Chapter 262: For Business
Yu Ting drove the cart, with Li Jinzhu and Sister-in-law Yin sitting inside. They followed behind a convoy of over a dozen carts laden with fine cloth, heading towards Hangzhou City.
“Alas, speaking of which, this fine cloth business, after all this time, still only brings in reputation and not copper coins,” Sister-in-law Yin sighed.
A Nan said that if she wore fine cloth clothes and lectured in Hangzhou City, it would definitely create a wave of people buying fine cloth. She also felt that every year there were new trends, and people followed each other into them.
Originally, she thought she would definitely make back her capital this time. A Nan also said that other families should also produce some fine cloth. Jin Zhu agreed with A Nan’s suggestion. Alas, forget it, one must have a long-term vision!
“Didn’t A Nan say that the time to make money is yet to come?” Yu Ting chuckled.
“I observe that A Nan doesn’t seem like someone who can do business and make money,” Sister-in-law Yin complained tactfully.
“This fine cloth business is all done by following us. Besides, A Nan is right. If we truly want to make the fine cloth business work, we need everyone together. Our family alone cannot bear the burden,” Li Jinzhu said with a smile.
“Don’t worry, you don’t need to persuade me,” Sister-in-law Yin smiled. “I do love copper coins, but I don’t love them that much. If I only cared about copper coins, I wouldn’t have married into the old Zhang family back then!”
Sister-in-law Yin let out a long sigh.
The reason she agreed to the marriage with the Zhang family back then was because her maternal uncle and aunt, when they came to propose, implied that Zhang Da was good-tempered but incompetent, and that she would manage the Zhang family’s business from then on.
Alas, after marrying in, she realized that first, they only hinted and never spoke a single concrete word, and second, this Zhang family was *her* Zhang family with Zhang Da, not the ancestral Zhang family business!
“You were looking at the authority to manage things,” Li Jinzhu said with a smile.
“At that time, I was just holding a grudge, wanting to show them that I was better at business than my cheap younger brother. Later, I realized they weren’t saying I was incapable; they were saying: no matter how capable you are, you are still a woman, and if you are a woman, you are incapable! Bah!” Sister-in-law Yin spat indignantly.
“It’s like A Wu. No matter how well you fight, you’re still a woman, and if you’re a woman, you’re incapable,” Yu Ting chimed in with a smile.
“Ah?” Sister-in-law Yin exclaimed. “A Wu…”
“Keep your voice down!” Li Jinzhu reached out to cover Sister-in-law Yin’s mouth.
“She doesn’t know?” Yu Ting was as surprised as Sister-in-law Yin.
“How are you becoming so careless!” Li Jinzhu glared at Yu Ting impatiently.
“I knew it! I’ve felt it for a long time!” Sister-in-law Yin slapped her thigh. “I knew it, our A Nan is so smart, and she’s so close with A Wu. A Wu is so good to A Nan, and Yu Ting doesn’t mind at all! I knew it!”
“Oh! Look how smart you are!” Yu Ting pouted and gave Sister-in-law Yin a sidelong glance.
“Let’s not talk about this. How are things with your family’s division?” Li Jinzhu forcibly changed the subject.
“Right, right, right! Let’s talk about our family’s messy affairs!” Sister-in-law Yin waved a hand and laughed heartily.
“So this time it’s your sister-in-law who refuses to divide the family?” Yu Ting quickly followed the new topic.
“Isn’t it!” Sister-in-law Yin clapped her hands. “Before, it was me who refused to budge, and now it’s her who refuses to budge! This is truly a turn of fortune! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west!”
“Your sister-in-law has been hoping for a family division for so many years, why has she changed her mind? Did your maternal uncle and aunt redistribute the family property? Did they give you more? Are you making more money?” Yu Ting picked at some melon seeds.
“To be fair, Da Bao’s aunt is not someone who only looks at copper coins. Da Bao’s aunt is very cunning, a shrewd person! Our old couple specifically chose shrewd women as wives, tsk!” Sister-in-law Yin pursed her lips and made a loud clicking sound.
“Then why?” Yu Ting continued to ask, cracking melon seeds.
“Heh heh.” Sister-in-law Yin gave a dry laugh. “Seeing how close our two families are, they’re afraid they won’t benefit if the family is divided!”
“Da Bao’s uncle always looked down on his brother since he was young, disdaining him for being stupid and incompetent. Their brotherly affection was always mediocre, and it got worse after I married in. They were constantly in subtle conflict. I’m not afraid of that couple! That couple has no affection for our couple. If the family were divided, wouldn’t they become even more estranged?”
“So by staying together and not dividing the family, your two families will have affection?” Yu Ting pouted and shook her head.
“Don’t we have Da Bao and the others! You don’t know how good that couple is to our two children now! Much better than me, their own mother! Tsk!” Sister-in-law Yin clicked her tongue repeatedly.
“Such cunning!” Yu Ting exclaimed in admiration.
“Our Tang Weng Weng helped us back then, looking at Xuedong’s future prospects, and later at A Nan,” Li Jinzhu said with a smile while sewing a shoe sole.
“I understand that. So, I didn’t say anything when they refused to divide the family. I’m out running errands all day, and my little girl is closer to her aunt than to me. If she’s close, she’s close,” Sister-in-law Yin said with a wave of her hand and a smile.
………………………………
Making fine cloth clothes was too difficult and slow. It wasn’t until the day before the lecture that Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing arrived in Hangzhou City with a cart full of clothes.
Mrs. Fu took charge and arranged a two-courtyard small residence adjacent to the Imperial Examination Hall for Li Xiaonan to live in.
Mrs. Fu personally oversaw the cleaning and tidying of the small courtyard and had Fourth Mistress Wei lead about ten maids and old women to stay in the side rooms to accompany Li Xiaonan.
By the time Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing arrived, it was already dark. After a hurried dinner and selecting the clothes to wear the next day, Li Xiaonan went to rest quickly.
The next day, Li Xiaonan woke up more than two quarters of an hour early. After breakfast and getting ready, Gu Yan arrived.
Gu Yan wore a plain white fine cloth long gown, a mutton-fat jade belt around his waist, a gold coiled dragon belt hook hanging to his side, a string of small jade beads and a jade pendant, and an embroidered gold sachet and fan cover on the other side. The hem of the long gown was embroidered with a two-inch wide band of auspicious patterns in plain white silk thread, made in the same way as Li Xiaonan’s skirt.
Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan, then at herself, and wanted to sigh.
Although her outfit had more patterns and more valuable and exquisite accessories, it was clear that Gu Yan’s fine cloth looked much better than hers.
Alas, the completion of fashion truly depends on one’s face!
“What’s wrong? Worried?” Gu Yan slightly bowed, looking at Li Xiaonan, who had a troubled expression.
“Worried about whom?” Li Xiaonan asked casually.
Fourth Mistress Wei, standing beside Li Xiaonan, couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Let’s go!” Gu Yan tapped Li Xiaonan’s shoulder with his folding fan.
“Have all the attendees for the lecture arrived? Can we walk through them?” Li Xiaonan asked Gu Yan.
Fourth Mistress Wei’s eyes widened as she heard this. She looked at Gu Yan, then at Li Xiaonan.
What did Miss Li mean by this? Did she want those people to see her walking side-by-side with her cousin? Or to see them wearing clothes of the same make?
“To let people see your clothes? Are you a bit…?” Gu Yan didn’t know how to put it.
She was really willing to lower herself for her fine cloth!
“You look extremely good in this long gown!” Li Xiaonan said with a fawning smile.
Fourth Mistress Wei pursed her lips tightly and turned her face to look at the treetops.
Gu Yan snorted and instructed Shi Gun, “Enter through the main gate.”
Fourth Mistress Wei pursed her lips even tighter, her gaze fixed straight ahead, and walked half a step behind Li Xiaonan, heading towards the main gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.
