Chapter 92: First Battle
Li Xiaonan was eager to get this great business started quickly. Her third sister was getting married in twenty days, and without her third sister, the difficulty of this business would increase exponentially.
Li Yin Zhu had a spirited personality, acting as soon as she made up her mind.
The next morning, the two of them headed straight to the cloth shop to buy a loom from the woman they had spoken to last time—Sister-in-law Gu.
Li Xiaonan used her persuasive tongue to paint a picture of the future for Sister-in-law Gu:
Her business of selling looms on credit and buying fine cloth was like a hen laying eggs and then hatching them. Although the initial capital and manpower were small and insignificant, the prospects were limitless and the future vast. In the near future, not only Pingjiang Prefecture, but the entire Jiangnan would see her cloth shop, Li Xiaonan’s, as one of the best!
As long as Sister-in-law Gu gave her a good price for the loom, she, Li Xiaonan, would definitely do business with Sister-in-law Gu for a long, long time. In the future, Sister-in-law Gu’s family business would surely flourish and become one of the best, relying on her, Li Xiaonan’s, cloth shop!
Li Xiaonan and Li Yin Zhu had agreed on the way: Li Xiaonan would do the talking, and Li Yin Zhu would back her up.
However, Li Xiaonan’s sales pitch, which was like taking a small opportunity and turning it into a huge success, left Li Yin Zhu stunned. Li Yin Zhu stared blankly at Li Xiaonan, unable to open her mouth to support her. She just wanted to cover A Nan’s mouth and carry her away!
Sister-in-law Gu listened, exclaiming “Oh my” and “Tsk tsk,” hands on her hips, her head tilting from side to side as she watched the voluble Li Xiaonan.
This little girl’s eyes were so bright, and she smiled so beautifully, as sweet and soft as osmanthus cake, but how could she talk so much nonsense? How did her parents discipline her when she was young? Did they not dare to discipline her?
Alas, if this were her own daughter, she would immediately pin her down and give her a good beating!
Sister-in-law Gu rubbed her hands together; her hands itched to hit this little girl!
Li Xiaonan spoke all the way, proclaiming herself the future richest person, only a step away from declaring herself the wealthiest in all the land. But Sister-in-law Gu didn’t budge an inch; not one copper coin less would she accept.
Li Yin Zhu had long since shrunk back beside Sister-in-law Gu’s loom, pretending to be engrossed in watching the cloth Sister-in-law Gu was weaving. She hadn’t heard A Nan’s nonsense, truly hadn’t heard it!
“Sister, look, I only have this much silver, twenty taels in total. You have to leave me some capital to buy thread, right? Sister, please give me a better price.” Li Xiaonan took out the twenty-tael silver note and handed it to Sister-in-law Gu.
Sister-in-law Gu weighed the silver note, held it up, and examined it carefully against the sunlight, then flipped it over and looked again. It was indeed a silver note with a red header and a golden seal.
“Where did you get so much silver?” Sister-in-law Gu asked with a stern face.
“I saved it. I’ve been saving for many years, and it took a lot of effort to save this much. Sister, please give me a better price considering how hard it was for me to save!” Li Xiaonan looked pitiful.
“Where did your sister’s silver note come from?” Sister-in-law Gu leaned over and patted Li Yin Zhu, frowning and asking vaguely, “Do your family members know?”
She suspected that this little girl’s silver note was stolen from her parents or brothers!
“She saved it. It’s money she earned herself,” Li Yin Zhu quickly replied.
“Money she earned herself? Where does she earn money?” Sister-in-law Gu’s eyes widened.
“She’s very good at accounting and can teach others how to account,” Li Yin Zhu answered.
“Tsk, she’s good at accounting, look how well she calculated just now, turning herself into the richest person in a few words.” Sister-in-law Gu stuffed the silver note back into Li Xiaonan’s hand and scrutinized her from head to toe.
This little girl was truly clever and truly beautiful, but she just talked too much nonsense!
“Sister…” Li Xiaonan continued to plead.
“If you don’t have enough money, then buy a three-harness loom. It’s eight and a half taels per loom for you. Don’t bargain with me, that’s the price! How about this, where do you want the loom delivered? I’ll find someone to deliver it for you, and I’ll pay for the porterage, alright?”
Sister-in-law Gu looked at Li Xiaonan’s tearful face and her heart softened.
“Thank you, sister.” Li Xiaonan quickly thanked her.
Porterage wasn’t cheap. Eight and a half taels per loom, two looms would cost four to five hundred copper coins, which was not a small amount.
Li Xiaonan handed the silver note to Sister-in-law Gu. Sister-in-law Gu weighed out a two-and-a-half-tael silver nugget in front of her and, as Li Xiaonan requested, gave her the remaining half-tael in a string of copper coins.
Li Xiaonan and Sister-in-law Gu agreed that the two looms would be delivered around Chen Hour the next day to the horn-shaped opening on the road from Guo Lane Town to Pingjiang City.
From Pingjiang City to Kunshan County, Guo Lane Town was a necessary stop. Li Xiaonan had passed through Guo Lane Town many times and was very familiar with it.
Guo Lane Town had a market day every other day, and tomorrow was a good market day.
In the direction of Pingjiang City from Guo Lane Town, the entrance to the town was horn-shaped, a place where young girls and wives gathered to chat and rest. It was the most suitable place to hold her roadshow for selling looms on credit.
Hurrying back to their home in Cai Lian Lane, Li Xiaonan prepared four credit contracts for the looms. The next day, she watched Li Jinzhu and Li Yuzhu leave, then went out with Li Yin Zhu, hailed a cart at the entrance of Xueyuan Street, and headed straight for Guo Lane Town.
Outside Guo Lane Town, the area around the horn-shaped opening was already very lively.
The large cart carrying the two three-harness looms had arrived and was parked among a group of wheelbarrows, very conspicuous. From a distance, Li Xiaonan spotted her looms at a glance.
The looms, shiny and golden, with their three-harness jacquard boxes, were both beautiful and eye-catching. The two looms were already surrounded by young girls and wives, looking at them with envy and curiosity, chatting and discussing. Occasionally, a bolder one would stretch out an arm and cautiously touch them.
It was as if the stage was already set and the audience was all here!
Li Xiaonan smiled broadly at the sight. She paid the cart driver with copper coins, took out the written rental contracts, and as she ran towards them, she said to Li Yin Zhu, “Watch them unload the looms. Don’t move them, just leave them there.”
“Okay,” Li Yin Zhu followed closely behind Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan rushed to the front of the two looms, spun around, and facing the crowd marveling at the looms, she smiled, waved her arms, and shouted, “Sisters, sisters-in-law, aunts, and mothers-in-law!
“These two are three-harness looms capable of weaving jacquard fine cloth, costing ten taels each. I bought these two looms to give to everyone to get rich!”
The lively chatter around them stopped abruptly, and there was a moment of silence before erupting into a clamor.
“Which family’s little girl is this? Where are her parents?”
“What is this little girl saying? She bought them? How old is this little girl? Where did she get the copper coins? Is this little girl crazy?”
“Sister Zhang, hurry, there’s a little girl here who’s gone mad! Come quickly, come quickly!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. She’s a perfectly fine little girl. Look how bright her eyes are, she’s definitely not crazy.”
“Little girl, where are your parents?”
…
The young girls, wives, and old women around them stopped looking at the looms and started marveling at Li Xiaonan.
“Everyone, listen to me! I really bought them. If you don’t believe me, ask them!
“I am the adult!
“No, no, the looms are for you to weave cloth…”
Li Xiaonan was completely surrounded by shouts and questions from all directions. Her words were drowned out by the loud noise, and she couldn’t even hear herself.
“Has this little girl lost her mind? Which family’s child is this? Have they reported it to the authorities?”
“Whose looms are these? Aren’t they stolen? Oh dear, this is serious, have they reported it to the authorities?”
“Hurry and report it to the authorities, this is serious!”
“The village head is here! Make way, make way!”
…
Amidst the clamor, the village head responsible for the horn-shaped opening area, guided by one woman after another, frowned and stood before Li Xiaonan.
“The looms are mine. I am the adult of my family, and so is my sister,” Li Xiaonan explained weakly to the village head.
“You, a little girl, are the adult of your family? You’re lying with your eyes open!” the village head retorted impatiently, scrutinizing Li Xiaonan from head to toe. “What’s your name? Where do you live? What are you doing? Where is your father? Your sister is a little girl like you, she’s not an adult!”
“I’m from Pingjiang City. I’m here to sell looms. I was just looking around. We’ll leave now!” Li Xiaonan quietly rolled up the four contracts and retreated to the looms.
One of the two porters who delivered the looms was by the cart, and the other had just climbed onto the cart to untie the looms. Hearing Li Yin Zhu say they wanted to take them back, he said unceremoniously, “Aunt Gu asked us to deliver them, but she didn’t say we had to take them back. If you want to take them back, you’ll have to pay extra.”
“How much copper coins?” Li Xiaonan glanced at the frowning village head and asked in a low voice.
“Give us sixty copper coins,” the porter on the cart jumped down.
“Okay,” Li Xiaonan agreed immediately.
Li Yin Zhu let out a soft gasp, feeling a pang in her heart.
This morning, the business hadn’t even started, and they had lost a hundred copper coins.
The two porters each pulled a loom, and Li Xiaonan and Li Yin Zhu followed behind the cart. They walked from Guo Lane Town back to the cloth shop, and it was almost noon.
The two looms couldn’t be sold on credit. Bringing them home meant they had nowhere to put them, and besides, Li Xiaonan and Li Yin Zhu dared not take them home.
They had kept it a secret from their family!
If they put them in the shop, they would be considered inventory and would incur daily storage fees.
They could only return them.
Sister-in-law Gu had been straightforward; if the business didn’t go through, she shouldn’t have to pay for the porters again. The hundred copper coins had to be paid by Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan and Li Yin Zhu walked back to Cai Lian Lane. The sun was already setting in the west. The two of them were tired and hungry. Li Yin Zhu was alright, but Li Xiaonan collapsed onto the bed, not wanting to move at
