Where Are the Other Jewelry Designs?

The servant went out and soon returned with Xu Xinda.

"Young Master," Xu Xinda cupped his hands in greeting, his expression somewhat uneasy.

Since Fu Yunlang had already sent him away, he wouldn't call him back unless it was something important. If he called him now, there must be something he wanted to discuss.

"Let me see that jewelry design I just bought," Fu Yunlang said. His face was expressionless, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Upon hearing the jewelry design, Xu Xinda's heart skipped a beat, and he looked up at Shopkeeper Huang.

Shopkeeper Huang kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with him.

Xu Xinda took out a small, flat brocade box from his pocket and handed it to the servant, who then presented it to Fu Yunlang and opened it.

Fu Yunlang took out the design drawings, opened them, stared at them for a while, then looked up at Xu Xinda, his eyes full of disappointment. "Uncle Xu, I originally thought it was a problem of money that your jewelry store couldn't grow bigger. Now it seems that's not the case. Your vision is not long-term enough."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinda panicked.

His silver shop was doing very well, and he was willing to let the Fu Family invest in it. One reason was that he valued the Fu Family as a powerful backer and wanted to expand and strengthen the silver shop; the other reason was also for his son's future. His son had passed the imperial examination and become an official, and with the Fu Family as a backer, his career would be much smoother.

But if the Fu Family thinks he's not good enough and wants to kick him out, he won't get any benefits except for the small share he receives each year. This goes against his original intention.

"What you say is true, sir. I was confused just now. My intention was to negotiate a lower price. After all, we're in business. She asked for one hundred taels of silver, and we can't just give her whatever she asks for, especially since this might be a long-term deal. But then that lady suddenly appeared and robbed us, and that's why I made such a big mistake."

Upon hearing this, Fu Yunlang's expression softened slightly.

Seeing that Fu Yunlang was showing signs of relenting, Xu Xinda added, "Actually, there's still room to salvage this situation. The two of them are still discussing things in the teahouse. If they can't reach an agreement, we can still buy the jewelry designs that Miss Xu has. Even if she sells the designs to that lady, we can still ask her to design something else. As long as the designs are as innovative as these, we'll pay her one hundred taels of silver per design."

"Alright, then send someone to keep an eye on her. If necessary, I can speak with her myself," Fu Yunlang said.

Xu Xinda was overjoyed. "Yes, young man, I'll go and keep watch at the door myself." He bowed and hurriedly left.

Fu Yunlang looked at the design draft in his hand again and handed it to Shopkeeper Huang: "Carve it with the best jade. I'll send someone to pick it up in half a month."

After Shopkeeper Huang took the design drafts, Fu Yunlang glanced at him and asked, "Do you know why I insisted on buying these jewelry designs?"

Shopkeeper Huang pondered for a moment, "Novel jewelry designs will attract many distinguished customers, thus enhancing the reputation of the jewelry store. With a greatly enhanced reputation, business will naturally flourish; we can then open a branch in the capital."

Fu Yunlang nodded. "Isn't it obvious to you? Why do you let Uncle Xu make such a foolish mistake? He's run this small shop his whole life, he's conservative and reluctant to spend money, which is understandable. But what about you? As the manager I sent, you're just being led by the nose by Uncle Xu. You can't even manage such a small shop properly, how can I trust you to handle bigger businesses in the future?"

Shopkeeper Huang blushed and bowed deeply in shame, saying, "Young master, I know I was wrong."

Fu Yunlang waved his hand. "Alright, just don't do it again next time. Go find someone to make a jade bracelet."

"Yes." Shopkeeper Huang bowed and left.

Fu Yunlang watched his retreating figure and sighed.

"Young Master," the servant standing behind Fu Yunlang suddenly called out, "Could the lady that Shopkeeper Huang mentioned earlier be the County Princess of Qingyang, who married into the Duke of Prince of Zhennan's Duke of Ying from the Zhennan Wang family? I heard that because she hadn't borne children for three years after her marriage, the Duke of Ying wanted to take a concubine, causing her considerable discord with her in-laws. Since she has considerable skill in calligraphy, Grand Princess Shangde and the Princess of Zhennan have a good personal relationship, so she invited her to teach at the Beining County Women's Academy. Shopkeeper Huang said that the lady's clothing was made of tribute material; I suspect it might be her."

"Hmm?" Fu Yunlang was taken aback, frowned in thought for a moment, then relaxed his brows and waved his hand dismissively. "So what if it is her? Beining County is close to the capital, and the estates and fields of imperial relatives, nobles, and powerful officials are all here. How often do they come here? It's not surprising that there's another County Princess of Qingyang. Grand Princess Shangde's fief is here, so she lives in Beining County year-round, isn't she? The more they come, the better it is for our silver shop, isn't it?"

The servant quickly smiled and flattered, "Young master is absolutely right. You see things very clearly."

"But you've reminded me," Fu Yunlang instructed, "Go and remind Uncle Xu not to offend that lady. If he wants to approach that Miss Xu, it's best to wait until she leaves."

"Yes."

Bored sitting there, Fu Yunlang thought for a moment and then stood up, "I'll go take a look." With that, he went out of the room and asked the waiter to lead him to another room on the other side where he could see the teahouse. He sat down, drank tea and ate snacks, and waited for Xu Xi and the others to come out.

Meanwhile, Xu Xi came out of the jewelry store and saw that the lady had followed her out as well. He stopped and waited for her to come up, then smiled and said, "Madam, do you want to see the design drawings?"

"Of course, otherwise why would I come out with you?"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Madam, please, let's talk in the teahouse." Xu Xi gestured.

Across from the jewelry store was a teahouse. The group went upstairs, ordered a private room, and sat down. Xu Xi then took out the brocade box containing the design drawings, opened it, and pushed it in front of the woman. "These are the design drawings, Madam, please take your time to look at them."

The woman didn't reach for the design drawings, but instead looked up at Xu Xi: "May I call you Madam Xiao? May I ask your surname?"

"Xiao?" Xu Xi paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "My surname is Xu, Xu Xi."

The surname Xiao is the royal surname of this fictional country. However, it is a common surname, and many ordinary people also have the surname Xiao, so one cannot conclude that the woman in front of them is a member of the royal family based solely on this surname.

However, judging from her attire, she must be either rich or noble.

Madam Xiao nodded and looked at Xu Xi, saying, "Miss Xu, are you just going to show me the drawings so directly? Shouldn't we sign the contract first?"

Xu Xi smiled and waved his hand, "I think Madam has a clear mind and is an upright person. She is definitely not the kind of person who likes to play tricks. Besides, with Madam's wealth, she doesn't need to take advantage of me for such a small reason. What I said earlier was mainly aimed at that jewelry store owner. I don't think he has any intention of buying any more design drawings."