Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 124: Open for Business

The female workers had all gone to sleep, but the Liu family members couldn’t rest.

The three Liu brothers had been awake since the early hours of 4 a.m. and hadn’t gone back to bed. After seeing that the workers were asleep, Wei Shi went to the shop to check on things five or six times, always with the three Liu brothers following her.

The sense of shock and excitement, combined with anticipation and anxiety, was hard to calm down.

Liu Yu felt the same, but since she had organized the shop herself and seen it many times during the arrangement, she was a bit more composed. After washing up, she returned to her room and sat at her dressing table, opening a small, exquisite wooden box.

This was a congratulatory gift from Madame Lin on the day of the shop handover, containing a complete set of skincare and makeup products. Liu Yu had tried them once and found them excellent, but she hadn’t needed to use makeup regularly. However, after five consecutive nights of work and with the opening day approaching, she knew she needed to look her best as the shop owner.

Her features were naturally striking, so just a light application of makeup to cover the fatigue under her eyes and a bit of enhancement to her brows, eyes, and lips was enough to make her look more spirited. When she went to find Wei Shi, the four of them were momentarily stunned by her appearance.

“This…” Wei Shi scrutinized her and said, “Did you put on makeup? You look stunning.”

Liu Yu smiled, “After so many days, I needed to cover the fatigue. Aunt, you should change into the outfit I made for you in May. Today we are the hosts and the faces of the shop, so we need to dress well.”

“Yes, yes,” Wei Shi agreed, realizing she was still in her everyday clothes. “Good thing you reminded me.”

Wei Shi changed into a new outfit and had her hair and makeup done by Liu Yu. When she looked at herself in the bronze mirror, she hardly recognized herself. Liu Yanping laughed, “Mother, now you really look like the owner of an embroidery shop.”

His words made Wei Shi nervous. She worried about the turnout for the opening and how to entertain the guests, so she looked to Liu Yu for advice, “Yu’er, what do we do to entertain the people who will come?”

Liu Yu didn’t know either, but after thinking for a moment, she said, “Aunt, just think about how the shopkeepers and staff treated you when you went to other embroidery or fabric shops. We’ll follow their example and figure it out as we go.”

Wei Shi found this idea helpful and calmed down, “Alright, I think I understand now.”

Liu Yu smiled and then turned to Liu Yanqing, “Brother, get some paper and a pen. We have a very important task to complete before the opening. I almost forgot about setting the prices.”

Liu Yanan laughed, “This is like when we first went to Zhejiang to do business and forgot to prepare a cash box.”

Hearing this, Wei Shi urged Liu Yanqing, “Quickly, we can’t afford to be clueless. We need to set the prices before people start asking.”

Everyone laughed, and Liu Yu fetched a small account book. She asked Liu Yanping to prepare the wages for the temporary workers for the past few days, “Our regular workers get paid monthly, so we don’t need to pay them today. Just record their hours. For the temporary workers, we’ll settle their accounts when they wake up. Also, prepare a red envelope with 88 wen for each of them. They’ve worked hard, and they should share in the joy of our opening.”

Hearing this, Wei Shi took off a necklace with a key and handed it to Liu Yanping, “The money is in the box in my room. Here’s the key. There’s also red paper in the study cabinet.”

The unspoken reference was to the money box. Since moving here, Liu Yu had entrusted the money box to Wei Shi. With so many people in the courtyard, Wei Shi’s main room was always locked, with three layers of security: the room door, the box, and the money chest.

Liu Yanping took the key and the account book, but Wei Shi stopped him, “I probably won’t have time to cook lunch today. After settling the accounts, if it’s close to noon, arrange for everyone to stay for lunch. You and Yanan can go to the restaurant and order two tables of food to be delivered. After lunch, take the temporary workers from Changfeng Town back safely.”

“Got it. I’ll take care of everything. You just focus on the shop,” Liu Yanping replied, taking the key and the account book to Wei Shi’s room to prepare the wages and red envelopes.

While they were talking, Liu Yanqing fetched the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and sat at the small round table for guests. He spread the paper and ground the ink. Liu Yu began to sort and price the clothing sets according to their display order. She evaluated each piece based on the quality of the fabric, the complexity of the craftsmanship, and the attractiveness of the design. As she described each garment’s material, color, and features, she would announce the price, which Liu Yanqing carefully recorded.

~

At the same time, in the Lu family home in Changfeng Town, Babao had already prepared the mule cart to fetch people. Chen Shi, Qin Shi, and Lu Shuang were all heading to Anyi County. Since there was no one to look after the children at home, they had sent Xiaoya to her brother Ge An at the cloth shop the previous day. The three women took the two children, Yu Ge’er and Rui Ge’er, along to Anyi County.

Chen Shi had prepared a congratulatory gift and was also carrying a gift from Cui Erniang, who had asked her to deliver it. It was a small ingot of two taels, wrapped in a red envelope.

In the town, it was customary for relatives to give gifts worth no more than 200 to 300 wen, with 600 or 800 wen being considered very generous. So Cui Erniang’s gift of two taels surprised even Chen Shi. Most people just showed up to show support, and only close friends would bring fireworks, musical performances, or substantial gifts.

Chen Shi thought to herself that the third daughter-in-law’s sworn sister valued this relationship highly. She now regarded Cui Erniang as part of Liu Yu’s family and planned future interactions accordingly.

They hurried along and reached Anyi County in the morning. Even before turning onto North Street, they could hear the faint sound of drums and music. When the mule cart rounded the corner, Chen Shi lifted the curtain and saw a crowd gathered in front of the embroidery shop. Through the crowd, she glimpsed two dancing lions, one red and one yellow.

Yu Ge’er, sitting in her lap, was already restless and eager to see. Chen Shi held him carefully and told him not to rush. She also turned to Qin Shi and Lu Shuang, saying, “The festivities have begun.”

The front door of the cloth shop was too crowded, so Qin Shi got off the cart and went inside to open the side door. The mule cart then entered through the side entrance of the shop.

The children had already seen the lion dance through the cart window and were excited. As soon as they got off, they were greeted by Lu Chengzong and Qin Shi, who each took one of the children. The group then moved through the back entrance into the front of the shop.

As they walked, Lu Chengzong told Chen Shi, “Father and eldest brother are already at the embroidery shop.”

Chen Shi took the opportunity to ask, “Did your father prepare a gift?”

Lu Chengzong, knowing about it, smiled and said, “Yes, father prepared six taels of silver. I brought fireworks, and Yulan told me earlier that the third sister-in-law also brought two one-tael red note(voucher). The third brother hired the lion dance team.”

Chen took a glance at her eldest daughter-in-law and was quite pleased. Hearing that the arrangements made by her husband and sons were thorough, she smiled and said, “I don’t need to worry about it. What about the second son?”

“Father had sent Babao to notify Second Brother the day before yesterday. He’ll be coming too, but since he has to watch the shop, it’s Second Sister-in-law who’s coming today. From Xifeng Town to here, she should be arriving soon.”

This was all thoughtfully arranged by Lu Xun, who feared that the Liu family might feel embarrassed to notify them and only the second son’s family didn’t show up, which would look bad. So, he specially sent Babao to make a trip. Only after arriving did he find out that the Liu family had already sent Liu Yanan with the invitation.

Chen understood and didn’t inquire further about any preparations from the second son’s side. When her second son had opened that fabric shop in Xifeng Town, even though they hadn’t sent invitations, the Liu family had heard about it and sent Liu Yanqing with a congratulatory gift. She had heard her second daughter-in-law mention this before. Now, they just needed to reciprocate a little with a return gift, and her second son and daughter-in-law would know what to do.

Feeling reassured, Chen said, “Alright, then I’ll go take a look at the embroidery workshop.”

She handed the two children to Lu Chengzong and Babao, estimating that the kids would enjoy watching the lion dance. She reminded them to stay in the shop and be careful when the fireworks were set off to avoid startling the children. Then she headed towards the Ruyi Embroidery Shop.

Lu Shuang was eager to see the embroidery shop. The three of them made their way to the shop entrance and squeezed through the crowd to reach the front of the shop.

When Liu Yu and Wei Shi saw them, their eyes lit up, and they quickly went to greet them.

Chen Shi and her group had just entered the shop when Wei Shi anxiously grabbed Chen Shi’s hand, saying, “In-law, I’m so glad you’re here. Can you give me some advice? I’m extremely nervous.”

Chen Shi was initially captivated by the beautifully crafted clothes on display but was brought back to the present by Wei Shi’s words. She forced her gaze away from the exquisite garments and asked, “What are you nervous about?”

Wei Shi was relieved to have someone to talk to. She raised the manuscript paper in her hand and said, “It’s these kids. They want me to give a speech at the door, but I have no idea what to say.”

Wei Shi had originally wanted Liu Yu to give the speech. Liu Yu was confident and articulate with the workers, but since she was unmarried, it wasn’t appropriate for her to be the public face of the shop. Wei Shi didn’t voice this and could only hold the manuscript and worry.

Despite her usual competence in managing her household, Wei Shi had limited experience with such public events. Now, facing the prospect of speaking as the shop owner before a lion dance team, drummers, and a crowd of onlookers, her heart pounded, and her palms sweated.

“Ah,” said Chen Shi. She would have been nervous too, but she couldn’t show it, or Wei Shi would become even more anxious. “Wei, you can do this. Just focus on the manuscript and read it out.”

It was just a few sentences, and Wei Shi had memorized them. It wasn’t the manuscript that was the issue.

“I’m still nervous.”

Chen Shi, having no experience in such matters herself, thought for a moment and whispered, “Why don’t you imagine that each person out there is a big gold ingot?”

Wei Shi was taken aback, then burst out laughing. She peeked outside and imagined the people as floating gold ingots, which amused her. “You’re right. That does make me less nervous.”

Just as she was about to admire the clothes again, Lu Xun reminded them, “The auspicious time is near.”

Chen Shi nudged Wei Shi, who took a deep breath. Apart from Liu Yu and Lu Shuang, who stayed inside, everyone else went outside.

Lu Xun and his wife finally had a moment to talk. He handed Chen Shi a red envelope and whispered, “There are only women here, so it’s not appropriate for us to stay. We’ll leave after the fireworks. This is the gift. Give it to our in-laws once you’re inside.”

Chen Shi understood, nodded, and tucked the red envelope into her sleeve.

Outside, Lu Chengxiao signaled the lion dance team and drummers to pause. Wei Shi’s speech went smoothly. She said a few formal words and announced a 20% discount on ready-made and custom clothing for the next three days. With applause from both the Lu and Liu families, the drummers cheered, and the crowd was energized, making the atmosphere lively.

From the end of the street, Zhou Qiongying and her group of four arrived. Besides herself, her mother Mrs. Zhou, and her two sisters-in-law also came to join the celebration.

Zhou Qiongying had gone back to her mother’s house early in the morning to seek advice. She showed her mother the invitation and the red note sent by the Liu family and explained what the other family members were gifting. She also mentioned that the Liu family had given two taels as a congratulatory gift when her family opened their shop.

Her dilemma was that since the Liu family had previously gifted two taels and had now sent a red note worth one tael, it wouldn’t look good to reciprocate with only two taels. Three taels seemed odd and four taels felt too extravagant and wasteful. She didn’t openly express her reluctance to give four taels in front of her two sisters-in-law, but Mrs. Zhou understood her concern.

Taking a look at the well-crafted red note, Mrs. Zhou raised an eyebrow and said, “The Liu family is quite generous.”

She then gave her daughter a suggestion, “I think giving two taels is fine. Go to their shop and check out the clothes. If the styles are decent, use the red note to buy an extra set. This way, you show goodwill, and no one can find fault with it.”

Zhou Qiongying understood and smiled, “The clothes are definitely beautiful. My sister-in-law made an outfit for my younger sister-in-law this Dragon Boat Festival, and her craftsmanship is excellent.”

She then prepared a red envelope at home, wrote a congratulatory message, and enclosed a two-tael banknote.

Mrs. Zhou, with her sharp business acumen, had heard that the Liu family’s daughter’s craftsmanship was good and became interested as well.

Knowing that the Liu family’s future was bright and that they were only a street away from each other, she thought it would be better to join the celebration honorably rather than pretend not to know about it. The Zhou family owned a grain and oil shop in the county and were not struggling financially. She decided to also prepare a two-tael red envelope to congratulate with her daughter.

Sansukini: Here’s an extra chapter since I don’t feel lazy today, although I feel sleepy.

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