An Invitation

Madam Xiao recalled the scene of buying jewelry, which was exactly the same as what Xu Xi had described, and her eyes lit up when she looked at Xu Xi.

"If you, Master, bring back the raw materials, I can design this for you. The advantage of this design is that it doesn't require as much inspiration as the designs I gave you, and because it's based on existing raw materials, it's not easy to imitate. If they want to imitate it, they'll have to find the exact same raw materials. Doing so would be a thankless and unprofitable endeavor."

"You're absolutely right." Madam Xiao nodded repeatedly, and thinking of the child's pitiful state, she generously waved her hand, "Draw it, and I'll still give you one hundred taels of silver per drawing."

Xu Xi was startled. "No, no, no, this kind of design doesn't require that much effort. You don't need to give me that much. If the jewelry sells, you can just give me half a percent of the design fee; if it doesn't sell, then it's my design that failed, and I naturally won't have the face to charge you a design fee."

Nanny Yun was speechless after hearing Madam Xiao's words. Her young lady was truly a pampered princess who had no concept of money; she didn't treat money like money at all. If she opened a jewelry store like that, she'd be lucky to break even, let alone make a profit.

However, Xu Xi's ability to refuse the money offered to him actually improved her impression of Xu Xi. Her initial wariness completely disappeared.

"Miss Xu, my young lady has never run a business before, let alone opened a jewelry store. I see that you have some experience in doing business. I hope you can talk to my young lady more often when you have time in the future," she said with a smile.

"I dare not presume to offer any insights; these are merely some insignificant thoughts, and I do not know if they are correct," Xu Xi said modestly. "If you have experienced managers in your household, you can transfer them to manage the silver shop, even if they were not originally silver shop managers. The principles of buying and selling are the same."

"You're right. I'll arrange for someone to come over right away." Madam Xiao said, somewhat embarrassed. "I've never handled household affairs before, and I'm completely clueless about where to begin. Nanny Yun is right; if you're free at noon, come over and sit down for a chat."

As Madam Xiao spoke, she pointed to the table, Xiaoru quickly took a piece of paper from it.

Madam Xiao glanced at it, then handed it to Xu Xi: "This is my class schedule. You can come whenever I have class that morning."

Xu Xi glanced at the class schedule written on the paper and discovered that Madam Xiao not only taught their class, but also taught the other three classes. Each class had two classes every ten days, for a total of eight classes over ten days. It seemed that the academy was taking care of her, as each class was scheduled during the third and fourth periods.

"Lunchtime is a break time, and the teacher has some snacks and tea here, so I'd love to come and bother you. However, the teacher works hard in class and probably wants to rest for a while after class. I'm worried that coming directly here might disturb you. If you want to talk, you can have Miss Xiaoru call me. Anyway, I'm always free at lunchtime."

Then Xu Xi pointed to Xu Xue and said, "If the teacher doesn't mind, I'll have to bring this little tagalong with me when I come over."

Madam Xiao looked at Xu Xue, who was staring blankly at her sister's name with wide eyes, and couldn't help but laugh. She nodded and said, "Okay."

In her twenty years of life, she had met women of all ages who tended to speak in roundabout ways, so she really liked Xu Xi's straightforward honesty.

Xu Xi stood up. "It's almost time for class, so we'll take our leave now."

Xu Xue quickly stood up as well. The two bowed to Madam Xiao, bid farewell, and left.

Once outside the courtyard, Xu Xue asked, "Sister, how do you know so much?"

"I used to hear people talking about these things a lot when I was in the city, so I overheard it," Xu Xi said, making things up.

Fearing Xu Xue would press for answers, she quickly gave Xu Xue a lecture. "Insight into the ways of the world is true learning, and mastery of human relationships is true literature. In your daily life, you should listen, observe, and think more. Over time, you will find that you see things more clearly and think more deeply. This will not only greatly benefit your conduct in society, but also make your writing smoother and more authentic."

The simple yet intelligent Xu Xue always seemed to benefit greatly from drinking chicken soup. She pondered Xu Xi's words, her eyes growing brighter with each thought, and exclaimed with delight, "Sister, I understand!"

Even though Xu Xi had given her an outline, she had no idea where to begin. Even when she managed to squeeze something out, it always felt dry and uninteresting, and the characters she created seemed childish and ridiculous. But with Xu Xi's guidance, she suddenly realized something and decided to observe life and improve herself.

The afternoon was for music lessons, taught by Madam Zhang, whom I had met during the entrance exam.

Because of Madam Xiao's status as a grand-disciple of the famous calligraphy master, the system was also very curious about Madam Zhang's identity. Amidst its busy search for the midwife's whereabouts, it secretly took time to investigate Madam Zhang's background.

Upon returning, it reported to Xu Xi, "Host, host, this Madam Zhang is the granddaughter of Zhang Qisong, a famous music master of the current dynasty. Her talent in music surpasses that of her father and several brothers. It is said that she possesses a rare spiritual quality, which greatly pleases her grandfather, Zhang Qisong, and she enjoys a high reputation throughout the Great Jin."

Xu Xi was memorizing the musical instruments Madam Zhang had mentioned when she heard the system's words and became somewhat puzzled. "Madam Xiao is like that, and so is Madam Zhang; they both seem to be the most outstanding women in their respective fields. Then I wonder, since they've both come to our academy, what is the status of the teachers at the Capital Women's Academy?"

"I'll go take a look."

After Madam Zhang finished introducing the various musical instruments, she played a piece on the guqin on stage to demonstrate her skill. Just then, the system returned, its voice somewhat dejected. "Host, the teachers of calligraphy and music at the Capital Women's Academy are the two venerable gentlemen, Qin Zhe and Zhang Qisong."

Seeing that Xu Xi remained silent, it assumed that Xu Xi was as discouraged as it was, and quickly comforted her, "However, Madam Xiao and Madam Zhang are not bad either. Although their fame is not as high as their masters or grandfathers, their skills are not low either, and they have fully inherited their masters' true teachings. If you can learn eight or nine tenths of their skills, you are already no worse than their other disciples. Even if Zhao Ruyu follows a famous teacher, she will not be able to learn well if she does not have enough talent."

Xu Xi raised an eyebrow, sniffed twice, and still didn't speak, looking gloomy and dejected.

The system was silent for a while, then suddenly made a clanging sound as if it were flipping through something.

Xu Xi suppressed the slight upturn of her lips, a hint of anticipation rising in her eyes for the system. She'd feign pitifulness; perhaps this guy could come up with something good.