"Fourth sister, I happen to have nothing to do. How about I go out with you?" Qu Xuexin asked with a smile.
"Does my aunt know?" Qu Moying asked after a moment of hesitation.
"Don't worry, I told mother before that I might go for a walk with you. I haven't taken you out for a walk since you returned to Beijing, but I couldn't find a suitable time. You just happened to be going out, so let's go together." Qu Xuexin was in high spirits and pointed to the embroidery stand and needlework basket in the maid's hands, "Fourth sister, I'll leave the needlework and other things here with you!"
"Okay!" Qu Moying agreed readily.
Qu Xuexin's maid Hongmei followed Yudong in, put down the things she was carrying, and then followed Yudong out.
The carriage had been waiting at the door for a long time, and the two sisters got in together. The carriage was not small, so it was fine for two maids to go in with them.
The carriage went all the way to Yueyi Pavilion. When it arrived at the door, the two of them got off the carriage together. Aunt Yang had already received the news and was waiting at the door.
"Fourth sister, is this the shop where the Crown Princess' dowry was sold?" Qu Xuexin looked at the shop next to her curiously. The shop next to her had not yet opened, so it must be in the process of being tidied up. A few shop assistants walked by the door and looked over here curiously, but after seeing it, they did not dare to comment on it and went about their business.
"Yes, this is the shop of the Ling Anbo Mansion." Qu Moying nodded and walked in.
Qu Xuexin's eyes turned around, and she suddenly pulled Qu Moying's sleeve: "Fourth sister, shall we go take a look? I heard that there are many new styles here. When the Crown Princess was here, I heard that the shop she managed was very good."
Qu Moying curled his lips in secret sarcasm. When she was around, it was impossible for Qu Xuexin to get close to her. As for Yue Jin Pavilion, although it was owned by her, most people didn't know about it. How could it have any nice designs when it was owned by Ji Hanyue
"The door over there isn't open yet. It's not very convenient." Qu Moying shook his head.
"It's just a look. There's nothing wrong with it. The eldest wife of the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion is now your relative. Didn't you say before that the concubine is from your Yue family? She will definitely recognize you as the young master." Qu Xuexin said softly with a smile on her face, looking like she was joking.
"You are wrong, elder sister. Now she is the wife of Earl Ling An. She has an extraordinary status. How can she say that to the young master? You'd better be careful with your words. If someone hears it, it might implicate father and uncle again." Qu Moying smiled faintly.
What Qu Xuexin said just now was not very pleasant to the ear, and was full of contempt for Madam Duan.
Qu Moying actually defended a servant. Qu Xuexin was upset, but she didn't show it on her face. She smiled and said, "Big sister is wrong. I thought the person now is still the concubine who came with the dowry before. She is not..."
"Sister, let's go. I still have some account books to look at." Qu Moying walked forward, not intending to waste time here with Qu Xuexin.
"Okay!" Qu Xuexin said unhappily, but seeing that Qu Moying had already left, she could only move forward helplessly.
The goods from Jiangnan have arrived, and what surprised Qu Moying even more is that her maternal grandparents actually sent two embroiderers from Jiangnan, whose craftsmanship is extremely sophisticated.
Aunt Yang's embroidery has been evaluated by others, and everyone says it is good. It is also slightly different from the embroidery methods in the capital, and more effort is paid to the details.
After Qu Moying sat down, Yang
The aunt asked two embroiderers to come out and meet the young lady.
They were two embroiderers who were about thirty years old and looked very skillful. Qu Moying asked them some questions about their situation before letting them leave.
Qu Xuexin didn't come in. She said she wanted to see the things in her shop, so she went upstairs with her maid to check out the merchandise.
"How is the preparation made by Aunt Yang going?" Qu Moying put down the account book sent by Jiangnan, took a look at it, and asked.
"It's almost done, except for the matter of the opera troupe, which is a bit troublesome." Aunt Yang said. Before, Qu Moying had discussed with her that when the shop opened, they would set up a stage outside and invite a troupe to perform for a day, and do some other activities at the same time, so that the shop could reopen with a bigger fanfare and attract customers.
"What's wrong?" Qu Moying raised his eyes and asked.
"We had already invited a troupe of actors, one of the best in the capital, but now they have been invited by someone else. They said they had something else to do that day, like celebrating the birthday of a lady in a certain family. They offered twice as much as we did, so they rejected us."
Aunt Yang said.
"There is no more opera troupe?" Qu Moying asked after thinking for a while.
"I've seen other troupes before, but they happened to be busy that day, so there were some. However, they were too small and not well-known in the capital. Even if we invited them, I don't think many people would come to watch them. It would make people feel that our shop is not up to par!"
Aunt Yang said in embarrassment.
The first day is very important when opening a shop. You can’t let people feel that the things in the shop are not up to standard. How can you attract those young ladies from aristocratic families
Qu Moying was silent for a moment, frowning. This was indeed a bit difficult, as the time was too tight!
"Miss, since we can't hire a troupe, then we don't need one. We can think of something else. Not all shops need to employ a troupe when they open." Yu Dong suggested.
"Is there any other solution?" Qu Moying asked casually.
"I can't think of a good idea at the moment!" Yu Dong said hesitantly. Even after he said that, he really couldn't think of any good idea.
"When will the shop next door open?" Qu Moying asked, pursing her cherry lips slightly.
"I heard that it's only been a few days, and now it's almost ready. Their previous goods were very good, but they just need to sort out the staff. There's nothing else to worry about. I heard that after Ling Anbo's new wife came to take a look, she replaced a group of people. It should be ready in the next few days."
Aunt Yang said.
She had been getting along well with the owner of the shop next door these days, and that shop also employed old employees. After all, the shop had been in the hands of the Crown Princess. Even if Concubine Ji wanted to make some changes, it would only be in the next few days, and most of the things had not been moved. It was much easier to tidy up than Yueyi Pavilion.
The two families are old acquaintances, and some things are easy to say. It can even be said that they share the same suffering.
They were almost becoming someone else's property, and they were almost being driven away, or even if they were not driven away, life would not be easy.
"How do they plan to open their business?" Qu Moying asked.
"I heard it's also a theatre troupe, but they opened the day before us, tomorrow." Aunt Yang said, "I've asked about their theatre troupe, and we can't open that day either."
Qu Moying bit her lip lightly, thought for a moment and said, "If there is really no
If there is a troupe, then that's not necessary. The stage can still be set up, and then some activities can be held, or small gifts can be given out to attract people to come."
"This... How do we do this?" Aunt Yang asked puzzledly. She had never heard of such a way of opening a business.
"I will go back tomorrow to prepare some procedures. At that time, I will set up some small game sessions, such as pitching pots. The prizes can be embroidered items from Jiangnan, such as small handkerchiefs or sachets, and some fan bags..." Qu Moying paused here and suddenly asked, "Are there any particularly exquisite clothes? The finished ones!"
"Yes... there are a few particularly beautiful ones, which were just brought over from Jiangnan as finished embroidery products. They must have been embroidered by embroiderers from Jiangnan. I have asked around, and it is said that the old lady there sent them specially to you, Miss, saying that they are for you." Aunt Yang suddenly remembered something when she heard Qu Moying's question, and slapped her thigh vigorously.
He turned around and told a waiter to fetch a box.
The two guys moved quickly and soon brought over a wooden box.
Aunt Yang took out a key from her bosom and said, "Fourth Miss, I told you about this before when I sent someone to the mansion, but you didn't come out later. I was so busy these days that I forgot about it. This is a special gift from Madam Yue. She said there are exquisite clothes and other things inside. I have never opened it before."
Then he handed over the key.
Yudong took it and walked to the box, opened it, and found several brocade boxes of different sizes inside.
Aunt Yang helped to take them out, placed them one by one on the table, opened the lid of the brocade box, and each piece of exquisite embroidery appeared in front of everyone.
Not only Aunt Yang stared with her eyes wide open, even Yudong, who didn't like embroidery, looked at it with surprise and admiration.
These pieces are so beautiful, especially the two gorgeous clothes. Actually, they are not that gorgeous, the colors are not bright, and the patterns and embroidery are not dense, but the overall look is gorgeous and valuable. They must be fine products, and people like them when they see them.
"Fourth Miss, when we went to Jiangnan that day, I was careful and deliberately put the lady's size in the letter from Fourth Miss to the old lady. Sure enough, the old lady made two sets for Fourth Miss." Aunt Yang said with a smile. She knew that the old lady Yue loved Second Miss very much, and of course she would love the little girl born by Second Miss very much.
They hadn't been in touch for so many years simply because the Fourth Miss never contacted them. Now that they were in touch, Aunt Yang felt that Madam Yue would be extremely happy, so she took such a private action. However, she still apologized to Qu Moying. After all, it was done without the Fourth Miss's consent at the time.
"Fourth Miss, I apologize to you! And I promise that this will not happen again. If there is anything in the future, I must follow your orders. Anyone who violates the order will be severely punished!" Aunt Yang said.
Qu Moying was a little unhappy when she heard Aunt Yang's words before, but seeing how fearful and terrified Aunt Yang was, she really felt that she was wrong, so her face looked a little better and she said lightly, "Don't do it again next time!"
"Don't worry, Miss Fourth, I will remember. This is only the time. If there is a next time, even if Miss Fourth doesn't punish me, I will punish myself!" Aunt Yang answered seriously, and she breathed a sigh of relief visibly, which showed that she was really worried that Qu Moying would be angry!