Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 987 Huo Hu

It is convenient to take care of it. "On the day of taking over the shop, Shen Zhiyi asked Zhang Ma to cut red silk, and asked Shen Shitou to write a wooden sign - "Jinxiu Pavilion". On the eve of the opening, she made a bed on the floor in the shop, smelling the fragrance of the newly cut fabrics, and did not sleep all night. The business of Jinxiu Pavilion was better than expected. The clothes improved by Shen Zhiyi have both ancient charm and convenience of movement - for example, the hem of the traditional skirt was shortened by three inches and a hidden pocket was added; the wide sleeves were changed into narrow arrow sleeves, but detachable tassels were embroidered on the cuffs. The girls in the town love to come here, and even the daughter of the county magistrate sent people to make orders. Zhang Ma quit her job in the cloth shop and came to Jinxiu Pavilion as the shopkeeper. Shen Zhiyi offered her a monthly salary of one or two taels of silver, which was three times more than the cloth shop. Li often came to help, squatting at the door to sew shoe soles, and greeted regular customers with a smile: "Our Zhiyi's craftsmanship is second to none in the surrounding area. "At the beginning of winter, Jinxiu Pavilion gained a new employee - a Suzhou embroidery master introduced by Gu Yunzhou. The old lady brought a wooden box full of embroidery threads, the thinnest of which was softer than a human hair. "This is the 'hair embroidery' I learned in the palace when I was young." The old lady pinched the pattern designed by Shen Zhiyi, "It can be sold for a price of gold if it matches your style." The first piece of clothing they collaborated on was a peacock blue cloak. It was embroidered with human hair on the gauze as thin as a cicada's wing. From a distance, it looked like a layer of starlight, but when you looked closely, you could see that it was a dense and coiled branch pattern. Gu Yunzhou sent the cloak to a silk shop in Suzhou, and it was sold for a high price of fifty taels of silver. "Let's open a branch." Aunt Zhang counted the silver in the account book and smiled from ear to ear, "Jinxiu Pavilion should be opened in Suzhou and Yangzhou!" But Shen Zhiyi shook his head and pointed to the apprentices in the shop: "Teach them the craft first. "She took in four girls from poor families as apprentices, not only providing them with food but also paying them a monthly salary. "Only if the skills are passed down can the shop last." At the beginning of spring, the wife of the county magistrate sent someone to prepare a dowry for her daughter who was about to get married. Twelve boxes of clothes were required, and each piece must be original. Shen Zhiyi and the apprentices were busy for three months. From wedding dresses to daily skirts, each piece had a unique embroidery pattern: mandarin ducks playing in the water were embroidered with seeds, and lotus branches were embroidered with gold, and even the corners of the handkerchiefs were embroidered with small "囍" characters. On the day when the wedding dress was delivered to the county government office, Shen Zhiyi rode in Gu Yunzhou's carriage. Passing by the village entrance where she had gotten off the car, she saw that the stone mill under the locust tree was still there, but there was a small stall selling tea. "I heard that your uncle renovated the house." Gu Yunzhou lifted the curtain of the carriage, "and planted your favorite magnolia in the yard. "Shen Zhiyi smiled and nodded. Last year, Li fell ill, and it was she who invited a doctor from the city to see her; Shen Shitou entered school, and she bought him pens, ink, paper, and inkstone. His uncle would tell everyone he met: "My Zhiyi is promising, even better than his own son!" On the day the balance of the dowry was delivered, Shen Zhiyi divided the silver into three parts: one part was given as salary to Zhang Ma and the Suzhou embroidery master, one part was used to make new clothes for the apprentices, and the rest was used to buy good farmland, which was rented to poor households in the village, collecting only 30% rent. "Aren't you afraid of losing money?" Gu Yunzhou helped her count the deeds, and when his fingertips touched the back of her hand, it was like an electric current running through it. "There's no end to making money." Shen Zhiyi put the deeds away. "When I first came here, I couldn't even fetch water. It's all thanks to everyone's help that I am where I am today. "When she looked up, she met Gu Yunzhou's gaze. The smile in his eyes was like spring water, which warmed her heart. After the autumn harvest, Jinxiu Pavilion's Suzhou branch opened. Shen Zhiyi took her two most capable apprentices to manage it. Before leaving, Aunt Zhang stuffed a red cloth bag into her hand: "This is the purse embroidered by the old lady for you. She said it can keep you safe. "The purse is embroidered with a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water, and the stitches are so fine that the thread ends are invisible. The Suzhou shop is located on Guanqian Street, next door to a century-old silk shop. Shen Zhiyi did not follow other shops to compete on low prices, but instead launched a "custom service" - designing styles according to the customer's skin color and body shape, and then matching them with unique embroidery patterns. A wealthy businessman's concubine was born with a dark complexion. Shen Zhiyi made her a smoky-colored cheongsam embroidered with bamboo leaves in silver thread, which made her skin look radiant. The wealthy businessman immediately ordered ten dresses. Gu Yunzhou came to Suzhou every month, sometimes bringing some snacks from the town, and sometimes delivering newly arrived silk threads. He always came after the shop closed, helped her sort out the account books, and listened to her talk about interesting things she encountered. Once Shen Zhiyi tried on a newly made pleated skirt, and when she turned around, the hem of the skirt spread out like a blooming peony. Gu Yunzhou looked at her and suddenly said, "Wait until spring, and I'll ask a matchmaker to go to your house to propose marriage." "Shen Zhiyi's cheeks flushed, and her fingertips twisted the hem of her skirt: "I still have to take care of the shop." "I'll wait for you." Gu Yunzhou's voice was very soft, but it was like embroidery thread, sewn firmly into her heart, "No matter how long it takes." When the peach blossoms were in full bloom the following year, the Yangzhou branch of Jinxiu Pavilion also opened. Shen Zhiyi became the well-known "Shen the Shopkeeper", but still kept the habit of cutting by hand. Sitting at the workbench in the shop every morning, the sunlight shone in through the carved wooden windows and fell on the spread-out cloth, like a layer of gold plating on the clothes that were about to be born. The apprentices she took in also became masters, each in charge of a branch. The youngest one was the daughter of the Shen family's neighbor who used to help her shout at the market. "The master said that craftsmanship is the root and integrity is the foundation. "The little girl said this at the opening ceremony, and the light in her eyes was exactly the same as when Shen Zhiyi first arrived. Shen Zhiyi stood by the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, looking at the ladies wearing Jinxiu Pavilion clothes on the pleasure boat, and suddenly remembered herself before the time travel - the designer who was anxiously working overtime in the office building, with endless deadlines and always the client's modification suggestions. And now, her designs are worn by living people, in the wind, in the sunshine, in the fireworks, and have real life. "What are you thinking about?" Gu Yunzhou's voice came from behind, holding a food box in his hand, "The crab roe soup dumplings I just bought are still hot." Shen Zhiyi took the soup dumpling, took a small bite, and the soup was so fresh that she squinted her eyes. The sound of a pipa came from the pleasure boat in the distance, humming and humming, as if singing the long years. "Let's get married in the spring of next year. "She said suddenly, and when she looked up, she saw the stars in Gu Yunzhou's eyes, which were brighter than the hair embroidery in Suzhou. Gu Yunzhou smiled and nodded, reaching out to brush away the peach petals that fell on her shoulders. The petals were stained on her newly made light pink jacket, and blended with the magnolia flowers embroidered on the lapels, as if spring had embroidered the most gentle colors on her lapels. Later, someone asked Shen Zhiyi what her secret was in going from an orphan to a wealthy shopkeeper. She always smiled and pointed to the busy apprentices in the shop: "There is no secret, it's just a needle in my hand, light in my heart, and a path under my feet." Just like the flowers she embroidered with her own hands, they slowly grow on the cloth, and will eventually bloom all over the world on an ordinary day.