The Female Supporting Role Shows Out - Chapter 93
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
After the Double Ninth Festival, Lin Dan’s business was getting better. Many people came to buy clothes, and all of them were ladies from Lin’an Prefecture. However, only a few high-ranking people were selected to be ordered by Du Ruyan, and the rest were all canceled. It seemed that she was born to know how to communicate with others. The guests who were shut out by her were not annoyed at all, and they even admired the embroidery skill of Lin Dan more.
Since Lin Dan didn’t have time to accept the order, the guests came to her two aunts to make clothes. The most popular ones were the silk padded dress, which cost more than twenty taels of silver for one dress, but there were still a lot of people ordering. Winter was coming. Everyone wanted to wear warm and light clothes. This silk dress skirt was almost a necessity in winter. It was a good deal that it could be opened in spring and continued to wear.
A month later, Lin Dan put the money box on the bed and called in Zhang Hui, her two aunts, and Cuilan. She said, “This is the money we earned last month. Since you have worked hard, let’s split it up together.”
“How much did you make?” Zhang Hui sat on the bed and asked expectantly.
“Let me make a calculation.” Lin Dan opened the money box and poured it on the bed. With a crackling sound, a lot of silver rolled out and glittered in the candlelight. There were whole silver ingots, pieces of silver, silver beads, silver peanut-like rewards, which were almost countless.
“Oh, my God!” Even before the Lin family was destroyed, they hadn’t seen so much money. They were stunned.
Cuilan covered her mouth in disbelief.
Zhang Hui was the calmest, but she couldn’t help licking her dry lips and said in a hoarse voice, “I guess there are at least three or four hundred.” Three or four hundred taels of silver were nothing at the peak of the Lin family, but it was only a month’s income for her daughter. In other words, she could earn at least one thousand taels a year, which was a huge amount!
The Lin family was hopeful. Old Lin, have you seen it under the dwelling place of the dead? At the thought of this, Zhang Hui’s eyes turned red with tears. But she didn’t want her daughter to find out, so she turned around and wiped her eyes. Two concubines sat beside her, one on the left and the other on the right, and gently patted her on the back. All the difficulties had passed, and they had endured it. Everything would be fine.
Lin Dan was born to be less sentimental. She just handed Zhang Hui a handkerchief, and then took out a small notebook. She read carefully, “Last month, Third Aunt made five silk padded dresses and Fourth Aunt made six. Every day, Cuilan would help to cut the cloth, receive the guests and modify the size of the clothes. Mom and I made a set of iron armor together, and we also contacted a blacksmith to make twenty pounds of iron pieces… The profit of a silk padded dress is ten, and I will give each aunt 1/10 of the profit, which is 50 and 60 silver respectively; Cuilan’s job is not a high-tech job, but it’s hard for her. I’ll give her 2 a month; although Mom only made a set of iron armor, it took a lot of time and energy, and she also took the risk. I will give her a reward of 20. And the rest of the money will be used to rent a shop, and then buy embroidery threads, cloth, dye, and so on. The budget is within two hundred. This is our revenue and expenditure from last month.”
Closing the notebook, she asked, “Do you have any questions?”
“No problem.” The two concubines shook their heads. They were used to following Eldest Miss’s orders. They felt that if they followed Eldest Miss, they would have countless good days in the future. Even when Lin Dafu was alive, they only had 5 silver a month. However, things were different as long as they worked hard and didn’t worry about losing money. Those concubines who stole the property of the Lin family and escaped at night would regret it if they knew that the Lin family could get back to life.
“No problem, no problem. Thank you, Miss!” Cuilan almost jumped up with joy. Before the Lin family was destroyed, she was just a rough girl who could get two hundred copper coins a month. Later, the Lin family was destroyed. She was afraid that her brother and sister-in-law would sell her to that kind of pickle place, so she stayed here in vain. She had never dreamed that she would be able to get 2 taels of silver a month! She was so generous!
Glancing at her, Lin Dan reminded her, “You can learn embroidery from my two aunts when you are free. When you improve your skills, you can make clothes alone and get more money. The profit of simple clothes and dresses are less, and the salary they get is also less. The profit of luxury clothes is more expensive, and the salary you would earn is more. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to practice hard.”
The three of them nodded as if they were following Eldest Miss’s lead.
Lin Dan was very satisfied with the enthusiasm and faith in their eyes. Noticing that Zhang Hui was a little unhappy, she pushed the rest of the money to her feet and said, “Mom, I earned all of these. I’ll give them to you. When I find a suitable shop, you can give me the rent.”
Frowning, Zhang Hui was happy at once. She held her daughter in her arms and screamed. Others laughed at her for not having a son and not being able to stand up to the Lin family. She had no one to rely on and would die sonless all her life. (Note: In ancient China, a daughter was not considered a child of her own family because she would one day marry out.) So what if she looked at it now? She had only one daughter, and she was more capable than ten sons!
—
On the second day, when Du Ruyan heard that Lin Dan was going to rent a shop, she came over with a stack of land deeds. She said generously, “You can take whichever shop you like and count it as my cash gift. Although I’m not powerful, I have a lot of money to spend. Don’t worry!”
Lin’an Prefecture was the hometown of the Du clan. When Madam Du and Empress Du married, they got many stores and fields of Lin’an Prefecture. Although the sisters were divorced in the end, their dowry was not embezzled. The emperor couldn’t do such a thing. Even if he detested the empress, he gave her enough compensation, which was enough for her to live a rich life for the rest of her life. The emperor didn’t kill them all, and he had arranged a backup plan for the Empress Du. It could be seen that he still had a glimmer of mercy in his heart. The An’ding Marquis didn’t dare to bully the brother and sister. Instead, he not only returned Madam Du’s dowry back as he had wished but also gave her a lot of money. This made the sons and daughters of the concubines who had settled down very angry, but they could do nothing.
Knowing what was going on with her, Lin Dan didn’t hesitate at all. She took the land titles and looked through them one by one. Pointing at one of them, she said, “Phoenix Avenue? If my memory serves me right, Meng Clan Embroidery Shop is also on Phoenix Avenue, right?”
“Yes, my shop is right across from her shop, with the door facing the door.”
“Then I want this shop.” Lin Dan rubbed her hands unconsciously. She felt happy that she could open the shop in front of Meng Clan Embroidery Shop.
“Okay, I’ll ask Uncle Sun to clean the shop immediately.” Said Du Ruyan smilingly.
“By the way, make a board with the name of our shop on it. Our shop is called Danyan (Note: it means “light smoke,” but it’s also a combination of Lin Dan and Du Ruyan’s names) Embroidery House. What do you think?” Lin Dan said slowly.
“What did you say?” Du Ruyan was stunned.
“Our embroidery shop is called Danyan Embroidery House. Do you think this name is appropriate?”
“Yes, of course!” It was not until then that she came back to her senses. She wanted to smile, but her eyes were red. It was not a big deal for her to help Lin Dan. She just liked her perseverance when facing difficulties. However, Lin Dan held her hand hard and pulled her out of the mud. Danyan Embroidery House was their name and also their career. How wonderful it was!
“Dandan. We must make Danyan Embroidery House the best one in Lin’an Prefecture!” Du Ruyan made a hearty vow.
Lin Dan shook her head and said calmly, “No, our goal is to make Danyan Embroidery House the best one in all of Great Zhou.” She had no choice but to be the best.
Du Ruyan was stunned and then laughed happily. She liked the character of Lin Dan very much. It seemed that she didn’t fight against the world, but when it was time to be serious, she would immediately become ambitious and advance forward.
—
The two of them were action-oriented. It only took them half a month to decorate the shop and put the signboard on it.
Frowning, Meng Si looked at the opposite side and murmured, “Who owns Danyan Embroidery House?” As soon as she finished her words, the door of the store opposite opened. Then, Lin Dan and Du Ruyan walked out one after another, with two big flower baskets in their hands, and Zhang Hui lit a bunch of firecrackers in the deserted alley next to them.
The crackling sound attracted a lot of passers-by, but because the shop was too delicate and luxurious, every floor tile was specially made by craftsmen and looked smooth like jade. Although there were not many clothes on the shelf, they were all rare precious varieties in the market, which made ordinary people dare not to visit them.
Looking at the shop, Du Ruyan looked a little depressed.
However, Lin Dan didn’t worry at all. She just put the needle, thread, and embroidery rack in order one by one.
At this moment, Du Rusong came in with a saber in his hand. He didn’t take a day off today. He came in a hurry after changing the guard with his robe. He handed an exquisite small box to her and said softly, “Miss Lin, wish you a good start.”
“Thank you.” When Lin Dan opened the box, she found a folding fan lying inside. The fan was embroidered with a picture of flowers and birds. The use of colors and the change of needle techniques were completely different from the embroidery of the Great Zhou. It was a very gorgeous and simple style. The material of the embroidery was not limited to silk threads, but also added herbs, ribbons, bird feathers, cashmere, and so on.
“What a wonderful idea to use the real grass stem to embroider a praying mat!” Lin Dan said, “Isn’t this the embroidery from the Great Zhou?”
“I captured them from the ship of the enemy. Japanese embroidery skills were inherited from the Golden Age of the Tang Dynasty several hundred years ago. Many of Tang needlework had been lost in the Great Zhou, but they were completely preserved.” Du Rusong looked down at her and asked expectantly, “Do you like this gift?”
“I like it very much!” Lin Dan nodded, “Can I cut it? I want to learn needlework from the people of Japan.”
Du Rusong’s expression froze for a moment, and then he shook his head and chuckled. He said helplessly, “Cut it as you like.” As a matter of fact, she was always practical. No wonder she could reopen Lin Family Embroidery Shop in just more than half a year.
No, now it was not Lin Family Embroidery Shop, but Danyan Embroidery House. Thinking of this, Du Rusong smiled more gently. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com
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Is it only me or the translation is getting worse? I know this is MTL and I don’t expect much but at least do the names right? Seriously, please!