Qiu Yan asked the maid to put down the food box, which contained the snacks that Mrs. Qiu picked for Mengying.
Mengying was shocked and said: "I am a junior, so I should go to pay New Year greetings. How dare I bother Mrs. Qiu to give me a gift first?"
Qiu Yan looked unconcerned and said: "My mother also watches what other people order. She likes you. If it were someone else, she wouldn't be able to behave like this. If you don't want to eat for free, you're welcome."<
/p>
Mengying couldn't help but laugh bitterly at Qiu Yan's words. Those who didn't know it thought there was a gap between the two women.
"By the way, what are your plans? You can't stay at home forever?" Qiu Yan took a sip of tea and said.
"I plan to open an embroidery shop. At least I have some skills. If the business is good, I will hire a few embroiderers. If the business is not good, I will find other ways to make a living." Mengying took a bite of snacks and said.
"If it weren't for... if I weren't going to get married, it would be great for you and me to open a shop together. With your vision and my ability, it's not impossible for us to earn ten thousand taels of silver in the capital." Qiu Yan
Said a little disappointed.
Mengying smiled bitterly, her grain and herbal medicine business had benefited from the glory of her previous life, but now that she has arrived in the capital, her eyesight is also darkened.
But there is no way to tell Qiu Yanming.
Mengying took Qiu Yan's hand and said: "Sister Qiu, I am lucky. Now that I have arrived in the capital, I must be down-to-earth and earn some hard money. Getting married is a big deal for you now, and women must have a destination."
Qiu Yan sighed and said: "Don't I know that no matter how high you fly, you will be locked in a cage sooner or later, and like the bird in the cage, you will never be free for life."
"Sister Qiu, you don't need to be so pessimistic. I heard that the Fan family is a pure family, Fan Yushi is an honest man, Mr. Fan is a second-ranked Jinshi, and the family is simple. When you come to this scholarly family, you will always be better than that group of wives and concubines.
The family is much better."
Qiu Yan shook her head and sneered: "What do you mean by Qingliu? It's not like being poor and waiting for money to save your life. Otherwise, you wouldn't marry me, a businesswoman." She looked at the dowry while she aloofly despised the smell of gold and silver.
Don’t let it go, I don’t see what’s so good about a family like this?”
"Sister Qiu..."
"Okay, Mengying, you don't need to persuade me, you have to take this step sooner or later. The wedding is scheduled for the eighth day of the next month, you must come." Qiu Yan's face turned from gloomy to clear, as if the melancholy just now was just Mengying's illusion.<
/p>
"Sister Qiu, don't worry, I will definitely go."
"Okay, I'm leaving. Don't forget to call me when the embroidery shop opens. Now, it's like I'm banned and can't go anywhere."
After Qiu Yan finished speaking, she stood up. The maid opened the cotton curtain and left without looking back.
Mengying walked to the door and watched Qiu Yan get on the carriage without looking back.
Mengying looked back at Hongying and asked, "What did Qiuyue say?" Qiuyue is Qiu Yan's maid.
Hongying said: "Sister Qiuyue said that a few years ago, the Qiu family went to the Fan family to give New Year's gifts. Mrs. Fan acted arrogantly and looked down on the merchant family, which made Miss Qiu very angry and even had the idea of breaking off the engagement.
.It was Mr. Qiu who pressured me."
Mengying lowered her head and said nothing. Although Qiu Yan has been managing business with Mr. Qiu for many years, she is kind-hearted and hates evil. The twists and turns in the door of these big houses are much more vicious than those in the business world.
Mengying and Qiu Yan hit it off immediately, but now that she sees Qiu Yan depressed, she is not in a good mood either.
Hongying changed the subject, "Girl, I heard that there are eight major restaurants in the capital. This is my first time in the capital. How about you take me to see the world?"
Mengying readily agreed and took Hong Yinglin with her. She didn't ask how much money she had and asked the waiter to bring the store's signature dishes to the table.
Mengying tasted it for a while, but Hongying and Lin Xiaoze had their mouths full of oil. When they paid the bill, they were dumbfounded. They actually spent thirty taels of silver.
Mengying didn't take it seriously, Hongying was in charge of money, and she was so distressed that she almost slapped herself twice.
After the 15th Shangyuan Festival, the New Year in Beijing is finally over.
Mengying started looking for a shop, and this time it was relatively smooth. It happened that a two-story embroidery house was not operating well, and the owner was going back to his hometown. The owner rented it to Mengying at a low price, one hundred and twenty taels of silver a year.
Hongying muttered, "They say it's not easy to live in the capital. It's true, everything is expensive. If we were in Qingzhou, one hundred and twenty-seven taels would be enough to buy an embroidered building."
Mengying nodded, a penny stumped the heroic man, so he had to open his shop earlier to earn some money. But she comforted Hongying and said: "It will be fine when the shop opens. Don't be lazy then, embroider more."
Come out with the veil."
The shop has been rented, but what is its name?
The three masters and servants were sitting on the embroidery building, thinking hard, when suddenly a pair of magpies landed on the treetops outside the embroidery building.
When Mengying saw it, her eyes lit up. She pointed at the pair of birds and said to them, "We have names."
The two said in unison, "Double bird embroidered room!"
Mengying shook her head and said: "Dengzhi Xiufang."
*
On the second day of February, the day when the dragon raises its head, Dengzhixiu House opens its doors to welcome guests.
Qiu Yan was about to leave the cabinet on the eighth day of the lunar month. Mrs. Qiu did not let her out no matter what. She was sulky at home, but she sent a maid to give Mengying a gift.
Half of Mengying's embroidery skills were practiced when she was in poverty, and half of her embroidery skills were learned from Grandma Ruan when she was a maid in the Hou Mansion.
It's a great opening today. Mengying and Hongying embroidered dozens of handkerchiefs, and every customer who comes into the store can take one away for just a penny.
Hongying's embroidery is usable and not many are bought.
Mengying's double-sided embroidery is hard to find and sold out immediately.
On this side is a dragonfly fluttering its wings and about to fly, on the other side is a little lotus showing its sharp corners.
On this side, the butterfly is about to fall, while on the other side, the peony is just showing its fragrance.
……
Hongying regretted it very much and muttered: "If I had known earlier, I should have sold the girl's handkerchief for ten cents. At least I could have made back the money for the silk thread and material."
Mengying advised her, if the bait is not fat enough, how will the fish swim over?
On the first day we opened the door, we received several embroidery jobs. One was a dark green piping bijia, which needed to be embroidered with tangled flowers on the collar; another was a torn men's gown, and the torn cuffs were mended; and someone wanted a pair.
A pillowcase for playing in the water...
Although there was not much embroidery work, at least the three masters and servants did not work in vain.