Chapter 13 Part I
The next day was the Fabric Competition Festival, and Zhenzhu woke up early to prepare for viewing the fabrics entered in the competition by various stores.
The Fabric Competition Festival is a local event in Feirong City, held to promote tourism and encourage the fabric trade within the city. Each year, stores and individuals produce fabrics to enter the competition. The winners receive cash prizes from the city authorities, and more importantly, the winning fabrics gain fa and sell so well that the factories can hardly keep up, like Lady Yaoyao’s jade pearl silk that won in the past and beca so popular that the factory could hardly et the demand.
After dinner the previous day, Li Si returned ho but not before leaving her address with Zhenzhu, telling her to visit if she ever cos to the capital.
"I’m ready, I’m ready. Let’s go," He Yu ran out of the house, dressed in finely tailored ordinary cotton attire, while the pattern was so simple, yet an overall look, together with his adorable face, made him look like a young nobleman from a distinguished family. He was particularly cheerful today, having received a pony from his father.
The He family traveled to the town square, the venue for the silk display from various shops. Before entering the event, there was a registration table for participants. Upon registering with the officials, each participant was given one voting card. This card allowed attendees to vote on which shop’s silk they believed deserved the top prize. In front of each silk display table, there was a small wooden box for participants to place their voting cards. After the judges finished their evaluations, the officials would collect the voting cards from each shop, tally them with the judges’ scores, and announce the winning silk.
Zhenzhu took her voting card from an official and held He Yu’s little hand while walking into the central square. People from all directions who loved fabric craftsmanship had traveled to attend this exhibition. Besides the fabrics, there were also various local goods for sale, including snacks, fresh fruits, pickled fruits, and local handicrafts.
"Go ahead and enjoy the fabrics, Zhu’er. Your father and I will take Yu’er for so snacks over there," Miss Wang said, knowing her daughter had long wanted to stroll through the fabric displays.
"Thank you, mother. If you can’t find later, I’ll et you back at our lodging. I can take care of myself," Zhenzhu ntioned, anticipating the possibility of getting separated in the crowd.
"I’ll accompany you, Younger Sister."
"Thank you, Big Brother," Zhenzhu smiled at him. Yesterday, he had to carry bags, but today it wasn’t necessary. After returning to their lodging yesterday, she selected a blood-red jade bracelet and engraved a Dinsional Character on it, allowing her now to have enough storage space without having to carry loads. If she liked any fabric, she could buy it and discreetly store it in her dinsional space.
Zhenzhu tirelessly explored various fabrics, marveling at Feirong City’s extensive selection, including silk, cotton, linen, and wool. Each store showcased fabrics in different styles, from simple and elegant to complex and luxurious patterns. After visiting several stores and finding it hard to decide where to cast her vote.
So stores not only displayed but also sold their fabrics. Zhenzhu picked several fabrics she liked to make clothes for her family, choosing cotton for its breathability in sumr and wool for its warmth in winter.
Currently, the voting card still lay inert in her pocket.
"It’s truly exquisite. Look, it even has a faint scent. This must have been fragranced, right?"
"Yes, indeed. Our store fragrances this special fabric to retain its scent for a long ti. It’s perfect for making formal wear."
She glanced at a fabric store surrounded by a crowd, making it impossible to see through. Taking advantage of her petite size, Zhenzhu squeezed through to find out why this store attracted such attention. Reaching the front, she saw the store displayed a special silk fabric known as Golden Silk. This fabric, interwoven with gold and silk threads, shimred magnificently in the light.
"Truly beautiful," Zhenzhu admired.
"How much for a bolt?" asked a custor.
"A bolt is 3,000 taels. For this festival, our store only sells two bolts," the seller responded.
Expensive indeed! Zhenzhu quickly made her way out.
Though the fabric, woven with gold fibers, was beautiful and unique, it made the fabric heavy and uncomfortable. This kind of fabric with a nice texture should be made into formal wear, just like what the seller said, not suitable for everyday wear. Zhenzhu would not spend 3,000 taels on a single bolt of fabric. Only a genuinely boastful furen could afford such luxury, and another reason was that she was rely a gardener’s daughter, not a nobleman’s, to buy such an expensive fabric for a formal event.
"Eh, why did you co out? Was the fabric not beautiful?" He Ming, waiting outside, asked, puzzled.
"It was beautiful, but too expensive. Let’s look at other stores."
Zhenzhu continued exploring other stores, then stopped in front of one manned by a middle-aged woman and a little girl about 9-10 years old, Zhenzhu’s age. However, this store had no visitors at all.
"Mother, why isn’t anyone looking at our fabric?" the little girl asked.
"Wait a bit longer, Ning’er. It’s not over yet," the mother consoled.
"Mother, if we can’t sell the fabric, we won’t have money to buy mulberry leaves, and our silkworms will die," the girl said with a downcast face. Ning’er didn’t care about winning; selling even one bolt would allow her mother to buy mulberry leaves.
Zhenzhu observed the coarse silk fabric they had for the competition. Despite good weaving skills, the silk’s poor quality resulted in a rough fabric with many irregularities. This bolt of fabric, even the color was opaque white with no pattern that would make it pleasant to look. And even the coarsest linen wasn’t as rough as this silk bolt. It was no wonder no one was interested. About to walk away, Zhenzhu paused, moved by the girl’s sad expression.
She wasn’t usually so charitable, but the situation touched her heart, prompting her to approach the mother and daughter.
"Miss, how much for this bolt of fabric?"
"Oh, young lady, this silk bolt is just 10 taels," the middle-aged woman replied, visibly pleased to have a potential buyer.
The potential buyer, on the other hand, was shocked. 10 taels!
Isn’t that too expensive?
“Why does this rough silk cost so expensive, even Lady Yaoyao’s exquisite jade pearl silk sells for only 50 taels per bolt. This rough silk, lacking any design or color, priced at 10 taels seed unreasonable, especially when compared to low-quality linen sold at 40-100 brass coins per bolt."
This rchant certainly set the price too high. Any sympathy from Zhenzhu had disappeared instantly. ‘Better sell it to soone else at that price.’
"Oh, I was just asking out of curiosity because it seed unusual. Excuse ," Zhenzhu turned to leave.
"Wait a mont, young lady. Hear out a bit more, and then if you decide not to buy, there’s no harm," the rchant hastily called out, fearing her only custor would leave.
"Uh, what is it, auntie?"
Little Yu Ning hurriedly presented the fabric to Zhenzhu, "Please, young lady, feel it first." Zhenzhu reached out to take the fabric, not wanting to dismiss the kindness of the offer. But once her hand touched the fabric, she was surprised.
Eh, why the fabric was this soft, cool, and lightweight?
"Young lady, this is Tiejin silk, produced from Tiejin silkworms, a very special breed. It has the unique property of being warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather. The fabric’s color also changes with the temperature. Additionally, it’s soft, smooth, lightweight, and unlike ordinary silk, it doesn’t stiffen or weigh down."
The rchant then took a sharp knife and slashed at the fabric with all her strength, yet the silk showed no sign of damage.
Wow, it’s that durable!
"Tiejin silk is extrely durable. You see, young lady, how good the quality of this fabric is. Its only flaw is its appearance; it’s not as refined. But buying it for 10 taels is an absolute bargain."
Zhenzhu was astounded as she examined the Tiejin silk. She now understood why the mother and daughter were asking such a high price for this bolt. Although not finely textured, the fabric’s properties justified the price, 10 taels were not considered overpriced at all.
The fabric that would cool in heat, warm in cold, changing color with temperature, soft, lightweight, and very durable. What kind of extraordinary silkworms were these?
Tiejin silkworms?
Why had she never heard of this breed before? What do the silkworms look like, and could she buy so to raise?
"Auntie, do you sell the silkworm breed?"
"I’m sorry, young lady. Tiejin silkworms are very hard to raise. Too hot, too cold, improper sunlight, inadequate air circulation, or humidity can kill them. They require regular cleaning of their waste. Do you think you can manage that?"
That difficult to raise?
"Then, could you sell the breed and teach to raise them? I’ll pay a fair price." Zhenzhu wanted these silkworms for their remarkable silk properties. Although the silk was coarse, she believed that with future breeding improvents, she might make the silk finer.
The rchant hesitated, "Let think about it, young lady." The Tiejin silkworms have been raised by her ancestors for many generations. Though not very popular, their silk quality is superior. And now, she herself faced a dilemma. With her land seized by creditors, leaving no space to cultivate mulberry trees, she needed money to buy mulberry leaves from locals to feed her Tiejin silkworms, preventing them from dying out.
Zhenzhu and He Ming returned to their manor after reaching an agreent with the mother and daughter.
One was Yu Qu, the mother, and the other, Yu Ning, her daughter. Originally, they made a living by cultivating mulberry and raising silkworms to weave silk for sale. However, as the number of silkworm farrs in Feirong city increased over the past few years, the price of silk drastically dropped. Last year, when Yu Ning’s father beca seriously ill, Miss Qu had to mortgage their last piece of land to pay for his treatnt. Unfortunately, her husband passed away soon after. With the family’s main provider gone, Miss Qu had to work alone, with only minor help from her young daughter. The inco from weaving silk was ager, not enough to pay off their debts. Eventually, the creditors seized their only mulberry garden. Now, Miss Qu had to earn money to buy mulberry leaves to prevent the various silkworm breeds she raised from dying.
But what worried Miss Qu the most was the Tiejin silkworms, a special breed with extraordinary properties. Even though the silk produced from Tiejin silkworms had many knots and was not visually appealing, its fabric properties could compensate for these flaws. Despite her efforts, Tiejin silk never beca popular. She often tried to persuade villagers to raise this type of silkworm, but no one did, as the silk produced was difficult to sell due to its coarse texture. Hence, Miss Qu was the only one still raising them.
Seeing soone interested in Tiejin silkworms and willing to pay a good price, Miss Qu beca hesitant. The young lady’s offer made her even more tempted, especially now that she no longer had land or a ho in Feirong city. Her current residence was rented, and the only possessions she had were the Tiejin silkworm breed and her weaving skills.
Young lady Zhenzhu said she was about to establish a weaving factory and was looking for various silkworm breeds to produce a variety of silk types. She ca to Feirong city to find skilled weavers and to look at beautiful fabrics. Impressed by the Tiejin silk’s extraordinary properties, she offered Miss Qu a job at her weaving factory and proposed to buy the Tiejin silkworm breed to cultivate. Lady Zhenzhu also ntioned she had accommodation for workers without rent. If she interested in helping with her work, she would receive monthly salary. Once she heard the amount, she touched her chest, a generous salary indeed. With a salary that high, they wouldn’t have to skip als anymore and would have at at every al. Eventually, Miss Qu decided to work at Lady Zhenzhu’s weaving factory.
Miss Qu hurriedly took Yu Ning to pack their belongings in preparation for their move. Zhenzhu said she would hire a carriage to transport their things.
Upon returning to their manor, Zhenzhu found that He Lei, Miss Wang, and He Yu had already returned and were waiting for them. She shared the entire story with her family.
"Ah, having a skilled weaver join us is good too. I was thinking of taking you to look for weavers in this city. Now that we’ve found one, let her and her daughter stay in the new worker’s quarters we built."
"Thank you, father."
"Oh, another thing, father, do you rember the old man selling the painting I told you about? I didn’t get to see him today. I wonder if he’s still there."
He Lei smiled and went to fetch a painting from his bedroom.
"This is..." It was that lake painting!
"Did he agree to sell it to you?"
"Not only did he sell it, but he also reduced the price to just 100 taels." He Lei said with a smile on his face.
"Why did he drop the price so much?" Zhenzhu was startled. She had asked to buy it at full price the day before and was refused. Now, from 500 taels to 100 taels?
"All thanks to He Yu. He spoke with Master Wen Dai for just a mont, and he agreed to sell it. Moreover, he accepted He Yu as his disciple," He Lei pointed at the little boy munching on the snacks Miss Wang gave him.
"Really? Is he truly an artistic spirit energy cultivator?" Zhenzhu was thrilled for her brother, who had found a master.
"Yes, Master Wen Dai is an artistic spirit energy cultivator. He travels widely without a permanent ho. He promised to visit Fengfu City later."
"Ah, that’s truly wonderful."
"Big Sister, I’ve taken Master Wen Dai as my teacher. I will beco a great painter in the future," the little boy ran to hug his sister’s waist, his eyes sparkling with determination.
"Really? I wonder if Master Wen Dai will get headaches from you just like Teacher Li did. Yu’er, you must study hard," she gently patted his head.
"I will study hard. Then, I’ll paint Painting’s Beast to play with Baihu and Xiao She," the little boy said with determination in his eyes.
"Is that so? My talented little brother," Zhenzhu laughed brightly. She didn’t expect so much, just painting pictures that could create a realm of painting was impressive enough, but creating a realm of painting isn’t an easy task for a painter.
-----
Read ‘Rebirth: This Farmgirl Has Spirit Fish Scales’ before anyone else with more Chapters at sjinovel/en
Reviews
All reviews (0)