Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty

Chapter 36: Chapter 35 Making Money Chapter 36: Chapter 35 Making Money The needle and thread baskets quickly attracted customers. When asked about the price, Chen Afu quoted a hundred and fifty cents and refused to lower it. It wasn’t that she was trying to jack up the price, but she was worried that if the baskets sold out too quickly, they wouldn’t have time to wait for the person they were waiting for.

Despite the hefty price, a young lady, accompanied by several maids, bought two, and a housewife bought one.

The needle and thread packages were not put out for sale yet because the people who showed up earlier didn’t seem to be potential customers who could afford to pay ten taels of silver for them.

Half an hour later, the woman, who had bought one of the needle and thread baskets, returned. She angrily asked Chen Afu why her prices were higher than what’s offered at the entrance of Lingyin Temple.

Chen Afu smiled and explained, “Look, madam, the baskets I sell are woven from fine willow twigs, and the inside lining is made of silk, not cotton. The higher cost of materials naturally leads to a higher price. If you think it’s expensive, you can return it. You can go downhill and buy from another shop; that’s our shop too.”

After hearing this, the woman decided it wasn’t cost-effective to buy the basket and returned it, saying she would go down the hill to buy a cheaper one.

Chen Dabao was anxious to see his mother not selling the needle and thread packages. If she can’t even sell one, where would they get the money to eat wonton soup near Lingyin Temple?

Chen Afu whispered into his ear, “Don’t be impatient, Dabao. We don’t set a trap without seeing the rabbit. When a big deal comes, I definitely won’t miss it.”

At the end of the late morning, several horse-drawn carriages and a dozen horsemen came up from the foot of the mountain. The carriages stopped in front of the temple, and from them came a group of women, all adorned with jewels and accompanied by maids and matrons. They discussed amongst themselves, and two older women entered the temple with two men and several maids. Meanwhile, a handsome young woman in her twenties led two young girls, several matrons, and men toward the stall.

The woman and the two girls, as well as one man, were obviously the masters who carried a remarkable demeanor and wore splendid attire. Especially the woman, in her rose-purple brocade coat and light purple embroidered brocade pleated skirt, and a solid gold phoenix hairpin set with blue gems on her head shone resplendently in the sun.

The little bird, Jin Yanzi, in the needle and thread basket suddenly perked up and flew out even before Chen Afu could shoo it away. It happened so fast no one noticed.

Seeing the nobles approaching, the vendors selling items perked up and quietly promoted their goods.

A girl around eleven or twelve years old was quickly attracted to the needle and thread basket. She exclaimed, “What a beautiful little basket!”

Dabao hurriedly replied, “Miss, this is a needle and thread basket. Buy one, it’s only a hundred and fifty cents.”

Dabao, who was naturally beautiful, swiftly drew the attention of several people with his tender speech. A dignified matron remarked, “A needle and thread basket for one hundred and fifty cents, and you still say it’s not expensive.”

Another girl, aged eight or nine, picked up a basket and said, “This needle and thread basket is so delicate. I’ve never seen such a lovely one before. Mother, Uncle, I like it.”

The young, beautiful woman, too, admired it and laughed heartily, “The needle and thread basket is indeed unique, let’s buy all of them.”

Chen Afu took out a needle and thread package from her bag and said, “Madam, I also have pretty needle and thread packages here. Please have a look.”

Receiving the package from Chen Afu, the woman noticed the smiling dog’s head on it and chuckled, “Oh, this little dog on the pouch is so amusing. It even seems to be smiling at me.”

The girl beside her also started laughing and said coquettishly, “Mother, I really like this little dog. Please buy one for me.”

The woman nodded in agreement, then turned over the package. Her eyes widened in surprise and she exclaimed, “My, God! Is this a disk button? It’s so delicately made, it’s really beautiful. It even looks like a blooming chrysanthemum.”

A matron standing beside also marveled, “I didn’t know a disk button could be made like this, it’s as beautifully arranged as a flower. What an eye-opener!”

Chen Afu smiled and said, “Yes, this is a chrysanthemum disk button made by my mother. It’s quite intricate to make, even more so than making clothes. If you sew this button on clothes, it will not only function as a button but also serve as a beautiful decoration.”

The lady’s eyes lit up, as if she, too, had thought of some unique and stunning clothes.

Chen Afu chuckled again, “Madam, please open the disk button, there’s a whole new world inside it.”

The lady loosened the three disk buttons, and the bag turned into a round piece of cloth, on which several finely made small bags and silk ribbons were stitched.

Chen Afu took out another square plum-blossom needle and thread bag and explained where to place the pins, where to keep the threads, awl, button, the wonderful use of the silk ribbons, and so on.

Everyone marveled, such ingenious design. It looked so simple, but no one thought about it before.

Both little girls liked the little dog on the bag, one calling “mom,” the other “fourth aunt,” urging her to buy it.

The lady laughed, “Alright, alright, I’ll buy it.” She then asked Chen Afu, “How much for the bag?”

Chen Afu replied, “This needlework bag took quite a considerable amount of time and effort, it costs twelve taels of silver each.”

She increased the price by two taels of silver. Among those present, the adults admired the disk buttons, while the young girls loved the cartoon dogs. At the glance, they were extremely wealthy and did not appear to bully or rob. They would surely not refuse to buy their favorite item for twelve taels of silver.

The beautiful lady looked at the disk button on the small bag without shifting her gaze, but said, “Twelve taels for a bag, that’s pretty expensive. Even in Capital City’s Shui Linglong Embroidery Shop, the most expensive wallet does not exceed ten taels.”

On hearing this, the two little girls grew anxious and said, “But we like this bag, and we love the dog on it.”

Chen Dabao hurriedly said, “Madam, we’re not only selling a bag, but also a design. Look, this smiling dog, beautiful disk button, ingenious needlework bag design, we’re the first to have it.”

His words amused everyone present.

The man, waving his fan, laughed and said, “This bag has so many virtues, and both my sister-in-law and nieces adore it, I’ll buy three.”

Chen Afu laughed again and said that they’ve only made eight of these bags at home, and they haven’t sold any to others yet. This type of disk button was also first put on sale, not yet wide-spread. They’re exclusive in the market.

On hearing this, the lady seemed to have hatched a plan. She said, “If this kind of disk button has not yet spread, I’ll buy all your bags, and offer you an extra 20 taels of silver. You’re not allowed to make or sell this kind of chrysanthemum disk button again.” She paused, then continued, “Possibly in less than half a year, this kind of disk button will become popular elsewhere. Nevermind, I can’t starve you out of business, you can produce more after a year.” Then she fashioned a stern face and said, “If you lie or dare to secretly produce and sell, we won’t be easy targets… you’re all villagers nearby, aren’t you?”

No one knows what prestigious and wealthy family they came from, they didn’t need a contract with the common people, just one intimidating sentence sufficed. However, these people were quite decent, they did not rob or bully, bought all eight bags, and gave a reasonable price for the design.

Chen Afu hastily agreed, “Yes, yes. We are indeed locals, our house is in Xiangluo Village, about twenty miles from here.”

On hearing about Xiangluo Village, the man also laughed, and said, “You’re from Xiangluo Village? What a coincidence!”

Eight bags, 96 taels of silver, plus an extra 20, a total of 116 taels of silver. Four needlework baskets were given one tael, and they said no need for the change. They gave Chen Afu five twenty-tael silver ingots, one ten-tael ingot, one five-tael ingot, and two one-tael ingots.

The initial victory, this was already the best outcome.

………

Thank you to Jian and Rose, Hera @Qianlin’s purse, appreciated!