Li Mai smiled and was about to turn and leave with Zhou Tao when Madam Yu called her back. She reached into a counter, took out a gold hairpin, and came to Li Mai, personally inserting it into her hair.
"This is for you, consider it a gift for our first meeting. I'll take you as my little friend," Madam Yu said with a smile, looking at Li Mai.
Li Mai reached out and touched it, then generously thanked her and left with Zhou Tao.
Since she had placed this trust in her, she naturally wouldn't let this strong woman who claimed she wanted to be her friend down.
Li Mai only chatted with Madam Yu for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before he was certain that if Madam Yu lived in later generations, she would be a powerful woman, a female CEO.
She possesses poise, authority, and magnanimity, making her far superior to the previous Manager Cui.
"Sister-in-law!" Zhou Tao followed behind Li Mai, swallowed hard, and murmured, "Sister-in-law!"
Li Mai turned to look at her and smiled. "Hmm, were you scared?"
Zhou Tao nodded subconsciously.
She admired her sister-in-law very much, but she never expected that her sister-in-law could also draw jewelry. Moreover, her sister-in-law received fifteen taels of silver for drawing just one picture, and even exchanged it for two pieces of jewelry for herself. They were two large pure silver hairpins and hair ornaments, and the key point was that they were inlaid with blue orchids, which were very beautiful.
Li Mai smiled and said, "Actually, I haven't drawn much before, but as long as you're bold enough, you might get a different result. At first, I just wanted to buy you that hairpin and talk to the shopkeeper about the price."
“However, I found the shopkeeper to be a nice person, and he seemed to be hoping I could come up with some business ideas. So I couldn’t just offer a price and disappoint him. It was a sudden inspiration.” Li Mai leaned closer to Zhou Tao and whispered.
Zhou Tao's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh? Sister-in-law, you just came up with this on the spur of the moment? And those eighteen styles you mentioned were just a bluff?"
Li Mai nodded. "Otherwise, do you think your sister-in-law used to spend all her time cutting pig feed on the mountain? Where would she have time to paint?"
Zhou Tao was now truly in awe of her sister-in-law.
"Sister-in-law, what about the other six pieces you promised her to paint?" Zhou Tao asked worriedly, instinctively clutching the jewelry box in her hands.
"It's alright, let's find a paper shop and buy some paper and pens. I'll try my best to draw when we get home, so that Madam Fisher won't take your jewelry back," Li Mai said with a smile as she watched her actions.
“Okay, let’s go!” Zhou Tao nodded and happily followed her sister-in-law to buy paper and pens.
They went to a shop called "Shenji Paper Mill" and said they wanted to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
To everyone's surprise, the shopkeeper looked at the two young ladies, Li Mai and Zhou Tao, with a puzzled expression. "You two have never bought these for yourselves before, have you? Could it be that you bought them as gifts for some young master?"
The shopkeeper's words surprised Li Mai.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I have these books and paper at my paper shop. If you want to buy brushes, ink sticks, and inkstones, you need to go to the ink shop!" The shopkeeper saw that she really didn't understand, so he kindly explained it to her.
Li Mai was surprised. What? Did they not know how to do joint business in ancient times?
Wouldn't it be more profitable to sell writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones together?
The shopkeeper smiled helplessly, "Miss, do you wonder why we don't sell writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones together?"
Li Mai nodded subconsciously, "That's right, this kind of marketing can make more money!"
The shopkeeper shook his head slightly. "Miss, you may not know this, but most of the businesses in our town these days are run by families with workshops or shops. They either hire people to look after the shops or they look after them themselves."
"Business is tough these days. If we buy inkstones and ink sticks from other people and resell them, we won't make much money. The owners don't care about such small profits."
Li Mai understood after listening, "Oh, so you mean your family owns a paper mill?"
"That's right!" The shopkeeper nodded. "Shenji is the business of the Shen family in this town. In addition to the paper mill, our master and his sons also have a printing shop. Therefore, our shop mainly sells paper. We also have printed books, but they are more expensive. Many people prefer to buy paper and borrow books to copy at home."
"Oh, I understand!" Upon hearing this, Li Mai understood.
They don't partner with others, but they still know how to do this kind of business.
Finally, Li Mai bought five sheets of white cotton paper and ten sheets of white hemp paper, and asked the shopkeeper to help cut them into A4 size.
After looking at the books here, she bought a copy of the Thousand Character Classic for beginners, intending to have Zhou Quan teach Zhuzhu to read first.
There's also a travelogue called "The Travels of Dust-Free Man," which I plan to give to Zhou Quan when he's bored. The shopkeeper recommended it because he thought Li Mai was a generous girl. After Li Mai nodded and said it was okay, the shopkeeper was happy and gave it to her at half price.
Even so, these things cost one or two taels of silver.
Zhou Tao was astonished, but she didn't say anything. Her sister-in-law had earned fifteen taels of silver in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and she could decide how to spend it.
Afterwards, Li Mai took Zhou Tao to buy a small regular script calligraphy brush, a cheap inkstone, and ink sticks.
In that high-end and classy Qi's Ink Studio, Li Mai chose the two cheapest ones.
The shopkeeper saw that she was holding a copy of the Thousand Character Classic and knew that it was for her child's early education, so he didn't recommend any expensive ones.
The Qi family's shop was clearly shrewd; besides selling ink sticks and inkstones, they also sold book boxes and even recommended them to Li Mai, asking her if she wanted to buy a book box.
Li Mai thought about it for a moment, and when she heard the price wasn't too high, fifty coins each, she gritted her teeth and bought them.
She bought it for Zhou Lei. Now that she has money, she will go home and discuss it with her mother-in-law so that Zhou Lei can go to school.
The key thing she noticed was that the book box was really well made. It opened from the front in two layers: the top layer was like a small drawer, which could hold ink sticks, brushes, and inkstones, while the bottom layer was for books and paper.
It's still neatly polished and painted in the color of pear wood; it's very beautiful.
Li Mai neatly arranged all the things she was holding inside, even putting the jewelry box that Zhou Tao was holding into the bottom.
Li Mai's silver needle pouch was also placed inside.
The total cost was two ounces. Li Mai also bought some colored powders, saying she wanted to paint, which the shopkeeper recommended.
This time, Li Mai bought everything she needed.
Zhou Tao's attention was focused on the box of books, and she took the initiative to carry it.
Li Mai was worried that she was too heavy, so she suggested that the two of them take turns carrying her, and Zhou Tao agreed.
"Let's go eat this time, and then we'll go to the market." Li Mai looked at both sides of the street, trying to find a suitable place for them to eat.
They definitely can't go to a fancy restaurant. Given their current attire, they'd be kicked out anyway, just like in the movies I've seen before.
"Miss, may I ask to pass by for a chat?" Just as Li Mai was looking at a place suitable for her and Zhou Tao to eat, a man's voice suddenly came from behind her.
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