Song Jiyun met Hong Xi in the hall.
He was dressed in a splendid blue Hangzhou silk robe, without a single piece of jewelry on him. Although his appearance was still handsome, and his posture still upright, compared to the time in Jingde Town, he had lost some of the pride hidden in his bones that was characteristic of a scion of a great family, and gained some of the composed restraint that comes with worldliness. He had changed a great deal.
"Boss Song," he greeted Song Jiyun with a beaming smile and a clasped-hands salute, his tone teasing, "I come to the Hall of Supreme Harmony only when I have no other choice. I ask you, on account of us being fellow townsmen, to do me a favor."
Song Jiyun raised an eyebrow.
Hong Xi spoke bluntly, "Before the Hong Family was raided, I hid some personal silver. After arriving in the Capital City, I discussed with Lord Cao, and he thinks, considering how young I am and with no one in my family to rely on, I would be too cautious in everything I do. Instead of staking my future on studying, why not do something others can’t—open a shop specializing in Jingde Town Porcelain."
Song Jiyun let out an "Oh" and became interested.
With sincerity, Hong Xi said, "Boss Song, I know you’re no ordinary woman, and you’ll indeed extend your business to Nanjing or the Capital City eventually. In my opinion, instead of setting sights first on Nanjing then coming to the Capital City, it would be better to take one big step and, riding on the wave of the Manufacturing Office’s talent selection, open a shop in the Capital City to build your reputation. If you still want to capture the market in the south and open a shop in Nanjing, that too could yield more with half the effort."
When it comes to who makes the best and most comprehensive porcelain in Jingde Town nowadays, the Song Family Kiln Factory undoubtedly stands out.
Song Jiyun pondered whether he wanted to source goods from her or commission custom-made porcelain.
To her surprise, Hong Xi had bigger ambitions, "I want to open the shop with you. I’ll take care of the business in the Capital City, the profits split six to four in my favor. If you also plan to open a shop in Nanjing, I have no stake in the earnings from there. But we can share our resources and help each other build a reputation."
Song Jiyun smiled, "This is a significant matter, I need to think it over carefully."
Hong Xi became slightly anxious, "Can you give me an answer within three days?"
Song Jiyun was puzzled.
Hong Xi gave a wry smile, "I have my eye on a shop in the Great Fence, it could be up and running after half a month’s refurbishment. You know, shops in the Great Fence are rarely transferred, and once one comes up for transfer, their price soars rapidly, and they’re not cheap. As it happens, I’m a bit strapped for cash. If you don’t go into partnership with me, I’ll have to look for another opportunity immediately."
Song Jiyun agreed, "Then I’ll give you my answer in three days."
Hong Xi tried to persuade her again, "You know me better than anyone. If we go into business together, you don’t have to worry about a thing here in the Capital City, just concentrate on making porcelain. With me handling the external aspects and you managing the internal, we’ll be sure to quickly make our mark in the Capital City."
Song Jiyun believed that.
She then asked about Hong Zhao, "Is he continuing his studies or will he join you in business?"
Hong Xi gave another bitter laugh, "I originally thought, if he was willing to study, I’d support his education; if not, he could partner with me in the business first, and we could split our ways once the business improves. But who would have thought, he ran off on his way to Lord Cao’s house. I can’t be bothered to look for him. He’s a grown man and knows where I am; he’ll come to me when he’s left without food or drink."
Song Jiyun nodded, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, Hong Xi took his leave.
Upon his departure, Zheng Quan couldn’t help but express his amazement, "It’s like watching him build tall buildings and entertain guests. Who would have thought Young Master Hong would see such a day."
Yet Song Jiyun truly admired him, "Those who can quickly clamber back up are quite formidable."
Zheng Quan didn’t say much else, but asked, "Miss, are you really considering partnering with him to open a shop?"
Song Jiyun was indeed tempted, "The waters of the Capital City run deep. Zhou Zheng, though clever and astute, would find it difficult to get established in the Capital City in a short period, not to mention that the family’s myriad affairs cannot go on without him. Setting up a shop and opening a porcelain store is just a matter of money, but to make the porcelain store thrive, you need a capable Store Manager at the helm."
And perhaps no Store Manager could be as effective as Hong Xi.
"That’s true indeed!" Zheng Quan pondered for a while in his heart and agreed.
Song Jiyun then asked him to find out about Hong Xi’s affairs, "Since we’re going to cooperate, we need to grasp the full picture. Let’s not busy ourselves only to find out he’s handling trivial matters for Lord Cao, which would be troublesome."
"I understand." Zheng Quan agreed and left to investigate Hong Xi.
Song Jiyun continued to work on the design for the Empress Dowager at home.
After finalizing the pattern with difficulty, she asked Zhou Zheng to take it to Ertiao Hutong on Diagonal Street, "Just make it according to this."
She then went to the teahouse to meet with Hong Xi.
Zheng Quan had thoroughly checked, and indeed, Hong Xi had not lied.
That Lord Cao came from a renowned family in Jiangnan, with only one daughter who had not yet reached the age of marriage. According to the Cao family’s traditions, Lord Cao would definitely adopt a son and marry off his daughter. He wanted to find a son-in-law who could take care of his daughter. Hong Xi’s teacher had introduced him to Lord Cao, partly with the intention of matching them.
Lord Cao found Hong Xi to be an admirable person, smart and capable, and as there was no one else in the family, he was very satisfied. When Hong Xi learned of Lord Cao’s intentions, he found an excuse to move out of the Cao family and, to completely discourage them, he simply partnered with Song Jiyun in business.
"No matter how satisfied the Cao family is with Young Master Hong, they would definitely want a scholar for a son-in-law," said Zheng Quan, "By doing this, Young Master Hong is essentially tarnishing his own reputation and cutting off the Cao family’s hopes."
As long as there is no inside story, it’s all good.
Song Jiyun said, "Then I’ll leave this matter to you."
Zheng Quan, however, said, "I’d like to have Wang Hua lend me a hand."
He told her, "All this information was gathered with Wang Hua’s help. With him on our side, we definitely won’t be at a loss."
"That works!" Song Jiyun thought about how Wang Hua had been hovering around her these past few days, "Just go ahead and handle it boldly, I’ll be here to back you up if anything goes wrong!"
Zheng Quan smiled and responded "Of course."
Song Jiyun then spent several days at home working on the designs.
Meanwhile, the matter with the Yuan family grew more and more serious. When she went to the Manufacturing Office to submit the designs on schedule, she overheard several clerks hiding in the corner gossiping, "I heard that in front of the Empress Dowager, Lord Yunzhong blatantly said he cannot have split allegiances, otherwise what’s the difference between him and a merchant who marries into two families?"
"Did he really say that?"
"There were so many ladies, grandmothers, and young ladies in the side hall at the time; everyone heard it clearly."
"You know, we hear about the Yuan family’s affairs every other day, but who the girl is that Lord Yunzhong insists on and won’t marry, why isn’t there a single person talking about it?"
"Now that you mention it, I hadn’t realized. Yeah, who exactly is Lord Yunzhong going to marry? Who’s the girl that made him so determined to not give up until he gets his way with his family?"
"Could it be that there’s not a single person in the entire Capital City who knows who the girl is?"
The few people looked at each other with astonishment.
Song Jiyun couldn’t help but cough lightly, which brought her into Lord Liu’s office.
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