There were many shops where the carriage stopped. Although there were not many people, those who came and went were either rich or noble.
Liu came out today to promote her fans. Although her outfit was bright and eye-catching, she was not too vulgar. At first glance, she was just some lady. She took Shen Qingqiu to the nearest shop for a walk, and when she came out, someone stopped her.
"Madam," a person dressed like a maid bowed to her first.
Liu stepped back slightly, and the maid said, "My young lady saw that the handkerchief in Madam's hand was particularly fresh and unique, and wanted to ask where Madam bought it from." Liu wanted this effect, and just as she was about to speak, Shen Qingqiu suddenly pulled her mother's sleeve, and then crisply said, "It can't be bought. This was embroidered by an embroiderer who was hired at a high price. It is not sold outside."
Liu was stunned for a moment, fearing that the guest who had finally come to visit would leave.
Then a woman in luxurious clothes was seen coming from a distance. She had a pretty and elegant appearance. She came over and bowed to Liu leisurely, "Sister, I really like your fan. Good things are worth a good price. I am willing to pay more money. Can you please give it up, sister?" She said something like throwing money at someone, but the girl said it nicely, and it didn't sound that painful.
Liu held up her fan and said, "I'm so sorry, but this fan has me embroidered on it, so it's hard to sell it to you, young lady."
The woman was stunned for a moment, and after a closer look, she found that the beauty on the fan was indeed similar to Liu. Seeing this, she inevitably liked it more. Liu also said, "If you really like it, I can ask my embroiderer to make another one for you."
When the woman heard that her image could be painted on a fan, she looked at Liu's embroidery, which showed both the beauty's form and spirit. If she was painted holding a scented fan, wouldn't she be the first at the palace banquet in half a month? Without further ado, when you turned your head to look, the maid beside you came forward and presented a silver note.
"I'll have my maid come here to get it at noon ten days later."
Seeing Liu nod, the woman turned around and left. Before Liu had time to look at the banknote, she spread it out and found that it was two hundred taels! What is the concept of two hundred taels? That can buy a decent mansion in the capital! "Miss! Miss!" Liu hurriedly looked for her, but she disappeared in a moment.
"This girl is really generous. She doesn't know my name, so isn't she afraid that I will run away with her money?" Liu murmured.
Shen Qingqiu, who was standing by, thought about the palace badge on the woman's waist and said, "Since she gave us the money without asking any questions, she must not be afraid that we will run away."
"But isn't this too much?"
"A lot?" Shen Qingqiu said, "Mother, think about it. My eldest sister, the legitimate daughter, married the prince as a concubine. During the New Year and other festivals, the gifts given by our family are hundreds of taels of silver. It is certainly a lot for ordinary people, but for the nobles, a thousand gold cannot buy the one they love."
Although Liu was not born in a high-class family, she had seen wealth and did not hesitate for long. Since she had already won a large order of two hundred silver coins, she took her daughter to buy expensive fabrics and embroidery threads. The girl gave her a lot of silver coins, so Liu also spent her money and bought the most expensive things on the market.
After returning home, Liu told others about her experience today, and she opened up Jin Cai's eight meridians. She spent some money and hired some good-looking girls to walk around outside with her own fans. When someone asked about it, she pushed herself to them.
Although it cost some money, the results were considerable. Jin Cai received more than a dozen orders today.
But the fan was expensive, and Jin Caiguang made a lot of money from the commission. He immediately took the order and went home happily. The girls all had their own repairs, and Jin Cai carefully recorded them and showed them to Liu and A Xiu. A Xiu and Liu praised her a lot.
Mother Chen usually looks very aloof, but this time she looked at you differently, "I didn't expect you to be capable."
Jin Cai felt a little inflated after being praised so much.
“Mom, you see we have so many customers now, and your embroidery skills are so good, do you have to ask customers to come to your house in the future?” Shen Qingqiu said.
Mother Chen also advised, "Yes, it would be better to rent a storefront and do business outside, so that outsiders know that it is not good to have a house at your doorstep." Mother Chen was worried that there were many women in the house and she was afraid that something bad might happen.
Liu was a woman, so she naturally considered safety more. After a moment, she gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, let's do as you wish. Let's open an embroidery shop." What's wrong with opening an embroidery shop? She was a woman who had been divorced, so why should she be afraid of being exposed? Liu was hesitant, but she was quick to act after the matter was settled. She quickly agreed with Mother Chen on the location of the embroidery shop. After that, when Jin Cai went out again, she told people the address of her own shop. In just half a month, Liu's embroidery shop officially opened for business.
After all, it is a newly opened embroidery building. Even though the things there are good, many people still prefer to go shopping in large embroidery buildings like Yulou.
However, the shopkeeper of Yulou was a man, and Jincai was in charge of greeting guests at Xiulou. Although there were no distinguished guests, Jincai spoke sweetly, and the little girl did not feel any pressure when she saw girls of the same age as her. After a few days, the income and expenditure were balanced. What was really shocking was that one day, three luxurious carriages suddenly crowded in front of the Xiulou gate.
One of them hung the word "Wang", one hung the word "Qing", and another hung the word "Xiao".
The outermost row of royal guards were guarding the place and not letting anyone in.
"Dear guests, what would you like to see?" Jin Cai was a little scared, but the Shen family was an official family after all, so she could still handle such a situation.
"Was the beauty fan that Princess Changping was holding that day embroidered by your family?" asked a woman with puffy eyes.
Jin Cai was confused. What is Princess Changping? Didn't she know about it? "How can something be sold to Changping but not to me?" The woman's eyebrows turned angry, "Don't tell me you haven't seen Changping. Her fan has feathers under it. I went to all the embroidery buildings and only your fan is like this!" She prepared for the palace banquet for more than three months, but someone else stole the limelight. How could she not be angry!
When Liu saw the mayor, she also ran out in a hurry.
"I did sell a fan half a month ago, but the nobleman did not tell me her identity." After explaining, Liu stood in front of Jin Cai and asked the girl in front of her, "May I ask who you are?"
"My sister Wang is the daughter of the Prime Minister and will be the Crown Princess in the future!" said a woman in green next to her.
Wang Qingluo raised her chin slightly, waved her hand, and looked at Liu again, "I don't like you, woman, at first sight. What kind of woman would do business? And you use feathers to make fan pendants. I don't know what kind of life it is to be as thin as a feather?" She came here to cause trouble. Changping was a princess and she couldn't tear up her fan. How could she not do anything to a mere embroiderer?
Liu lowered her head meekly, and could naturally tell that the customer in front of her was looking for trouble.
"I'm just trying to make a living, so I have to show up in public." After saying this, she picked up a fan from the table and said, "In fact, there are different types of feathers. Your skin is very fair, and you come from a precious family. Peacock orchid feathers suit you best." As she spoke, Liu picked up a fan that was placed next to her and had not yet been sewn on the fan surface.
"Just think about it, if this fan was covered with peacock blue feathers, how beautiful would your wrist be when you held it in your hand?" The carpenter had already carved the fan handle, a large bunch of leaves wrapped around red flowers, and although it had not been painted, it added a sense of simplicity.
Liu was playing with the plain fan, turning it left and right in her hand so dazzlingly that "I see that the young lady likes wisteria the most. The wisteria sewn on this fan also complements it very well." Wang Qingluo was particularly fond of wisteria because her name contained the word "Luo".
Just seeing Liu playing with the fan made her particularly jealous. After hearing that, she had already forgotten that she came here to cause trouble. She just said, "Just do as you say. I want a wisteria flower fan." Then she thought that Changping's fan had her own fan on it, "And embroider me in it. I want to stand in the wisteria flowers."
This is really a dilemma. The fan is so small, how can it stand in the middle of the bouquet?
Liu agreed with a smile. Wang Qingluo lowered her head again and looked at her hands. "Also, can you teach me how to twirl the fan that you just did?" After hearing what she said, Liu twirled it again, gently covering her face with it, still holding the pipa and half covering her face. Her posture looked much better than before.
“I want to learn this too!”
Liu smiled in her heart. Miss Wang looked overbearing and arrogant on the surface, but in fact she was easy to please. "I'll teach you when the fan is ready." Wang Qingluo nodded. She thought that since someone had agreed to teach her such a good fan-turning technique, it would be unreasonable not to buy something. She immediately said, "You two can choose. I'll give you whatever you like!"
The girl in green hurriedly said, "Thank you, Sister Wang."
A pink-dressed woman in the narration smiled and said, "It is better to obey than to be respectful."
Wang Qingluo picked up a handkerchief at random as a gesture of respect, and then thought about something and directly slapped a hundred taels of silver on the table, "I learned your fan-turning technique, you can't teach it to others!"
Liu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and was waving her hands to refuse, when Wang Qingluo raised her eyebrows and was about to get angry.
Liu explained: "Since you said so, I will not teach others. But anyone with a little bit of skill can figure it out, so I dare not take the money from you."
Wang Qingluo thought so too, but she didn't take the silver back. "Forget it, just take it. It's tuition." Then she thought that Changping, that stinky woman, had always been against her, so she must learn something. Her good mood was gone, and she said to the two women who were picking things, "Have you picked anything?"
They were all from wealthy families and they did not look down on ordinary handkerchiefs. They each ordered a beauty fan from Jin Cai.
But before leaving, the woman in pink glanced at Liu and was stunned for a moment.
"Sister Xiao, what are you looking at?" The person next to her urged, "Let's go!"
Xiao Ruqin turned her head, thinking that it was unlikely, and her gaze stayed on Liu's face for a while before she turned her head and quickly caught up with the two of them.
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