Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 123: Visual Feast

Borrowing people from Changfeng Town went extremely smoothly. After explaining the purpose to Cui Erniang, she immediately agreed. She lent out the three resident embroiderers from her shop and also helped find familiar embroiderers and skilled needleworkers.

The three resident embroiderers knew about Cui Erniang’s sworn sister and had seen her before. With double wages and covered food and travel expenses, how could they not be happy and all willing to help.

During this time, Liu Yanping delivered a note to the Lu family. When he returned to Cui Erniang’s embroidery shop, everyone was ready. Leading eight female workers, he took a boat to Anyi County, bringing back over twenty taels of silver from the last batch of clothes Liu Yu had consigned in the shop.

Liu Yanping left Changfeng Town with the group, while at the Lu family, Chen Shi, her daughter-in-law, and her two daughters-in-law gathered together to look at the notes and three red tickets.

Lu Shuang praised the delicate red tickets.

Qin Yulan, seeing the value of one tael on the tickets, remarked, “Third sister-in-law is too polite. We were already planning to attend; there’s no need for such gifts among family.”

For wealthy families, one tael of silver wasn’t much, but for an ordinary family, it was significant. And here, three tickets were given.

Chen Shi smiled, her eyes narrowing, “Yu’er is thoughtful. When we go, we’ll buy a few more sets. Later, you can pick one, and I’ll give it to you.”

Qin Yulan laughed, “That’s great. This time I’m really benefiting. Third sister-in-law gives a red ticket, and you give me a set of clothes.”

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law joked around, with Lu Shuang joining in. It was a lively scene.

Meanwhile, at the Lufeng Cloth Shop in Xifeng Town, Lu Chengzhang and Zhou Qiongying also received the invitation from Liu Yan’an. After politely sending the messenger off, Lu Chengzhang opened the note and found an exquisitely embroidered red ticket inside.

“One tael, quite generous,” he remarked, handing it to Zhou Qiongying. “The Liu family is very polite. I definitely can’t attend that day, so you go and support them.”

For a cloth shop owner like them, if Zhou Qiongying were more skilled, there would be no need to buy clothes outside. Though she was decent at needlework, she wasn’t outstanding. The clothes she made were wearable but lacked the clever color coordination and flattering cuts of the embroidery shop. Plus, making clothes was tiring and could result in unattractive garments. So before marrying Lu Chengzhang, her clothes were often bought or custom-made from embroidery shops.

Therefore, when Lu Chengzhang suggested she go support them, Zhou Qiongying readily agreed. “Alright, since the invitation is here, there must be one for mother-in-law and sister-in-law too. We need to get autumn clothes anyway. Doing business with any shop is the same, but supporting family also builds relationships. Besides, this red ticket is a real benefit. Our soon-to-be third sister-in-law’s family knows how to conduct themselves.”

As she spoke, Zhou Qiongying examined the red ticket with appreciation. “This is really exquisite. My family issued red tickets a couple of times before, always printed by a paper and ink shop. This kind of embroidered ticket is a first. It has a date, so it’s clear it’s for this occasion only. It’s made of red silk with intricate embroidery, quite a generous touch.”

Though the fabric used was minimal, the embroidery was labor-intensive.

Similar scenes played out in various parts of the county office. The officials there frequently received various gifts and bribes, from modest offerings to silver and silver notes in red envelopes.

But today’s gift was unique: a red ticket from an embroidery shop, small but made of sturdy paper with a red silk cover and exquisite embroidery.

The most important aspect was that it wasn’t a bribe from someone seeking favors, but a gift from the family of a constable, marking the opening of their embroidery shop.

All families had female members who needed new autumn clothes. One tael of silver for a set of clothes wasn’t a big gift, but it was substantial, considering a constable’s monthly salary was about one tael.

Magistrate Zhang smiled, “Interesting. Do you know how many such red tickets they distributed?”

Master Li, who helped deliver the tickets, smiled, “He was straightforward about it. Several main officials in our office received them, as well as myself, Master Liu, and the heads of the three classes and six departments.”

He showed his own red ticket to Magistrate Zhang, adding, “They said the family shop is opening, and they don’t know many people in the county, so they’re inviting colleagues to support them. They didn’t send formal invitations to avoid taking up too much time, just these red tickets, and it’s fine if we can’t make it.”

The wording cleverly turned gift-giving into asking everyone to support their business.

Magistrate Zhang chuckled, calculating quickly. Just among the three classes, six departments, and two shiyes, that’s eleven taels’ worth of red tickets. Five main officials received red tickets for a complete outfit, potentially worth much more, with no specific value limit mentioned.

This was quite a generous amount of money. For families like theirs, they wouldn’t settle for the cheapest clothes. They would naturally not look down on things that cost one or two taels, but they would also not choose expensive things. They would likely choose outfits worth three to five taels.

Intrigued, Magistrate Zhang asked, “Which constable is this?”

When Master Li heard the Magistrate ask about it, he naturally spoke well of Liu Yanqing since he also benefited from Liu Yanqing’s gesture,. “Liu Yanqing, the one with the best martial skills in the fast class.”

With dozens of constables in the county office, Magistrate Zhang wasn’t familiar with them all. But hearing “the one with the best martial skills,” he also has an impression of him. “Ah, the one in his early twenties, good-looking? How did his family start an embroidery shop?”

Constables had little contact with the magistrate, all wearing similar uniforms. But Liu Yanqing had made a slight impression. Li Shiye thought this showed the advantage of good looks. Outwardly, he remained neutral, smiling and shaking his head, “I’m not sure, but there’s one thing you might remember. In mid-April, the young master of Lufeng Cloth Shop came with Yang Tongzhi’s name card asking us to find someone. It was Liu Yanqing’s cousin, who was abducted as a child and recently found.”

Yang Tongzhi, Magistrate Zhang certainly remembered. This made Liu Yanqing’s name memorable too. “Oh, right, the young master of Lufeng Cloth Shop mentioned they were discussing marriage with the girl?”

Master Li Shiye smiled, “Exactly. Lufeng is the best cloth shop in the county. Now Liu’s family is opening an embroidery shop. I wonder if there’s a connection.”

He implied a potential marriage between the Lu and Liu families.

Magistrate Zhang said, “Whether or not they’re engaged, let our family ladies go support them. It’s only right given their gesture.”

Master Li agreed.

In fact, Magistrate Zhang intended to have the ladies of the family find out more about the Liu family’s shop and the possible connection to the Lu family and Yang Tongzhi. Supporting the shop’s opening was certain, but he also aimed to build a relationship and assess future prospects. If they were really married, he might be able to use the relationship to connect with Yang Tongzhi.

Naturally, this is the kind of meticulous work that the womenfolk will have to handle later. For now, it is certain that we must show our support at the opening of the Ruyi Embroidery Workshop. That day, after returning to the inner courtyard, I gave the red invitation card to my wife and explained the details carefully. Supporting them is not just about using this red invitation card; it is best to establish good relations with the Liu family and later investigate the connection between the Lu family and Assistant Magistrate Yang.

Madam Zhang took a look at the red invitation card and said, “It shows that a lot of thought has been put into it. Alright, I understand. When the time comes, I’ll bring along the young ladies of the family. We will certainly support the Liu family’s business and honor their reputation. We won’t let you down.”

That evening, the officials with some standing in the county yamen returned home with the red invitation card from the Ruyi Embroidery Workshop. Those who knew a bit of the inside story reacted just like Magistrate Zhang: they would make friends, not enemies, and add to the occasion’s splendor.

For those who didn’t know that the Liu family might have some indirect connection with the Assistant Magistrate of Yuanzhou, simply securing such a benefit for their family was reason enough to go. If they could gain something, even just a little, they would certainly attend.

At Ruyi Embroidery Workshop, over thirty female workers worked for four days and nights, sleeping only two to three hours a day. By the fourth watch on July 28th, they had rushed to complete 118 sets of finished garments.

118 sets! When everyone squeezed into the shop, they could hardly believe it.

The workshop had seven gauze lanterns lit. These were originally placed in the three workrooms but had now all been moved here, placed on the countertops away from the fabrics.

Seeing the clothes displayed under the lanterns, arranged by Liu Yu and the Zhang sisters, everyone could hardly believe that such a large number of garments had been made in less than five days. They also couldn’t believe that these stunningly beautiful clothes were crafted by their hands.

Yes, except for the seamstresses, the embroiderers had never actually seen the finished products. Each of them was responsible for only one part of the process. The three responsible for cutting the clothes, including Liu Yu, had to inspect each finished garment as it came out of the sewing room. Only after they confirmed it was fine was it considered complete, and the worker would get paid for it.

But even the final seamstresses and Liu Yu, who had seen these clothes before, were overwhelmed by the sight of over a hundred garments displayed all at once.

It’s truly beautiful, an extraordinary feeling, like a visual feast.

There was a moment of silence in the shop, and then the thirty or so people began to discuss:

“It’s really beautiful. Did we really make these?”

“That pale apricot robe with embroidered gold feathers, I made that one.”

“The one with the sheer silk outer jacket?”

“Yes, yes, Madam Lin embroidered it and I sewed it. It’s really beautiful. It must look stunning when worn. I wonder how much such a garment would cost?”

Another person laughed, “It’s definitely not something we can afford to wear.”

“Just being able to see it is nice enough. I sewed this, I’m satisfied.”

“Did you see that wide-sleeved flowing fairy skirt with butterflies and flowers? I made that too. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Such conversations were numerous.

Everyone was extremely tired, yet it seemed that no one felt the exhaustion. After looking around the shop and finding everything in order, Liu Yu called out to everyone, “Thank you all for your hard work. My aunt has prepared some food. Let’s all go to the main hall to rest, have something to eat, and then get a good sleep. When we wake up tomorrow, my aunt will settle your wages and give each of you a generous red envelope as a token of gratitude for your help.”

Everyone was overjoyed. What could be more pleasing than getting paid and receiving a red envelope? There were numerous words of thanks, and some quick-witted individuals even congratulated the owner on the grand opening tomorrow.

Liu Yu thanked them with a smile and led everyone outside. She then returned, bringing out the last few people along with the gauze lanterns and closing the back door of the embroidery workshop.

She glanced at the slanting crescent moon in the west. Everything was ready. In a little over two hours, it would be time to see the results of their efforts.

Sansukini: I’m probably going to publish a few more chapters per week so long as I don’t get lazy. It’s because we still have a lot of chapters left and the chapters are getting shorter.

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