When Shen Xiu heard that Qu Huan wanted to discuss business with her, she wanted to laugh. Why did his classmate think of doing business? Scholars are the last ones who don’t want to be exposed to the stench of copper.
But before she could laugh, she saw Qu Huan's serious expression.
Shen Xiu then stopped smiling and asked seriously: "What business do you plan to do with my orchids?"
Qu Huan said: "This classmate friend of mine is from the capital. He said that the orchids in this orchid book are extremely rare, so he wants to make an orchid book and sell it to the capital. This book does not need to be big, just one foot high, so it is easy to carry. .”
"He asked me to ask how much it would cost to make an orchid album like this." Qu Huan said, "If the price is right, he would like to customize a hundred orchid albums first."
One hundred orchid albums, this classmate of Qu Huan is really wealthy.
Shen Xiu thought about it and realized that this business could really be done. But she had a condition.
"What conditions?" Qu Huan asked.
Shen Xiudao: "I have to decide the name of this orchid album. If you agree, this orchid album will be called Shen Xiulan Album."
The two names "Shen Embroidery" are borrowed from a well-known embroidery school, "Gu Embroidery".
Gu embroidery is extremely famous in the history of embroidery. Shen Xiu's biggest dream is to learn from the strengths of others and create her own Shen embroidery.
Now that someone wants to sell her embroidery to the capital, Shen Xiu will certainly not miss this opportunity to promote her fame.
Luo Gong and Qu Huan are both laymen, and they don't understand the importance of fame to an embroiderer.
Both of them felt that the name matter was harmless, so Qu Huan and Luo Gong agreed to Shen Xiu's request after discussing it.
It was just the price issue that troubled Luo Gong.
The price Shen Xiu offered was fifty taels of silver for one booklet, so one hundred books would be five thousand taels of silver.
Luo Gong didn't even have three thousand taels of silver, how could he get five thousand taels.
He wanted to lower the price, but Shen Xiu refused to give in, saying that if the price was low, he could not guarantee the exquisiteness of the embroidery work.
Luo Gong had no choice but to find ways to raise money, and did not send Qu Huan over for several days to discuss the price.
Shen Xiu was not in a hurry, the orchid embroidered screen she had embroidered for Li Miaoer had already been embroidered.
Before the orchid embroidered screen was delivered to the Li family, Shen Xiu specifically asked Wei Yan to call Qu Huan over.
When Qu Huan saw the orchid screen embroidered by Shen Xiu, he was so impressed that he turned around to find Luo Gong.
"Brother Luo, haven't you seen the orchid embroidered screen? It's simply more beautiful than the orchids in that brochure, and much more vivid. I can't even describe it. Anyway, it's ten times, no, a hundred times more beautiful than the orchid brochure. times."
Luo Gong seemed to believe it, "Is that orchid embroidered screen really as good as you say?"
Qu Huan nodded vigorously: "If you don't believe it, just ask Wei Yan, he has seen it with his own eyes."
"Wei Yan is also here?" Luo Gong asked casually. If Wei Yan also thinks that the orchid embroidery screen is well embroidered, then it means it is true.
Qu Huan said: "The lady Shen you asked me to find is Wei Yan's wife!"
Wei Yan's daughter-in-law, Luo Gong, was drinking tea and almost choked when she heard this.
"How come I didn't know when Wei Yan got married?" Luo Gong managed to catch his breath and coughed, "Why didn't I ever hear you say that?"
Qu Huan said: "You didn't even ask me!"
Luo Gong was speechless for a moment. She was so embarrassed now. Who knew that Mrs. Shen knew her cousin and was also Wei Yan's daughter-in-law.
He only hoped that Shen Xiu had not mentioned this matter to Wei Yan, otherwise it would spread in the academy and his face would be lost again.
But putting this matter aside, since Qu Huan kept praising the orchid embroidery screen, it means that Mrs. Shen's embroidery skills are indeed outstanding.
Fifty taels of silver is just fifty taels of silver, but Luo Gong reduced the number of orchid books to twenty.
Twenty orchid albums are worth one thousand taels of silver.
Luo Gong plans to ask County Magistrate Zuo to borrow the money. He also has a lot of gossip about the capital, which Magistrate Zuo will definitely be interested in.
It's just that as the end of the year approaches, Magistrate Zuo is so busy that he doesn't even go back to the backyard of the county government office.
Shen Xiu, who lives in the house, is also very busy, busy buying new year's goods and packing luggage.
All the embroidery work at hand has been completed, and from New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, needlework is not allowed. So when Wei Yan said he wanted to go back to Weijia Village to celebrate the New Year, Shen Xiu had no objection.
She knew that her mother-in-law Yang lived frugally and was reluctant to spend money even during the Chinese New Year, so she spent her own money to buy many New Year goods.
Since winter entered, Ms. Yang felt sorry for her son and didn't want him to come back in the snow, so she persuaded Wei Yan to come back to see the couple during the holidays at the end of the year.
Therefore, Shen Xiu hasn't seen Yang and Wei's father for a long time.
After not seeing each other for several months, Yang and Father Wei are still the same.
Yang glanced at her son first, then noticed the New Year's goods in the car after falling behind. Then she glared at Shen Xiu and smiled angrily: "Another waste of money."
Shen Xiu smiled faintly, stamped her feet, followed Wei Yan, and pulled Daya into the main room together.
There is no kang in the main room, but there is a brazier, but it is only a little warmer than outside.
Fortunately, Yang made a pot of ginger soup and Shen Xiu drank a bowl, and her hands and feet finally felt warm.
At noon, the family sat happily in the main room, eating lunch that Yang had prepared long ago.
Father Wei was in a good mood because his son was back, so he asked Yang to bring the sorghum wine he had brewed a few months ago and prepare to drink several cups.
After a few glasses of wine, Wei's father was happy and started talking about Wei Yan's exam for scholar.
"I heard someone say that if you pass the examination to be a scholar, you will be exempted from the land tax on 80 acres of land. Brother, is this true?"
Wei Yan didn't know where Father Wei heard about it, but it was indeed true.
"In addition to being exempted from the land tax on the eighty acres of land, I can also be exempted from the corvee service of the two men in the family." Wei Yan added, "If I can pass the examination to become a scholar, then my father and eldest brother will no longer have to perform corvee service. The family will be able to save this money in the future.”
Yang said: "That's great. If we can pay a few taels less every year, your father and I can save more money. If we save more, we can buy dozens of acres of land."
Shen Xiu had been listening carefully to what Father Wei and Yang said, and then asked: "Mom, is there any land to buy in our village?"
She had never thought about buying land because the land tax at that time was too high and one acre of land could not earn much money.
But after listening to what Wei's father and Wei Yan said, Shen Xiucai knew that those who passed the examination could be exempted from land tax, and they could also be exempted from eighty acres of land.
She couldn't help but think about buying land. After all, if she could be exempted from the land tax, then the food produced in one acre of land would be hers.
Yang said: "Of course there is. I heard that Feng Laoshi in the village is going to sell land recently. His son was originally a clerk in the town, but later he was spotted by his employer and recruited as his son-in-law. Now Feng Laoshi is going to follow his son. In the town, I have to sell more than ten acres of my family's land."
"Your father and I have thought about it, but we don't have enough money on hand."
"Mom, a dozen acres of land is not that much, so how much money does Feng Laoshi want to sell it for?" Shen Xiu asked.
Yang said: "He said that the more than ten acres of land are good farmland, and it costs at least fifty taels of silver."
Fifty taels of silver is not expensive, and Shen Xiu can definitely afford it.
"Mom, please take me to see the Feng family's land another day!"