Previously, Li Shu had thought about visiting the country estate, but as an unfavoured daughter of the Li Estate, if she went there rashly, she might even be driven out like a thief.
So what if she was the nominal owner of the estate? Without Madame Jiang, who among those people would acknowledge her? How could she command their respect?
However, according to Manager Wan, no master had visited the estate in a very long time, and she guessed that Zhang Xuerong probably did not even know it existed.
For her, this was by no means a bad thing; she simply lacked a way to get inside, and she needed the right timing.
"Manager Wan provides the silk, and I provide the craftsmanship. Before any profit is seen, I will not take any money. What do you think?"
Distant water cannot quench a near fire, so Li Shu had to settle for the next best option; starting with Manager Wan came to the same thing.
"Very well, but this silk..." It was not his.
Li Shu said, "Since the manager has acquaintances, naturally you have a way to source the goods."
After much thought, Li Shu felt this was the only viable method, never imagining that one day she would actually have to pay to buy back her own things.
Having spent a lifetime in business, Wan Xing had never encountered such a cooperative arrangement: the other party wanted no money and could provide superb craftsmanship. As for the silk, procuring it was not a problem. He might as well take a gamble this time—perhaps after enduring the dark clouds, they would finally see the bright moon?
However:
"Young lady, there is only about a month left until the Peach Blossom Fair. To be honest, although these peach blossom fans seized the initiative and brought in some customer traffic, the volume cannot keep up. When those madames and young misses see there is no stock, they simply go to other shops. Passing along the way, you surely noticed that other shops have also started selling peach blossom fans. Although their embroidery cannot compare to yours, they have the advantage of a lower price."
Li Shu had indeed noticed this. A delicate fan with fine embroidery could naturally attract certain customers, but correspondingly, the price would be higher.
Yet Baibao Pavilion had long been operating at a loss, and relying solely on the few fans they produced each month was barely enough to sustain future customer traffic, let alone support the survival of the shop.
Wan Xing continued, "Originally, I paid three wen for the young lady's fans. With the increased customer traffic these past few days, I raised the price and sold them for fifteen wen each. I will give the young lady an extra ten wen commission per fan."
An extra ten wen per fan was the utmost sincerity Wan Xing could offer. In truth, back when the fans had no buyers, Wan Xing had still settled the accounts and paid them properly.
Li Shu understood this in her heart, yet she felt somewhat guilty. Running a shop was already difficult enough; naturally, if someone had good merchandise, they hoped for a long-term cooperation, but people inevitably had their own concerns.
"I understand Manager Wan's worries, but the fans I want to make are different from the others. They are silk fans."
When she first mentioned using silk, Wan Xing simply had not expected her to make fans out of it, so he asked, "What is so special about these silk fans the young lady speaks of?"
Li Shu continued, "The fans on Fan Street are mostly made of paper or fabric, but silk is different. Whether in lustre, texture, or tactile feel, it surpasses all other materials."
Although Yexian County had a small population, it was very close to the Capital, and the flow of passing travellers was heavy—especially with the nearby Shouguang Temple holding the Peach Blossom Fair in March, which would attract numerous madames and young misses. She had to seize this opportunity to make the silk fans shine brilliantly.
Since Yexian County had no silk fans, she would create the first true silk fan herself. To revive the former glory of Yin'an Fan Shop, she had to start with silk fans.
"Manager Wan, I will make Baibao Pavilion the most famous shop in Yexian County within a month," Li Shu promised.
Seeing the glowing intensity in her eyes—as if she were a general plotting strategies a thousand miles away, about to open up her own battlefield—Wan Xing was struck with a deep sense of shock.
"The young lady is so confident?"
Empty words were useless; true skill was required. Li Shu opened the box in Ningzhu's hands. Inside lay a silk fan.
Just days earlier, she had pawned her own jewellery to buy top-quality silk, spending two full days weaving and wrapping this silk fan.
The fan ribs were made of sandalwood, and upon a close sniff, a faint fragrance lingered. The fan surface was wrapped and covered strand by strand with silk. The surface was delicate and thin, and the threads of varying colours intertwined and shifted together under the sunlight, refracting different hues.
When the fan handle was spun rapidly, the brilliance on the fan surface resembled a shooting star streaking across the edge of the sky, flashing with dazzling radiance. Every slight sway allowed different plays of light to shimmer within.
Different angles of sunlight produced different brilliant effects; this was the Flowing Light Fan that the Yin'an Fan Shop had created as a miracle back in the day.
The difficulty in making a Flowing Light Fan lay in the thread-wrapping process. Weaving together silk threads of different colours while keeping them aesthetically pleasing and orderly was extremely difficult.
Back then, Yin An'an had experimented for a long time, ruining dozens of fan frames before managing to wrap out such a breathtaking effect.
Although this one had no painted patterns, the beauty of the Flowing Light Fan lay precisely in its interplay of colours under the sunlight. Adding embroidery would have been superfluous.
Manager Wan had never seen such a fan and was momentarily too excited to speak. After a long while, he finally recovered his senses and asked the most crucial question:
"How many of these fans can the young lady produce?"
Li Shu smiled and closed the box. "I am not selling this one."
Wan Xing was puzzled. "Why is that?"
"Right now, what Manager Wan should be preparing for is the March Peach Blossom Fair. Naturally, the first fan I produce must be a peach blossom silk fan."
Manager Wan felt a tinge of regret. He had a premonition that once this Flowing Light Fan was produced, it would surely astonish everyone. Yet he also understood that anyone capable of making such a fan must have their own secret techniques, and treasures like this would not be casually parted with.
Li Shu went on, "Baibao Pavilion is operating at a loss, and this past year has undoubtedly been a hard struggle for you. Beautiful though the Flowing Light Fan is, it is difficult to produce in volume over the short term, and it cannot solve your immediate crisis."
The current dilemma for Baibao Pavilion was how to quickly find a way out and reverse the situation.
As for Li Shu, she needed to return to the Li Estate, and the fans were the opportunity she would leverage this time.
Wan Xing sighed with emotion. "If the young lady were a man, she would surely make her name known throughout the world. Very well, let it be as the young lady says."
Li Shu said, "As for this first batch of silk, the manager does not need to stock up too much; a moderate amount will suffice."
Although she was confident she could make the silk fan an overnight sensation, relying purely on empty promises to make someone trust her was perhaps a bit far-fetched.
"The young lady can rest assured about that, I am confident. But how many fan-makers does the young lady have? If manpower is insufficient, I know several women around here."
Wan Xing was still worried; if the fan production speed could not keep up with customer demand, no matter how exquisite they were, it would only be a flash in the pan, making it difficult to sustain long-term business development.
"Are these women trustworthy?" Li Shu had her own concerns.
"Mother San knows some women in the estate; they are all local silkworm farmers. Rest assured, young lady, I can use my shop as a guarantee—they will never leak any news."
Since it was not yet the silkworm-rearing season, these silkworm farmers had no way to earn money and were already idling about, so they could easily help out.
Li Shu's eyes lit up. Heaven was truly helping her! If she could recruit these people from inside the estate and win their hearts in advance, taking back the estate for her own use later would become effortless.
"The manager has seen Ningzhu's craftsmanship, and all these peach blossom fans were embroidered by her. Why not have her teach these women?"
"Good," Wan Xing agreed readily.
"However, I have one condition." Li Shu's tone was solemn.
"Please speak, young lady."
"Early next month, during the Hundred Flowers Parade, I want the fans displayed in the most conspicuous spot in Baibao Pavilion."
Every year in early March, dignitaries and nobles from the Capital would board boats in succession to join a parade. At that time, various households would bring their own precious flower varieties and hand them over to the Flower Goddess of the year, who would plant them in a corner of Nanshan. This was a grand event to pray for blessings for Dayu.
Fan Street happened to run alongside the river, and the boats of the nobility were bound to pass through this area. By then, the Madame of the Marquis of Zhongyang's Estate would surely attend as well.