Xiao Jingnan said, "It's definitely too late if we're to handle the entire memorial ceremony. Our shop is too small and we don't have enough staff. We can't even make all the mourning clothes and white funeral streamers."
"What shall we do then?"
Li Wanming asked anxiously.
By now, she had sort of grasped Xiao Jingnan's train of thought.
From the very beginning when he spent thirty thousand taels on renovating this shop, his target wasn't the general public.
He just wanted to use people's mouths to spread the news that "there's a strange and luxurious paper - figurine shop in the south of the city" to the ears of the Duke of Zheng.
From the start, his aim was the Duke of Zheng, the most filial son of the premier aristocratic family in the land!
However, for such a luxurious family, the memorial ceremony they were going to hold would surely be of grand scale, something their small shop couldn't handle...
"It's very simple."
Xiao Jingnan wasn't panicked at all. He calmly said, "We don't need to handle the whole memorial ceremony. We just need to make the most important funerary object."
Xiao Jingnan was still young when the grand - mother of the Duke's Mansion passed away, so he didn't remember the situation at that time. But every Tomb - sweeping Festival and Zhongyuan Festival, the Duke of Qing would offer sacrifices to his mother.
The grand - mother was fond of elegance in her lifetime. She liked musical instruments and gardening. So every year during the sacrifice, the Duke of Qing would specially buy some custom - made paper figurines and burn them in front of his mother's tomb.
He remembered that last year, the Duke had burned nine paper - made Jiaowei Guitars.
However, the craftsmanship of those paper figurines was mediocre, and the Duke of Qing wasn't very satisfied.
So Xiao Jingnan was certain that as long as their paper - figurine shop was luxurious and unique enough, it would surely catch the Duke of Qing's attention.
"What do you plan to make?"
After hearing him, Li Wanming knew that he already had an idea in mind.
Xiao Jingnan smiled slightly. "The Duke's grand - mother liked musical instruments. Just burning a few guitars isn't enough, is it? How about we burn a wind - band for her?"
Li Wanming opened her mouth and stood there stunned.
Xiao Jingnan continued, "Er Ya already knows how to make paper people. Now we just need to change their identities and make them musicians. It shouldn't be difficult. The difficult part lies in the musical instruments..."
He turned to Tian Erya. "Have you read the book Qin Zhang I found for you before?"
Tian Erya nodded. "I've read it. There are some sketches of famous guitars in it. I've been studying how to make them these days. I should be able to make a few in twenty days."
Xiao Jingnan said, "It's not enough. Besides musical instruments, the Duke's grand - mother also liked flowers and plants. You need to find a way to incorporate the elements of flowers and plants into the wind - band. Only in this way can it be unique enough to satisfy the Duke of Qing."
After hearing this, Tian Erya lowered her head and fell into deep thought.
Xiao Jingnan smiled and comforted her, "Don't be in a hurry. With your ability, it's no problem to make a well - crafted wind - band in twenty days. You just need to spend a bit more effort on the details."
Hearing this, Li Wanming already knew that he had been preparing for this business from the Duke's Mansion for a long time. She couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
"Are you so sure that the Duke's Mansion will come to us? What if they don't?"
Xiao Jingnan smiled. "Don't worry, my lady. We should get the news this afternoon."
Sure enough, in the afternoon, several people came to the paper - figurine shop.
The leading one was a middle - aged man in his forties, wearing a long brown silk robe. He looked very gentle.
"Excuse me, is this Miss Cheng's shop?"
He stood outside the door and asked politely.
Xiao Jingnan nudged Li Wanming and whispered with a smile, "The big spender is here. Hurry up and go greet him."
Li Wanming was both surprised and delighted. She quickly ran out with Tian Erya.
The middle - aged man looked at Li Wanming, then his gaze fell on Tian Erya behind her. He pointed at a row of paper figurines on the right - hand wall of the shop and asked, "Did you make all these?"
Tian Erya didn't know what the man meant. She answered timidly, "Y - yes..."
The middle - aged man asked again, "I wonder how long it takes you to make a paper person like this?"
"Probably... one day."
"One day?"
The middle - aged man's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly. A look of disbelief appeared on his face. "Little girl, don't brag. These paper people are so exquisitely detailed and lifelike. I'm afraid it can't be done in one day, right?"
Seeing that his expression was kind and even though he was suspicious of her, he still spoke in a gentle tone, Tian Erya became bolder and explained,
"If I have to start from tying the bamboo frame, one day is indeed not enough."
"But for my paper people, I first tie the bamboo frames for the body, legs, head and joints. When I need to use them, I assemble them according to the client's requirements and finally paste the paper on them. So it's much faster than ordinary paper - figurine shops."
Tian Erya scratched her head and said shyly, "For the paper person you mentioned, if I hurry, I can make one in half a day."
The middle - aged man's eyes lit up. The look in his eyes when he looked at Tian Erya finally carried a bit of solemnity.
"Did you come up with this method on your own?"
Tian Erya looked at Li Wanming, then at Xiao Jingnan. Encouraged by their looks, she said,
"It's not entirely me. It was the boss who asked me to come up with a way to make a large number of paper figurines in a short time. I... I just came up with this idea."
The middle - aged man lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled. "Good. Truly, there are no weak soldiers under a strong general. No wonder Miss Cheng has the courage to compete with the Imperial College."
Li Wanming also smiled. "Please speak your mind. Although our shop is small, it should be able to meet your needs."
The middle - aged man finally said, "My surname is Zheng. I'm the steward of the Duke of Qing's Mansion. I've come here unannounced today to discuss a business deal with Miss Cheng."
Li Wanming thought, Haha, this is exactly who I've been waiting for!
She tried hard to suppress the corners of her mouth that were about to turn up and politely invited them into the shop. "Understood. Come in, please!"
When Steward Zheng entered the shop, he was surprised again.
He didn't expect that such a small paper - figurine shop would be decorated so exquisitely.
The various paper figurines on the floor and the shelves were neatly arranged. It didn't look like a funerary object shop but rather a handicraft shop specializing in high - end products.
He picked up a paper rabbit on the shelf. Its two long ears were obediently lying behind its head, and there was a dot of cinnabar for each eye, making it so lifelike that it seemed to come to life at any moment.
"It's truly... a masterpiece of craftsmanship."
Steward Zheng put down the rabbit. His face was full of undisguised surprise. "If this young lady has such craftsmanship, then I don't need to say much more."
"The Duke's Mansion would like to place an order for a batch of paper figurines in your shop and have them delivered before the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. I wonder if your shop can manage it?"
Without waiting for Li Wanming to answer, he added, "But our Duke has always had very high standards. Ordinary craftsmanship won't catch his eye."
Li Wanming smiled. "You've seen our shop today. Do you think our craftsmanship is ordinary?"
Come on.
If he wasn't satisfied, he wouldn't have even come in today!
Steward Zheng looked around again and also smiled. "Let's not beat around the bush. Since Miss Cheng is confident, I can place the order today."