Let's Open a Jewelry Shop Together

Although it's unclear Xu Xi's words were the truth or flattery, who doesn't like to hear nice things?

Upon hearing this, Madam Xiao immediately laughed and asked, "How do you know he has no intention of buying any more design plans?"

Xu Xi gave a coquettish snort, "Didn't you see how much he regretted it when he took out a hundred taels to buy my design? If you hadn't said, Madam, that if he didn't like it, he could sell it to you, he probably wouldn't have spent a hundred taels of silver on that design. I think he was planning to spend a hundred taels of silver to buy ten designs."

Madam Xiao immediately burst into laughter.

Having entered the Marquis's mansion, Xu Xi had come into contact with quite a few women from ancient times. Not only the ladies and young misses of the Marquis's mansion, but even village women like Madam Xie and Xu Xue, all behaved with chastity and quietness. When they laughed, they tried to control the extent to which they opened their mouths, and at the same time, they would cover their mouths with a handkerchief or their palms so that no one could see their teeth.

But the Madam Xiao in front of me laughed so unrestrainedly, opening her mouth wide and laughing without any intention of hiding it.

Xu Xi immediately took a liking to this Madam Xiao.

"Alright, since you trust me, I can't be coy anymore, can I?" Madam Xiao smiled, reached for the brocade box, opened the lid, took out the design drawings inside, and began to look at them one by one.

Xu Xi wouldn't deceive anyone. Her remaining designs were all meticulously crafted, their ingenuity and exquisite detail no less impressive than the first bird drawing. Madam Xiao admired each one, finding them irresistible.

After looking through them and counting them—nine in total—she immediately ordered, "Nanny Yun, give Miss Xu nine hundred taels of silver."

The old woman standing behind Madam Xiao took out a money pouch from her bosom and counted out nine silver notes for Xu Xi.

Xu Xi accepted the silver note and thanked her, then asked Madam Xiao, "I wonder if Madam bought these designs to have craftsmen make them for her to wear, or if you own a silver shop?"

"Of course I'll wear it myself..." Madam Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up as she said this, "Open a jewelry store?"

She turned to Nanny Yun and asked with great interest, "Granny, how about we open a jewelry store?"

Nanny Yun looked at Madam Xiao with eyes full of doting. "If Miss thinks opening a jewelry store is a good idea, then let's open a jewelry store. Madam has already said that you can do whatever you want."

For a fleeting moment, Madam Xiao's eyes dimmed, but she quickly recovered and looked at Xu Xi: "Miss Xu, would you be interested in opening a jewelry store together?" She waved the design sketches in her hand, "I see you have an exceptionally clever mind. If you were to design the jewelry, our jewelry store would surely be packed with customers."

It would be impossible for Xu Xi not to be moved.

Having suddenly arrived in a strange world, although the Xu Family treated her very well, and the old lady and the first lady of the Marquis's mansion seemed to treat her well as well, she did not feel safe.

She didn't trust others, only herself. Only by building a solid career foundation, securing a stable income, and buying a house could she feel secure. As for marriage? Ha, men are all heartless. Relying on anyone else is not as good as relying on yourself. This was her thinking in modern times, and it remained true in ancient times.

So she needs to earn money; she needs to build her own career in this unfamiliar world. And right now, there's a great opportunity.

"If Madam thinks highly of me, I would be more than happy to do so. However, I can't do anything else besides design; I have neither money nor connections, so the idea of 'working together' is out of the question. In that case, Madam can hire me to design for your jewelry store, and I will receive a certain amount of payment for each design. Of course, this is only if Madam is satisfied with my designs. If not, Madam can find someone else."

When Nanny Yun first heard her mistress say those words, she was a little anxious. But now that Xu Xi said this, she felt relieved and a satisfied look appeared on her face.

Actually, their family isn't short of money. Opening a jewelry store was just a way for their young lady to relax. Partnering with someone simply means sharing some money with them, which isn't a big deal. The problem is not knowing the other party's background. What if the other party is of bad character and has malicious intentions? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble? If they cause trouble and the rest of the household finds out, who knows how they'll laugh at their young lady.

Therefore, you can't just rashly recruit people; you have to find out more about them first.

Nanny Yun had the same concerns, and so did Xu Xi. So, despite being tempted, she declined.

Madam Xiao's words stemmed from her liking of Xu Xi's designs and her favorable impression of her. Seeing that Xu Xi didn't take advantage of the situation but instead declined, her impression of Xu Xi improved even further.

She didn't press the matter, and smiled, "Alright, anyway, the shop and everything are still nowhere in sight. Let me get things sorted out first, then we can talk about this." She paused, "Where does Miss Xu live?"

"I am a student admitted to the Women's Academy this year. If you need anything, Madam, you can send someone to find me at the academy."

"Students from the Women's Academy?" Madam Xiao's eyes widened.

Nanny Yun laughed, "Oh my, what a coincidence! My young lady is here to teach at the Women's Academy."

"Huh?" Xu Xi and the other two were all taken aback.

Xu Xi reacted quickly, standing up abruptly, taking Xu Xue's hand, and standing beside her. He then curtsied to Madam Xiao, saying, "Student Xu Xi greets the Master."

Xu Xue understood Xu Xi's meaning at this moment, and followed her example to bow to Madam Xiao: "Student Xu Xue greets Master."

Madam Xiao had already risen and helped Xu Xi up. Seeing Xu Xue also bow, and hearing her refer to herself as a student, she was surprised and pointed at Xu Xue, saying, "This is..."

Xu Xi knew from the entrance exam that the Women's Academy placed great importance on students' character. Now that Madam Xiao was their teacher, her true nature would eventually be revealed. Since that was the case, she might as well be honest now and leave a good impression.

"The Marquis of Suiping's Residence has a daughter who was switched at birth. I wonder if Madam has heard of her? That girl who was switched at birth and raised in the countryside is me," Xu Xi said with a smile.

She pointed to Madam Xie: "This is my adoptive parents' aunt from the Xu Family." Then she pointed to Xu Xue: "This is Xu Family's cousin."

She smiled apologetically at Madam Xiao and said, "I want to earn some money myself and sell my design drafts at the jewelry store. My aunt and sister were worried about me going alone and wanted to accompany me. They were concerned that I would be looked down upon and that my clothes and appearance wouldn't match our family, so they volunteered to dress as servants and come with me. They didn't mean to deceive anyone."

Upon hearing Xu Xi's words, Madam Xie knew what she was worried about, and her heart tightened. She quickly replied, "Yes, Madam. Xiaoxi is a filial child. She doesn't earn this money to spend herself, but because she sees our poor life and wants us to have the capital to start a small business, that's why she's selling design drawings. She didn't agree to Xiaoxue and me pretending to be servants at first, but I forced her to agree."