It can be said that even Chen Zhilan herself does not understand herself better than Xiao Yan.
When Aunt Zhao heard that Chen Zhilan had a relationship with the official, she was shocked and quickly lowered her voice, "That's not something you can talk about!"
A girl who is about to get married, who has a relationship with a man from another place, and who is a local judge, will probably be criticized for her immoral behavior even if there is no romantic relationship between them.
Xiao Yan nodded in agreement.
What he didn't mention was that if Chen Zhilan truly cared about what others thought of her, she wouldn't have followed the business model of cultivating connections. She wanted to achieve great things as a girl, so naturally she had to endure the gossip and controversy, which had both advantages and disadvantages. However, she didn't need to tell Aunt Zhao about this.
Xiao Yan knew Chen Zhilan's ambition and understood that if she wanted to achieve great things, she would definitely join them.
But Aunt Zhao didn't know that the concept that men should work outside and women should work inside was too deeply rooted. She felt that this matter was a bit risky.
"Will she really agree?" Aunt Zhao was still very worried.
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