Chapter 129: New Shop Opens
In Jiangnan in early May, a fine drizzle fell.
By the river, a large patch of reeds grew vibrantly, swaying in the wind, and a small boat emerged halfway from the reeds.
Gu Yan, wearing a loose ramie long gown without a belt and a bamboo hat on his head, sat at the bow of the boat, casting his fishing rod.
On the misty river surface, a small boat rose and fell with the wind and waves, heading straight for the reeds.
Approaching the reeds, the boatman stopped rowing, looked carefully, and seeing Gu Yan fishing, he quickly rowed towards him.
The small boat stopped steadily about a foot away from Gu Yan’s boat. The boatman raised his oar, knelt down, and kowtowed, “Young Lord.”
“You’ve worked hard,” Gu Yan looked at the boatman and tapped the side of the boat with his finger.
“It is my duty,” the boatman kowtowed again, straightened up, bowed forward, and used his oar to hook onto the side of Gu Yan’s boat.
“Reporting to the Young Lord, there are a total of nine groups, and they have all entered Linhai Town,” the boatman reported in a low voice.
“Mm, very good. You go and coordinate. When you reach Linhai Town, first go see Huang Xianzhou and tell him that you and A Wu, who is by Miss Li’s side, are sworn brothers,” Gu Yan instructed in a low voice.
“Yes, please instruct the Young Lord, to what extent should I go?”
“Go all out. If they can seize the entire wharf in Linhai Town, then let them seize it,” Gu Yan’s tone was cold.
“Yes! Your subordinate understands.”
“Go,” Gu Yan said, and picked up his fishing rod again.
“Your subordinate takes his leave.” The boatman put away his oar, knelt on the boat, and the boat drifted about twenty feet downstream. The boatman stood up, rowed, and soon disappeared into the vast mist.
Gu Yan slowly reeled in his fishing line, looked at the empty hook, put down his fishing rod, and said, “Let’s go back.”
………………………………
By late June, the business of buying fine cloth on credit from the looms had spread from Hejia Village in Guo Lane and Xiaozhang Village in Wuqiao Town to Guo Lane and Wuqiao towns, and about five or six surrounding villages. Nearly thirty looms had been leased out, and about twenty bolts of fine cloth were collected daily.
Sister-in-law Yin’s father-in-law, Master Zhang, was very dedicated to Sister-in-law Yin’s new business. For seven or eight consecutive days, he went out early and returned late, having scouted almost all of Pingjiang City. He meticulously chose a spacious five-bay storefront and personally went to persuade Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan to buy the shop.
If you want to do business for the long term, buying a shop is more cost-effective. As for the silver for buying the shop, he would lend it to them without interest.
Li Xiaonan was very puzzled by Master Zhang’s excessive enthusiasm. She asked Sister-in-law Yin indirectly, and Sister-in-law Yin pouted and snorted coldly, “He’s got his own plans! This has nothing to do with you. If he wants to lend it to us, we’ll take it, and I’ll tell you later.”
Seeing Sister-in-law Yin acting as if Master Zhang owed her money, Li Xiaonan didn’t ask further.
Needless to say, this was definitely a family matter. She would listen to the gossip when Sister-in-law Yin wanted to talk about it.
The cloth shop was named Yueyang Cloth Shop, following the Yueyang Preserved Egg Business.
This name made Sister-in-law Yin so happy for several days that she couldn’t close her mouth, and she expressed her gratitude several times, saying that Li Xiaonan was giving her face.
Li Xiaonan wasn’t doing it to give Sister-in-law Yin face. Firstly, she thought Yueyang sounded nice, and secondly, she really couldn’t think of any other names. Naming things was not her strong suit.
The new shop was cleaned and repainted. Following Sister-in-law Yin’s suggestion, they didn’t use any flashy decorations, just a counter. The counter should be low, and the simpler the better, as long as it was clean. They wanted to be different from other cloth shops. This shop should be like their cloth: good quality and genuinely affordable.
Li Jinzhu and Li Yuzhu were full of admiration for Sister-in-law Yin. Li Xiaonan deeply agreed with Sister-in-law Yin’s suggestions. She let Sister-in-law Yin handle most of the shop’s affairs after seeing half of it.
At the end of June, an auspicious day was chosen, and the new shop grandly opened.
This time, firecrackers were set off for nearly half an hour. They didn’t invite an astrologer again. They were still the Yueyang branch, so there was no need to invite an astrologer.
The Yueyang Preserved Egg Business had already gained a good reputation in Pingjiang City. As soon as this branch opened, people from the surrounding households came to buy.
Out of the five new shops, three were used initially: one for preserved eggs and salted eggs, and two for the cloth business.
Grandmothers and wives who came to buy preserved eggs, either for themselves or guided by Li Jinzhu from the preserved egg section, would inquire about the price of fine cloth and immediately buy several feet or yards of it.
Each bolt of this fine cloth was not exactly the same, but they didn’t care. They couldn’t even afford to buy a whole bolt, so why would they care if one bolt was different from another? They would just pick the one that looked good.
Most importantly, this fine cloth was cheap! It was at least twenty percent cheaper than the fine cloth in the silk brocade guild!
It was summer, the season for wearing fine cloth.
Sister-in-law Yin stood outside the counter, observing everything and enthusiastically serving customers, occasionally calling out:
“Sister Liu is our regular customer, give her an extra inch!”
“Aunt Zhang is our neighbor, bring out those fabric scraps I saved for Aunt Zhang to see. It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m so busy, I don’t have time for needlework. I just think they look good and I can’t bear to sell them.”
“Sister Zhao is my old sister, round down the price and put it on my account. Sister Zhao, please don’t be polite.”
……
The hired shop assistants responded loudly, skillfully measuring, tearing, and wrapping the cloth.
Li Xiaonan sat in a corner, looking up at the eloquent Sister-in-law Yin, who was skillfully handling everything.
What a talent!
Around noon, there were fewer people on the street, and fewer customers in the shop. The two shop assistants in the cloth section could finally sit down and rest.
Sister-in-law Yin was in a very good mood. She ordered dishes from the restaurant next door and treated everyone to a sumptuous lunch.
Not long after lunch, as Li Xiaonan was about to leave, Matchmaker Miao and a gentle-faced woman entered the shop, talking.
“These two are not good people, don’t talk to them,” Sister-in-law Yin quietly instructed Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan, then stood up and warmly welcomed them.
“Oh my, Que’er was chirping on our doorstep just now, and I was wondering what good news was coming. So it’s Nanny Miao who has arrived. Hello Nanny Miao, hello Aunt Wu. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you two.”
Li Xiaonan shrank back, while Li Jinzhu followed Sister-in-law Yin a few steps behind, smiling but saying nothing.
“Sister’s business is getting bigger and bigger, it’s truly remarkable!” Matchmaker Miao stood at the entrance, turning her head to look around carefully. “We came from your main branch. You didn’t even say anything about the new shop opening. If we hadn’t passed by your main branch today, we would have missed it.”
“Nanny is so busy, how could I dare to bother Nanny with such a small matter? It’s rare for Nanny and Aunt Wu to visit. Nanny, please see if this fine cloth is good. If you like it, I’ll give Nanny a piece of fabric for a long gown, in case Nanny dislikes it,” Sister-in-law Yin said, taking a few pieces of fine cloth and presenting them to Matchmaker Miao.
“Then thank you. I was just thinking of getting a fine cloth shirt. Sister Wu, come and help me choose, which one is good?” Matchmaker Miao quickly picked out the fabric first.
“Both of these are good, really good. I’d be reluctant to put either of them down,” Aunt Wu held a piece of fabric in each hand, lifting one hand and then the other, with a look of reluctance.
Sister-in-law Yin’s smile remained unchanged, but she said nothing.
“They are indeed both good. Sister, what do you think?” Matchmaker Miao held the two pieces of fabric and looked sideways at Sister-in-law Yin.
“If Nanny likes both, then take them both. I can afford the copper coins for one bolt of fabric,” Sister-in-law Yin’s smile was warm.
“Then thank you.” Matchmaker Miao didn’t need an assistant. She rolled up the two pieces of fine cloth herself, tucked them under her arm, and said to Aunt Wu with a smile, “Sister Yin is a generous person.”
“Indeed, Sister-in-law Yin’s dowry back then was so impressive, with so many carrying poles. And their Zhang family has plenty of silver,” Aunt Wu said with a smile.
“Where is the silver? I’m just poor and generous,” Sister-in-law Yin showed nothing on her face, her smile remaining warm.
Li Xiaonan sat in the corner, continuing to look up at Sister-in-law Yin.
Truly a talent!
Alright, still owing.
Full staff nucleic acid testing in the morning, and the newly purchased refrigerator was installed in the afternoon, causing a commotion.
