Chapter 403: Chapter 402: In This City, There Is One More Heartbroken Soul
The next morning dawned bright.
Shen Hua’s eyes were sore and irritated from spending most of the last night embroidering, and she rubbed them with her hand.
"Miss Shen."
Yingwu approached her.
"Have you read the letter Lord Shen wrote to you a few days ago?"
Shen Hua responded slowly.
"Perhaps you might consider replying to him," Yingwu delicately suggested.
Shen Hua frowned and was unabashed in her reply.
"No."
It was only recently that Cui Yun had sent her a letter, which she had secretly read over and over again in the night, even placing it under her pillow before sleeping.
As they say in plays, a girl must be reserved, especially when apart from each other—more so. In plays, a character would typically receive three letters before replying to one.
As for me, Yangyang, I shall wait for four!
Yingwu’s expressionless face seemed filled with difficulty.
Yet Shen Hua paid little attention, her mind absorbed by the embroidery sent by the embroidery ladies, sinking into deep thought.
Embroidery can’t be rushed, each stitch and thread taking time, yet Shen Hua felt it was too slow.
If one wants sustainable development... attracting new embroidery ladies would be necessary.
With various embroidery workshops in Fengzhou quietly competing, recruitment would be challenging.
She couldn’t help thinking that nearby Hengzhou, blessed with outstanding people and remarkable scenery, should have many talented embroiderers. With proper training, they could certainly be taught.
"Miss Shen."
"Someone from the Zhou Family has arrived."
Shen Hua’s eyebrows moved slightly. She collected her thoughts.
After she went to the reception hall, she recognized the visitor at a glance.
Old Master Zhou’s eyes shone with shrewdness, yet he remained seated without standing up, maintaining an aire. But the words he spoke were pleasant.
"I am an old acquaintance of your mother, and by rights, I should have come to see you days ago. But I’ve been so incredibly busy; today, my visit is an imposition."
"Here is a five-hundred-year-old ginseng, highly nourishing; you should accept it."
Shen Hua did not even glance at the ginseng and took her seat. She nibbled on the treats from the tea table.
Still just a green girl.
Old Master Zhou glanced at her subtly, then explained his purpose for coming.
"I have come today to discuss an important matter."
Upon hearing this, Shen Hua deigned to look at him, though her tone was harsh.
"Old acquaintance? If my memory serves, I last saw you five years ago. The Zhou Family Embroidery Workshop has always been outperformed by the Shen Family’s Embroidery Workshop, and you were resentful but lacked the skill to compete. You used to mock my mother, saying she was just a woman who liked to show off."
As she spoke, she laughed dismissively.
"Now, you have the face to ask for my help?"
A look of embarrassment flashed across Old Master Zhou’s face.
Indeed, such an incident had occurred.
He cleared his throat and said, "I have always kept my eye on your matters."
"Shen Qu is indeed heartless, and none of the Shen family members are good people."
"Even your shop has remained eerily quiet since its opening, failing to secure a single deal. I feel no need to point out that Shen Qu is behind this."
Seeing that Shen Hua remained silent, Old Master Zhou hinted further.
"He’s already spread the word that doing business with your shop is crossing the Shen Family. It shows just one move from him, and your business can’t last."
Upon hearing this, Shen Hua continued to eat her treats.
What she’s been waiting for is on the verge of withering away.
Without Shen Qu’s interference, how could Shen Hua, the most mannerly of girls, resort to force?
Such a cunning little man, who knows what schemes he’s pondering next.
The Shen Residence is currently in internal strife; Shen Qu must be furious.
Old Master Zhou shifted his gaze, "In light of this, Miss Shen, why show them any courtesy? In my opinion, we should collaborate to bring down the Shen Family’s Embroidery Workshop."
He offered a resigned smile.
"I’ll be frank; the Zhou Family Embroidery Workshop has been doing quite well these past few months, posing the greatest threat to the Shen Family’s Embroidery Workshop here in Fengzhou City. If you agree, let the embroidery ladies under you join us, and the Zhou Family Embroidery Workshop will give you a 30% share of the annual profits. What do you say?"
The sincerity was substantial.
Old Master Zhou awaited Shen Hua’s nod of agreement.
But the girl only scoffed.
"Thirty percent?"
"Old Master Zhou, do you think I’m foolish just because you’re older?"
The girl looked over with a cold and indifferent gaze.
"The Shen Family shows signs of decline, simply because it lacks an old embroiderer at the helm. As for your Zhou Family, which has never turned its fortunes around in all these years, it’s merely due to subpar embroidery skills. You covet three-tenths of my embroidery ladies; wouldn’t you be better off going back to sleep and dreaming about it?"
Old Master Zhou: ??? This little girl, how dare she speak to me with such words!
Shen Hua looked at him with disdain.
"I bought an embroidery piece from your Zhou Family the other day, depicting chrysanthemums. After one look, I found it so utterly mediocre that I had the servants use it to wipe the tables."
Chrysanthemums are narrow-petaled flowers, which should be embroidered with a slanting twist needle technique. Often, one starts by embroidering the petals, then the flower’s center. The colors are not limited to just red and white; one can use a single color or a combination of colors.
If it is based on a pattern, success comes merely by attracting customers. However, if it is based on a real scene, much more attention is needed. The brightness of the light, the weather being clear or cloudy, whether it’s windy, and the angles are all points of attention.
One must pay attention to the varying graceful positions of the petals, and also how the colors of the petals transition from light to dark or from dark to light.
The girl could produce more eye-catching work than the Zhou Family’s embroidery pieces even with her eyes closed, just using her needle and thread.
"You—"
"I’m just telling the truth, Old Master Zhou, why so angry?"
"Don’t worsen your health with anger, lest it becomes the first good deal in my workshop."
Shen Hua took a sip of her tea.
"To take down the Shen Family is my affair. As an outsider, if you truly have the skill, compete with the Shen Family’s Embroidery Workshop on your merits. If not, then accept your fate and don’t dream of ascending to heaven in one step. Old man, aren’t you embarrassed?"
She recalled something and her eyes gleamed with mischief.
"That’s right, the son you’ve doted on for years is born from your late Madam and your steward. Even for something like having a son, you rely on others."
Old Master Zhou: !!! This is his utmost humiliation!
"Save it, your little embroidery workshop is nothing I’d fancy."
Ignoring Old Master Zhou’s infuriated face, the girl continued, "You might as well know that since the embroidery workshop was left to me by my Mama, it is naturally for me to carry on. So what if it died in Shen Qu’s hands? As long as I step in, it will come back to life."
"As for you, you should go back and think about how you couldn’t outdo my Mama back in the day, and now that you’ve been given a chance, don’t end up being outshone by me as well."
The girl frowned.
"Then you really would become the laughingstock."
Old Master Zhou abruptly stood up.
"Impudent brat!"
"It’s often said that the girls of the Shen Family are arrogant and domineering, and it seems it’s true!"
He didn’t come here to take this.
Old Master Zhou, unwilling to talk any further, swept his sleeves and walked out.
Shen Hua slowly picked up her tea, counted a few petals first, and then delicately sipped from the cup at her lips.
Just then, Old Master Zhou’s footsteps halted and he turned back.
Confused, the girl raised her eyes only to see the old man picking up the ginseng.
Shen Hua: ...
How stingy.
How miserly.
She watched Old Master Zhou’s departing back with disdain.
Gently swinging her legs, Shen Hua wiped the crumbs of the snacks from her hands with a handkerchief. Her mind once again sank into deep thought.
She propped her chin, blinking lightly.
"It’s so distressing that I can’t sell the coffin."
Yet her face didn’t show a hint of distress.
"Since it can’t be sold, let’s give it away."
Yicui’s forehead twitched, and she saw the girl get up joyfully.
"Since I’ve come back, I have not yet paid respect to the clan elders."
Shen Hua decided firmly: "I must send over a coffin with great fanfare and drums."
She intended to disgust those people once again.
"Shen He Wen will be back soon, and Shen Qu must be planning to conspire against me with him."
"Yicui, pack our bags. I need to go to Hengzhou to lay low for a while."
The girl covered her heart with one hand, acting coy and tenderly obedient.
"How frightening."
Rarely she indulged in such artistic flair.
"This city, after all, has one more heartbroken person."
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