The third day of the third lunar month is the Peach Blossom Festival.
The town of Qingshi was particularly lively. Because there were several peach blossom groves in the town, people who had nothing to do today came out of their homes to admire the peach blossoms, browse the shops, and spend a happy day.
If a family has a daughter who is turning of age this year, some families will choose to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for her on the third day of the third lunar month, inviting guests and making a lively occasion so that relatives and friends can witness their daughter's coming of age.
This is also a way of announcing to acquaintances that their daughter has come of age and that suitable marriages are possible.
However, most families who choose to hold their daughters' coming-of-age ceremony on the Peach Blossom Festival on the third day of the third lunar month are wealthy families.
For girls from poor families, their coming-of-age ceremony was basically just a simple celebration on their birthday, nothing like the grand celebrations held by wealthy families.
Li Mai's ready-made clothing store chose this day to open.
After breakfast, Zhou Quan and Li Mai took Zhou Tao to the shop.
Soon, the sales clerks they had recruited in the past few days also came to work wearing the uniforms that Li Mai had given them the day before.
After they finished getting ready, the four embroiderers that Lu Qian had helped find also arrived.
Li Mai led them in a brief mobilization meeting inside the hall and explained some important points for the day.
She had been training these people at the manor for several days, mainly four sales clerks, teaching them how to serve customers and how to sell goods.
Zhou Tao was the shopkeeper who took over for her when she and Zhou Quan were not in the shop. Over the past two months, Li Mai had been teaching Zhou Tao how to manage the shop, how to manage the people in the shop, and how to handle some emergencies whenever she was not busy.
When she and Zhou Quan were around, Zhou Tao would work upstairs with the embroiderers, cutting and sewing clothes.
I must say, this 15-year-old girl is very hardworking once she starts studying seriously. She learns everything Li Mai teaches her very diligently.
She even learned how to draw clothes from Li Mai.
Zhou Tao had already been taught how to cut by her own mother. Only now did she realize that she could do many things. She even found that the more she used her brain, the smarter she became, and the more ideas she had.
Moreover, many of the ideas she put forward were approved by her sister-in-law.
"Alright, that's all I have to say. Today is the opening of our 'Pomegranate Red Garment Shop.' At 9:00 AM, we'll set off firecrackers to celebrate. We expect to see more customers then, so keep your spirits up, be observant, ask questions, and remember to maintain a professional smile. Let's all cheer each other on!" Li Mai concluded with this encouraging remark.
Everyone cheered in unison!
There's no way around it; the boss has been saying "keep it up" to them every now and then during the past few days of training to encourage them, and now they've gotten used to saying it.
Everyone dispersed to do their own thing, and Zhou Quan went out and completely removed the door panels and took them to the backyard.
By this time, the signboard above the door had already been hung up. Zhou Quan, holding a large red flower tied with red silk, stood on a stool and hung it on the signboard.
People know that the shop is newly opened today just by seeing the red silk hanging on the signboard.
Limai didn't hire a lion dance to attract people; they just had someone stand in front of the door shouting a single sentence:
Red Pomegranate Clothing Store opens today, and customers who come in to buy clothes can also receive a free handkerchief!
The handkerchiefs were made by Li Mai and the four embroiderers in the village over the past few days.
Li Mairang embroidered the six characters "Red Pomegranate Clothing Workshop" and four kinds of flowers and plants, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum and plum, on the handkerchiefs, with each person embroidering one flower and plant.
There aren't many flowers and plants embroidered; just one in the upper right corner is enough. The words are at the bottom, so when the person who receives it takes it out, they will see the words "Red Pomegranate Garment Workshop".
At 9:00 AM, when the firecrackers went off, they immediately attracted the attention of people strolling in the town.
In a town where there were originally only shouts and conversations, the sound of firecrackers could be heard several streets away.
Curiosity took hold as people headed toward Qinggu Street, eager to see what new shops had opened in town.
Some people, having finished admiring the peach blossoms, didn't know where to go for a stroll, so they followed the crowd to Qinggu Street.
Li Mai didn't expect to make much money on the first day of business. After all, doing business is about long-term success, and as long as she makes some sales on the first day, that's enough.
But she didn't expect that soon after the firecrackers stopped, more and more people would come to her shop. Some were looking at clothes, some were sitting on stools to rest, and some were asking what the free handkerchiefs were like.
In reality, not many people actually buy anything. Most of the people who come in and leave are just there to check out the clothes and see what they look like.
Seeing that there were more people, Li Mai, Zhou Quan, and Zhou Tao also went behind the counter to prepare to serve customers.
"Ah, the color of this dress is very beautiful. What's it called?" Several young ladies gathered together in front of Li Mai, pointing to the pomegranate-colored dress hanging there and asking her.
Li Mai glanced at it and said with a smile, "This is called a pomegranate skirt, and the color is pomegranate red. It's also the main style and color promoted in my shop. If any of you like it, one of you can try it on first."
"Pomegranate Red? Oh, that's the same name as the one Jin Yu Ge came out with today, called Cupid's Pomegranate Red. I even bought a set!" one of the young ladies said in surprise, turning to call her maid standing to the side.
The maidservant quickly came over and handed a red wooden box she was carrying to her mistress.
After the young lady opened it, people around her spontaneously gathered around to watch.
"Wow, this looks so nice! How many pieces are in this set?" A young woman standing behind the group asked after taking a look.
The young lady replied, "The six-piece set cost me sixty-eight taels of silver, but it does look quite nice."
"Ah, is it also from the Cupid series? I love the Cupid series jewelry from Jin Yu Ge so much, I think every single one is so beautiful, it's a pity I only have the plum blossom set."
"I have the Cupid's Fireworks technique."
The young ladies present, standing in the ready-to-wear shop, suddenly began to boast about owning jewelry from the Cupid collection, their expressions suggesting how honored they were to possess such a set.
Li Mai watched with a smile as they praised the jewelry she had designed.
“Ah, Qiao, your jewelry and pomegranate dress match perfectly! Not only do their names match, but their colors do too!” A young lady next to her said to the lady who had bought the pomegranate red jewelry.
"Yes, I think so too. Shopkeeper, may I try on this dress?" The lady also thought it was perfect. If she missed buying it today, it would be a huge loss.
“Okay!” Li Mai checked her height, helped her find clothes that fit, and led her to the dressing room by the door to change.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
