Early in the morning, the sound of birds chirping was crisp and clear. The maidservants had just sprinkled water on the ground, and the pillars had been washed clean. Cheng Yujin walked along the veranda, and all she could see was the refreshing aura unique to the early morning. Her plain white dress and slow steps were also part of the beautiful scenery in the eyes of others.
The people in Chen Ming Courtyard were very familiar with her and greeted her from afar. Cheng Yujin smiled and nodded. Liu Yi, who had just returned from outside, saw her and immediately stopped to cup his hands. "Eldest Miss."
"Head Steward Liu." Cheng Yujin returned the greeting. She was well aware of Liu Yi's identity. He was most likely one of the trusted eunuchs in the palace. Now, he was following by Cheng Yuanjing's side as a servant, so it was only right that he be called "Zongguan".
Liu Yi hurriedly declined. "Eldest Miss is overpraising this servant. How can this servant be worthy of being called by Eldest Miss …"
"Head Steward is too polite." Cheng Yujin stood up and said with a smile, "Head Steward Liu is Ninth Uncle's most trusted person. He often travels outside and can be said to be Ninth Uncle's right-hand man. If you don't call him Head Steward, who else can? "
Although Liu Yi was repeatedly modest, his expression was very happy. He was not proud of how much power he had or how many things he had done. Instead, he was proud of being used by the Crown Prince. Cheng Yujin's words could be said to have struck the bottom of Liu Yi's heart.
Cheng Yujin looked at Liu Yi's expression and knew that she was right. She motioned to the Dugeaux, and the Dugeaux immediately took out the food box from her arm. Cheng Yujin said, "My daughter is deeply cared for by Ninth Uncle. Previously, I also asked Head Steward Liu for help. I don't have anything to take out, so I can only prepare some snacks for Head Steward Liu. If the food is not good, Head Steward Liu, please don't dislike it. "
Liu Yi waved his hand. "How can this be? It is this servant's fortune to be able to run errands for Eldest Miss. How can this servant accept Eldest Miss's things! "
"Head Steward Liu, please accept it. This is a token of our young lady's appreciation." As the Dugeaux spoke, she placed the food box in the hands of the young manservant behind Liu Yi. Liu Yi's refusal was just for show. Seeing that Cheng Yujin was so good with words and actions, he accepted it half-heartedly: "If that's the case, this servant thanks Eldest Miss."
"You're too polite." Cheng Yujin said with a smile.
After receiving Cheng Yujin's food, Liu Yi's tone became much more amiable after he spoke to her. He asked, "Miss, you've come to Chen Ming Courtyard so early. Are you looking for the Ninth Masters?"
"It's not a big deal." Cheng Yujin paused and said casually, "But there are some words that I would like to ask Head Steward Liu to help me spread."
"That won't be difficult." Liu Yi heard this and waved his hand, saying, "Miss, please follow this servant. Write down what you want to say on a piece of paper. This servant will bring it out for you when I leave."
Cheng Yujin's smile immediately became more sincere: "Thank you for your trouble, Head Steward Liu."
Cheng Yujin had come prepared today. She deliberately came early in the morning to ask Liu Yi to bring her message before he left. She even brought along the drawings. Cheng Yujin sat in the tea room and took out things from her pouch one by one.
"This is the clothing design I drew. I'll have to trouble Head Steward Liu to bring it to Yunyi Fong. The profit from selling cloth alone was limited. If the cloth was made into ready-made clothing, the profit from the same bolt of cloth would be several times higher. Moreover, the cloth was flat, so it was hard to tell if it was good or bad if it was piled up. If there was a ready-made clothing placed next to it, it would look much better. If the customer saw that the clothing looked good, they would be willing to take a bolt of cloth back. If the customer doesn't want to do it themselves, Yunyi Fong can leave the cloth and help them cut the clothing. This way, they can buy the cloth and make the clothing. The cloth is their own, and the craftsmen are also their own. It's much more profitable than just selling cloth. "
As Cheng Yujin spoke, she had the Dugeaux take out the package. She opened a corner and shook out a jacket for Liu Yi to see: "This is a short jacket I made from Yunyi Fong's brocade. When I went to take a look the other day, I felt that the color of the cloud pattern was very good. These past two days, I and the maidservants made a model of the jacket. It really looks good on the jacket. I remembered that this kind of satin, other than the cloud-green pattern, there were also magnolia pattern, phoenix tail pattern, and lotus pattern. There were also several colors from white to red. Today, Head Steward Liu went to Cloud Clothing Workshop and had them put the satin of different colors and patterns together, and put this jacket next to the cloth. If the customer took a fancy to the clothes, but liked other colors, they could choose from other materials. This piece of paper recorded the amount of cloth used to make the jacket. I'll have to trouble Head Steward to bring it to the shopkeeper. However, you must remind him to keep the data well. If the customer likes it, he can leave the cloth in Yunyi Fong. You must not give out the tailoring data. "
Liu Yi nodded as he listened. When he took the paper from Cheng Yujin's hand, he was even more amazed. Liu Yi unfolded the paper and took a look. He secretly sighed that Cheng Yujin really knew how to do business. Selling raw materials was far better than selling processing. Cheng Yujin's way of doing things, from the cloth to the tailoring to the finished product, all belonged to her family. It saved the customer a lot of effort, and Yunyi Fong could make more money.
It had to be said that the clothes made by Cheng Yujin were much more exquisite and beautiful. Based on Liu Yi's experience with concubines and palace maids, he guessed that Cheng Yujin had tightened the sleeves and waist. It was close-fitting and showed off her curves. It was very delicate.
Cheng Yujin's time was limited. Other than the jacket, she only had time to make a skirt. This skirt was made of muslin. The inside was lined with white silk, and the outside was soft muslin. It was unknown how the pleats on the sides were made, but it looked slender and elegant. It gave off a feeling of floating immortality.
It was currently summer. Who knew how eye-catching this kind of skirt would be on the body.
After Cheng Yujin pointed out the general points to Liu Yi, she had the Dugeaux put away the clothes. She handed them along with the tailoring data to Liu Yi. Liu Yi was someone who had walked in the internal court and officialdom. His ability to do things was first-class. Cheng Yujin was very relieved to hand things over to him. Cheng Yujin had finished her work and was in a good mood. She saw an opportunity to get up and walked out of the tea room with her maidservants.
When she came out, the sun was just right. Cheng Yujin left some pastries for Cheng Yuanjing. She left a good impression on him before she left in satisfaction.
In the tea room, Xiao Liu came back from sending people away. Liu Yi saw him and asked, "Miss Cheng left?"
"Yes. Eldest Miss went to pay respects to the Ninth Masters. She said goodbye to the Ninth Masters before leaving. "
Liu Yi nodded. "The two men of the Cheng Family haven't made any progress for many years. They only know how to complain and blame others. They're not as polite as a little girl."
The fair-skinned Xiao Liu swept the things on the table and asked, "Godfather, these things …"
"It's rare that she knows how to be filial to the Ninth Masters. I saw that the Ninth Masters' mood was much better these days. Since she accompanied the Ninth Masters to relieve his boredom, it's not a big deal for me to make this trip for her. In any case, she's just a girl. She can't affect the situation. "
Liu Yi didn't know that Cheng Yujin already knew about Cheng Yuanjing's identity. He only thought that Cheng Yujin still considered Cheng Yuanjing as a member of the Cheng Family. That was why she visited him every day. The other members of the Cheng Family were all eyeing Cheng Yuanjing covetously, afraid that Cheng Yuanjing would take a share of their family property. Among so many people, only Cheng Yujin was enthusiastic and continuously expressed her good intentions. In contrast, Liu Yi's impression of Cheng Yujin became better and better.
"Godfather, you have a lot of things to do outside. How about Miss Cheng go for these things for you?"
Liu Yi waved his hand and said, "No need. It's not a difficult matter. I'll do it myself. Businessmen are crafty. After all, you're inexperienced. If the shopkeeper sees you, he might look down on you and not do his job properly. I'll go the first time. I'm sure they won't dare to be perfunctory. "
Little Liu Yi agreed. In his heart, he thought that wasn't the case. In the palace, Liu Yi was a smiling tiger. After accompanying the crown prince for so many years, he became more and more like a ghost. Going to threaten a small shopkeeper was like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.
Which shopkeeper would dare to look down on Liu Yi? As the saying goes, if you want to beat a dog, you have to look at its owner. At the same time, when evaluating the owner, you have to look at the dog. To have such a powerful servant under her, Yunyi Fong would probably treat Miss Cheng with respect and wouldn't dare look down on her.
Liu Yi saw that after Little Liu finished speaking, he still stood in front of him and didn't leave. His eyes casually glanced at the table. Liu Yi glanced at the food box on the side and understood. He scolded, "Look at you. How come I don't see you being so proactive?"
Little Liu Yi bowed and smiled. "Isn't it because godfather loves me? Father is powerful, so of course your son is useless."
Liu Yi laughed at his words. He pretended to kick him and said, "You have a glib tongue. You don't learn from your mistakes. Get out of here."
Little Liu Yi pretended to be in pain and dodged. Then he happily wrapped two pastries in a handkerchief and went out. These days, Cheng Yujin basically came to Chenming Courtyard every day. The people in Chenming Courtyard were initially on guard, but they slowly became friendly. It had to be said that the pastries Cheng Yujin brought were really delicious.
Cheng Yujin didn't know what kind of weapon she had brought out. Yunyi Fong and the shopkeeper of Linlang Pavilion were scared to death. Although Liu Yi hid his identity as a eunuch, he still had the temperament of a factory guard. When he stood there, Yunyi Fong's shopkeeper was so scared that he almost knelt down. Liu Yi's momentum was frightening. The shopkeeper had to treat the things he gave seriously, for fear that they didn't meet Liu Yi's requirements. Cheng Yujin's idea was implemented better than she had imagined. At the end of the month, the account book was sent. Cheng Yujin was a little surprised when she saw the profits for this month.
In just one month, the profits had doubled. Not only that, the shopkeeper sent a message saying that the sales of Sky Clear Muslin and Cloud Pattern Green Cloth were the best. The stock was sold out. Other cloth stores saw this and also bought the same materials to compete with them. At the same time, the customers who had made ready-made clothes last time all came to ask if there were any new styles.
Cheng Yujin didn't expect this development. She originally only planned to use the ready-made clothes to increase sales. She didn't expect it to be so popular. Cheng Yujin calculated the profits again and added this amount to her little treasury. She was in a good mood.
It seemed that ready-made clothes were the right way to go. In the future, the changes could be made faster. For example, a new batch of clothes every half a month. If it was too fast, it wouldn't stand out. If it was too slow, it would be copied by other clothing stores and affect the profits. So, half a month was just right.
Cheng Yujin took out a few patterns that she had thought of before. She chose a top and two skirts. She planned to bring them to Liu Yi tomorrow and ask Liu Yi to help her pass them to Yunyi Fong. Cheng Yujin had grown up amidst the brocade pile from a young age. The young maidens all competed with one another, and Cheng Yujin had to get first place. Thus, she had spent a lot of effort on clothes over the years. She was also a person who had to put on airs. She didn't want to use her skills on the surface. She had to be careless, as if she didn't care about clothes at all, to compete with others. So, after many years of tempering, Cheng Yujin was very experienced in designing clothes and matching jewelry. Even the nannies who specialized in combing hair couldn't compare to her.
In the past, the clothes she made were very complicated. From the small buttons to the large embroidery on the clothes, she had to choose everything one by one. It was completely impossible for her to directly wear the sample clothes. The maidservants in the Marquis of Yichun's embroidery workshop had a headache whenever they saw Cheng Yujin. It was inevitable that there would be a lot of things that were not to her liking when she ordered clothes from an outside embroidery workshop.
But now, Cheng Yujin had her own clothing store. She could do whatever she wanted. Cheng Yujin could finally make clothes as picky as possible. She could also make money while she was at it.
It was simply perfect.
Cheng Yujin also thought of a few jewelry patterns. She had long disliked her own jewelry for being too old-fashioned. There were only a few patterns. Unfortunately, she couldn't find one that she liked. Now, it was just right. She drew a pattern according to her heart and took it out to Linlang Pavilion. When the finished product was ready, it would be sent in for her to look at. If Cheng Yujin was satisfied, she would wear it for a few days to show off. After that, she could let Linlang Pavilion promote the new designs. If she wasn't satisfied, she would slowly modify it.
Cheng Yujin worked under the lamp until late at night. It wasn't until the Dugeaux came to urge her to sleep several times that she reluctantly put away the drawings. She once again counted the net profit for this month and went to bed satisfied.
The next day, Cheng Yujin went to Old Lady Cheng's room to pay her respects. As soon as she entered, she heard the Nguyễn Clan say, "Mother, Marquis Jingyong sent someone to urge you. Shouldn't Mo'er and Marquis Huo's wedding be prepared?"
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