Zhuang Ruolan, because she was pregnant, wore clothes that were loose and comfortable. It was all right when she had to entertain guests, but now that she regarded Yueyao as family, she dressed more casually.
Ruo Lan didn’t know why Yueyao suddenly brought this up and responded, "Yes, it is Cai Qi. I didn’t expect that you would also understand fabrics." Ruo Lan had a feeling that what Yueyao was talking about had something to do with fabrics.
What Yueyao wanted to talk to Ruo Lan about was indeed the matter of fabrics. She said, "I don’t mean to hide it from you, cousin-in-law, but I have stayed in the mansion before, and seeing the expenditures of the mansion really worries me. I had thought about reminding uncle before, but... cousin-in-law, you don’t know how my mother, when she was alive, was so worried about the mansion’s economic situation, and this feeling intensified while I stayed at the mansion." Her uncle was someone with no concept of money; confronted with things he liked, he didn’t care about the price at all and would just buy them outright. Fortunately, there was cousin-in-law, a person adept at managing household affairs. Otherwise, the mansion would have surely fallen into decline just like in the past.
Ruo Lan was very surprised to hear what Yueyao said. If it had been someone else, they would definitely think Yueyao didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, even meddling in her uncle’s internal affairs. But Zhuang Ruolan could sense Yueyao’s sincerity. If Yueyao was not truly concerned for the Ma Family, she would never have said such things. Zhuang Ruolan, as the person in charge of Ma’s Mansion, could not be more aware of the mansion’s economic situation.
Although Ruo Lan was in charge of the internal accounts, because Ma Chengteng and Ma Peng had never thought to conceal them from her, Zhuang Ruolan was also quite familiar with the accounts of the outer court. This understanding was precisely why Zhuang Ruolan was so alarmed; Ma’s Mansion was all glitz on the surface, but in reality was nearly an empty shell. Yet the head of Ma’s Mansion seemed to be unaware of this, continuing to spend money like water.
Zhuang Ruolan had started by not taking action because she had just married into the family, but after she had sorted out the internal affairs of the mansion, she became pregnant. Being pregnant, where would there be the energy to deal with these matters? Zhuang Ruolan planned to discuss this issue seriously with her husband after giving birth. However, she naturally couldn’t agree with Yueyao straightaway, as this was a matter of face. Zhuang Ruolan’s expression darkened, and she asked unenthusiastically, "What are you implying, sister?"
Yueyao shook her head, "Cousin-in-law, I mean no disrespect. It’s just that I have an exclusive recipe here that is guaranteed to make money if put into practice, and it could help patch the holes in the mansion’s finances. I just don’t know if you’d be willing to do it."
Ruo Lan looked at Yueyao and asked, "A secret recipe related to fabrics?" Since the earlier conversation was about fabrics, and now secret recipes have come up, it must definitely be related to fabrics.
Yueyao nodded and said, "Yes, it’s related to fabrics. It’s a dye recipe. Cousin-in-law, you should know about Shimmering Brocade, right?"
Shimmering Brocade is also a type of brocade that gets its name "Shimmering" by using strongly contrasting colored warp and weft. It mainly comes in two forms: one uses face and back satin weaves with the same number of warp and weft satin patterns interchanging as the fabric’s face, and the other uses a weft double weave. For the latter, the weft floats to show off the pattern while the warp threads, often the same color as the ground weft, contrast with the pattern weft. Both forms of Shimmering Brocade have the warp face organization and the weft face organization for the pattern; hence, the pattern and the ground have different shimmering effects.
Shimmering Brocade is quite scarce on the market due to its intricate production and high labor costs. Although its fame is not as great as that of Cloud Brocade or Glit Brocade and other Tribute satins, and its price is higher than that of Shu Brocade and River Silk, it is still available on the market, albeit not very widely circulated.
Ruo Lan nodded and said, "I know, I still have a few bolts of such fabric here. You mentioned you have a dye workshop; could it be related to Shimmering Brocade?" Zhuang Ruolan was very astonished. Dye recipes were extremely precious, usually unattainable by ordinary people, and even the dyes themselves varied in quality, with top-grade dyes producing colors that never faded. Such recipes were usually not passed down to the public; one couldn’t get them, and yet Yueyao spoke so confidently. Zhuang Ruolan naturally had her doubts.
Yueyao shook her head; there was no way she would do that, "I have a dye recipe that can dye fabrics in all colors. Among them is a very secret recipe. If you follow this secret recipe, you can dye fabrics that rival Shimmering Brocade in beauty."
Ruo Lan looked surprised, as the patterns on Shimmering Brocade were all hand-embroidered, a craft reliant entirely on skill. Yueyao’s claim seemed a bit exaggerated.
Yueyao continued, "To say it can rival Shimmering Brocade is just in terms of appearance; there is still a big difference on the inside. Cousin-in-law, even if we can’t produce fabric similar to Shimmering Brocade, using the other recipes can also be profitable." Yueyao was very confident in the recipes she had; they were all secrets obtained from Zhou Shu, and the dyed fabrics were all colorfast with a strong market appeal. As long as the product was good, sales wouldn’t be an issue, and profits would naturally follow."