Chapter 21: The Son-in-law Who Came to the Door Again

  "The first opinion is that the total budget of twenty taels of silver is definitely not enough. Using satin or silk, a single item would cost at least seven to eight qian in production costs, plus the clothes rack, and at least three sets of sample clothes in the shop, as well as reserve materials, your budget needs to be increased."

  Chen Xin finished reading the plan written by Liu Minyou and started giving his opinions. The two of them had previously often participated in various review meetings, so they didn't worry about hurting each other's feelings when giving opinions, and just spoke directly.

  Liu Min said, "It's a bit less, but we only have fifty taels of silver in total now. We also need to ensure that the sea dog and others eat meat every day. If we use too much, I'm worried that there won't be enough for meals."

  Chen Xindao said: "I'll take care of this matter, and there's still a pearl, I'll pawn it off when I have time."

  "These days bandits have invaded, everyone wants to keep hard currency, pawning is probably not a good time, the pawnshop will definitely lower the price."

  "It's okay, no rush for now, can add later. I asked Old Cai about the pawnshop's tricks a few days ago, will tell Zhang Dahui before leaving and let him handle this matter."

  Liu Min nodded slightly and said: "This kid is quite clever, but he's not using it in the right place. Every time we train, he wants to slack off."

  Chen Xinyu gave him a glance: "It's still because you're too soft-hearted. Look at how fiercely Lu Zizhong has been acting these past few days, he can't even hide from it. He might really not be suitable for being a bodyguard, but in the future when business gets bigger, we can arrange for him to do other things."

  Chen Xinyong used a brush to draw a horizontal line on the budget section and wrote "40 taels" next to it.

  "Secondly, since the main target is the wives of middle-class families, we should give the saleswomen a bit more profit. These women rarely go out, and only the saleswomen can enter their homes. If we give them too little, they might just go to the clothing stores themselves. Let them set the prices, we'll just take care of the wholesale price."

  "In that case, the price will be very chaotic."

  "All customers are in the hands of salespeople. At the initial stage, salespeople have the upper hand. Once we grow bigger, we will change our pricing strategy."

  Liu Min thought for a moment and agreed.

  "Thirdly, the clothing LOGO you designed is too complicated and may be taken away by sales ladies if it's hung on a tag. I think we should directly embroider the LOGO on the back of the collar, and apply paint directly to the clothes rack, so it can't be too complicated. In this way, those young ladies will see it every day and slowly establish our brand."

  "This is okay, I'll modify it a bit. If we want to keep it simple, just write the character 'lan' and pair it with a five-petaled flower symbol."

  "The fourth opinion, there is no brothel section in your marketing strategy. Prostitutes are the vanguard of fashion and one of the main consumers in this era, and they are also the best advertisements. I heard that most of their clothes were given by clients, so it should be the clients who pay for them. We can find some large brothels, give a dress to the top courtesan first, and other women will definitely compare with her, but clients won't come here specifically to buy from us. We'll put two sample dresses and fabric samples in each big brothel, find someone to squat there, and let clients pay for these women to order our products. These clients are generous when spending money in brothels, and they will also go to other brothels, indirectly promoting our products."

  "Does the old procuress get a commission from that side?"

  "Give it some more thought, then."

  Liu Min nodded as he listened, scribbling on the paper and marking down revisions. The two of them chatted and wrote, and in half a time unit, they had perfected the plan. Chen Xin reviewed it again, then said to Liu Min, "Recently, with all the fighting going on, take a look at the situation - if people are panicking, we'll open later."

  "Alright, let's observe the situation for a few days first, then have Zhou Lai Fu come over and make two sample garments in preparation."

  Chen Xin agreed, and after finishing his work here, he went to the courtyard to call Zhang Dahui, telling him some tricks of the pawnshop, which he also heard from Old Cai. He asked Zhang Dahui to ask several families and consider how to get a better deal.

  Zhang Da Hui scratched his head and went back to the house, Chen Xin hoped that these followers would think more for themselves, exercise more, and be able to excel in a certain aspect sooner.

  At this time, outside the hospital, it had become noisy. Chen Xin opened the door and came out onto the street. The shoppers on the street had all disappeared without a trace. In twos and threes, the neighbors from Second Street were hurrying out with grain bags in hand. Some people were still urging others to hurry up. A few who walked quickly fell down but immediately got back up again, not daring to linger for a moment, their faces tense with anxiety.

  Chen Xin saw Jiang Wang's wife, Jiang Wangshi, carrying a grain bag and coming back. He went over to ask: "Sister Jiang, did you buy it?"

  Jiang Wang wiped the sweat from his forehead and patted the grain bag: "Fortunately, you guys said it early, rushed to Dongjia Grain Store, and fought hard to buy 40 catties."

  "Has the price changed?"

  "One stone of rice now costs one tael and five qian, and the shopkeeper said it will go up again tomorrow."

  In the blink of an eye, the price of a stone had risen to four times its original value. This chaotic world was indeed easy to make money in. Chen Xin calculated and asked her: "Your family of four can't eat forty kilograms for long."

  "Who says it isn't? Jiang Wang went to the Tianfei Palace to sell incense today, and I can only carry forty catties by myself. Besides, even if we want to buy more, they won't sell us that much. All we can do is hope the government troops drive out the Tartars soon."

  Chen Xindao said: "Later on, it will definitely rise sharply. If there's not enough, don't go buy high-priced grain. Come here and borrow some from us, and return them when the price is low."

  Jiang Wang's family hastily thanked and hurried back to the house to put away the grain. Liu Minyou and others also came out, looking at the chaotic scene on the street, feeling a sense of emotion. This was still a battle far outside the pass, although the straight-line distance was not far, but there was still Shanhai Pass in between. If it really arrived under the city of Tianjin, who knows what kind of chaos would ensue.

  Next to Chen Xin, Liu Minyou suddenly pulled his sleeve and nodded towards the north. Liu Minyou turned around and saw that Shen Li's wife had also taken a bag and was hastily running towards East Gate Street. As she passed by several people, she saw Liu Minyou and her face turned red as she quickly walked away with her head down. Since that incident, she had rarely been seen outside, and now her expression looked even more haggard, her clothes dirtier and more disheveled.

  Chen Xin whispered to Liu Min: "Why did she blush when she saw you?"

  "How am I supposed to know."

  "I don't know what's going on."

  Liu Min said: "You don't have to say it, anyway you want to set me up with her, I already know even if you don't say it."

  Chen Xin smiled slyly at him: "Look, you're being petty again. The reason I said that is because she took a bowl from you that day and didn't return it. When she saw you, she naturally felt guilty and her face turned red."

  Liu Minyou said: ".........................................."

  In the afternoon, Lu Buzi was not there, and Chen Xin supervised the three of them to train. After buying the yard, Haigouzi and others trained twice a day. More than 20 days have passed, their movements are neat and uniform, with a bit of solemnity. In recent days, Lu Buzi has been leading them to practice simple stick techniques, just two actions: straight chopping and straight stabbing. Because Chen Xin requires that they must always be in a formation state, sweeping is not possible. Looking at their simple and powerful movements, Chen Xin was still very satisfied with the training results of Lu Zhuang.

  The noise outside continued until almost dinner time before it subsided. When Lu You got off work and came to Chen Xin's place, he complained dejectedly about not being able to buy any food at work. Chen Xin generously lent him 40 kilograms of grain, which Lu You gratefully accepted. Then Chen Xin carried another 20 kilograms of grain on his back, and the two went together to visit Old Cai's family.

  Cai Shen's face turned pale, but his spirit was still okay. He gave Chen Xin a triumphant glance. Old Cai was not doing well, his spirit was weak. The two wives of Old Cai looked like they had eaten less, and the first wife cried and complained to the two men that she had bought good meat, but somehow after eating it, the whole family got food poisoning. Chen Xin comforted them hypocritically and sent some grain with Lu You. Poor Old Cai's family suffered a lot, but was still grateful to Chen Xin. The two of them sat for a while, then bid farewell to Old Cai's family and returned to Jingdongfang.

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  One night passed, Chen Xintian called out Haigouzi and others before dawn, and continued training in the courtyard. The three followers had been even more enthusiastic about training since they heard that Jian Nu was invading. Not long after the morning bell rang, Lu Zizi returned, with a red glow on his face and high spirits. Chen Xintian quietly asked him: "How much silver did you use last night?"

  "One or two coins, five coins for a dog's head card, can't bear to part with it."

  Chen Xin smiled and said: "When we get back, there will be enough silver to try out the top card, but you still have to leave some for your family first."

  Lu Luozizi nodded and said: "Brother Chen is right, if it weren't for the fact that we are too far from home, these few taels of silver would also be taken back, which would be enough for them to eat for a long time."

  Chen Xin handed over the training to Lu Zizi and then discussed with Liu Min about opening a clothing store, after which they packed up some clothes. Half of the morning had already passed.

  According to the East family's arrangement, tomorrow they will set sail, and today is already the last day in Tianjin. He suddenly remembered that inexplicable appointment, his heart moved, and he went out to Wenmiao Temple. After entering the temple, he came to the gate of Dacheng Hall. At the door, he looked around left and right, saw that there were only a few people inside the hall, and didn't see Miss Zhao either. If Confucius knew someone was using Dacheng Hall as a dating spot, he'd probably come back to life and scold them.

  "Zhang Po, you go ahead and take a walk by yourself, don't wait for me. I want to pay respects to Confucius, it's been a long time."

  Just then, Miss Zhao's voice came from outside. Chen Xin was still guilty and hurriedly hid inside the temple gate, not daring to let Zhang Po see him.

  "Miss, madam had said that I should not leave your side for a single step. These past few days you've been wanting to come to the temple, and madam is still blaming me..."

  "Alright, I'll go pray for good fortune for my dad. If there are too many people, it won't work. You wait for me at the door."

  Miss Zhao spoke firmly and picked up some old theories, but Zhang's wife didn't understand, so she had no choice but to agree.

  After a moment, footsteps echoed lightly, and Miss Zhao's figure appeared at the door. She was wearing a white jacket on top today, with a five-colored pleated skirt below, with five different colors intertwined on the pleats. As she walked, her pleated skirt fluttered, and the colors were dazzling. Chen Xin's eyes lit up in front of him. She looked around the room, saw Chen Xin behind the door, and a look of surprise appeared on her face, just about to call out to him.

  Chen Xin quickly shook his hand and pointed to the door, Miss Zhao hurriedly covered her mouth and walked to the corner of the door, where Zhang Po couldn't see her, and whispered in a low voice: "You little rascal, why did you come today, making me run back and forth for several days?"

  Chen Xindao said: "How come you didn't come? I've been waiting for you here every night, and it's been several days since I slept. You also didn't say you'd come during the day."

  Miss Zhao blinked her eyes, her face full of disbelief.

  Chen Xin worried that Zhang Po would come to visit after a long time, and urged Zhao Miss: "You buy several concubines?"

  "Who wants to buy your wife?"

  "What else does the young lady want from me? I'm just selling wives."

  Miss Zhao couldn't help but smile, her eyes curved into crescent moons: "I'm looking for you to buy an idea."

  Chen Xin exclaimed: "This thing is expensive, I don't know if Miss has enough silver on her."

  "Pshaw! You're only giving me one piece of money. If you don't sell it to me, I'll go tell my mother and accuse you of flirting with me that day."

  When a big rogue meets a small rogue, Chen Xin had no choice but to say helplessly: "What idea does the young lady want to buy? Robbery or murder and arson, I don't know anything else."

  Miss Zhao's eyes rolled around: "You're clever and resourceful, think of a way for me, I don't want to get married."

  It turned out that this girl had been looking for herself with such great effort just for this reason. Her mind quickly turned around and she casually said, "If I become a nun, I won't have to get married."

  "When being a nun is good, I don't want to be any of the three, you think of something else."

  Miss, if you want me to think of a plan for you, first tell me who wants you to marry and why you don't want to get married.

  "My mother and father both want me to get married, but I don't want to. At home, my mother and father both dote on me and listen to me, but if I marry into another family, I'll have to listen to my in-laws. What's the good in that?"

  "I told you that your daughter didn't learn well, at home listen to parents, where have parents listened to your reason."

  At this time, another person finished worshiping and walked towards the door. The two quickly stopped talking and pretended to worship the Ten Sages. After that person left, Miss Zhao turned her head to look at the door, saw that Zhang Po was not there, and then continued in a low voice: "My father has only two children, my brother hasn't come back for a long time, I'm the only one at home, so of course my mother and father listen to me."

  Chen Xindao said: "So, it seems that there are only you and your brother in the East House. If you get married, who will serve them in the future?"

  "Who would have thought that my mother actually wants me to take in a son-in-law, and recently for some reason, she also wants to find a matchmaker to talk about the bride's family."

  Chen Xin was a son-in-law in his previous life, and his wife was the daughter of the company's largest shareholder. Although he had risen to a high position, at home, his wife was always the dominant one, and he had to be careful not to offend her. It was a double-edged sword, and he felt it deeply. As he listened to this, he looked up at the woman in front of him, Miss Zhao, who was pretending to admire the scenery. Chen Xin glanced at her from the side, and the girl's profile was as delicate as a landscape painting. In his heart, he secretly praised her, thinking that she was much more beautiful than his ex-wife.

  He thought for a moment and ventured: "Then you're not unwilling to get married, just unwilling to marry into someone else's family, afraid of being mistreated by your in-laws."

  Miss Zhao's face turned red, and she nodded: "That's right. My mother originally said that she would find a son-in-law for me, but in the past few days, she suddenly said that she wanted to find a husband's family for me."

  Chen Xin listened and guessed that the boss's wife and the master had reached some kind of agreement, or that this Zhao lady was indeed older and didn't dare to delay any longer. This was originally an opportunity for him, but he was still hesitant about becoming a live-in son-in-law. Having just started a new life, if he were to return to his original state, it seemed not worth it.

  He hesitated for a moment and used the tactic of dragging out the issue: "I'll go back and study the relevant policies and regulations, and I'll get back to you within 30 working days."

  "Workday? No way, my mother is urging me, and once my father comes back this time, we will have to settle it. How can I wait for you for 30 days? You need to think of a solution today, otherwise, I'll go to my mother's place and tell on you."

  Chen Xin was caught off guard by the young woman's words and was rarely blackmailed, but he couldn't think of a solution for the time being. He could only beg for mercy: "Miss, you're making things difficult for me. For the time being, I really can't think of anything. If you really don't want to get married, you still have to rely on your mother. You need to figure out why she didn't insist on finding a son-in-law for you, and then you'll know how to come up with a solution."

  "No way, you have to figure it out today. You think I don't know? You're also going out with my dad tomorrow, and once you leave, where can I find you?"

  Chen Xin began to regret coming to this appointment today, and now he didn't dare to leave. What if this little girl got angry and really went to report him? The plan for this period of time would be ruined. Thinking of this, he had no choice but to rack his brains and think carefully.

  "You can pretend to commit suicide rather than get married."

  "No way, if that's the case, my mother will definitely find many nannies to watch me and I won't even be able to leave the house."

  "You said you're devoted to Buddhism and want to be a female lay practitioner."

  "A nun is also someone who will get married."

  "You're still young..."

  "I'm not young anymore, I'm already seventeen."

  Chen Xin glanced at her chest and muttered: "Who says it's small... Never mind, just say you like women."

  Miss Zhao's eyes widened: "I didn't give him a handkerchief, don't talk nonsense."

  "So you like men?"

  Miss Zhao's face turned red, and just then someone else walked by, so she restrained herself from hitting Chen Xin. All she heard was Chen Xin saying, "That's all I have to say."

  "No way, if you think it's not good, I'll call in Zhang Po right now and tell her you're flirting with me."

  Chen Xin had no choice but to say: "Anyway, I only have one last idea. If this doesn't work out, even if you call in the gods of heaven and earth, it's all over."

  Miss Zhao looked at Chen Xin seriously for half a moment and finally nodded: "Then speak quickly."

  "Lastly, since your mother had considered finding a live-in son-in-law before, it means she must have had some reason for it. It's just that it wasn't easy to find one, so she changed her mind and decided to look for a daughter-in-law instead. So, you can tell your mother that you've found someone you like and can become a live-in son-in-law."

  Miss Zhao listened and said: "Is that all you've got? If it's that easy to find, wouldn't it have been found already? This doesn't count."

  Chen Xin had no choice but to say: "I'll tell Miss that it's a personal choice, but you're not allowed to get angry after hearing it."

  "Alright, speak quickly"

  "Really not angry?"

  "Really."

  "This is all your fault."

  "Hurry up and say it."

  "Tsai Shen-chi!"

  "I don't want him, he's younger than me."

  "Miss, look, Manager Cai has been following the master for so many years, he knows everything about him. Although Cai Shenjie is a bit young, he has his father's calm and steady demeanor. Besides, Little Cai is under your father's command, who dares to bully you?"

  Miss Zhao thought for a moment, then shook her head and said: "No way, mother will definitely not agree. The Cai family's background can't compare to mine, and Cai Shenjiu doesn't even recognize characters. I don't want to either, unless he is a scholar."

  Just then, Miss Zhao suddenly stared at Chen Xin with a strange look in her eyes. Chen Xin's heart sank, and sure enough, he heard her say: "I've heard that you were once a Xiucai?"

  Chen Xin quickly denied it: "That was years ago, now I can only recognize numbers, and nothing else."

  "Hmmph!"

  Miss Zhao looked at him carefully, Chen Xin was still handsome and charming, looking very pleasant to the eyes. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been chosen by the director's daughter. Because her parents had traveled across the ocean, their family style was different from ordinary families, but after all, it was still embarrassing to say that they wanted to take Chen Xin as a candidate. However, in her heart, she had already made plans, turned around and faced away from Chen Xin, thinking for a while, this person may be smooth-tongued, but he indeed looked good, and had also read books, and heard that his character was still reliable, after all, he was a suitable candidate.

  Miss Zhao lowered her head in thought, her face slowly turning red, and didn't dare to speak with Chen Xin again. Just then, Old Lady Zhang called from outside, so she quickly walked out, leaving Chen Xin alone.

  Chen Xin watched her leave, feeling anxious in his heart. He hadn't thought it through yet whether he should be the live-in son-in-law or not. There were definitely advantages to it - he could get a good head start in this era. The master of the house must have a considerable income, and there was also a big young master. In ancient times, it was usually the eldest son who inherited the family property, but he had never heard of a son-in-law taking over. But since there was an eldest son, why did the mistress want to take in a live-in son-in-law? He didn't dare make a decision until these questions were cleared up.

  In the end, there was no conclusion, and he shook his head with a sigh: "Could it be that I'm really destined to be a live-in son-in-law?"