Chapter 179: Shopkeeper

This New Year, the Lu family didn’t get much rest. Most of the shops were set to reopen on the seventh day of the first lunar month, but the Lu family—father and three sons—didn’t wait until then to head to the county. After visiting all the necessary families from the first to the third day, they left for the weaving and dyeing workshop early in the morning on the fourth.

The workshop had undergone some simple renovations before the New Year. Now, along with Liu Yanping and Liu Yanan, the six of them gathered at the estate to finish up any remaining work and organize the place. Apart from the large dyeing rooms and living quarters for Master He and his apprentices, they also invited some trusted bricklayers to inspect the site and draw up plans for building additional rooms further away from the dyeing area, where they would establish the weaving workshop.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, Lu Xun, Lu Chengzong, and Lu Chengxiao set off for the county. Lu Chengzhang, however, stayed behind. Renting carts and horses during the New Year was difficult, and to avoid overcrowding the family’s mule cart when they all returned together tomorrow or the day after, they arranged for Babao to drive them back to Xifeng County today.

Early in the morning, Babao had already hitched the cart, but Lu Chengzhang wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, he pulled Zhou Qiongying aside to inquire about the clothing distribution business from Liu Yu.

Ruyi Embroidery House had hired many female workers and had already made a name for itself in the North Street area of Anyi County. However, Lu Chengzhang had never seen the ready-made garments Ruyi Embroidery provided to the various towns for distribution.

There was an embroidery shop in Xifeng Town too, but only one worth mentioning—a small, two-room shop without much competition. When Liu Yu and Lu Shuang had gone there before, Xifeng was one of the towns they hadn’t managed to crack. So, despite all the excitement surrounding the Xi Jiangnan clothing line, Lu Chengzhang had never actually seen it.

But he had heard about it. Just a few days ago during New Year visits, his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brothers-in-law all brought it up. Even his own mother, sister-in-law, and younger sister had mentioned it in passing over the past few days. This had been on his mind for a while.

He was going to be a father, and now he was full of energy, especially knowing that Lu Chengxiao’s fabric shop would be expanding to Yuanzhou, and the Liu family was also planning to open an embroidery shop there. Lu Chengzhang was eager to do something more as well.

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However, Liu Yu’s energy was limited. She was managing three different product lines, and ensuring that the styles were good enough made it difficult to increase production speed. Even with the addition of Madam Zhang as an assistant, maintaining this level of supply was still a challenge.

Lu Chengzhang wasn’t familiar with the specifics of running an embroidery shop, but Zhou Qiongying, a regular customer, was. He looked to her for her opinion, asking silently with his eyes whether this plan would work.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Qiongying said, “At first, it might seem a little empty, but we can get creative with the displays by hanging different sizes. Once we have four or five dozen styles, the small shop section we partitioned should look fine. If our third sister-in-law can release more styles, that would be even better.”

Liu Yu couldn’t guarantee anything just yet and said, “If you two really go ahead with this, I’ll do my best. However, spring collections typically don’t sell as well. The summer collection, which has a longer selling period, will likely have more styles.”

That was enough for them.

Lu Chengzhang immediately said to Liu Yu, “Then it’s settled. After we return, we’ll bring in a carpenter in a few days to partition the shop and make the new sign. Then we’ll place an order with your embroidery house.”

He was pleased with the plan, but Chen Shi, who had been delayed in coming out because she was packing clothes inside, was confused. “What order did you place with your third sister-in-law’s embroidery shop?”

Zhou Qiongying was pregnant, and Chen Shi was preparing to move to Xifeng Town to help out—ensuring proper meals and taking care of chores so that Zhou Qiongying wouldn’t have to do the laundry or cooking.

With a mother-in-law like this, Zhou Qiongying couldn’t help but feel touched. In the past, she thought her mother-in-law didn’t like her, but now those thoughts were long gone. Hearing Chen Shi’s question, she eagerly explained their plan to open a shop selling Ruyi Embroidery’s Xi Jiangnan ready-made clothing line.

Chen Shi’s brow furrowed, and she looked at her second son. “Who’s going to run the embroidery shop? Surely not you?”

Lu Chengzhang laughed, “Of course not, Qiongying will manage it.”

Chen Shi felt the urge to tug his ear but restrained herself, realizing he was about to become a father. She glared at him instead, saying, “Qiongying is pregnant, and you’re giving her more work?”

Zhou Qiongying quickly helped to explain, “No, no, Chengzhang and I discussed this. I’ll just sit and collect money. We’ll hire a sharp-tongued woman from the town to sell the goods.”

“Hire someone?” Chen Shi confirmed with Lu Chengzhang.

He nodded enthusiastically, “Absolutely! Do you really think I’m such a penny-pincher?”

Chen Shi snorted, “There’s no one in this family who guards their money as tightly as you do.”

Zhou Qiongying burst out laughing, and Liu Yu also wanted to laugh but turned her face away to hold it in.

~

On the sixth day of the lunar new year, Liu Yu, along with Lu Shuang and her elder sister-in-law Qin Shi, returned to Anyi County, bringing several children with them. Meanwhile, Lu Xun and his two sons had remained in the county and hadn’t gone back to Changfeng Town.

That afternoon, the three women—sisters-in-law and sister—gathered together to cut red paper and make red envelopes. On the seventh day, both Lu Feng’s Fabric Shop and Ruyi Embroidery House would reopen for business, and they would be handing out lucky red envelopes for the occasion. The fabric shop didn’t need too many, but Liu Yu needed to prepare quite a few for her embroidery shop. The red envelopes were made from folded red paper, with the words “Great Fortune and Prosperity” carefully written in ink. Each envelope contained 66 copper coins, symbolizing the auspicious number 66, representing smooth progress.

By the time Liu Yanqing, his brothers, and Wei Shi returned, Liu Yu had already prepared everything.

On the seventh day, the shops reopened. The embroiderers entered the shop with well wishes, and both Liu Yu and Wei Shi handed out red envelopes with smiles. The envelopes were substantial, heavy in hand, and the embroiderers knew the owners were generous. In return, they showered them with praises.

After the festive excitement, it was time to get busy. Ruyi Embroidery House’s spring collection was in full swing.

Lu Chengxiao, along with Liu Yanping and Liu Yanan, didn’t rest either. As the shops reopened, they began acquiring supplies listed by Master He, necessary for dyeing fabric. While the weaving workshop was still under construction, they also took the opportunity to visit skilled weavers to prepare for the workshop’s opening.

In the beginning, only about a dozen workers would be needed. There was no need to recruit from the county; they found enough willing hands from Yanshan Village and Lu Chengxiao’s maternal uncle’s village.

Although farm women could weave at home, they usually did so only during harvest seasons. Working at a weaving workshop was different—there was steady work from the beginning of the year to the end. In Yanshan Village, especially, there were several women, such as Liu Datian’s and Liu Qingshan’s wives, who had already worked at the embroidery shop. Seeing this, many others were eager to join, knowing they could earn a steady income. Even before the workshop was completed, the recruitment of weavers was finished within a few days.

Meanwhile, Liu Yu and Lu Shuang were also busy at the embroidery shop.

Liu Yanqing’s wedding to Zhang Xiaofu was set for the nineteenth day of the lunar month, and before that, Wei Shi had little energy to devote to the embroidery house. After spending only a few days at the shop, she had to return to prepare for the wedding.

Liu Yu had to lead the workers in rushing to finish the spring collection for the embroidery house. This also included the clothing needed for the new store opening in Yuanzhou City and the Xi Jiangnan series distributed to embroidery shops in various towns.

The store in Yuanzhou City had already been renovated before the new year. Now, all that was left were the shelves, cabinets, and signboard, along with hiring staff. The former would be handled by Lu Chengxiao, Liu Yanping, and the others when they had time. As for hiring staff, Liu Yu preferred to send family members over to manage things.

Since the clothes were made in standard sizes, most of the production could be completed in Anyi County, leaving only the sales staff needed in Yuanzhou. After discussing with Wei Shi, they decided Wei Shi would go there first and hire a few helpers locally. Meanwhile, in Anyi County, Liu Yu would stay and train someone to manage things. Once Liu Yanqing’s wedding was over, they would see if Zhang Xiaofu could take over sales. However, it was unclear whether Zhang Xiaofu would be willing, and they didn’t want to force her.

As for the current situation, Liu Yu thought long and hard and decided to entrust sales to Lu Shuang and Wen Shi, with Wen Shi as the primary manager and Lu Shuang guiding her. Lu Shuang had spent more time at the embroidery house and was much more experienced in sales than Wen Shi.

When Wen Shi returned to work after the new year, she hadn’t even had time to warm up to her embroidery needle when Wei Shi went back to Yanshan Village. Soon after, Liu Yu called Wen Shi aside and asked her to switch to the sales department. Liu Yu said to her, “Learn to become the shopkeeper of an embroidery house.”

The word “shopkeeper” made Wen Shi’s heart race. Could she really do this?

Wen Shi was so stunned that she seemed lost in thought.

Liu Yu smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, just start learning. I think you’re suited for this. If you really do well, and Ruyi Embroidery House opens more branches in the future, there will naturally be opportunities. A shopkeeper earns more than an embroiderer, that’s for sure.”

Ruyi Embroidery House needed talent, and Liu Yu had always thought Wen Shi was very clever. Now that they needed someone, Wen Shi was the first person who came to mind.

Wen Shi felt like a golden opportunity had suddenly fallen into her lap.

Being the manager of a large store in the county! Even in Changfeng Town, there were few shopkeepers, a role she had never dared to dream of—it was something she looked up to with admiration.

She looked at Liu Yu in disbelief. “You really want me to learn this?”

Liu Yu nodded with a smile. “Give it a try, sister-in-law. You’re not a shopkeeper yet, but if you can handle this well, the opportunity will come.”

The shop in Anyi County was likely to be managed by her elder sister-in-law because her eldest brother was stationed there. However, Liu Yu hadn’t forgotten the long-term plans for the embroidery house. Training and developing talent needed to be a priority, and Wen Shi had a unique advantage. It wasn’t just their relationship; Wen Shi could easily leave Anyi County if necessary. Unlike other embroiderers or female workers who had been with the shop longer, Wen Shi wasn’t deeply rooted in Anyi County, which made her more flexible.

Wen Shi swallowed hard, finally snapping out of her dazed state. It was as if a surge of energy flowed through her veins, and she could even hear her heart pounding. She nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll work hard!”

She quickly turned to Lu Shuang and said, “Please teach me, Miss Lu.”

Her serious expression made Lu Shuang feel a bit embarrassed. “I’m not that experienced either; I’ve only observed things from time to time. We’ll figure it out together.”

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