Zhang Mo wore an obsequious smile on his face, which was not annoying at all. Instead, it made Shen Yuning feel warm. It was a kind of warmth she had never felt in the Xue family, let alone in the Shen family.
Shen Yuning pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "I plan to do something else at the beginning of the year. I'm really short of people."
Hearing this, Zhang Mo was overjoyed and quickly nodded. "What are you going to do, Yuning? Don't worry. The uncles can endure hardships. No matter how hard and tiring it is, it's okay."
Shen Yuning said, "When doing embroidery these days, I always feel that the colors of the cloth materials are not satisfactory. Among the few cloth shops that I can buy from, the Yong family's is the best. But I'm still not fully satisfied. It's not realistic to go to Lingcheng or the capital. I've been thinking that if I could visit some textile and dyeing workshops, maybe I could learn something."
Zhang Mo didn't understand this. However, a embroideress beside him looked up and said, "But Madam, there is no dyeing workshop near here. There are only some people who collect the woven cloth. They are all scattered and haven't formed a scale. How can Madam go and see?"
"Yes. So I've thought about it for a long time. I think instead of running around, it's better to do it by myself. Anyway, my plan for next year is to open more embroidery shops. Why not open a dyeing workshop as well?"
Old Man Zhang was stunned. "Yuning, the business of the embroidery shop is good now. But the bigger it gets, the more troublesome it will be. Why do you bother to do this?"
Shen Yuning smiled. "I'm young now and can still take on challenges. Why not? Just one embroidery shop is not my goal. I want to open my Shenji shops all over Yun County, Lingcheng, and the whole Great Zhou."
Hearing her ambitious words, everyone present put down their work and stared at her without blinking. Some were disdainful in their hearts, but most of them admired her. A girl of sixteen or seventeen had such great energy.
Xuanzhi came out at some point and nodded at Shen Yuning. "If elder sister wants to do it, just make the arrangements. Xuanzhi will always stand by your side."
Old Man Zhang quickly asked again, "Does Yuning have any specific ideas?"
Shen Yuning nodded. "I've thought about this for a while. It's not difficult. It just requires more manpower. I've already selected a few masters for preparing pigments. The location has also been almost decided. Thinking carefully, what I lack most is manpower. Since Uncle Zhang is willing to help me, that's really great. However, I need long - term workers. If the workers all go back to work during the busy farming and autumn harvest seasons, I may not be able to handle it here."
Zhang Mo had a sudden idea and immediately clapped his hands and laughed. "Yuning, you don't have to worry about this. In the past, we used manpower to plow the fields. Now that our family has some money, we use oxen. It doesn't take much effort. Since you only need long - term workers, I'll go to the village and say that each family can only send one person who can endure hardships. This way, it won't delay the spring plowing next year."
When Shen Fugui got the news, he rushed over in a hurry, but with a very unhappy face. He pulled Shen Yuning and shouted that their life was already comfortable and happy now, and they didn't lack money. Why did she bother to do so much?
However, Old Man Zhang twisted his ear and didn't allow him to say any more. He only said to Shen Yuning, "You're right. You're still very young now. If you don't take on challenges at this time, when you reach my age, where will you still have the energy? As long as you want to do it, just go ahead. Your elder brother has been timid all his life and will never achieve great things. Don't listen to him."
Shen Fugui jumped around from the pain but still insisted on shouting that Shen Yuning should not expand the shop. Finally, Zhang Rong came over and scolded her father - in - law and husband vigorously, and then things quieted down.
Seeing their chaotic appearance, Shen Yuning couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Xuanzhi looked up at her and asked, "Why are you so happy, elder sister?"
Shen Yuning thought for a while before answering. "Probably because someone supports me and someone cares about me. I'm very happy."
Xuanzhi didn't understand her meaning. He just looked at her curiously. Seeing the gentleness and determination in her eyes, he felt as if something in his heart was touched, and he just wanted time to freeze at this moment.
Although Shen Fugui strongly opposed it, he was the most diligent when it came to work. He went early to the mansion that Shen Yuning had chosen to make arrangements. But while making the arrangements, he still muttered unhappily, "Girls should just enjoy themselves at home. Why do they have to bother so much?"
Zhang Rong beside him couldn't stand it anymore. She put her hands on her hips and roared fiercely, "For a girl to enjoy herself, her father and brother at home need to be capable. Look at your timid look. How can you be capable? Stop nagging and carry these two big vats into the yard. That's the most important thing."
Yuanbao was snuggled beside Xuanzhi, watching Xuanzhi draw. Seeing Second Aunt shouting in a rough voice again, he couldn't help shrinking his neck. "Second Aunt always scolds Second Uncle. Isn't she afraid that Second Uncle will be angry?"
Hearing his words, Xuanzhi looked up at the quarreling two and shook his head with a smile. "This is their way of getting along. Your Second Uncle loves Second Aunt, so he won't be angry with her. And look at your Second Aunt. She's not like this to us. She's only fierce to your Second Uncle."
Yuanbao's eyes lit up. "This is that... relying on being doted on and acting wilfully, right?"
Xuanzhi nodded with a smile. "Yuanbao is really smart."
"It seems that my mother has never dared to talk to my father like this... My father is so fierce." Yuanbao was a little dejected. He propped his face up and tilted his head to look. "Brother Xuanzhi, do you want to marry a wife who listens to you or a wife who controls you in the future?"
Xuanzhi was stunned. Wife?
The last time he talked to Sister Yuning, she told him that he must respect and love his wife in the future. At that time, he just thought it was a joke. After all, only he knew what was on his back. But today, when little Yuanbao asked such a question, he actually felt a little excited.
Subconsciously, the face of Sister Yuning appeared in his mind.
If his future wife was Sister Yuning, that would be quite good.
After the first embroidery shop, Shen Yuning successively opened several more embroidery shops and also a dyeing workshop. Most of the people in the small village went to work in the Shenji shops, and their lives were getting more and more prosperous.
The business was getting bigger and bigger, and there were more and more things to worry about. Shen Yuning finally understood the situation in the Xue family in the past. At the end of the year, her grandmother and a few maidservants would calculate the account books until they were dizzy.
Fortunately, when she was eleven or twelve years old, her grandmother threw her and her cousin to their eldest aunt and asked the eldest aunt to teach them how to manage the family and affairs. So she also had some skills in managing accounts and people.
However, as the business expanded, there were not many capable people at her disposal. Zhang Rong and Aunt Cen were both capable and reliable helpers who could assist her. But most of the workers in the dyeing workshop were men, and Old Man Zhang and Shen Fugui were both careless people. They couldn't even manage the accounts, let alone manage the dyeing workshop.
Finally, Xuanzhi, who was almost fourteen, had to be put in charge.
Seeing Xuanzhi's reluctant look all the time, Shen Yuning finally couldn't help asking, "I see that you always read some military books. Do you think you have no hope in the imperial examinations and want to join the army to seek a future?"
Xuanzhi blushed and pursed his lips without saying a word.
Shen Yuning quickly said, "Xuanzhi, I know you have a sincere heart to serve the country. I'm not trying to stop you. But with your talent, you're definitely not an ordinary person. But you come from the Jiang family. Now you can keep a low profile and no one will check. But in the future, if you achieve great success and they check, won't it..."
Xuanzhi then slightly shook his head. "I read those books just because I like them. I don't want to join the army. Sister, don't worry."
Shen Yuning asked again, "Then why do I always see you looking unhappy when I come to the dyeing workshop?"
Xuanzhi hesitated and opened his mouth, but finally shook his head. "No. I have something on my mind."
Shen Yuning thought silently. It would be the New Year in a few days. Xuanzhi must be missing his father who used to depend on him.
After the New Year, Shen Yuning organized the women in the big and small villages to raise silkworms. The cloth used by ordinary families was all cotton. Raising silkworms was not difficult, but the finished products were not easy to obtain. Their value was several times that of cotton. Now Shen Yuning wanted to start from raising silkworms and weave the cloth she liked one by one.
In less than three months, Shen Yuning opened a total of four embroidery shops and one dyeing workshop. In many villages under Xitian Town, the women had all set up textile machines and woven silk brocades one by one according to the requirements of Shenji and sent them to the Shenji dyeing workshop.
The workers in the dyeing workshop dyed all kinds of cloth and sent them to the embroidery shops. Then the embroideresses trained by Shen Yuning herself embroidered the most precious patterns.
In this way, the selling price was quite high, but many people came here admiringly. The name of the Shenji shop was finally established.
However, what Shen Yuning did most was not staying in the embroidery shop to do embroidery, but going to a town to open a branch and recruiting embroideresses from the surrounding villages. The embroideresses were not the most important thing. The most important thing was to publicize that selling wives and children was against the laws of the Great Zhou.
In addition, the government attached great importance to this matter. With the double publicity, the effect was very good. Not only did the men become vigilant and dare not sell their wives and children for money anymore, but the women also realized that they were protected and no longer allowed their families to bully them.
She was busy until the Dragon Boat Festival. Shen Yuning finally found an excuse to go back to Xitian Town and rest for a few days.
But as soon as she came back, she learned that Zhang Rong had already looked at many families for her.
Zhang Rong pulled her sister - in - law with a big smile. "Yuning, the families of these people are all good. The one I'm most satisfied with is this young man from a side branch of the Yong family. He's just twenty years old and very capable. He's good at everything."
She rolled her eyes. Seeing that Shen Fugui was not around, she quickly whispered again, "I've also seen him. He has a regular appearance and looks very good."
Shen Yuning burst out laughing. "Second Sister - in - law, I'm not thinking about getting married so early."
Zhang Rong's face darkened and was about to speak when Shen Fugui stepped in. "What do you mean by so early? You're already seventeen years old. Where is it early? Look at the girls in other families. It's very common for them to get married at fifteen. Even if it's a little later, eighteen is the right age to get married. If you keep delaying, do you want to become an old maid?"
Seeing her elder brother and sister - in - law glaring at her, Shen Yuning couldn't help rubbing her forehead and quickly changed her words. "I don't mean this. I'm in the cloth business myself. I don't want to marry someone in the same business in the future. That would be so boring."
"Why is it boring? Isn't it just right?"
Zhang Rong quickly pulled her husband and then put on a big smile again. "Yuning doesn't want to marry someone from a cloth - business family? That's okay. The Pan family is in the winery business, and the Zhao family sells ironware. The Pang family is not good. They're butchers. It doesn't sound like a gentle family. And this one..."
Shen Yuning was so annoyed that she quickly stood up. "Sister - in - law, I'm thirsty. I'll go and see what soup is in the kitchen today."