The matchmaking was put on hold for now.
The cremation was held in the countryside since their family relatives all lived there, which made it easier for everyone to come.
Early in the morning, He Ximei was busy arranging the banquet and returned to Lihua Village with Old Man Su.
"Xiaofeng, Wenli said she’s going to check out the shop today. I need to go to the city for a bit, go with her and take a look. You have a unique insight, and you might be able to give her some good advice."
"Sure," Xiaofeng nodded, teasing Su Peng, "Brother, you guys are progressing well, even calling Wenli. You really do sound cheesy."
Su Peng’s face turned red. "If I don’t call her Wenli, what should I call her? Should I mimic the folks in the Imperial Capital and call her Miss Wu?"
"Indeed, a man in love’s emotional intelligence does rise, even learning to crack cold jokes."
Looking up, he saw Xiaonian coming out of the room, and he smiled at her, "Little drunkard, you’re awake."
Xiaonian’s face flushed, and she clung to Xiaofeng’s arm. "Sis, I didn’t embarrass myself yesterday, did I?"
"Not really, but you do have a good voice. We got a free concert on the way back."
"You’re mean." Xiaonian pouted. "I did drink a bit too much yesterday, I’ll be careful next time. But it’s not my fault, you can blame it on how delicious your rice wine here is. I couldn’t stop myself; can you really blame me?"
"No doubt, blame the wine," Xiaofeng said earnestly, "and blame someone for being a little drunkard."
"Not really, my tolerance is just like my grandpa’s, really good. Yesterday was just an accident," Xiaonian said, tilting her head up.
"Go change your clothes, we’ll go shopping in a bit."
"Okay, I’ll go now." Although the small town had little to offer compared to the hustle and bustle of the Imperial Capital, the street scenes of the small town should have a charm of their own.
Wu Wenli carried a white shoulder bag, looked at Xiaofeng, and kindly said, "Su Peng said you have a great business sense, so I’d appreciate your help looking at the shop today."
"I can’t claim to have a great vision, but if you’d like to hear, I can share my thoughts."
The three of them walked down the town’s streets, all strikingly beautiful, naturally drawing many gazes.
"Are you planning to run a fashion store or import the town’s model here, craft and all?" Xiaofeng asked.
In the coming years, fashion would attract increasing attention, and by the twenty-first century, women’s money would be the easiest to earn.
In the twenty-first century, without worries about food or clothing, what people sought was quality of life; they wanted to eat well and dress well.
Especially clothing, anyone noticing a slight tear or feeling it was out of fashion would immediately go shopping.
"Living off one’s craft is the plan, but I’m not sure if it’ll hold up in a small town."
If possible, she certainly didn’t want to abandon her craft.
"Actually, I do have an idea."
"I’d like to hear it."
"You could do both, but not in a cheap way, rather as a high-end custom job. Some wealthy people like to order qipaos and such from outside. We wouldn’t aim to perfect every design, but if you could excel at a couple of styles and build a reputation, naturally you won’t worry about customers coming in."
Listening to this, Wu Wenli’s eyes brightened: "But there are too few rich ladies in a small town, if I take custom orders, there might not be any business."
She also wanted to specialize in a certain type, but a small town was not like a big city; getting even one order a month would be a challenge, and long-term survival could be questionable.
"No rush," Xiaofeng lightly smiled. "What you need now is to elevate your rank. Imagine going to Haicheng to learn fashion-making techniques or perfecting the craft of making qipaos there. Once you’ve established a reputation and your craftsmanship is impeccable, it’s definitely feasible."
In modern terms, this meant a change in packaging.
Nowadays, Haicheng was synonymous with fashion. If people knew you had learned your skills in Haicheng, they would naturally become curious about you.
"Truly, hearing you talk is better than my running a shop for ten years." Hearing Xiaofeng talk this way, Wu Wenli felt like she had grasped something important: "You’re right, with my own reputation, people would surely look down on me. If I say, I returned from advanced study in Haicheng, naturally people would take an interest in me. Then, if my craftsmanship is excellent, I can definitely captivate some customers."
Indeed, walking with someone who has a grand vision enlarges your own.