Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 86 - 86 087 Opening Embroidery House_1

?Chapter 86: Chapter 087: Opening Embroidery House_1 Chapter 86: Chapter 087: Opening Embroidery House_1 Madam Liu’s eyes and brows were full of irrepressible mirth, “Exactly! The patterns you gave me, I always thought they were novel and would surely fetch a good price. A few days ago, I embroidered two handkerchiefs and took them to the Embroidery House to sell. I audaciously set the price for these handkerchiefs at two taels of silver each, thinking that if the boss found it too expensive, I could always lower the price. But to my surprise, the boss agreed to the price at once, and now I even think that two taels of silver was too little!”

Muniang laughed, “Only Auntie would dare to start with such a high price. An ordinary person might have let those handkerchiefs go for a mere two coins of silver each.”

Madam Liu patted her chest, “I was scared too. An ordinary handkerchief would fetch, at most, one coin of silver if the embroidery was exquisitely done. For an average one, it would just be ten coins of silver each. I was afraid that as soon as I quoted two taels of silver, the owner would kick me out on the spot.” Saying this, she laughed.

But Muniang felt that Madam Liu was truly extraordinary, daring to “ask an outrageous price” because she must have seen the market potential for these patterns. Moreover, her courage was exceptional. Such a woman, especially in ancient times, was indeed rare.

Working with a clever person made things much easier. Muniang had always intended to carve out a niche for herself at the Embroidery House. If Madam Liu actually managed to sell those handkerchiefs for two coins of silver each, Muniang would be reluctant to entrust her with the business.

“Auntie, although the handkerchiefs selling for two taels of silver each are quite profitable, after all, it’s work done for someone else. We sell them to the Embroidery House for two taels, and the Embroidery House might sell them to those wealthy young ladies for ten times the price. In the end, isn’t the profit still ending up with the Embroidery House?” Muniang said earnestly.

Madam Liu nodded, “I had the same thought, but what can we do? For products like embroidered goods, we can only sell them through Embroidery Houses.”

Muniang curled her lips, “Who says? We can sell them ourselves!”

“What?”

“Auntie, what I mean is, we should open our own Embroidery House, produce and sell our own goods. For novel patterns like the ones I provide, we could sell a handkerchief for at least ten taels of silver. Wouldn’t that earn us much more?”

Madam Liu was completely stunned. Although she was a spirited person, she had never entertained such an idea. After all, her family’s situation was so poor, where would they get the money to open an Embroidery House?

“But opening an Embroidery House takes a lot of money. Not to mention the rent for the shop, the store’s inventory of embroidery is indispensable. By myself, I can only finish one handkerchief in three or five days. How could such output sustain a storefront?” Madam Liu hurriedly said.

Muniang had already thought this through, “Leave the matter of the shop to me, as for the embroiderers, we obviously won’t rely on just you. There are so many sister-in-laws and daughters-in-law in the village, each capable of embroidery. You alone cannot support it, so we’ll hire them to help you. I know you’re an ambitious person, Auntie. If you’re willing to take a gamble this time and win, you could make a fortune.”

Naturally, Madam Liu was tempted, but she still said, “By that account, the Embroidery House would be yours, and at most, I would just help out with the embroidery work.”

“What business do I have with that? I’m busy over here. The house hasn’t been fixed, and the thousand mu of fertile land isn’t on the right track yet. Where can I find the time to meddle with the Embroidery House? I’ll provide the funding to start the Embroidery House, but I’m leaving the management to my aunt. By then, you’ll be the Second Boss of the Embroidery House. When it makes money, my aunt will get half of the profits. What do you think?”

“Leave it to me? Muniang, aren’t you being too trusting? I’m just a village woman; how could I manage an Embroidery House? No, no, you should find someone else,” Madam Liu wasn’t lacking confidence, but the Embroidery House was a big responsibility. If she happened to ruin it, it would be Muniang’s silver at stake.

Muniang laughed and said, “If I entrusted it to someone else, I wouldn’t be at ease. I know my aunt’s capabilities, and besides, as long as my new designs are here to lead, the business won’t suffer losses. I trust you because you are family. If a stranger was in charge, I would be worried they might have ulterior motives.”

Muniang’s mention of family warmed Madam Liu’s heart, and she truly began to hesitate. Muniang continued, “If my aunt is really unsure, I’m also planning to have Qinghe help out. It’d be too much for my aunt to handle the Embroidery House alone. Qinghe is a resourceful person; with the two of you in charge, I would be much more at ease.”

Hearing this, Madam Liu found it hard to refuse. Firstly, she did want the opportunity, and secondly, Qinghe would be there to help. That girl was meticulous in her thoughts; with her assistance, surely nothing would go wrong. She nodded and agreed.

Muniang smiled. “Then, my aunt can start recruiting embroideresses in the village. As for their wages, don’t let them be too low. Whatever price the town’s Embroidery House offers, we’ll pay twenty wen more. After all, they are our fellow villagers; we can’t shortchange them. You should start making the embroidered items right away—at least a hundred handkerchiefs and three or four large pieces, not to mention money pouches and drawstring bags. I’ll give you the new designs tomorrow. Just embroider according to them, and as soon as the opening stock is ready, I’ll go rent a shop in town.”

Madam Liu was barely able to contain her excitement, her cheeks flushing with a rosy hue, but still she said, “That sounds good indeed, but Muniang, don’t rush into renting too big a shop. If you ask me, just find a small shop in a slightly busy area in town. As long as the foot traffic is decent, that’ll be enough. Regarding the storefront, it’s really just for show. With our new designs, there’s not a single second Embroidery House in Chatu Town that can match us. Customers won’t complain about our show being too small.”

“I was thinking the same thing. My aunt can rest assured. If it were a big shop, I wouldn’t have that much spare silver anyway.”

Thus, the matter of the Embroidery House was settled.

In the following days, Madam Liu started to busy herself with recruiting embroideresses. To say she was recruiting was actually more like asking the village women to help make handkerchiefs, and they would be paid according to the Embroidery House’s rate. Initially, everyone was doubtful; after all, Madam Liu’s family was so poor, would there really be money to pay wages?

But when people heard that the real boss behind the scenes was Qiao Muniang, no one was surprised anymore. Moreover, the wages offered were indeed higher – much more than what the town’s Embroidery House paid. Naturally, many were eager to come.

Madam Zhao, upon hearing that Madam Liu and Qiao Muniang had teamed up, was so enraged that smoke nearly rose from her head. Seeing people coming and going to Madam Liu’s house each day, she eventually couldn’t hold back and stood in her yard, cursing loudly.

“True to form, treacherous and heartless creatures! No sooner had they divided the family than they joined up with that shameless little wench. They fawn over whoever has money, face inflated with shamelessness, totally ignoring their own poor parents, who wouldn’t care for them even if they starved to death. I truly regret raising you ungrateful beasts!”