18th Yangzhou (4)

  Xiao Niang was initially unhappy when Liu Yuan took such expensive jewelry to make a hairpiece, thinking it was a waste of money. What she couldn't bear to part with the most was that piece of Butterfly Lovers' jewelry. She didn't expect this method to be so effective.

  Those cheaper ordinary ornaments are not enough to sell, the expensive jewelry priced at thirty or fifty taels sells at most twelve pieces a day, making a net profit of over three hundred taels.

  More than 300 taels, a small ordinary shop can earn about 10 taels in a month, which is already good. Earning more than 300 taels in one day is equivalent to the profit of a small shop for three years. That night, the young woman slept with her silver box in her arms and was sleepless for the first time.

  Originally, Liu Yuan said that within seven years, he would make Datang the industry leader, and Xiaoniang thought Liu Yuan was just comforting himself with empty words. Now it seems that this Brother Liu still has a plan in mind.

  Now Liu Yuan can be said to be suffering and happy at the same time. The happiness is that the reputation of Jinyu Shi's family is getting higher and higher, business is getting better and better, with more and more people coming here to appreciate the couplets and jewelry, originally only belonging to the third-rate Jinyu Shi's family suddenly gained a great reputation, becoming one of the most famous gold shops in Yangzhou.

  But what Liu Yuan found most painful was that in the entire Jin Yu jewelry store, he alone was responsible for crafting ornaments. He had no helper; everything was done by himself. By day, he acted as a shopkeeper, and by night, he worked as an apprentice craftsman, from modeling to polishing, all by himself, exhausting him to the point of muscle cramps.

  Liu Yuan and Xiao Niang discussed it over, found an opportunity to buy a few clever children back to train, first Liu Yuan didn't have to worry about his skills being leaked, allowing himself to maintain technical leadership in the Tang Dynasty, secondly after Li Fang and Zhao Yuan's killing of their master incident, Xiao Niang also strongly opposed taking on apprentices again.

  In the Tang Dynasty, buying and selling slaves was legal. There were children from poor families, prisoners of war who opened up new territories, Baekje slaves, Kunlun slaves, and so on. You could buy a few slaves without it being a big deal. After purchasing them, there would be official recognition, and if they dared to run away, they would be guilty of a capital offense. It's just that I haven't had time to go shopping recently.

  No sooner had they sat down than a young couple followed them in.

  "Two gentlemen, please take a look. Our Jin Yu Shi family's jewelry is of the highest quality." Xiao Niang was a woman, although she was born into a merchant family, it was still not very suitable for her to be in charge of receiving guests, so the important task naturally fell on Liu Yuan's shoulders.

  Of course, Liu Yuan was also reluctant to let his own woman show her face at this time. At this point, he was still powerless and had no influence, and if he encountered some spoiled young master, it would be very dangerous for a small girl like Hua.

  "The shopkeeper was polite, my friend said that the jewelry of the Jin Yu family is unique and specially came to pick one." That young master's attitude was quite good, at least he didn't have the condescending attitude of a scholar towards a merchant.

  It's not his turn to be arrogant, the whole Yangzhou knows that the couplet hanging on the door, which is difficult for all the scholars in Yangzhou to understand, was written by this unknown Liu Zhanggui. Unintentionally, Liu's reputation also spread among the scholars, and similarly, his reputation was greatly boosted. For people with knowledge, everyone will show respect.

  Liu Yuan smiled and said: "Those are all empty names, as long as the two of you choose what's in your heart, that's good enough."

  No matter which dynasty, jewelry has always been the favorite of women. Just as Liu Yuan and Gongzi were greeting each other, the woman's eyes lit up and she pointed to one of the pieces of jewelry, asking: "Shopkeeper, can I take a look at this piece of jewelry?"

  "Of course." Liu Yuan took out a piece of jewelry from the cabinet and placed it on the counter, smiling: "This lady has a good eye for things, this Rain Orchid is also a rare treasure."

  "Listen to the rain orchid? This name sounds really good, boss, why did you choose such a name?" The woman was obviously a knowledgeable and refined lady, and as soon as she heard the name, she felt full of poetic meaning.

  "Ma'am, look at this ornament. It's a hairpin with a beautifully crafted orchid on the top, so lifelike. Below the orchid, there are eighteen small hollow decorations that resemble raindrops. Inside, a special technique was used to add a small silver needle shaped like a drumstick. When it moves, the needle collides with the hollow decorations, producing a pleasant and crisp sound, similar to a small wind chime. Whoever wears this on their head will definitely attract attention with the clear ringing sound as they move."

  After finishing speaking, Liu Yuan gently shook the hairpin in his hand, "Ding ding ~ dang ~ dang ~~ ding ding ~~", and the ornament immediately emitted a crisp and charming sound, crisp and pleasant to the ear, making people feel refreshed.

  At that time, handicrafts were not yet developed, and luxury goods were just emerging. Those styles were mostly conservative, either peony or auspicious patterns, with a big discount in fineness, and even more confusing in innovation. Among so many ordinary products, the sudden appearance of such a beautiful work that makes people's hearts drunk is absolutely dazzling.

  Made of gold, the flowers were crafted, and white silver was made into raindrop shapes, inlaid with green turquoise. The shape and craftsmanship alone are already very pleasing to the eye, and when you add that moving crisp sound, it's simply the icing on the cake. That lady's eyes sparkled like a young girl's, shining brightly.

  "It's really special~~"

  Liu Yuan smiled and said: "Of course, as long as you buy this hairpin, it will be absolutely unique in the Tang Dynasty."

  "Why?"

  "It's simple, this craftsmanship is only understood by me. You see, the accessories in our store's special counter, each style is only made once. If you buy it, congratulations to you, no one else can wear the same style of hairpin except you."

  At this time, the young master spoke up: "So that's how it is. I have a relative who says he wants you to remake an item like the one called Butterfly in the treasure trove."

  "Die Lian Hua", Liu Yuan reminded.

  "Yes, yes, it's the same style as the Butterfly Lovers' jewelry. He paid a high price to have it custom-made by the shopkeeper, but you didn't agree. It turns out that's because it's one-of-a-kind. Wonderful, wonderful!" The young noble couldn't help but exclaim.

  Liu Yuan knew what he was talking about, that style many people liked, and not a few people knew they had no chance of getting that colorful head, so they offered high prices to Liu Yuan to make more, then it seemed like the one called Du Lian Niang said whoever gave her "Butterfly Love Flower" could spend the spring night with her, which led many lustful people to try every means to get it, but Liu Yuan refused all for the sake of the colorful head's charm.

  Of course, there are also many people who want to come and steal the skills. Let's not mention others, just next door's Jin Yu Zhai, those veteran technicians have been standing in front of the jewelry for a long time, observing it.

  It was just an attempt to imitate, but it seems like nothing came of it in the end, probably gave up.

  "Shopkeeper, I like this hairpin, what's the price?" The lady asked softly.

  After talking for so long, we finally got to the point.

  Liu Yuan held up five fingers and said with a smile: "Not expensive, fifty taels, no bargaining."

  "What? Fifty taels? This... is a bit expensive." The young master's face changed in an instant.

  Ordinary jewelry, just a few taels, can be found on street stalls for several hundred copper coins, and you can buy a decent piece. Fifty taels is equivalent to the annual expenditure of a family of three for several years. An ordinary clerk would have to save for several years without eating or drinking before being able to afford it.

  "Recognizing the discerning eye of a gentleman, you can tell the difference between good and average. If you want something cheap..." Liu Yuan pointed to the side and said: "Jin Yu Zhai is not bad, good quality and affordable, guaranteed to find what you like."

  "My dear husband, I'll just have it this way. At worst, I won't buy any other jewelry or make new clothes this year." The lady said softly, gently pulling on her husband's sleeve.

  Liu Yuan's words were tactful, but he was hinting that if you can't afford these good things, then move to the cheaper ones next door.

  After Liu Yuanwen's "squeeze", and his wife's request, the young master suddenly became angry, took out a ingot from his sleeve and slammed it onto the counter, saying: "Who says I don't want to buy? As long as my wife likes it, that's all that matters. Shopkeeper, wrap it up for me."

  As soon as the ingot fell on the counter, Liu Yuan's eyes lit up. That glittering gold was a five-tael heavy gold ingot. When he picked it up and took a look, it felt heavy and had a bright golden color. With just a light scratch of his fingernail, a shallow scratch appeared, which proved to be a high-quality gold ingot.

  In the Tang Dynasty, one tael of gold was equivalent to ten taels of silver, 100 coins were equal to one qian of silver, and 1,000 coins were equal to one guan. The value of one guan was equal to one tael of silver, a five-tael heavy golden ingot, which was exactly equal to fifty taels of silver.

  "Yes, yes, yes! This young master is so generous and impressive. Seeing you two, a perfect match, loving each other so much, it's really enviable. Sir, madam, please wait for a moment, I'll use the best wooden box to help you pack." Liu Yuan immediately put on a warm and friendly smile, then found a beautiful box to help them pack.

  After the two men left, Liu Yuan's hand had an additional heavy gold ingot.

  "Clang~~ Clang~~ Dong~~" Just as Liu Yuanzheng was about to hand over the golden ingot to the little girl hiding aside, who was a small money enthusiast, he suddenly heard someone beating gongs and drums, and it seemed like someone was shouting something loudly. Then people on the street all surged in one direction, even those who were originally standing in front of the Jin Yu family's gate, deep in thought, left in large numbers.

  "Liu Zhanggui, you're quite calculating." Liu Yuan hadn't figured out what was going on when suddenly Zhang Dabo from Jinyuzhai walked in with a leisurely pace.

  "What wind brought you here?" Zhang asked. Liu smiled and said, "How can I be a good schemer?"

  Jinyu Shi Jia and Jinyu Zhai have been getting along well recently, Liu Yuan and Zhang Pangzi also call each other brothers, after all this activity has benefited Jinyu Zhai a lot.

  Zhang Pangzi bluntly said: "Not yet calculated, others think it's expensive and you point to me, openly introducing my business is cheaper for me, but in fact secretly pointing out your goodness, my badness. The reputation of Jinyu Zhai that I have accumulated over the years has all been stepped on by you."

  "This... I spoke rashly, didn't think it through, please forgive me, Master Zhang." In modern terms, that's called the "provocation method", but indeed, he had put the Golden Jade Family above the Golden Jade Studio, and even made them listen carefully. Liu Yuan could only admit his mistake.

  "Hahaha~~~" Zhang Pangzi burst out laughing and said: "Just kidding, to be honest, your skills and style are indeed better than mine at Jinyu Zhai. I must admit that the Jin family's reputation is well-deserved. But I didn't come here to talk about this, I'm actually inviting you to go see something exciting."

  "What's going on? What's all the commotion?" Liu Yuan asked curiously.

  "Didn't you hear the gongs and drums just now? That Yu Man Lou on the street is also imitating you by holding an event. I heard that the prize is a gold ingot weighing as much as 100 taels! Let's go take a look at what that little Chen kid has come up with." Zhang Pangzi said with a cold smile.