Chapter 26: The Pupil of the Eye

  (Happy New Year's Day 6, everyone! Today is still a single update. Qian Yu is really sorry and doesn't dare to ask for votes from you guys anymore. Qian Yu will strive to make time to write more and update frequently. Just give your votes silently... covering my face and running away...)

  "Miss, this is an embroidery shop, not a painting store. If you want to sell paintings, go out the door and turn left, there's a specialized painting collector's shop more than ten yards ahead, but judging from what I see, your paintings are probably..."

  I'm afraid nobody wants it!

  The shopkeeper's expression was quite unsightly.

  Laughing at his appearance, it's clear that he looks down on the shopkeeper's wife. At the same time as feeling heartache for the shopkeeper's wife, she couldn't help but glare at the shopkeeper with a frown.

  "These would be worthless if taken to a pawnshop, but selling them to your esteemed manor will bring in more than double the profit!" Jinzi said calmly.

  Are you bragging? You, a young girl, learning from others to talk big and boast?

  Is this lousy painting enchanted or something?

  How can it bring twice the profit to Embroidered Villa?

  Get out!

  The shopkeeper didn't want to get entangled with Jinzi anymore, so he took the blueprint and threw it into Jinzi's arms, starting to drive him away.

  "Don't you think the patterns on your brocade are too outdated? Wouldn't it be lovely to make a floral tapestry with this small daisy pattern? Such lively patterns would not only be liked by noblewomen, but also by young ladies in their boudoirs. Isn't the customer base of Rongyu Zhuang expanding twofold?" Jinzi explained as he was being driven back by the shopkeeper.

  "What's all the commotion about? Can't you see that our Yu Xiu Zhuang is a renowned establishment? Do we need to worry about attracting customers?" The shopkeeper puffed out his chest and glared, if the person in front of him were a man, he would have probably been beaten with a stick by now.

  Jinzi and Xiaoxiao retreated to the embroidery shop in embarrassment, almost tripping over the threshold and falling flat on their faces. What a disastrous start indeed!

  "Daughter, are you alright?" Laughter filled her eyes with tears, and her heart was overwhelmed with sorrow.

  If it weren't for Lin's harsh treatment, how would the young lady have to endure such humiliation for the sake of a living? Thinking about this, I couldn't help but feel more resentment towards Lin.

  "Never mind, let's just forget it. If they can't appreciate us, we can't beg for their attention either. Let's go to another embroidery shop and try our luck!" Jinzi sighed and smiled as she prepared to leave Yuexiu Villa.

  "Wait..." A clear female voice came from inside the villa.

  Jinzi turned around, but there was no one behind him.

  Am I hallucinating?

  The shopkeeper hurriedly ran to the stairs of the back hall and asked: "What are your orders, madam?"

  "Wu Shu, go and invite that young lady in!" The little girl upstairs ordered.

  The shopkeeper named Wu Shu looked at Jinzi standing in the doorway with a suspicious gaze and replied, "Yes, madam!"

  Jinzi was overjoyed in his heart, he had met a noble person. It seemed that this lady should be the one in charge, which was even better...

  Jinzi and Xiaoxiao followed the shopkeeper up to the second floor.

  The second floor was actually a showroom for finished garments, with various colorful clothing on display, categorized and arranged neatly. There were cheongsam dresses, skirts, jackets, undershirts, long gowns... Jinzi thought he had walked into a modern fashion exhibition.

  What about that girl just now? Judging from her voice, she should be very young, right?

  But judging from Wu Shu's respectful attitude, could it be that this young lady is the boss's daughter?

  Wu Shu walked into a separate office and had not yet knocked on the door when he heard someone inside say, "Bring him in!"

  "Yes!" Wu Shu pulled open the lattice door painted with ink orchids and said sideways to Jinzi, "Please come in, young lady!"

  Kaneko bowed and walked into the gate with a smile.

  The room was nothing like Jinzi's imagined ancient office style. For a moment, Jinzi thought he had mistakenly traveled through time and space to ordinary Japan.

  The interior decoration is like Japanese style seen on TV, wooden floor, tatami, low table, tea ceremony...

  A fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl wore a loose white cross-collared robe, kneeling on the tatami mat, with a head of black and shiny long hair scattered naturally, without any ribbon to restrain it. On her forehead, a string of black pearls held a snow-white star-shaped jade ornament. Her face was extremely handsome, with a hint of casualness between her eyebrows.

  Her eyes, as bright and clear as obsidian, fell on Jinzi, her moist lips slightly raised, and she smiled: "Please sit down, my lady!"

  Jinzi smiled and sat down, after adjusting his clothes, he gave a slight bow.

  A girl in white clothes presented a cup of clear tea in front of Jinzi, with a faint lazy tone, as if she was chatting with an old friend: "I just brewed it, you're really lucky, try it quickly!"

  Kanako felt extremely comfortable with this way of interacting and her reserve had relaxed a great deal.

  "Good!"

  "How is it?" The girl asked with a smile.

  The smile was even more dazzling than the sunrise, leaving her dazed and bewildered.

  "It's delicious!" Jinzi praised and then asked: "I don't know why the young lady invited us, master and servant, to come up..."

  "Oh, of course not just drinking tea!" The white-clothed girl retorted back.

  She drained the tea from her cup, put down the teacup and clapped her hands, looking at Jinzi: "Just now I accidentally heard your conversation with Wu Shu, I want to see your drawing!"

  Jinzi hurriedly presented the pattern to her, and the young girl glanced at it briefly before saying: "The pattern is not bad, I'll take it. You go down and get 200 taels of silver from Wu Shu. In the future, if you have new patterns, you can send them over, but the patterns sold to our Rui Xiu Zhuang cannot be sold to other embroidery shops. Can you do that?"

  Laughing with a shocked face, Jinzi's heart was also filled with wild joy at this moment.

  This turn of events is too sudden, isn't it? A young girl, opening her mouth and using 200 taels of silver to buy her draft, this is also too bold, isn't it?

  Kinoshita's face was calm and he said seriously: "Of course!"

  "If you can embroider the pattern yourself and provide it to Yuexiu Zhuang, then we can skip the color matching process and directly let the embroidery girls in the workshop copy it. In that case, we can sign a cooperation contract, and when the time comes, your reward will also be more!" The white-clothed girl leaned on the tatami mat, looking languid.

  "Let's consider it next time!" Jinzi said with a smile.

  "Alright, go and settle the bill with Uncle Wu!"

  Kaneko bowed and stood up, preparing to leave the cubicle. Behind him, he heard the voice of the white-robed girl again: "May I see your face?"

  Jinzi turned around, and the girl's face as white as jade had a hint of curiosity, her dark eyes falling on Meng Ling.

  "Of course!" Jinzi liked this little girl very much and was willing to satisfy her request.

  The moment she took off her veil, the white-clad girl covered her mouth and exclaimed with wide eyes: "Sister is so beautiful..."

  Kanako smiled slightly, thinking that this was the kind of demeanor a teenage girl should have. Just now, she had been pretending to be mature, but that natural air of laziness wasn't an act, and it made people feel at ease.

  "What is your sister's name?" the girl asked again.

  "Jingluo!"

  "I'm Yuyan!" The white-clad girl smiled and said.

  "It's great to meet you, Yuanyuan!" Jin smiled warmly and bowed again before slowly walking down the stairs.

  Wu Shu, the shopkeeper, clearly did not expect this turn of events and had no idea why his wife would spend two hundred taels of silver on a few broken paintings. However, since his wife had instructed him to do so, he could only obey her orders, took out two hundred taels of silver for Jinzi, and also opened a receipt for Jinzi to sign.

  After Jinzi left, the white-clothed girl walked down the stairs with a gentle pace. Wu Shu welcomed her and was about to ask something when he heard the girl say with a smile: "Does Uncle Wu believe me?"

  "Wu Shu naturally believed his daughter-in-law!"

  These words are true and not false, the young lady has been clever and wise since childhood, she is a person with her own opinions. The high-ranking monks of Tianlong Temple have said that the young lady is a reincarnation of Hui Xing, with extraordinary talents.

  Just talking about the design of Yuexiu Building is a masterpiece, and it's also an important reason to attract many customers. These are things that even a wise old man like you can't do!

  "That's it, you said that beautiful flower pattern, take it to another embroidery shop, if they have a discerning eye, and make it, won't it affect the business of our Yuexiu Embroidery Shop? Two hundred taels, with so many more patterns, can still expand our customer base as Miss Jingluo said, why not do it?" The white-clad girl leaned against the display cabinet, smiling faintly.

  Sharp eyes like a torch?

  That means he just didn't recognize Mount Tai when it was right in front of him?