Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade

Chapter 96: Chapter 96 Persuasion_1

Chapter 96: Chapter 96 Persuasion_1

If someone else were buying flowers, they might haggle over the price, but Shopkeeper Cui, when he buys, will definitely offer a fair one. Thus, Qian Yixiu was certain that the Jun Zi Lan Flower could sell for at least two hundred taels. Over the years, she had observed that Shopkeeper Cui was a shrewd and visionary merchant, an upstanding man who seemed to have a strong backing, and certainly not one to be blinded by small gains.

In that case, the family should have a savings of over five hundred and perhaps even six hundred taels of silver.

Qian Yixiu said, “Xiuxiu would like to buy a few servants, preferably strong men. That way, they can work hard and protect our home.”

Lady Wu and Qian Manxia were shocked to hear that she wanted to buy servants, looking at her as if she were crazy. Lady Wu exclaimed loudly, “Xiuxiu must be dreaming! Only wealthy families can afford servants. It’s not just the purchase cost; they have to be taken care of. Li Zheng’s family lives so well, yet they haven’t bought a single servant, they only hire workers to do the work.”

Qian Manxia laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, “Xiuxiu is really amusing, our family buying servants, then I would become a young lady! That’s really so funny it makes my teeth ache.” After saying this, she burst into loud laughter again.

Qian Yixiu rolled her eyes in exasperation, accustomed to being at the very bottom and bereft of even the simplest aspirations.

She fumed, “Is what I said so funny?” Then she threw herself into Qian Sangui’s arms and said, “Pa, there are no airtight walls in this world. If our family buys land, sooner or later it will get out. If others find out we bought so much land, they’ll think we have even more money. Isn’t this what Big Mama and Second Mama have guessed? Our family is so weak right now that anyone with designs on us could crush us. Just like the last time Li Guangdian bullied us, if it hadn’t been for Grand Uncle’s help, how could we have fought back? And not to mention Yama Raja Xu hates our family so much, he’s always thinking about how to hurt us. Our house is located so remotely, what if someone comes to attack us in the middle of the night? We don’t even have someone to send to the village or Old Wong’s house to call for help. Though we have Dashan and Monkey Brother, if more people come, especially armed, they are no match for them.”

As she spoke, the family’s previous excitement fell once again.

Qian Yijin mused, “I think little sister makes sense. If we had a few more adults at home, others might not dare to bully us so readily. Even if something were to happen, we’d have some help and not be completely defenseless. At the very least, we could delay for some time, or have someone to send for help.”

The little tyke had only been studying for a few days, yet his words seemed to carry more depth. Seeing that everyone was listening, he continued, “Didn’t Grandpa always say that having less money causes fewer problems, but most importantly, people must be safe? For safety’s sake, I also think we should buy a household of servants. They can not only protect our safety, but also run errands when we have land in the future. That way, Grandpa won’t get worn out, and our family’s dealings in buying land won’t be easily exposed.” He glances at his sister’s admiring gaze and carries on, “I also have a feeling that with Monkey Brother, our ‘treasure-finding monkey,’ there’s a good chance it will bring even more money to our family… In the future, we might even buy a big house in the county town to live in, auntie might really become a young lady, and my mother won’t have to toil over embroidery…”

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Buoyed by the little tyke’s words, Lady Wu and Qian Manxia again became cheerful, and Qian Sangui also felt there was sense in them. Nodding, he said, “What you all say makes sense. But where can we find such suitable people? If we end up with the kind of servants who bully their masters, it would be a real headache.”

Qian Yixiu said, “Let’s look around slowly. If all else fails, we can go to Zhang Mansion and ask the Great-grandma or Old Master Zhang for help, asking Zhang family’s servants to keep an eye out at the Broker’s for us—they’re sharp.”

And so, the decision to buy servants was agreed upon. It was settled that in five days, they would bring the Jun Zi Lan Flower to Wuxi Teahouse, and afterward, go to the Broker to look at land and servants.

Because of Monkey Brother’s significant contribution to these substantial earnings, Qian Manxia specially steamed a bowl of egg custard for the “hero.” Today was different from usual days; following Qian Yixiu’s suggestion, the custard was mixed with bits of minced meat and sprinkled with chopped green onions. Qian Manxia was very reluctant, muttering as she worked, “Eggs and meat are both delicious on their own, but putting them together is just wasteful.”

Qian Yixiu replied, “It’s not wasteful, keeping Monkey Brother’s stomach happy brings huge benefits.”

The minced meat egg custard indeed won over Monkey Brother, which squatted on a chair wagging its little behind, licking even the soup in the bowl clean.

Before dinner, Qian Sangui still made the little siblings take another trip to Qian’s Main Courtyard, bringing a small bowl of meat slices and a packet of candies gifted by the Zhang family.

On the way, they happened to see Lady Tang standing behind her cucumber fence, looking out. Seeing the two little ones, one carrying a bowl and the other with an oil-paper wrapped package, she knew they were off to the Main Courtyard to deliver tasty treats, her eyes turning red with envy.

She shouted loudly, “Jinwa, Yixiu, what are you holding in your hands? Let Second Grandmother have a look.”

Without stopping her steps, Qian Yeejin said, “It’s food to offer to my great-grandma.”

“Second Grandmother is also your elder; you should also show your respect to her,” Lady Tang said.

With a giggling smile, Qian Yixiu said, “It’s for Li Guangdian’s son to pay respects to you, Second Grandmother.”

Angered, Lady Tang cursed, “Damned girl, just like your mother, always so disagreeable.”

Working on farming tools in the courtyard, Li Manhai’s face turned red, yet he couldn’t speak ill of his own muddled mother.

The young siblings arrived at Qian’s Main Courtyard, presented the items, and naturally, Old woman Qian lavished her great-grandson with high praises.

When Lady Wang heard that the embroidered pieces from Cheng Yue had sold for five taels of silver, she could hardly believe it. She said, “How could two small pieces of embroidery sell for five taels of silver? My family’s Auntie Die is so skilled, yet ten delicately embroidered handkerchiefs sold for less than two hundred wen.”

Qian Yixiu said, “That’s right, we went to Jiusi Embroidery Building, and Shopkeeper Jin there said that my mother’s embroidery is Su embroidery.”

Old woman Qian grinned widely and said, “Hmm, since Lady Cheng has eaten Qian family’s food for so many years, it’s about time she started earning her keep.”

At night, inside the small room, Cheng Yue flipped excitedly through the satin and embroidery threads Lady Wu had bought back. Even under the dim lamplight, the moon-white satin shone with a bright luster, and the colorful threads were even more striking.

She spread out the satin and gently touched it, her lips curled in a delighted smile.

Qian Yixiu said, “Mother, this is the finest plain satin in our county, what do you think?”

Cheng Yue said, “Hmm, although it’s not quite on par with that from Xiangyun Pavilion, it’s still quite good…”

Qian Yixiu felt a rush of excitement, her mother’s line of thinking was very clear. She dared not ask further, waiting for her mother to continue on her own.

“What would be good to embroider?” Cheng Yue continued to ponder deeply, “A large screen with a ‘Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’ would look nice, and so would a surround screen with ‘The Eight Immortals Celebrating Longevity’… But I’ve only seen such large pieces, never embroidered them before… and then there’s that double-sided embroidery…”

The once vacant look in Cheng Yue’s eyes gained some wisdom as she mulled over her thoughts.