High-class maid

Chapter 258 New Arrivals

The matchmaker shouted at her indignantly.

"My young lady can write poetry! And she's a good housekeeper!"

"My young lady is the legitimate daughter of the Minister of War! Do you have a higher social standing than my young lady?"

"I...I...My background doesn't matter. What matters most is that two people are in love. Besides, how could the legitimate daughter of the Minister of War be fighting with someone else for a man at the gate?"

When the matchmaker saw that her daughter's official rank was inferior to others, she began to attack her from other angles.

The matchmaker, who had been so smug just moments before, instantly deflated. What to do? What to do? How could she have let it slip? Wouldn't her master punish her when she got back? She didn't have time to argue and secretly slipped away.

"You have no idea how lively Song Zhuangyuan's mansion is! There are people inviting him to drinks, and others wanting to visit him. Yesterday, there was even a matchmaker fighting at the mansion gate!" Su Qiaoqiao said.

"Really? What did that top scholar Song look like? It even caused the matchmakers to fight." Madam Guan said, but her needle and thread continued to move.

"I've never seen him either, but someone who can become the top scholar must be quite good-looking, right? Master, have you seen him?"

Su Qiaoqiao asked Shen Xing'er, who was on the second floor matching threads for them. She was the boldest among the embroiderers, so she always dared to say a few words to Shen Xing'er.

Shen Xing'er paused in her work, then smiled slightly and said...

"No, the top scholar is so prestigious, how could ordinary people like us easily meet him?"

“That’s true. I passed by our building yesterday and only glanced at it from afar. All I could see was red; I couldn’t see anything else,” said Madam Guan.

"He's been surrounded by people for ages, so it's best we don't join the crowd. But ever since the results of the imperial examination came out, our shop's business has improved a lot," Su Qiaoqiao said.

These past two days, when she went downstairs for lunch, she saw that the owner was still selling embroidery, whereas the shop would usually be empty by noon.

"Yes, perhaps they want to dress up in a glamorous way so that the new officials will take a second look at them. The weather is neither too hot nor too cold now, which is also a good time for engagements, and the young ladies are indeed more willing to spend money than usual," Shen Xing'er said.

When their shop first opened, many people just came to look but didn't buy. Most of them weren't unable to afford it, but they were reluctant to spend a few taels of silver on a small sachet. Later, the customers who left Jinxiufang could no longer appreciate the other styles.

Therefore, although Jinxiufang has only been open for a short time, it has already attracted a lot of repeat customers.

"Xing'er, your father is back!" Wang called from downstairs.

"Coming, coming!" Shen Xing'er put down the thread in her hand and ran out.

"Father, you're back. Where's the fabric?" Shen Xing'er came downstairs and saw that the shop was empty, with only Shen Kun and Wang Shi inside.

"They're at the entrance. They bought so much stuff that I had to rent three horse-drawn carriages at the dock to haul it all away. Look, they're unloading it right now." Shen Kun held a cup of tea and drank it all in one gulp.

Shen Xing'er didn't have time to exchange many pleasantries with Shen Kun before rushing out. She couldn't wait to see what kind of fabrics Jiangnan had and whether there were many new styles.

She paid the driver, and the family of three dragged the fabric into the shop. Shen Xing'er looked at the six large bundles of fabric, her eyes shining, just like a wolf seeing a lamb.

"Here, take it apart." Wang rolled her eyes at her and handed her a pair of scissors.

"Hehe, Mother understands me best." Shen Xing'er took the scissors and carefully began to disassemble.

"Wow, this purple is beautiful, it looks so refreshing."

"Is this a new style from Jiangnan? What kind of thread is that? I've never seen it before?"

"This fabric is so cool and comfortable. Are summer styles already available in the Jiangnan region?"

Shen Xing'er kept asking questions, and every time she touched a new piece of fabric, she would ask Shen Kun without turning her head.

After she had finally examined all the fabrics, she had finished asking her questions. Shen Kun, who had been living a life of hardship these past few days, hadn't even had a sip of hot tea on the road. He put down his teacup and said with a smile...

"Fortunately, your dad has a good memory, otherwise I wouldn't know which of your many questions to answer."

"I saw so many people buying this purple fabric, so I joined the queue and bought some too. The color isn't too dark, so even young ladies who have just reached adulthood won't look old-fashioned wearing it. This one has two-tone thread, with gold and silver threads interwoven together, and it's the most expensive fabric in this batch. It's hotter in Jiangnan than in the capital, and I thought it wouldn't be easy to go there, so I also bought some summer fabrics to see which ones sell well, and then Father can buy some more later."

After Shen Kun finished speaking, he felt thirsty again. He picked up the teapot to pour himself some tea, only to find that he had already drunk all the tea in the teapot.

Wang looked at him with pity, pressed down on his shoulder as he was about to get up, and went to get water for Shen Kun herself.

“I didn’t realize you had such good taste, Father. Every single one looks great. Now that we have more fabric, I’m planning to take on some custom-made clothing orders,” Shen Xing’er said.

Because Jinxiufang is a high-end custom-made brand, and each design is personally drawn by her, some regular customers want Shen Xing'er to design clothes for them, some as part of their dowry, and others as gifts for their friends.

However, there was no extra fabric left in the shop. Shen Xing'er was afraid of leaving customers with the impression that she had few styles, so she politely declined all orders. Now that she has so much fabric that it almost fills the shop, she is motivated to expand her business and take on more orders.

"It's not that Dad has a good eye. How would a grown man like me know these things? I just look at which styles are popular and that's where I buy them. The fabrics from Jiangnan are famous, so even if you buy them with your eyes closed, you won't get bad ones."

Shen Kun said with a smile.

"No matter what, Father, you've had a hard time on this trip. You were gone for ten whole days, and I've missed you a little," Shen Xing'er said with a smile and a coquettish tone.

"Hahaha, you've charmed me again, you little devil. Here, take a look at this list. I'm going to catch up on my sleep. I haven't been eating or sleeping well on the ship these past few days. Now that we're in the capital, I can finally get a good night's rest."

Shen Kun took out two long sheets from his sleeve, yawned, and went back to his hut to rest. He hadn't slept for several days and was starting to miss them!

"Go to sleep, your daughter will make you some pork rib soup later!" Shen Xing'er said to Shen Kun's back.

After Shen Kun left, Shen Xing'er asked Wang Shi to watch the shop while she cut a small piece from each piece of fabric to draw patterns on, making sure each pattern matched the fabric better.

Shen Xing'er also unexpectedly discovered a large bag of two-tone thread. With this two-tone thread, her Jinxiufang could launch more new designs. However, she couldn't draw patterns today, as cutting the fabric alone was a huge undertaking.

"Let's cut it tomorrow. It's getting dark. Let's go home." Mrs. Wang was carrying the ribs she had bought from the street when she saw her daughter still squatting on the ground cutting fabric.