Lianhua knew that He Jiuniang had entrusted her with the entire responsibility for this matter, and she was immediately filled with excitement.
I never expected to gain my family's trust on my first business meeting. It feels great!
After Lianhua put the blueprints away, Madam Yu opened the door and called the men in to continue discussing other matters.
Madam Sun spoke first, saying, "If this matter can be accomplished, our family will need to hire more women to help with making clothes. This order is a large one, not to mention other orders. We need to increase both the number of women making clothes and the number of embroiderers, otherwise this business will not be able to continue at all."
Everyone listened attentively, nodding at crucial moments, and no one interrupted.
Sun continued, "When we were building the house, we hadn't started this business yet. As the family grows, we can't keep crammed into our house. We need to separate our living area from the clothing business, otherwise this house will become a mess."
"So I've decided that as long as Lotus comes back tomorrow morning and confirms the order, our family will build a few more rooms on the vacant land next door, specifically for making clothes and embroidery. What do you think?"
Sun had given this matter a lot of thought. During this period, there were a total of fourteen people making clothes, including Yu and others. Apart from family members and two embroiderers, the others were all members of the Lu family and people they had rescued from the bandit's den. After all, they had escaped together and had a deep revolutionary friendship, so the Lu family was willing to take them along no matter what they did.
Fourteen people are already crammed into one room, which is already a bit cramped. If we hire more people, there definitely won't be enough room, let alone anything good to make.
Therefore, expansion is essential.
“I agree with this. Since the surrounding land is all empty anyway, let’s just buy two more acres and build a large factory. That would make it much more spacious!”
He Jiuniang was the first to raise her hand. Since this business has been started, it can't just be about making feather clothing. Once the business expands, we'll have to add all kinds of clothing to it.
In autumn and winter, we'll arrange feather clothing and various woolen knitwear; in spring and summer, we'll arrange various light and thin gauze skirts and breathable thin pajamas, as well as... well, pajamas for couples.
Since they've partnered with brothels, won't their pajamas be sold out?
After all, it's a consumable item, isn't it?
Old Lu also thought it was a good idea, nodding and saying, "Yes, if we're going to build one, let's build a big one and get it done all at once. I'm just worried that we might not have enough money."
Lianhua said, "Don't worry, Grandpa Lu. If the brothel confirms they want the goods, they can pay a deposit in advance. That way, we can make quite a bit of money!"
He Jiuniang also said, "Yes, if you don't have enough money, I have some here. You can use it first, and pay me back when you make a profit later."
Lu Guilan looked at her with a keen eye. So her third sister-in-law was really rich! She had thought that the twenty taels she had lent to the two families was the limit.
I thought He Jiu Niang had only considered their two families, but I didn't expect that she had considered everyone. I couldn't help but admire her.
Mrs. Sun hesitated for a moment, then slapped her thigh and said, "Alright! Let's settle on this for now! We'll see their reply tomorrow."
If this business can really be done, not only their family, but also other members of the clan can live off the wages from this job, and can even save money to buy their own land. This is truly a wonderful thing!
“Father, Mother,” Lu Jingxuan suddenly spoke, and everyone looked at him. He continued, “These past few days, my second brother and I have been thinking about planting medicinal herbs in the wasteland. When Fugui and the others found out, they asked if I could take them with me. There isn’t much wasteland on the mountain, so we can’t grow much grain. I didn’t agree immediately, after all, this is our family’s property, so I thought I’d ask Father and Mother for their opinion.”
Old Man Lu and Madam Sun didn't know much about medicinal herbs either, so they both looked at He Jiu Niang. He Jiu Niang thought for a moment and carefully said, "It's possible, but not now."
She paused, then explained, "Our family's technology isn't mature yet; it's still in the research stage. We can't guarantee we can actually help them grow it and make money. We can't do more harm than good. In my opinion, this medicinal herb business should be like potatoes. We'll grow it once first, and then we'll bring them in. Anyway, we have the processing techniques, so we can buy it from them at the price of fresh herbs, process it, and then sell it, making a profit from the difference. Of course, this is a great opportunity only for our Lu family members. If other families in the village want to grow it, they'll have to pay two or three coins less than the family members."
"That's a good idea!" Old Lu laughed. "We can help, but not all of it. Our family isn't particularly wealthy. We can only give them a little help. As for how they live their lives, that's none of our business!"
Seeing that he had finally spoken a sensible word, Madam Sun nodded with great satisfaction, saying, "That's how it should be done!"
"Okay, then I'll say that tomorrow!"
After finishing the important matters, everyone went about their own business.
The next morning, Lotus brought back good news.
"It's more than just liking it! They almost snatched the blueprints and broke them!"
Lotus excitedly said, "The girls said this is the most beautiful dress they've ever seen. They'll make it exactly as shown in the design, no need to show them a sample, just make it and send it over! In addition, each of them paid a deposit of one tael of silver!"
There are 168 girls and madams in the three houses. Each girl paid a deposit of one tael of silver. She received 168 taels of silver in one morning, and they didn't ask for any questions about the subsequent price!
Carrying so much money, she was terrified the whole way back. She and Lu Jingxuan practically sped back, so much so that the bumpy ride made her hair disheveled, and she looked utterly disheveled.
But that didn't stop her from being happy!
Not only was she happy, but everyone in the Lu family was happy. So, Madam Sun rewarded her with another tael of silver and promised to pay her wages every month from now on.
I said enough about refusing yesterday, but this time Lianhua didn't refuse. She just wanted to work harder in the future to make the business better and repay her family.
Old Lu and his wife, Mrs. Sun, went to the village chief's house. Whether it was buying land, building a house, or hiring female workers, they couldn't do without the village chief's help. So when they left, Mrs. Sun carried a basket of eggs.
We don't raise chickens or ducks at home yet; these were all bought from the county town.
After the crowd dispersed, Lianhua pulled Qin back into the house and gave her all the money that Sun had given her yesterday and today.
"Auntie, you keep this money, I don't want it."
"My dear child, this is a reward from your grandma. Just keep it safe. In another year or two, you'll be old enough to get married. Having your own money will give you more confidence in your husband's family, understand?"
Qin refused outright, clenching her fists tightly to prevent Lianhua from giving her a chance to slip her money.
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