Rural Woman 029: Embroidery (1)
The little brother was asked by Yang Tao and was a bit confused.
"How much... how much money?" The enthusiastic fellow stuttered. "This, I really don't know. Our small shop has never sold this separately before, it's always been according to the customer's needs, filling things up and selling them after they're made..."
It's okay, Yang Tao has no choice but to give up. It seems that it's still better for him to speak less. Fortunately, he is still a child and can't remember who he is, so some common sense is also forgotten, which is normal.
"Then, after it's done, how do you sell it?" An Xiang asked hesitantly, making Yang Tao suddenly feel that although An Xiang was very considerate and good at observing people's words and expressions, she didn't often go out to buy things.
"We have all kinds of prices, some are around 70 or 80 cents, some are around $1, and the better ones can sell for $2 or $3." The shop assistant replied. "It depends on what kind you want, miss."
Yang Tao nodded and continued to flip through those unfinished pillowcases, all of which had the same patterns, with no variation.
"Little brother, these embroidery patterns, were they all done by someone else? In general, how much does it cost to embroider one of these?" Yang Tao asked, hoping she wasn't wrong. Although the shop didn't look too small, the possibility of having its own embroiderer seemed unlikely.
"This, I'm not too clear about, but one time someone came to give our boss's wife some embroidery work, and I accidentally overheard it outside. It seems that just for embroidering flowers, the labor cost is at least 10 cents. I heard that better ones are worth more, three or five cents more. If I remember correctly, the pillowcase was delivered that day. As for small items like handkerchiefs, I estimate they're around three to five cents each, with good materials being more expensive and poor materials being cheaper."
Black! Too black!
If what this fellow said is true, then that Wang woman was too ruthless. It's understandable that she would make a profit from the work she brought in, but she still can't compare to how hard everyone else works, stitch by stitch! This is clearly taking advantage of people from the village who rarely come to town, trying to exploit their cheap labor! And yet she still wants to cut their wages, it's really despicable.
Originally, Yang Tao came to the town not to inquire about this, after all, embroidery was not her strong point. She wanted to see if there were any other lucrative opportunities in the town, and whether her hobbies such as calligraphy, painting, and guqin could be put to use here.
It was Xiaoyu who told her yesterday that Wangshi and Lu Dainiang had a few words because of the wages, so Yangtao decided to ask about the labor cost of this embroidery first. After all, developing new ways to make money is her own business, while the wages for this embroidery are everyone's business.
After all, she still has some selfless spirit.
Yang Tao once again praised himself in his heart and finally decided that other things could wait, and this matter should be put first.
After leaving Jin Yi Xiu Zhuang, Yang Tao had An Xiang take her to stroll around the other embroidery shops and fabric stores in the town. Yang Tao finally realized that this town was really big, with four or five fabric stores roughly the same size as Jin Yi Xiu Zhuang, and many small shops.
Yang Tao was very skeptical, even if this place is a transportation hub between the two countries in the north and south, with a large flow of people, but people passing by generally rarely visit Bu Village, right? Of course, of course, if there are many villages nearby and many wealthy families, it would be possible to have a good source of customers.
Yang Tao inquired and found that some small shops, still asked the boss's wife personally, as the partner of Jin Yi Zhuang said, although the price of embroidery is different, but embroidering a package of pillowcases, indeed the lowest is ten cents, as long as the needle thread is even, there are no wrong flower colors, basically will not be deducted from wages.
Kite brought Lu Dahei and Pei Yifan, following Yang Tao and An Xiang with nothing to do. Others were fine, but only Lu Dahei started shouting that he was bored. It was hard to come to the town once, and it became a follower of Xiaoyazi. How could this pure man be tolerated?
"Little girl, how long are you going to wander around this boring place? Can't we go somewhere else?" Lu Dahei started grumbling discontentedly.
Yang Tao didn't actually mind Lu Dahei, she said it was for his and Pei Yifan's safety that she let them follow. However, looking at Fengzhuan being so obedient, she should have thought too much. Although Fengzhuan may not be a master, he is still someone who knows some martial arts, if he really wanted to abduct Lu Dahei and Pei Yifan, there was no need to go through such trouble.
But thinking back, Yang Tao still couldn't be careless. As they spoke, they had already turned to a place diagonally south of Jin Yi Zhuang, where there was another not-so-big but decent-looking shop, with a rather elegant name, called "Xiu Jin Ge".
Yang Tao and An Xiang had just entered the Embroidered Pavilion when they heard a somewhat familiar voice.
"What? How is it you?"
Yang Tao looked up and found that it was the young man who had lost something at his own home but still did not forget to do aerobic exercise. The young man, who looked like he was fifteen or sixteen years old, had a clear and elegant appearance, and when he saw Yang Tao looking at him, a bright smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Sister, what do you want to buy? I can help you get it at the cheapest price."
"Does this store belong to you?" Yang Tao asked immediately.
"It's our home." The young man smiled very nicely and it was that kind of simple, unreserved smile that instantly made Yang Tao feel good.
"What about your family's adults?" Yang Tao asked.
Good feelings are good feelings; if what he says doesn't count, then she'd better find the shopkeeper or the landlady.
"My mother is in the back. My father has gone to stock up." The young man's face flashed with a hint of puzzlement, a little girl, actually with an attitude as if she didn't deign to talk to him, although her appearance was very cute, but why did she look so ridiculous? "Little girl, aren't you here to buy something?"
"No, we're here to look for work." Yang Tao replied without hesitation, deciding to ask the young man first. "Who does the embroidery work in your family?"
"This, really ask my mother." The young man's face turned red, didn't think he was really asked by this girl. "So, I'll take you——take all of you to the back hall!" The young man seemed to have just discovered An Xiang, and for Yang Tao, this was truly the first time. It can be said that in this half day, she had already been ignored by everyone as a habit.
Yang Tao suddenly remembered that they had been strolling for a long time, and the road was already dark. She estimated that it must be because of hunger! She decided to make a quick decision and just went into this one. If it didn't work out, she could try other places after dinner.
"Are you saying that you want to take on some embroidery work?" The boss's wife looked like she was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and at first glance, she seemed like a young mother. The two of them were as alike as if they had been carved from the same mold, and when they smiled, it was just as radiant. This wasn't quite what Yang Tao had imagined.
Okay, Yang Tao felt that she had underestimated herself again. She imagined the boss's wife to be very astute and powerful. Yang Tao didn't know why she had such an imagination, but as it turned out, the few people she saw earlier were not bad either, they were all gentle and wealthy types, without much power.
Maybe her imagination is because she has never met the legendary extreme goods, always feeling that she is too smooth. Wú wú, feels that life without extreme goods is not challenging, this is clearly a self-abusive rhythm!
"Yes." Yang Tao was about to speak when An Xiang had already spoken up first.
