Ye Hufeng said, "I'd like to build my own house. Now that you're building a new one, why don't you let me live in the old one?"
Grandma Ye scolded her, "Why would you stay in the old house instead of the new one? We'll see when the time comes."
She understood her daughter's concerns. No matter how good her family was, there were several sisters-in-law living there. If she moved out and lived separately, she would feel much more at ease.
Xiao Yan looked at Ye Caiping and said, "Auntie, I won't work here or get paid anymore. Yang Ma and the others have already gotten the hang of it. If I stay and get paid by you, Auntie, I'll be taking advantage of you."
Ye Hufeng nodded: "Yes, yes, I already told her about this. But I'll be staying with you for the next month or two..."
As she spoke, she took out three taels of silver from her sleeve: "This is for food."
Ye Caiping knew they were all honest people, and they would feel uncomfortable if she didn't accept their money, so she said:
"Alright, I'll accept it."
The mother and daughter breathed a sigh of relief.
Ye Caiping then asked, "What are Xiaoyan's plans for the future? Is she looking for a husband?"
Aunt Ye laughed and said, "Yes, yes! The matchmaker has found several young men. I've looked into them, and they all come from good families and have good character. We're just waiting for Hu Fen to come. As long as Hu Fen is satisfied and Xiao Yan is willing, then the marriage can be arranged."
Xiao Yan's face flushed red: "We'll talk about the marriage later..."
"You can't wait any longer! You're fifteen! You'll be sixteen after the New Year!"
Xiao Yan clutched her sleeve tightly: "I want to make money... I want to open an embroidery shop."
"An embroidery shop?" Aunt Ye and the others were taken aback, then disapproved: "For a girl like you..."
Ye Caiping said, "Second Aunt, women can also do business, just like me."
Aunt Ye and the others were taken aback. Yes, Caiping was also a woman.
Ye Caiping looked at Xiao Yan: "Opening an embroidery shop, that's a great idea!"
Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Ye Caiping's support: "I had already made an agreement with Jin Hua to open an embroidery shop together. My embroidery skills are quite good now."
“Before, when I went to the embroidery shop, I could only take small jobs like handkerchiefs and bibs, and I would only earn two or three coins for each handkerchief I embroidered. Now I can take jobs embroidering wedding dresses, and I can earn one or two taels of silver for each set I embroider.”
“I have my own work, and I embroider slowly, only one set a month. But the embroidery shop owner never dares to rush me, and he tries his best to get me work. I think my embroidery skills should be considered good.”
Ye Caiping smiled and said, "That's more than just good, it's extremely good."
Xiao Yan looked at Ye Caiping gratefully: "It's all thanks to Auntie for agreeing to let me take on embroidery work in my spare time."
"Also, although I didn't attend classes at the Shen family, Jin'er and Huan'er would teach me the embroidery techniques they learned. Especially Jin Hua, who mainly studied tailoring and embroidery at the Shen family, I learned a lot from her."
Ye Caiping said, "That's because you're ambitious and willing to learn. If it were someone lazy, they would have been lying in bed and sleeping as soon as they had a spare moment."
An ambitious person, no matter what environment they are in, will always make time to learn, strive for excellence, and find their own way out.
Even if a huge opportunity falls into the hands of someone who lacks ambition, they will ignore it and give up.
Xiao Yan continued, "Jin Hua and I have already agreed that we won't go too big. We'll rent a small shop first and start small. We'll make small embroidery items first, and then some larger garments. She'll cut the clothes, and I'll do the embroidery."
Aunt Ye initially disapproved of Xiao Yan's business ventures, but after hearing about all the ideas she had, she gradually became moved.
I asked her, "Do you have enough money?"
Xiao Yan said, "It wasn't enough originally... but now that Mother isn't in a hurry to build a house..."
Ye Hufen hurriedly said, "Okay, I'll give you the remaining thirty taels to set up an embroidery shop."
"Thank you, Mother. I've saved up some money. My wages and the embroidery work I do have brought me to eight or nine taels. Adding half of Jin Hua's earnings, it should be enough."
Ye Caiping estimated that it would add up to about eighty taels, which was indeed about right.
The main costs are fabric and labor. In the county or town, the rent is not much, a few dozen taels is enough.
Ye Caiping said, "I'll call Jinhua over later, and I'll teach you a few new patterns and designs. I can also give you some advice on clothing design."
She wasn't a fashion designer, and modern clothes are vastly different from those of the past.
But she had a more open mind and offered Jin Hua and Xiao Yan some advice, which was always helpful in broadening their perspectives.
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Auntie."
She never doubted Ye Caiping.
Putting aside her earning power, just looking at the style and patterns of those furniture pieces, Xiao Yan knew that Ye Caiping had a unique approach to design.
When Xiao Yan saw those pieces of furniture, she thought that if they were embroidered on clothes, it would be novel and beautiful.
Xiao Yan clenched her fists tightly.
She couldn't entrust her mother's future to her cousins; she had to earn her own money and take care of her mother until her death.
The more Aunt Ye and the others listened, the more they felt that Xiao Yan's embroidery shop was feasible, and they discussed it with great interest.
Aunt Ye smiled and said, "Opening an embroidery shop is a good idea, but you're not young anymore, and you can't delay getting married."
"We should meet again in a few days. If we get along well, we can settle down. It will take at least half a year to go through all the formalities of marriage and betrothal."
Xiao Yan touched the fluffy flower in her hair, blushing, and said, "Anything is fine."
After chatting for a while, Aunt Ye and the others went back.
Yang Ma and Gui Xiang had already moved Ye Hu Fen's belongings to Xiao Yan's room.
Xiao Yan then summoned Jin Hua, and together with Ye Caiping, they entered the study.
Ye Caiping taught them several new embroidery patterns.
Ye Caiping also gave a lot of suggestions on the design drawings drawn by Jin Hua. Jin Hua and Xiao Yan listened with shining eyes, they didn't know that they could be matched like this.
Finally, Ye Caiping said, "Sometimes you should be bolder in your thinking and not limit yourself to just a few styles."
The two listened attentively, nodding in agreement, and found it very helpful.
The two then went back to their room to discuss the shop, deciding that each would contribute forty taels and take half of the shares.
Jin Hua didn't have much savings, so she just asked Du Shi for some later.
When Madam Du learned that her daughter wanted to open a shop, she gave her forty taels of silver without saying a word.
The next morning, Jin Hua and Xiao Yan went to the prefectural city and bought five or six bolts of silk cloth, as well as various silk threads, beads, fan stands, and other items, and began to work.
Small handkerchiefs, purses, round fans, and handkerchiefs; large bellybands and ready-made clothes.
Prepare the goods first, then rent the shop.
After Xiao Yan stopped working at Ye Caiping's house, she spent all her time sewing and embroidery with Jin Hua, keeping herself extremely busy.
In her spare time, she would sometimes go with Aunt Ye to look at potential partners, but none of them were willing or willing to agree.
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