Chapter 89: Sweetness
Jiang Yihuan threw herself into Xiao Yanci’s arms, sobbing.
She hadn’t cried for long when she heard someone coming. She quickly pulled away from his arms and shyly peeked at Xiao Yanci opposite her.
Xiao Yanci smelled the fresh fragrance in his arms, but it was just touched and then gone. The gatekeeper old man really had no eyesight.
“Xiao Gege, thank you. Luckily there’s you, otherwise I really wouldn’t know what to do.” Jiang Yihuan said, “Treat this silver note as something I borrowed. I’ll pay you back later.”
“What’s mine is yours. Don’t be polite with me.”
“With the silver you lent me, I won’t go work at the embroidery shop first. I heard that the manager of that embroidery shop always likes bullying young women. I’m actually quite afraid. If it weren’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t resort to this. Although ten taels of silver is far from enough to pay off our debts, paying that man first can at least appease him for a while. Then my mother and I will work hard on embroidery work to earn money.”
“Leave the silver matter to me. I’ll figure something out. Don’t do anything risky. If you encounter bad people, you’re so young and pretty, it would really be calling to heaven with no response and calling to earth with no answer.”
The gatekeeper old man reminded Xiao Yanci that it was time to go in, otherwise the teacher would look for him and not find him. Xiao Yanci instructed Jiang Yihuan a few words, looking back three steps at a time, and finally reluctantly entered the academy.
Jiang Yihuan watched Xiao Yanci go in, and the reluctance and deep affection on her face disappeared. She curtsied to the gatekeeper old man, lifted her skirt hem, and elegantly left that place.
Only ten taels of silver…
Ten taels of silver can indeed rent a shop front, but after renting the shop front, other aspects will also need money. This ten taels of silver isn’t enough; she could only take action from other men.
Jiang Yihuan thought about the Su family entering the city to open a shop. For some reason, she just didn’t want to be outdone by Su Yaoguang. Previously, when her mother faced off against Zhang Zhaodi, she hadn’t taken it seriously. Whether in looks, figure, or even in terms of children and earning money ability, how could Zhang Zhaodi compare to her mother in any way? Her mother didn’t need to take her seriously at all. In her view, such a woman wasn’t even worthy of being an opponent.
However, the Su family was getting better and better, even opening a shop front in the city in a short time. The competitiveness in her bones was aroused. Everyone in the village was praising Su Yaoguang highly, unlike before when everyone praised their mother and daughter. This made Jiang Yihuan, who had been used to being praised highly since childhood, unhappy.
Su Yaoguang looked at the shop’s decoration and praised the artisan’s craftsmanship highly: “Master Liu, you’re truly an experienced master. This modification hits right on what I wanted.”
“As long as you like it. Then, esteemed owners, since we’ve delivered the goods, we’ll take our leave first. If there are other instructions in the future, just come find me!”
“Good, good, good. Many thanks.” Zhang Zhaodi saw Master Liu out.
Chun E came in from outside, looking over the newly renovated shop front with admiration in her eyes: “This shop front was already big, and after your modifications, it looks much more elegant.”
“The second floor is the resting area for noblewomen. They can try various new products there. The first floor is the sales area, with skin care products, hair conditioning products, and all kinds of scented dew and scented paste, placed in different areas by type, so everyone can freely pick their favorite scents.” Su Yaoguang said, “When the time comes, we’ll split up to serve, one person responsible for one area.”
“When do you plan to open?” Chun E asked. “I must send a big gift then and conveniently freeload off the opening banquet.”
“In three days. We’ll prepare a bit more.” Su Yaoguang said, “Lately, we’re still contacting the boss of flower materials. Once we’ve contacted the suppliers for the next batch of production materials, we’ll open immediately.”
“What’s that small room for?”
“That’s the small clinic I prepared for Jing’er. If someone wants to see Jing’er for treatment, we can lead them there. It won’t disturb others or be disturbed by others.”
“That side is a tea room. At that time, we’ll hire a few tea art masters skilled in brewing tea. The noblewomen upstairs are distinguished guests; we can’t skimp on good tea and pastries for them. As for the casual customers downstairs, no need to say more. They buy things and leave; with so many coming and going, we can’t serve that many.”
“The back is our living quarters. That backyard is very large. We’ll divide it in two: one part for growing vegetables and fruits, which can also save on food costs. The other part for planting fresh flowers, turning this place into a world of flowers. This way, we can supply some of our own flower materials and also beautify our shop. Did you see the decorations on that wall? Those can all be used to plant flowers, so the shop can be full of fresh flowers too.”
“This place is really nice. I even want to stay here and not leave.” Chun E said, “However, I came to find you for an important matter. Do you still remember my female cousin?”
“I remember, the one who was supposed to get married last time but had a sudden change.”
“Right, that’s her. That man disliked the pimples on her face and backed out at the last minute, making her a laughingstock. Last time you gave her a bottle of scar removal face cream, and now her skin is as tender as tofu. The people coming to propose marriage have nearly worn out her family’s threshold.” Chun E said, stuffing the things she was carrying into her hands. “This is what my aunt asked me to bring you, as a thank-you gift. Don’t worry, it’s just a little token from our family, not silver. I know sister you don’t lack that bit of silver now. If we sent silver, it would make things distant.”
Su Yaoguang, hearing her say that, opened the cloth bag and saw a pair of exquisitely made embroidered shoes inside.
“This is too beautiful, isn’t it?” Zhang Zhaodi said from the side. “This embroidery work, this shoe design, in the shop it would sell for at least ten taels of silver.”
“So expensive?” Zhang Pandi beside her was surprised.
“The embroidery on these shoes is vivid and lifelike; it wasn’t cheap to begin with. And look at the pearls inlaid on them: eighteen per shoe, thirty-six for a pair. How could it not be expensive?”
Chun E saw everyone praising it endlessly and felt she had face as the go-between. Although she hadn’t known what gift her aunt was sending before. But her aunt’s family wasn’t short of silver, so surely it wouldn’t be too shabby, which was why she was willing to make the trip.
“These pearls aren’t big, just some with shallow years, not worth much money.” Chun E said, “But it’s fine for a young lady to wear for fun. If they were too big, I’d worry about you being robbed.”
“These shoes are too beautiful.” Su Yaoguang couldn’t put them down. “Thank my aunt for me; she’s really spent too much. If your female cousin’s face cream works well, help me send another bottle to my aunt to try.”
Chun E didn’t refuse and promised to pass it on for her.
“My aunt’s family happens to be in the porcelain business. You need a lot of porcelain vases here. If you’re interested, I can introduce you. Then you can get them cheaper, at the lowest price.”
“That would be the best. Thank you, Sister Chun E.”
