Du Ruyan waited until her eldest brother finished showing his courtesy before she walked over with a smile and teased, "Brother, where is my gift? Why did you only give Dandan a gift and not me? You are biased!"
"What do you want? I'll give you ten taels of silver, go buy it yourself." Du Rushong took out a silver ingot from his arms and threw it to his sister casually.
Du Ruyan hurriedly took it and complained, "Brother, look at our embroidery shop, is it empty? Look next door, the shelves are full of silk and satin! Dandan and I want to find a cloth merchant to buy cloth, but they are under Meng Zhong's order and refuse to sell us the expensive cloth. The cloth on our shelves is Dandan's dowry. Once we sell it, her dowry will be gone. How can she get married in the future? Please think of a way to find some sources for us, otherwise, we won't be able to do this business."
Fortunately, Lin Dan now only accepts ready-made clothing business. The ladies and young ladies who come to her usually bring their own fabrics to have them embroidered. Although this is convenient, it is not as profitable as selling cloth in your own store and making clothes in your own store. Meng’s Embroidery Shop provides one-stop service, you can make big or small money at one go.
Du Rushong frowned and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll find a way." He added carefully at the end, "I won't let Miss Lin get married."
Lin Dan carefully put away his folding fan and waved his hand, saying, "There's no rush. Finding a source of goods can certainly solve our temporary problems, but it's ultimately controlled by others. If we can learn to weave cloth ourselves, or hire some women workers who are good at weaving, we can ensure a long-term supply of cloth and greatly reduce the cost of transportation and resale."
Du Rushong suddenly chuckled and said firmly: "Miss Lin, please wait. I will find you some female workers who are good at weaving soon." He found that Lin Dan always liked to solve the problem from the root. His sister only wanted him to find the source of goods, but Lin Dan was already thinking about how to master the weaving technology. She has always been very independent, and would rather enrich herself than rely on others.
"Thank you, Mr. Du." Lin Dan returned the favor and said, "I'll make you a few sets of winter clothes someday. By the way, if your leather armor is broken, send it to me and I'll help you repair it."
"Okay, I have to change guard later, so I'll leave first. If you have anything, go to the navy camp in the south to find me. I'm a centurion now." For some reason, Du Rushong really wanted Lin Dan to know his achievements.
"Is he already a centurion? Master Du is really amazing!" Lin Dan praised sincerely.
The exhausted Du Rushong instantly became energetic. He couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth, but was afraid that his smile would sound too silly, so he could only put his fist to his lips and cough lightly, then left gracefully.
Looking at her elder brother's outstanding back, Du Ruyan slowly covered her stomach and laughed so hard that she almost couldn't straighten her back. Thinking back to the time, there were at least dozens of women who were entangled with the eldest brother, but he looked down on all of them. He spoke coldly and viciously, and I don’t know how many women’s hearts he hurt. However, at this moment, he clearly wanted to please Lin Dan, but he didn't know where to start. His clumsy appearance made Du Ruyan feel uncomfortable. This is probably what it means when you cook tofu with brine. There is always something to overcome, right?
"What are you laughing at?" Lin Dan looked at her in confusion.
"Nothing, nothing. Guests are here and I'm going to entertain them." Du Ruyan made up an excuse and slipped away.
At the same time, Meng Si was standing by the window, staring at Danyan Embroidery Shop with an anxious expression.
Meng Zhong sneered, "After setting off five strings of firecrackers, no customers came. It's really deserted. I have already ordered all cloth merchants in Lin'an Prefecture not to do business with the Lin family. Without cloth to sell, I wonder how they can keep their embroidery shop open."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Mrs. Xu from the Governor's Mansion and several sisters-in-law, along with a group of young girls, happily walk into the Danyan Embroidery Shop. After a while, two maids of the Xu family came out and took out a lot of fabrics from the carriage one after another, including soft smoke silk, green cicada wings, cloud and mist silk, etc., all of which were precious varieties that were hard to buy on the market.
The sneer on Meng Zhong's face froze instantly. Before he could come to his senses, the wife and daughter of Governor Zhou and the wife and daughter of Censor Fang arrived one after another. The Danyan Embroidery Shop, which had been deserted before, was now filled with carriages, each one more luxurious than the last.
Only then did passers-by notice this store, and they all showed expressions of amazement or envy as they pointed and talked about it. How powerful one must be to be able to attract so many noble people? This store is not simple!
The owners of several cloth shops nearby were also standing at the door watching. They all received instructions from Meng's Embroidery Shop and dared not sell the fabric to Danyan Embroidery Shop. But what is the situation now? Except for the governor's family, all the nobles in Lin'an Prefecture seemed to come to celebrate the new store, so why would they go against Lin Dan? If they indirectly offended a noble, Meng's Embroidery Shop could protect itself, but could they? They earn less money but still have to take such a big risk. Meng Zhong is treating them as fools!
At that time, Lin Dafu, as the number one royal businessman in Zhejiang Province, adhered to the principle of "everyone makes money together and everyone bears the difficulties together", unlike now, where everyone has to listen to Meng Zhong. The Meng family is too domineering! Thinking of this, several cloth shop owners glared at Meng's Embroidery Shop before going in. When Lin Dan comes to purchase goods in the future, they will just sell them and no one will care whether Meng Jiagao is happy or not!
Meng Zhong gritted his teeth secretly and said in a deep voice: "Manager Qian, hang up the picture of the horse that Sisi embroidered a few days ago. Hang it at the door so that everyone can come and see it."
"Okay, boss." Shopkeeper Qian left immediately.
Meng Si frowned and said, "Brother, didn't you say that you were going to give that horse painting to Lord Li? Why is it hung up now?"
"Hang it up so that everyone can see it clearly. When it comes to embroidery skills, Lin Dan is not qualified to be compared with you. Just being able to embroider a few butterflies is considered excellent embroidery skills? It's ridiculous!"
Meng Si's frown slowly relaxed and he stopped talking. Recently, she has been subjected to some cold sarcasm and ridicule, and her title as the number one embroiderer in Zhejiang Province has been questioned. Fewer people come to her to ask for embroidery products or to customize embroidered clothes. Even Li Jiarong has not come for a long time. I heard that Li Jiarong sent her maid to Lin's Embroidery Shop to order clothes. She went there several times but was turned away every time. Now she is staying at home and sulking.
But no matter how angry she was, she couldn't do anything to Lin Dan. Because Lin Dan holds orders from local wealthy families such as the Governor's Office, the Provincial Government, the Censorate, and the School Government. If she interferes, it would be like making things difficult for the women of these families. Not only will she not gain any benefits, but she will also cause a lot of trouble for Lord Li.
Even Li Jiarong has to tolerate Lin Dan, let alone Meng Si?
"Brother, what should I do if someone offers to buy my horse painting?" she said after thinking for a moment.
“Once this painting is put up, there will definitely be people bidding. I will sell it to whoever offers the highest price. We will hold an auction at the gate and put a damper on Lin Dan’s arrogance. You can sell an embroidered painting for thousands of taels of silver. Can she do that? If she wants to compete with you, she shouldn’t even take a piss and look at herself in the mirror.” Meng Zhong’s face was full of scorn.
Meng Si covered his ears and said angrily, "Brother, please be careful with your words. Be careful not to dirty my ears."
Meng Zhong then smiled, rubbed his sister's head, and strode out. When he arrived at the door of the store, Manager Qian had already hung a huge embroidered painting that was ten feet long on the door and was carefully wiping the frame with a fine silk cloth.
Passersby immediately stopped to watch, exclaiming in amazement. Someone who knows the subject exclaimed: "My goodness, this is a masterpiece handed down by the Liang Dynasty painter Jing Chuan, named "Picture of a Steed", which was engraved by him on the cliff of Mount Tai. I don't know how many people risked their lives to make a copy of it, but they could never get it, because the picture of a horse is too magnificent and huge. There is no paper in the world that is big enough to make a copy of it. Some people can only get one or two copies. Occasionally, someone can sell the second half of the copy at a sky-high price. Of course, there are also many painters who copy the whole picture with their naked eyes and memory, but they only have the shape but not the spirit. But look at this work, it can be said that it has both form and spirit, and it is a perfect reproduction of the original work of the painter Jing Chuan! What's more, it was painted with needle and thread, not pen and ink. If it is properly preserved, it will not fade even after hundreds of years. It is a treasure more worthy of collection than a scroll!"
"People at the time said that Miss Meng's embroidery paintings are both delicate and freehand, and can be called artistic treasures. Today, I see that it is indeed worthy of its reputation!"
"It's amazing that he has such accomplishments at such a young age!"
Men of letters and scholars gathered around, some giving passionate comments, some expressing sincere praise, they were truly reluctant to leave and were intoxicated. The customers in Danyan Embroidery Shop also ran out to join in the fun. Even though they didn't understand what was so good about the embroidery, they still admired Meng Si's embroidery skills. If others say it’s good, then it must be great!
"Boss Meng, are you going to sell this embroidery painting? I'll give you five hundred taels of silver!" Someone immediately bid.
"Five hundred taels? You're treating a beggar like that! I'll give you one thousand taels!"
"I'll give you 1,500 taels!"
"Two thousand taels!"
"Three thousand taels!"
"Stop arguing, I'll offer you five thousand taels!" A wealthy businessman from the capital pushed through the crowd and spoke in an urgent tone.
Meng Zhong smiled faintly and shook the teacup in his hand, looking like he was sitting on a dangerous path. Seeing that the price had reached eight thousand miles and no one followed up for a long time, he slowly stood up and said, "My sister didn't intend to sell this work. Since this customer likes it so much, I will persuade my sister to let it go with a painful heart."
"Thank you, Mr. Meng. I don't have enough banknotes with me. I'll ask my servant to go back and get them. Please wait a moment." After he finished speaking, the wealthy businessman from the capital waved his hand, and several strong men as strong as iron towers squeezed out from the crowd carrying big swords. The gangsters who had originally wanted to steal the banknotes immediately gave up their suicidal thoughts.
Seeing that all her business was messed up by Meng Zhong, Du Ruyan was so angry that she jumped to her feet.
Lin Dan stared at the painting of "Stalwart Horse" for a while, and said slowly: "It just so happens that I have also embroidered a new work. After they finish the auction, we will also hang up our embroidery and join in the fun."
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