Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 974 - 972_1

Chapter 974: Chapter 972_1

The jewelry set was something Xiao’er had seen while still in Nanyue County. A foreign merchant had been boasting about it to his friends and she had instantly recognized it as an imitation. But the imitation was exceedingly convincing, particularly the fake gems, which were made so well that they looked dazzling. Intrigued, she couldn’t help but inquire about it, only to find that some aspects of the imitation were better than what the craftsmen of her own shop could produce.

Xiao’er asked the merchant from whom he had bought the jewelry and offered to buy it for him.

Of course, Xiao’er didn’t want the fake jewelry itself. What she wanted to know was who had the skill to create a counterfeit that was even better than the original! If possible, Xiao’er wanted to lure the person capable of making such a set of jewelry to be a craftsman in her shop. Of course, she would need to examine their character...

However, the foreign merchant insisted he would not sell. Only after Xiao’er revealed that the jewelry set was merely gold-plated with fake gems – providing a few examples as evidence – did the merchant believe her and sell the jewelry to her at a low price.

As for the person who sold the jewelry to the foreign merchant, neither of them knew where he was now. Xiao’er could only sketch a portrait based on the merchant’s description. Only after the merchant confirmed that her sketch matched the person’s actual appearance did Xiao’er give the portrait to Zhao Yong, asking him to arrange a search for the man.

The merchant, while marveling at Xiao’er’s drawing skills, insisted that she take the sketch to the Government Office to report the fraudster. It was absolutely appalling! He had been deceived by a fake, gold-plated trinket and swindled out of 1,000 taels!

1,000 taels for an imitation, no matter how exquisitely made, seemed extremely excessive. 100 taels would have been more than enough.

Xiao’er inquired about the circumstances, asking, "How did the person who sold you this jewelry deceive you? Did he say that the jewelry was real and worth 1,000 taels?"

The foreign merchant visibly deflated, "No!"

Not only did the person not claim that the jewelry was real, but it was the merchant who insisted on buying the jewelry for 1,000 taels even after the person stated that it was too much. Fearing that his competitors would outbid him, he forcefully gave the person a bag filled with gold, took the jewelry, and left!

He would have never imagined that such a dazzling piece of jewelry could be fake! He couldn’t blame anyone else for this blunder.

After hearing the foreign merchant’s explanation, Xiao’er thought the man’s character wasn’t too bad at least – he hadn’t purposively deceived others with a counterfeit to secure a significant sum of silver.

As for someone force-feeding him a bag of silver, it simply proved that he was indeed talented, being able to create such convincing counterfeits!

Mrs. Liu was quite surprised upon hearing this: "Such a thing can happen?"

"Did that foreign merchant leave his brain at home? The seller clearly said it wasn’t worth that much, yet he still insisted on giving him so much silver?" Mrs. Tan was equally shocked. There were actually people in the world who would forcefully thrust their money onto others!

"Xiao’er sister, did you find that person eventually? Did you invite him to be a master in our workshop?" Yun’er was most interested in this.

The ability to create such convincing counterfeits revealed a great amount of talent! Their shop was in need of a craftsman who could create delicate jewelry!

Their business has been booming over the years, with numerous foreign merchants placing orders. They were continually recruiting and nurturing craftsmen who could create exquisite jewelry.

"I did find him. His wife passed away due to complications during childbirth, and he had been scraping a living for his sickly child. At the moment, he can’t leave his son to work. However, I promised to help him cure his son, and he agreed. Once his son recovers, he will bring along his son and come to us." When it came to talent, Xiao’er was always ready to spare no cost, first roping them into her team before anything else.

An excellent talent could earn a shop incalculable silver! Xiao’er was never afraid of formidable competition, the only thing she feared was not having enough talent in her team!

"That’s great! Sister, have you signed an agreement with him?" Hearing this, Yun’er couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.

"Of course!" Xiao’er was always thorough in her business dealings.

"Great!" Yun’er exclaimed happily, "I have an idea. Let’s listen to it and give me some feedback!"

Then Yun’er shared her plan.

Her recent idea was to open a separate shop specialized in high-end customization. For every customer who came to her store, she would design a matching set of clothes, jewelry, and shoes, and then sell them together. It would be a store specially catered to young ladies intending to attend special banquets.

"How do you think of it? Would you visit such a shop? Please give me some feedback." Yun’er looked at them, curious about their opinions.

"This idea is brilliant; it will definitely make money!" In the past few years, Mrs. Tan’s perspective had broadened. The wives and daughters of wealthy families loved to outdo each other. When attending banquets, each of them would always dress up carefully, anxious about being outclassed.

"That’s true! I think women’s money is very easy to earn!" Mrs. Liu nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Liu knew too well from her experience with her beauty salon, clothing store, and jewelry shop—most of their customers were women. The revenue from these businesses was amazing, growing year by year.

Although their other businesses also brought in significant profits, those were businesses that catered to everyone – men, women, young, and old alike. In comparison, the pure profit from these businesses was not much more than those businesses that only catered to women. This was proof of how profitable a women-focused business could be!

"Women are the main force in consumption!" Xiao’er remarked offhandedly.

Xiao’er also thought the idea was excellent, and she offered some advice: "Why don’t we just make it into a complete image design studio?"

"What’s an image design studio?" Yun’er had an idea, but wasn’t sure, so she asked for clarification.

"That is, when the customer comes to pick up their clothes, she can even change into them at our shop, have her makeup done, and even her hairstyle designed. We can take care of everything for her. As soon as she steps out of the shop, she can go directly to the banquet!"

"That sounds fantastic! Such a service would be even more complete! And for people like me who do not know how to apply makeup and dress up, it would be a godsend! " Mrs. Tan didn’t know anything about makeup and dressing up. If she had to dress herself, it would make people laugh. That’s why she trusted her maids to outfit her, without any comment. She was very self-aware.

"Since everyone thinks it’s feasible, I’m going to start preparing now." Yun’er was exhilarated.

"I think it is feasible too. Go ahead and prepare well for it!" Xiao’er stated.

Then they all engaged in a lively discussion about the details of the shop.

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