I fought back after reselling my engagement

Mao Sanniang said, "Even if we want something like this, we can't buy such a big South China pearl outside."

Su Qiniang blurted out, "My cousin has a big box of pearl powder. She asked someone to grind some for her face the other day. My mother found out about it and said my cousin was wasting good things. But my cousin said, 'It's not like you're throwing away things you use on your face, so it can't be considered wasting.' My mother was unhappy, but my cousin gave her a box of pearl powder and she was very happy using it."

She felt that Cui was very fake. On the one hand, she said that she was wasting good things, but on the other hand, she accepted the pearl powder.

Of course Zhen Su did not use South pearls to grind powder, but picked out some pearls of poor quality from a box of pearls to grind into powder. In order to make her cousin sound rich, Su Qinnan insisted that the powder was made from South pearls. The other noble ladies did not know and only looked envious.

Su Qiniang showed off a lot at the Maofu Girls' School. When Zhen Su was young, she was good at everything she learned. Su Qiniang was completely the opposite of Zhen Su. She could learn anything except dressing and enjoying life. She was not good at anything else. Her handwriting was only good enough for people to see. She could only draw one kind of painting: peach blossoms and butterflies. She could not draw anything else. Her paintings were not good enough. Her needlework was always at the stage of mending.

Mao Si Niang asked, "Sister Su Qi's clothes are made of Xiang satin, right?"

"The silk used for the rich and colorful ones is Hangzhou silk, and the silk used for the plain ones is palace silk. My mother said that my cousin wasted good things and would not let me wear palace silk, but my cousin loved me, and the rewards from the nobles in the palace were all stored in my cousin's private vault. Anyway, my cousin personally selected the embroiderers in our family one by one. Since they received my cousin's guidance, their embroidery skills have improved by leaps and bounds..."

Su Qiniang praised her cousin again and again, "My cousin is in the Beijing Noble Ladies Calligraphy and Painting Society. There are four talented ladies in the society, noble, virtuous and talented. My cousin deserves the word 'talent'."

Mao Yuanniang asked: "Who are these noble and virtuous people?"

"The most noble lady in the world is the Ninth Princess, the most virtuous and extraordinary lady is Zhou Yiqing, the most virtuous and extraordinary lady is Princess Changle, and the most talented lady is my cousin. The four of them have known each other since childhood. They are close friends and close friends. They are all talented and beautiful. The Ninth Princess's poetry, Miss Zhou's erudition, Princess Changle's reputation as the virtuous Prince Gong, who is quite responsible, wise and brave, eclipses all the men in the world; my cousin is quite famous for her calligraphy and painting."

Su Qiniang kept pestering Zhen Su about the capital, and asked about the Ninth Princess and Princess Changle. Zhen Su told her some of the stories. Although Su Qiniang didn't know much else, she summarized them vividly, and directly gave her a title of "noble, virtuous and talented" to scare people. All the classmates at Mao's Girls' School were convinced.

Mao Yuanniang asked, "Miss Zhou, are you the niece of Concubine Zhou Shufei, whose father and grandfather were both university scholars?"

Su Qiniang said repeatedly: "Sister Mao has also heard of it? Miss Zhou is the most learned. My cousin said that among all the noble ladies in the Mingzhu Garden Calligraphy and Painting Society, if we talk about reading the most books, she is the most learned and well-informed. If Miss Zhou is second, no one dares to be first. This is the family learning of the Zhou family. Miss Zhou really deserves the title of the female champion. She is as good as men in playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and even writing articles and biographies."

Mao Yuanniang said: "Ms. Zhou's father and grandfather were both university scholars, and her brother Zhou Yijun is known as the most talented scholar in the world."

Su Qiniang echoed, "My cousin treasured Mr. Zhou's calligraphy, which was given to my cousin by Miss Zhou. Mr. Zhou's calligraphy and paintings are very valuable in the capital, and they are hard to find. Miss Zhou also gave my cousin the calligraphy of the old scholar and the grand scholar of the Zhou family..."

Mao Erniang was very moved when she heard this. "Sister Su Qi, last time I asked you to plead with Princess Jiarou, when can I go to your house as a guest so that I can learn more and appreciate famous calligraphy and paintings?"

Su Qiniang glanced at him and said, "You'll have to wait a few days if you want to see it. My cousin, my father, and my fifth brother are going to open a calligraphy and painting shop in Yueyang Prefecture. They will gradually display calligraphy and paintings by famous artists for the scholars and writers in Yueyang to appreciate."

Mao Yuanniang asked, "Does your grandfather agree?"

"Grandfather said it was a good thing, but my cousin still hasn't thought of a good shop. According to my cousin, this is a good place to appreciate calligraphy and paintings. There must be a place to hang calligraphy and paintings, and there must be an elegant room for scholars and writers to gather. Many places are not satisfactory."

Su Qinnan said that Zhen Su had not found a good place to open a shop.

*

At this moment, Zhen Su and Su Mo were meeting in the pavilion in the backyard of the Governor's Mansion, with Su Qilang also sitting with them.

Chunyue brought the little maid to set up tea and snacks.

Zhen Su and Su Mo were playing chess against each other. Su Mo played with white pieces first. In later generations, it was usually the case that the player played with black pieces first, but here the player played with white pieces first.

Zhen Su asked, "How many shops has Cousin Mo opened recently?"

"Not as fast as you. You have renovated the grocery store, rouge store, and stewed food store. As soon as the fabrics from Jiangnan arrive, your Yunyifang will open for business."

Zhen Su said: "Cousin Mo's cloth shop, tea shop, and money shop are about to open."

She didn't know about the Su family's business, but later she asked her uncle Su Shao and learned that the Jiangnan Su family had a family business. It had been in business for several generations, and some of these businesses were shared by the entire family, such as the fabric business, which belonged to the entire Su family. For example, tea houses, money houses and other businesses were run by people from each branch, and whoever opened the business owned it, but each branch would pay a portion of silver to the clan's public treasury every year, just like the local government paid taxes to the court.

This part of the money was used to build a clan school, buy clan-owned sacrificial fields and farms, and help widows, widows, and poor clan members. There were no uneducated men in the Su clan, and even girls were required to learn to read and read account books.

"In Hubei and Hunan provinces, there are no money houses, but there are pawnshops."

"Does it take an experienced person to run a pawn shop?"

Most of the eldest branch of the Su family are experts and managers in pawnshops, and the Jiangnan Su family is also most famous for their ability to appreciate things.

Zhen Su made up his mind, "I plan to open a calligraphy and painting shop in Yueyang Prefecture, but I asked Qiu Rong to look around recently, but there is no place that meets my requirements."

"The first floor sells the four treasures of the study, and the second floor has two or three elegant rooms for appreciating famous paintings and calligraphy?"

"If there is a yard at the back, it would be best if it is decorated in the style of a Jiangnan garden, making it a good place to discuss poetry and articles."

Su Mo's eyebrows twitched. "Such a good place doesn't have to be in a busy place, it can be a little secluded. It would be better if it could be near Yueyang Tower?"

Zhen Su's eyes were bright, like stars, so bright that it could make people's hearts beat faster.

Su Mo made a move, "I bought a yard like this a month ago. If you need it, I will rent it to you. When you leave Hunan Province, you can return it to me."

He originally planned to live in the courtyard after buying it, but now after hearing what Zhen Su said, he thought it could be turned into an elegant room, providing a quiet place for scholars to exchange ideas, which would be a good idea.

Zhen Su asked, "You're not selling the yard?"

"I'll sell it to you for 10,000 taels of silver today, but you may need 30,000 or 50,000 taels of silver to buy it back in the future. How about this, I'll pay 20,000 taels of silver as a share, and after it's started, I'll get a three-point dividend every year. When you stop doing it in the future, I'll make up for it, and I won't lose you the price."

"I promised my uncle three points of bonus and my fifth cousin one point. That's all. I'll take three points."

The ones who get paid without doing any work are her uncle and fifth cousin, but when it comes to running the business, they are men and will have to take care of everything, which is much more convenient than for her as a girl.

Before the game of chess was over, Uncle Su Qi sent over two large-denomination bills.