Xiuling propped her chin up and watched Beisitian coldly. There are people coming in every day trying to sell their embroidery. They’re either blindly confident or trying to see if they can bluff their way through and earn a bit of a profit.
Everyday, it’s the same thing; anyone would be annoyed!
Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop deals with many such people daily, and Zhang Baoli is used to it. However, some of them do have genuinely good skills. If they can discover one or two, they might cooperate with them, so she remains somewhat polite to these people.
"What are you selling, miss?" Zhang Baoli asked. Sometimes she could guess the quality from what people were selling.
"Handkerchiefs." Beisitian said, preparing to take out the hanky she kept close to her body.
Zhang Baoli’s expression didn’t change upon hearing it was handkerchiefs again, but her tone became a little indifferent.
"We don’t take handkerchiefs anymore. We have dedicated embroidery women for that."
Handkerchief embroidery is generally for beginners to practice on.
Bringing practice pieces to sell at their Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop is an insult to their shop!
After finishing her sentence, Zhang Baoli intended to go inside, and her attitude made it clear to Xiuling what to do.
"Wait a moment. Boss, why not take a look first and then decide?" Beisitian said calmly.
Zhang Baoli paused. This girl didn’t look particularly remarkable, but her eyes were indeed bright; this confidence though, she’s indeed quite young!
Seeing Beisitian looking persistent, Zhang Baoli worried about Xiuling’s temper. If they started arguing, it would just become entertainment for nearby embroidery workshops to watch.
This sort of thing wasn’t unheard of in the past, and it gave Zhang Baoli quite a headache.
"Go ahead and show me," Zhang Baoli said with a calm expression.
Beisitian took out the handkerchief.
The moment Zhang Baoli saw the material, she could tell it was the kind that sold five or six for one cent. Those with good skills would never use this kind of fabric for embroidery!
She immediately frowned.
Unhurriedly, Beisitian spread out the handkerchief in front of Zhang Baoli.
Just as Zhang Baoli’s frown began to fade, a hint of surprise appeared—oh, the embroidery was quite nice!
She took the handkerchief from Beisitian’s hands, spread it in her palm, and realized it was more than just nice. The stitches were neat, the color transitions were natural, with no large stitches visible. Each stitch seemed meticulously measured, just perfect!
Especially looking from a distance, the roses in full bloom seemed almost real, and the bud beside it looked ready to bloom at any moment. With the complementary green leaves, it was very beautiful!
"Did you embroider this?" Zhang Baoli asked in surprise, sizing Beisitian up again.
This girl was thin as a rake, with a sallow complexion, clearly not from a well-off family, probably just enough to eat, her entire being resembled dry firewood!
"I embroidered it," Beisitian replied.
"This is really well done! I want these handkerchiefs; name your price," Zhang Baoli said straightforwardly.
Beisitian smiled and said, "Don’t rush to the price just yet, boss. Take a look at the back first."
Zhang Baoli was startled, the back? What could be on the back!
She turned the handkerchief over, and her hands trembled as her eyes widened, "This is..."
After two words, she suddenly clasped her hands together, holding the handkerchief close, speaking softly to Beisitian, "You’ve had a hard journey, come inside for some water, and let’s sit down for a proper talk!"
Beisitian nodded and followed her inside.
Behind the curtain was a narrow corridor, leading to three or four rooms, it looked like Zhang Baoli lived here.
Zhang Baoli took her into the third room, which was also filled with various embroidery pieces and embroidery frames, big and small, suggesting it was her workspace.
"Is this... Double-sided Embroidery?!"
Zhang Baoli seemed incredulous as she examined the handkerchief over and over, finally confirming that it indeed employed the double-sided embroidery technique!
Once confirmed, her expression twisted slightly. Such excellent craftsmanship used on these kinds of handkerchiefs was indeed a waste of talent!
"There are five handkerchiefs in total, all with double-sided embroidery. I’m not familiar with the market here, so please name a price," Beisitian said, not asking blindly.
Zhang Baoli took the other four from her hands, finding that indeed all five were done with double-sided embroidery, and by the same skilled hand!
She held the five handkerchiefs in deliberation for quite a while, her brows knitted tightly before she hesitantly said, "The double-sided embroidery is really top-notch, but, but why did you use it on such poor-quality handkerchiefs? This kind of fabric is the worst! I really can’t offer you a high price for these. How about this; considering coming all this way wasn’t easy for you, I’ll offer two yuan per handkerchief. You must understand, for handkerchiefs of this material, there aren’t many buyers...
Though Beisitian’s face remained unchanged, internally she was very pleased. Initially, she thought about selling them for fifty cents each, not expecting to receive two yuan!
Seeing her silence, Zhang Baoli thought she was dissatisfied, then gritted her teeth, saying, "Two fifty per handkerchief, I really can’t go any higher. I’m genuinely interested in working with you!"
"Alright, you’re straightforward, boss. I won’t waste words either. I’ll return to Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop with future works," Beisitian, knowing she was being truthful, promptly agreed.
Hearing this, Zhang Baoli beamed with joy, "Miss, I’m a few years older than you, so I’ll call you sister. What’s your name, and which village are you from? Why haven’t I seen you before?"
Since they would be working together long-term, Beisitian didn’t intend to hide anything and replied, "From Kao Village, my name is Beisitian, and Sister Bao Li can call me Little Tian’er."
"That’s such a lovely name! Your father must be a cultured man!" Zhang Baoli laughed, taking out a ten-yuan note, a two-yuan note, and a fifty-cent piece.
"Sister Bao Li, could you change it to two-yuan notes?" Beisitian asked.
In the village, only small change was common, and ten-yuan notes were rare and might be hard to break.
For such a small request, Zhang Baoli gladly obliged, giving her six two-yuan notes and one fifty-cent piece.
"Sister, I have some fairly good quality fabric here that I can sell to you cheaply. You can embroider it and sell it back to me?" Zhang Baoli was still bothered by the handkerchief’s fabric.
"Double-sided embroidery is consuming, so I only embroider small items for now." Beisitian didn’t have that much energy to spare on embroidery work.
Zhang Baoli wasn’t disappointed, obtaining the double-sided embroidery technique was already a stroke of luck, perhaps she could leverage this young girl’s skills to leave this backwater place and return to the city!
Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop was family-run, and having offended someone in the family, she was assigned here. Without favorable circumstances, she might be stuck here her entire life.
However, Beisitian’s appearance gave her hope!
She had to secure Beisitian!