The warehouse of the embroidery workshop was completely flooded, and all the embroidered and unembroidered fabrics in stock were ruined. Shen Yuning felt ice - cold all over. Her business, which hadn't even recovered its capital yet, was gone in an instant.
Yuanbao was desperately wiping the water off the cloth with a rag. An embroidery woman beside her pulled her back. "Stop wiping. The cloth is soaked through. It's no use..."
Shen Fugui stared blankly at the mess. Everyone knew that cloth shops and embroidery workshops were most afraid of fire and water. On weekdays, the embroidery women were extremely careful when guarding the goods. But today, Zhang Rong was giving birth. Everyone went to the small courtyard to help and share the joy, so they closed the shop, leaving an opportunity for someone to take advantage.
He gritted his teeth. "Report it to the officials. We must report it. It's obvious that someone is jealous of our embroidery workshop's good business and did this on purpose."
Old man Zhang grabbed him. "We have no evidence. What can we report it with? When the officials come to investigate, they'll only say that we stored the goods improperly."
Although little Yuanbao had seen those villains, since she was less than six years old, her testimony was invalid.
Xuanzhi had just settled the affairs in the fields and came to the embroidery workshop. He silently went to the accounting room, took the ledger and the abacus, calculated for a while, then walked up to Shen Yuning. "Sister, the cost of the cloth in our warehouse is about thirty - two taels of silver. There aren't many finished products, only about ten taels of loss. So the total loss is forty - two taels. Also, I just asked in the embroidery women's rooms. There are still four or five taels of undamaged goods. The sample goods on display outside are worth about forty taels. After the inventory, it's about balanced."
Shen Yuning's eyes were a bit unfocused. At this moment, Xuanzhi had thought of counting the losses and inventory first, while she only knew how to cry sadly. She was really not as good as a child.
She cheered herself up. "So, all I need to compensate for is the goods ordered from Yun County. But if that's the case, won't my embroidery workshop have to close?"
A merchant from Yun County had placed a small - batch order in advance. Now, more than half of the finished goods were destroyed, and the remaining cloth was also gone. If she wanted to restock and make new products, she couldn't meet the deadline. But if she didn't, the double compensation would be fifty taels.
In the past half - year, all the money she earned had been used for business turnover. She had only saved a little over ten taels. And there were six embroidery women in total. If she dismissed them, she couldn't not give them some hard - work fees. What hurt her most was the business. She had put so much effort into it, but it was all gone in one day.
Xuanzhi knew she was sad and didn't try to persuade her too much. He just said, "Sister, your business is good. That's why someone has targeted you."
Shen Yuning was completely disheartened. Yes, she had been targeted. If she continued to invest money and manpower, she would surely lose everything.
Shen Fugui couldn't help muttering, "We have no background or backer. We shouldn't have started this business in the first place."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he was scolded by old man Zhang.
After scolding, old man Zhang felt less frustrated. He stared at Shen Yuning with wide eyes. "Girl, don't be sad. If doing business were easy, everyone would do it. I've saved all the silver you've given me these months. And there was a little extra money left last year. If we rent out this house, we might be able to make up most of the loss."
Hearing this, the embroidery women beside them quickly nodded and said, "Yes, I don't need my money. Working for the boss for these few months, I've earned more than I did in a year elsewhere."
"I don't need mine either..."
"Me neither..."
Shen Yuning had been sitting silently on the chair with her head down. She knew everyone's kindness, but she was really unwilling. Until she heard a baby crying, everyone looked towards the door, and Shen Yuning finally came back to her senses a bit.
It was Miss Cen. Worried about the situation here, after Zhang Rong fell asleep soundly, she wrapped the baby up and brought it here to take a look. But this newborn baby, maybe hungry or wet, started crying all of a sudden.
Shen Yuning got up subconsciously and walked over. Seeing the wrinkled baby, crying while stretching its little mouth forward and moving its small head from side to side. She couldn't help reaching out to touch the baby's face. The baby immediately stopped crying, opened its small mouth and sucked her hand. When it found it wasn't food, it immediately spat it out and cried loudly again.
Miss Cen quickly wrapped the baby tightly and apologized with a smile to everyone. "I'll take him to his mother to feed him."
After the baby left, the feeling of the baby's mouth on Shen Yuning's finger still lingered. It was a wonderful feeling of being relied on. At this moment, she suddenly felt a bit enlightened.
She turned around, motioned for everyone to stop discussing, and said loudly, "Everyone knows what happened today. Our embroidery workshop didn't fail because it couldn't operate, but because we were framed. Now, the embroidery workshop will surely have to stop work. I know everyone's good intentions, but I recruited you here to make money together. Although we haven't made money yet, I can't let you suffer losses.
I've already thought it through. For those of you who still have embroidery here, I'll settle the payment at the normal price. For the unfinished embroidery, if you can finish it today, please do so. If not, it's okay. I'll just count it as a loss. Later, Xuanzhi and I will calculate the detailed accounts clearly and pay you the wages you deserve before today."
She stopped the embroidery women's argument about not wanting the money. "This is my first time doing business. I didn't think about so many complications. But since I'm the boss, I can earn money and I can also afford to lose it. Don't worry about me."
So everyone divided the work and tried to finish their tasks. Xuanzhi followed Shen Yuning and crouched in front of the counter, calculating the accounts with the abacus and figuring out how much each embroidery woman should be paid.
The shop door was half - closed, leaving a wide gap. Yuanbao slipped in through the door and then slipped out again. She watched the people coming and going on the street and the two busy people in the room.
She slowly walked up to Shen Yuning and stared at the words written by Shen Yuning. The words were elegant and beautiful, much more beautiful than the ones Brother Xuanzhi taught her to write on weekdays.
Xuanzhi had told her that no matter male or female, as long as they were willing to learn and make progress, they could become useful people.
Yuanbao clenched her fists. She wasn't the useless good - for - nothing her mother said she was. She wanted to be a useful person.
Fortunately, Shen Yuning had a good relationship with some old customers. When those women and girls heard that Shen's Embroidery Workshop had an accident and would close in the future, they felt quite sorry. So they all spent money to buy the remaining embroidery in the workshop.
As for the merchant from Yun County, he was the most sensitive. After getting the news, he came and only took back the deposit. He refused to accept Shen Yuning's compensation no matter what.
This merchant was surnamed Cao. Looking at the two low - grade embroidery pieces left in the workshop, he felt quite regretful. "Miss Shen originally had good goods. It's a pity. If you're willing, I can set aside a display counter for you in Yun County to promote your name."
This meant that as long as it was embroidered by Shen Yuning, he would accept it, just like those famous calligraphers and painters whose works were few but excellent.
However, Shen Yuning shook her head. "I don't have any plans for now. But Uncle Cao, what about the batch of embroidery you need?"
Merchant Cao smiled. "I'm good friends with the boss of the Yong family. If I tell him, he will surely supply me with good embroidery. My business won't be affected. Don't worry."
Shen Fugui happened to hear this and immediately snorted angrily. "The Yong family's cloth business is big, but their actions aren't very honest."
Merchant Cao was puzzled for a while and then realized. He quickly asked Shen Yuning, "Does the boss think that it was the Yong family who framed your embroidery workshop?"
"There are only a few cloth shops and embroidery workshops in Xitian Town. Apart from our Shen's Embroidery Workshop, only the Yong family's cloth shop specializes in this kind of business. Who else could it be?"
Shen Fugui's face turned red, and his tone was aggressive.
Seeing this, Shen Yuning quickly sent her second brother away and apologized to Merchant Cao with a smile. "Uncle Cao, don't be angry. With such a thing happening at home, my brother is in a bad mood, so he's thinking too much."
Merchant Cao saw that although Shen Yuning was apologizing, her tone seemed to imply that the Yong family was behind this disaster. He didn't know how to persuade her further and just sighed and explained, "I've been doing business with the Yong family for many years. I know their character well. They're not the kind of people who are only interested in money. The boss of the Yong family believes that money shouldn't be earned by one family alone..."
He looked up and saw that Shen Yuning was absent - minded, so he swallowed the rest of his words and left early.
After several days of inventory and calculation, Shen Yuning was extremely busy. But because of the good connections she had built before, when she finally calculated the accounts, she found that the total loss was less than twenty taels. If she could rent out the embroidery workshop that she had rented for a year, she might be able to get back another ten or so taels.
Seeing this situation, old man Zhang no longer rushed to give the money he had saved to Shen Yuning. He only took out the five taels of silver that Shen Yuning had given him in the past few months and insisted on returning it to her.
Shen Yuning couldn't refuse and felt quite embarrassed after taking the money. She even sighed. Before, she thought that since her second brother had married into another family and his father - in - law was a hot - tempered and scolding person, his life wouldn't be very good. But now she thought that such an honest family was better than being with those kind - faced but cold - hearted people.
The two of them were on their way home when they met Shen Fugui driving a ox - cart on the way. Maybe he was going to pick her up.
When Shen Fugui saw his sister, he immediately took out a straw hat and put it on his sister's head. He grinned. "It's getting hotter. Your skin is tender. Don't get sunburned."
Surprised, Shen Yuning took off the straw hat and took a look. It was different from the straw hats she had seen on the farm or in Shenjiapo before.
Most of the previous straw hats were either woven at home or bought casually. To make them fit everyone, the inside of the hats was made very big, and the brim was wide. The rough weaving made the straw stems stick out at the joints. It didn't hurt, but it was itchy.
But this straw hat in her hand was woven very carefully. It was suitable for women with smaller heads. The depth was just right, and the brim was short in the front and long in the back, taking care of both sides. And the straw stems at the joints were woven carefully and hidden inside the hat. You couldn't see them from the outside, and it felt smooth inside, so it wouldn't make your head itchy. There was even a bow tied at the back of the hat.
Shen Yuning exclaimed, "Second brother, where did you get this straw hat?"
Old man Zhang glanced at it. "Your brother wove it himself. When he was a child and had nothing to do, he liked to weave these things. He could not only weave straw hats but also grasshoppers, dragonflies, and all kinds of small toys. They're not very useful, just for entertaining children."
Shen Yuning's eyes lit up. She asked, "Uncle, our shop can't be rented out for a while. If we have time to weave these things and sell them, will there be any business?"