Opening an embroidery workshop was a major event. The whole family gathered together and chattered about how to go about it.
Shen Fugui was the first to shake his head. He thought his younger sister should just stay at home and embroider something in her spare time to supplement her income. After all, the times were good now and there was enough food to eat. He planned to follow others' example and plant a few acres of orchards next year. He was sure they wouldn't go hungry.
Zhang Rong thought more long - term. She believed that Shen Yuning couldn't rely on her elder brother and could only depend on herself. She must find a way to earn money. However, she thought doing business was risky. It might end up with losing all the capital, so it would be better for Shen Yuning to work as an embroidery girl for a couple of years.
Finally, Old Man Zhang, who had been gulping down wine from his wine pouch, slammed the pouch on the table. He scolded his fearful daughter and son - in - law severely. Then he said to Shen Yuning, "Girl, if you want to do it, just go ahead. At most, you'll lose some money. As long as this old man is around, you all won't lack food and clothing. Since you said you have the capital, just do it with confidence!"
Shen Yuning was finally supported by others. Her eyes curved into a smile and her tone became more lively. Rarely, she pouted and said, "Uncle, that doesn't sound nice. How do you know I'll lose money? I'm sure I can make it and lead us to prosperity!"
But after joking, when they calculated the initial expenses, Old Man Zhang was stunned. He even wished he could take back his boastful words. Just the money for renting a place, buying cloth, and hiring embroidery girls would cost at least thirty taels of silver. Thirty taels! He had never seen so much money in his life.
Shen Yuning was determined. As soon as the autumn harvest was over, she urged Old Man Zhang and Shen Fugui to find a suitable location and rent it for her. She also personally selected high - grade, medium - grade, and low - grade cloth and stored them in the house. Then she went to find some familiar embroidery girls from the two villages, Big Tree Village and Small Tree Village, to embroider items for the shop.
Zhang Rong was in charge of guarding the shop, Xuanzhi was responsible for cleaning and receiving customers, and Shen Yuning sat in the back to embroider products.
The samples in the shop were also divided into high, medium, and low grades. Shen Yuning's embroidery was naturally of the highest grade. But at the beginning of the embroidery workshop, there were few customers. Old Man Zhang felt his heart ache at the thought of this business that seemed about to lose money.
He pulled Shen Fugui and asked, "What evil deeds did your elder brother do to leave your younger sister so much money? I see your sister spends money without batting an eyelid. I'm afraid she never knew how expensive daily necessities were before?"
Shen Fugui knew that his sister had the money given by Grandma Xue, but he didn't know exactly how much. At this moment, he only thought that his sister came from a wealthy family and had better vision than them. It must be right to follow his sister.
So, before winter came, a new Shen's Embroidery Workshop opened in Xitian Town. There were all kinds of embroidery products in it, especially those embroidered by Shen Yuning. People who knew about embroidery all spoke highly of them.
As the Chinese New Year approached, the business gradually boomed. Only then did the three members of the Zhang family finally feel at ease.
Just during the Chinese New Year days, Shen Yuning earned more than ten taels of silver. When she gave two taels to Old Man Zhang, everyone was so shocked that their eyes popped out.
But Old Man Zhang shook his head repeatedly and pushed the money back. "You invested so much capital at the beginning. The money you've earned so far is not even enough to recover your cost. Don't be so polite for now. Wait until you really make money and then show your filial piety to me."
Shen Yuning smiled and said, "I'm not showing filial piety to you. You deserve this. From choosing the location and renting the storefront to the decoration, which part wasn't done with your help, Uncle, along with my elder brother and sister - in - law? If I had hired outsiders, the labor cost would have been much higher!"
Unable to decline further, Old Man Zhang happily put away the money. He even straightened his hunched back a bit. He squinted at his son - in - law and said, "Look at your dejected look before. You're a few years older than your sister, but you're not as brave as her."
Shen Fugui was a mild - tempered man. He let Old Man Zhang scold him. He just scratched the back of his head and laughed foolishly. As for Xuanzhi and Yuanbao, after getting their New Year's lucky money, they jumped around and ran to the town to buy snacks.
In spring, Shen Yuning unexpectedly received a letter from the capital. When she opened it, she found it was from her cousin from the Xue family. She quickly opened it and read. It turned out that last year, a steward of the Xue family returned to his hometown. Her cousin specifically asked him to detour to Shenjiapo to visit Shen Yuning. Since he didn't find her, after some inquiries, he finally learned that she was now in Small Tree Village of Xitian Town.
Looking at her cousin's familiar and powerful handwriting, a warm current welled up in Shen Yuning's heart. When she was a child, she grew up under the care of her grandparents. Her cousin had been studying and practicing calligraphy in their grandfather's study every day since he was very young. When he was free, he would tell her interesting stories. In fact, he treated her better than his own younger sister at that time.
She never thought that even though they were no longer family members, her cousin still remembered her.
Shen Fugui couldn't read. Seeing his sister's red and swollen eyes, he quickly asked, "Is there something wrong over there?"
Shen Yuning wiped away the tears that couldn't help but flow out and shook her head with a smile. "There's nothing wrong. Maybe Grandma misses me, so she asked my cousin to write this letter to me. The letter says that my cousin's wife is pregnant again. Calculating the time, it's about the same as sister - in - law's pregnancy. It's so good, so good. You don't know my nephew... well, he's no longer my nephew. He's the eldest grandson of the Xue family. He's been very smart since he was a child. When he was one year old and had the抓 - week ceremony, he grabbed the law code and wouldn't let go. He will surely become a high - ranking official in the court like his father in the future. Now my cousin's wife is about to have another child. Whether it's a boy or a girl, it's all good."
Her cousin from the Xue family, Shen Yusong, was young and promising. When she left home, he was already a seventh - rank judge in the Supreme Court. Thanks to him, she was very familiar with the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Unfortunately, all her little wits that were highly praised by the Xue family were of no use here.
Seeing his sister looking so desolate, Shen Fugui also felt heavy - hearted. "Your former family members really treated you well."
Shen Yuning turned around and smiled brightly. "Yes, because I was their family member. Just like now, you are all my family members."
She continued to read the letter. Besides her cousin's handwriting, there was also elegant Yan - style calligraphy at the back. It was written by her cousin - sister Xue Yuxin, mainly telling some interesting stories about persuading Grandma Xue to take medicine. In the past, when Grandma Xue was ill, it was the two sisters who persuaded her to drink the medicine together.
Although the letters from her cousin and cousin - sister were full of warmth, there was not a single word about the Second Branch. Shen Yuning used to be the legitimate daughter of the Second Branch, but now that position had been taken by someone else. Mentioning it would only add to the sadness.
After Shen Yuning finished reading the letter, Shen Fugui quickly said, "Didn't you say you wanted to go to the town to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for Xuanzhi and Yuanbao? You might as well buy some letter paper and write a reply to your cousin."
However, Shen Yuning just shook her head. "They still think of me as Xue Yuning and make plans for me, but I'm no longer Xue Yuning. How can I keep clinging to them?"
She folded the letter and put it in the innermost part of the box. She stroked the gilded envelope and smiled with her head down. Her cousin really understood her well. He knew she wouldn't reply, so he only wrote at the end of the letter that everything at home was fine and told her not to worry. He also said that his friend was an official in Yun County, Lingcheng. If she had any difficulties, she could go directly to him.
This was his last safeguard for her.
After putting away the letter, Shen Yuning didn't rush to the shop. She just asked Shen Fugui to take her to a slightly more distant village to find a few more suitable embroidery girls.
There weren't many people in Big Tree Village and Small Tree Village, and they used to be poor. They were good at making clothes and shoes, but there weren't many who could embroider beautiful patterns. Moreover, due to the recent reform in the county, not only were the old and miscellaneous taxes reduced, but the villagers could also plant fruit trees, tea mountains, etc. besides farming. So there weren't many women who were eager to go out to work.
Shen Yuning offered the embroidery girls a monthly salary of three taels of silver, and they would also be paid according to the quality and quantity of their embroidery. The more they worked, the more they earned. After visiting several villages, she finally found two suitable embroidery girls. Their skills were excellent, and they looked very capable. The most important thing was that they were very motivated. After seeing Shen Yuning's embroidery, they all praised it highly. One of them even said she was willing to learn from Shen Yuning without pay.
When they were on their way back, they saw a commotion in front. A group of people were pulling and tugging at each other, seemingly in a fight.
Afraid that his sister might get hurt, Shen Fugui quickly drove the ox - cart to the side of the road and protected his sister. "Yuning, this is the only road wide enough for the ox - cart. Just wait a while. We'll pass after the people in front disperse."
Shen Yuning craned her neck to look and asked an old woman who was peeling pine nuts beside them, "Grandma, what's going on up there?"
The old woman sized Shen Yuning up with a squint. After hearing that she was here to recruit workers, she let down her guard and spouted out the whole story.
It turned out that the Liu family had spent all their money to buy a girl named CEN Xiaoniang from a neighboring village as a daughter - in - law. Three years had passed, but she still hadn't given birth. Naturally, the Liu family was unhappy and clamored to return her. However, two years ago, there was a locust plague in Yun County. Many people couldn't make a living and left home to seek refuge with relatives. The CEN family had left at that time, so the Liu family couldn't return her even if they wanted to.
Now the Liu family's life had improved. Mrs. Liu took a fancy to Xiaocui, a girl with a big buttocks at the village entrance. She thought Xiaocui was fertile, so the more she looked at CEN Xiaoniang, the more dissatisfied she became. Since they couldn't return her, they simply found a human trafficker and wanted to sell her.
Now those people were arguing. The human trafficker said that a married woman who couldn't have children was only worth two taels of silver. Of course, Mrs. Liu didn't agree. They had spent a full ten taels of silver to marry her in at the beginning.
Looking at the screaming and crying woman in the crowd, Shen Yuning frowned and was about to get off the cart.
Shen Fugui was startled and quickly stopped her. "Yuning, this is someone else's business. Don't get involved."
How could Shen Yuning listen to him? She lifted her skirt and strode forward, shouting, "Stop!"
Suddenly being shouted at like this, everyone stopped instinctively and made way for Shen Yuning to enter.
When Mrs. Liu saw that it was just a young girl in front of her, she was immediately unhappy. "Where did you come from, you wild girl? Are you going to stand up for her? Let me tell you, I spent ten taels of silver to buy her back then. The value of money has decreased now, so I won't argue with you about that. But if you want to take her away, you have to pay at least ten taels!"
Someone beside them joked with a laugh, "Your son has slept with her. How can she still be worth ten taels?"
Mrs. Liu spat. "Such a useless woman, a hen that can't lay eggs. I was blind to spend ten taels of silver to marry her in."
Shen Yuning said calmly, "Ten taels. Then I can take her away, right?"