Chapter 137 – Earning More Money
The fur material on the hairpins looked very familiar to her. After looking again at the siblings, she finally remembered. Not long ago, these four siblings had brought a dog pelt to her fur shop to exchange for some discarded, useless fur scraps.
The young woman was none other than Liu Ke, the owner of the Xu Family Fur Store in Daxing Town.
Liu Ke looked at the four siblings in front of her, her eyes filled with surprise.
Those completely useless fur scraps had been turned into hairpins by these four, and the designs of the hairpins were novel and unique.
“Young lady, how much silver is each of these hairpins you’re selling?”
Liu Ke picked up a grey pompom hairpin and asked Yan Shuqin.
Yan Shuqin was taken aback by her question.
In their rush to hawk their wares, they had forgotten to price these pompom hairpins.
Seeing that Yan Shuqin was unsure, Yan Xiaosi smiled and replied, “We’re selling them cheap, fifty copper coins each. Ma’am, are you the owner of the Xu Family Fur Store?”
Liu Ke recognized Yan Xiaosi and her siblings, and Yan Xiaosi also recognized her.
Surprise flashed again in Liu Ke’s eyes.
She didn’t expect this young man to have such a good memory.
“It’s me, young man, your memory is indeed good.”
“It’s not that my memory is good, but rather that you, ma’am, have such an elegant and noble appearance, which is easy to remember.”
People generally like to hear compliments. As Yan Xiaosi’s words fell, a smile appeared in Liu Ke’s eyes.
Catching the amusement in her eyes, Yan Xiaosi seized the opportunity and asked, “Ma’am, are you interested in the hairpin in your hand? This grey hairpin indeed matches your temperament.”
The Xu Family Fur Store was well-known in Daxing Town. As long as they could persuade the owner to buy a hairpin, they would not have to worry about not being able to sell the other hairpins.
Holding the hairpin, Liu Ke examined it. Although it was made of cheap materials, it was meticulously crafted and the design was very unique. She indeed liked it.
“Young man, may I ask, who made these hairpins?”
While Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin, and Yan Shuxue had all contributed, most of it was done by Yan Shuyun. Of the hairpins present, half were made by Yan Shuyun. The one in Liu Ke’s hand also happened to be one made by Yan Shuyun.
Liu Ke’s sudden question made Yan Xiaosi wonder about her intentions. Could it be that the owner of the Xu Family Fur Store was interested in her third sister’s craftsmanship? If that were the case, her third sister might have the opportunity to work at the Xu Family Fur Store. The shop was very well-known in Daxing Town, and working there would greatly improve her skills.
“Madam, my third sister made most of these hairpins.”
Yan Xiaosi brought Yan Shuyun to Liu Ke.
“Ma’am, this is my third sister, Yan Shuyun.”
Liu Ke’s gaze fell on Yan Shuyun. She studied her for a few moments.
She indeed was an exquisite young woman.
Yan Shuyun curtsied to Liu Ke, her face blushing, “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Seeing her respectful manners, Liu Ke pursed her lips in satisfaction.
“I’ll take this grey pompom hairpin and that black pompom hairpin.”
“Alright.”
Yan Xiaosi quickly picked up the black pompom hairpin that Liu Ke had been looking at from the ground, and courteously handed it to her maid.
Two hairpins, a total of one hundred copper coins.
Liu Ke instructed her maid to pay.
“Lu He, give this young man one hundred copper coins.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Lu He took out one hundred copper coins and handed them to Yan Xiaosi.
Yan Xiaosi received the coins with a beaming smile, looking at Liu Ke, she said, “Ma’am, my name is Yan Xiaosi. You can just call me Xiaosi.” Liu Ke nodded.
Before she left, she glanced at Yan Shuyun and said, “Miss Yan Shuyun, your craftsmanship is exceptional. Our Xu Family Fur Store is thinking about taking in an apprentice. If you’re interested, you can come to our shop later.”
Yan Shuyun’s dream has always been to work as an embroideress in a renowned embroidery shop. Although the Xu Family Fur Store was not an embroidery shop, it was no worse than one.
The Xu Family Fur Store not only sold furs, but also a variety of ready-to-wear clothing and accessories. Going there could indeed teach her a lot of skills.
The opportunity was so sudden that Yan Shuyun hadn’t fully grasped it until Liu Ke and Lu He had left.
Seeing her dazed expression, Yan Xiaosi waved his hand in front of her and said, “Third sister, the owner of the Xu Family Fur Store said they want to take on an apprentice. Are you interested?”
Yan Shuyun came to her senses, hiding the surprise in her eyes, she said, “Xiaosi, let’s talk about this later. Let’s sell the remaining pompom hairpins first.”
“Selling hairpins, beautiful and affordable hairpins, fifty copper coins each.”
The four of them resumed their sales pitch.
Just as Yan Xiaosi thought, the owner of the Xu Family Fur Store had set a precedent by buying two fur hairpins, and the remaining ones started selling quickly.
In less than half an hour, the twenty-plus hairpins they had brought were all sold out.
With fifty copper coins each, the twenty-plus hairpins had earned them more than a thousand copper coins – which equated to a bit more than one tael of silver.
All the coins were in Yan Shuqin’s hands. Holding the heavy purse, she was thrilled.
She could hardly believe that those pompom hairpins could sell for so much money.
“Second sister, third sister, Xiaosi, we have money now, we can build our house soon.”
Ms. Zhong and Tian Dazhuang had hurried back after delivering the firewood to the restaurant. Ms. Zhong wanted to help with selling the pompom hairpins, but when she got back, she found that all the hairpins had been sold and Yan Shuqin was holding a heavy bag of copper coins.
“Qin’er, have all the twenty-plus pompom hairpins been sold?”
Yan Shuqin showed Ms. Zhong the silver coins and happily replied, “Yes, mother, fifty copper coins each, we sold them for more than a thousand copper coins in total.”
“We sold so many?”
Ms. Zhong and Tian Dazhuang widened their eyes in surprise. Tian Dazhuang added joyfully, “Since the hairpins sell so well, you can make more and earn more money. If you can earn more than a tael of silver every time we go to the market, you’ll be able to buy land and build a new house soon.”
Yan Xiaosi shook her head slightly.
“Big brother Dazhuang, we can’t make pompom hairpins anymore.”
“Xiaosi, why is that?”
Yan Shuqin and her sisters looked at her puzzledly.
Yan Xiaosi said, “We made so much money selling pompom hairpins today that other people will surely be envious and start copying us. If more people start selling pompom hairpins, we won’t be able to make much money anymore.”
As more people sell the same item, the price will fall, and it will no longer be a rare commodity. Therefore, Yan Xiaosi doesn’t plan on letting her mother and sisters make pompom hairpins anymore.
