"Oh, what's going on? Did Young Master Tao send people to kill you?"
Liu Yingying was quite impressed by Bai Mudan's rich imagination!
She shook her head and briefly recounted the events in Wangjia Village.
"I see... those villagers are so pitiful..." Bai Mudan sighed after hearing this, and then asked, "So, what brings you here?"
Liu Yingying nodded very earnestly; "I want to acquire some land, but I'm short of money. I'd like to ask if you have any ways to make money here?"
She had known Bai Mudan for some time, and although Bai Mudan hadn't said it explicitly, Liu Yingying could guess.
Her relationship with Ye Qingyuan, the city's richest man, seems to be more than just ordinary...
Bai Mudan clapped her hands with a smile; "You've come to the right person! Come on, I'll take you to get your eye on it..."
The two boarded a carriage, and led by Bai Mudan, Liu Yingying visited her grain and oil shop, cloth shop, silk flower shop, pawnshop, and teahouse.
"Yingying, after seeing all these shops of mine, have you come up with any ideas on how to make money?"
"No!" Liu Yingying shook her head dejectedly.
What she needs now is to make a lot of money in the shortest amount of time, and these businesses can't help her achieve that goal.
Bai Mudan comforted her, "Don't rush, let me think about it some more..."
"I've got it! Come with me!" Bai Mudan pulled her hand and got back into the carriage.
As they emerged from the theater, a pair of eyes hidden behind a white wall in the distance kept a close eye on Liu Yingying...
This time, the carriage went straight out of the city and stopped in front of a workshop on the outskirts.
Bai Mudan: "This is a dye house under Ye Qingyuan's name, but he's now preparing to take over business outside of Ningzhou, so it's basically been handed over to me to manage here..."
Liu Yingying looked at her with some surprise; "To be honest... I'm very curious, you're so rich, why do you still stay in the opera world and sing?"
"I'm willing!" Bai Mudan proudly raised her chin, then added, "The theater is the only thing my father left me, and it's his life's work. Even though he's gone, I'm his only daughter, so I have to keep it for him!"
Moreover, she genuinely loves singing opera.
Liu Yingying understood her thoughts very well, and the two walked into the dye house side by side.
The manager inside was a middle-aged man in his thirties with a short, thick beard. He greeted us with a smile.
"Second Madam, you've arrived!"
"Tenth Brother, why don't you ever learn? I've already told you not to call me that anymore. I'm no longer a member of the Ye family!" Bai Mudan scolded, her face showing some reluctance.
The tenth steward immediately pretended to slap himself; "Look at my memory... I really deserve to die... Why did you suddenly decide to come over today, Mr. Bai?"
As they were talking, servants brought over two armchairs.
"Last time I heard Ye Qingyuan say that he had a batch of goods that needed to be delivered to Jiangning before the end of the month. How is your delivery going?"
As Bai Mudan spoke, she pulled Liu Yingying to sit down.
When Liu Yingying heard the tenth steward address Bai Mudan as the second madam, she was both surprised and somewhat expected.
It seems that, just as she suspected, the white peony indeed has a special relationship with Ye Qingyuan...
Then came the stammering reply from the tenth manager: "Boss Bai... I've tried my best... but... but the batch of dark blue and pinkish-purple fabrics that the Jiangning customer wanted... our workshop simply can't dye them with our current capabilities..."
"What? The goods are due for shipment at the end of the month, and you're telling me now that the dye can't be done?"
Bai Mudan was so angry she laughed, a hint of mild anger appearing on her beautiful face.
Liu Yingying observed the expression on the face of the ten stewards. They seemed genuinely wary of Bai Mudan.
Bai Mudan couldn't help but grumble, "I knew Ye Qingyuan had ulterior motives; he never entrusts me with easy-to-manage businesses!"
Those handed over to her were all troublemakers!
The tenth steward wore a bitter expression; "Actually, even if you hadn't come today, I was prepared to pay you a visit. This batch of goods simply can't wait any longer!"
"There's less than half a month left, and you're only telling me now? Do you think I could conjure up something out of thin air for your Ye family?"
Bai Mudan was furious and started speaking rudely...
However, Liu Yingying understood what she was hearing.
The problem with the Ye Family Dyehouse's products seems to stem from issues with the raw materials.
In ancient times, due to the lack of advanced technology, many colors could not be dyed at all, and even if they could be dyed, it was difficult to maintain the color for a long time.
"Mr. Bai, may I take a look at your batch of fabric?"
Bai Mudan's eyes lit up immediately; "Yingying, you've always been intelligent and kind-hearted, do you have any way to save Lao Ye's batch of goods?"
Liu Yingying didn't dare to make a guarantee, only saying calmly, "I'll have to see for myself first..."
Led by the ten stewards, they arrived at the workshop's backyard.
The workshop occupies a large area, with seven or eight large pools in the backyard filled with colorful water. Around the pools are bamboo racks used to dry dyed fabrics, and dozens of workers are busy at work...
At the signal of the tenth steward, everyone stopped what they were doing and stood properly to the side.
When Liu Yingying entered the backyard and saw the colorful fabrics, she understood the problem.
But he still turned to the tenth steward and asked, "These cloths were originally supposed to be dyed dark blue and pinkish-purple?"
"That's right, this is a new order for the workshop, but we don't know where things went wrong, the dyed colors are all mottled and uneven..." Manager Shi said with a frustrated look.
Liu Yingying then asked, "Have you ever dyed these two colors before?"
"Yes, it exists, but there are still slight differences..."
"For example, the blue isn't quite blue, it's just a light blue... the purple isn't quite purple either, it's just very close to purple... but this time the client has very high requirements, and they insist that we produce the colors they require in a strict sense..."
The ten stewards answered truthfully.
Liu Yingying was speechless when she heard this.
I thought to myself, "They dare to accept orders for colors they've never even tried before!"
Did Fish Leong give you the courage?
Do you know what it means in dyeing to have a huge difference between a small error and a large one?
But out of respect for Bai Mudan, she swallowed her words.
"Yingying, just tell me, is there any way to solve this problem?" Bai Mudan was getting anxious.
"Yes, there is..."
"The reason you're having these problems is because you're missing something in the dye!"
"What is it?" Bai Mudan and the tenth steward asked in unison.
Liu Yingying: "Alum!"
"What is that?" Both of them stared at her blankly.
Seeing their reaction, Liu Yingying knew that people in this era had not yet started using alum.
Or perhaps, alum was not added to the dyeing materials.
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