Chapter 23: A Gamble

Three bowls of wontons cost a total of 39 wen.

Wen Ye handed the shopkeeper the ounce of silver she had just received. The shopkeeper was overjoyed at the sight of the small silver ingot. After all, this was not the modern era; people usually paid with handfuls of copper coins. Being able to exchange heavy, cumbersome coins for a piece of silver was a welcome change for the proprietor.

Five hundred wen, when strung together, made half a string of cash. The remaining 461 wen were loose coins. Wen Ye returned 400 wen to Wen Yu’er. "This is for you, Yu’er."

Of the money used to purchase the handkerchiefs, 200 wen had been Wen Lan’s deposit, and the remaining 400 wen had been advanced by Wen Yu’er on their behalf.

Wen Yu’er did not stand on ceremony and accepted the money graciously. "Lan, you should also sell those remaining eight plain handkerchiefs. There is another embroidery shop on East Street; we might still be able to pick up some work there."

"Alright," Wen Ye nodded. "But this time, we won't take on contract work. Instead, we’ll buy the fabric and silk thread ourselves, embroider them, and then have the shop offer a price to buy them from us."

"That… that’s not very stable," Wen Yu’er said, feeling hesitant.

When taking on work from an embroidery shop, as long as one followed the requirements, the wages were generally guaranteed. If they tried to sell their own work… she was worried it wouldn't sell.

"Don't worry. Didn't I just sell some? And at an incredibly high price, too!"

Wen Yu’er hesitated, but thinking of the temptation of 30 wen per handkerchief, she finally nodded. "That's true. But… could I embroider rabbits like you?" she asked, looking expectant.

"Of course you can."

Wen Yu’er’s eyes lit up. The thought of selling one for 30 wen warmed her heart and filled her with drive.

...

There were only two embroidery shops in town. One belonged to Shopkeeper Sun, and the other, called the Qiuyue Embroidery Shop, was located on East Street.

The three of them left the wonton stall and arrived after just a few steps.

The shopkeeper was a well-dressed young woman in her late twenties, surnamed Liu. "Young ladies, what would you like to buy?"

Wen Lan blushed and said, "Shopkeeper… do you… buy handkerchiefs? We have eight here…"

Shopkeeper Liu frowned slightly. "I only buy from those who take on work here. You must have taken the work from the North Street side, right? Why didn't you turn them in there?"

"We… because the embroidery pattern on the handkerchiefs was wrong, Shopkeeper Sun wouldn't accept them, so we bought all the handkerchiefs at market price."

At market price? Shopkeeper Liu felt a twinge of sympathy. As it happened, the handkerchiefs in her shop had sold out, and the work she had sent out had not yet been returned. She said, "Since you bought them yourself, they are clean. Let me see them! If the quality is too poor, I can't take them."

If the North Street shop refused them, there must have been an issue.

Wen Lan quickly placed the eight handkerchiefs on the counter. They were all embroidered with spring flowers.

This was a very common style, and the needlework was quite good. Shopkeeper Liu was satisfied.

"Alright. I’ll take them. But I’m not running a charity; I need to make a profit, don't I? I can't pay the market price of 15 wen. How much are you selling them for?"

"Thank you, shopkeeper. We sell them for…" Wen Lan was at a loss for how to price them.

"10 wen," Wen Ye said.

"Fine," Shopkeeper Liu nodded readily. After all, the silk and fabric were provided by the sellers, and there was labor involved. "These few are good, but what about the rest?"

Wen Ye replied, "There were 32 others, also of good quality, but we didn't follow the requirements—we embroidered rabbits on them. They were all sold on the street just now."

Over thirty handkerchiefs, and they sold them all?

Shopkeeper Liu could not help but be surprised, but she assumed it was just their good luck. She said, "Then I’ll take these eight. That’s 80 wen in total."

As she spoke, she counted out 80 wen from the drawer.

Wen Lan happily tucked the money into her purse. Including the 561 wen she had left, the 2 wen her mother had given them, and this 80, they now had 643 wen.

"Ye, why don't we… just take on some work?" Wen Yu’er whispered in Ye’s ear.

Wen Ye shook her head. "No. Working for someone else only earns you a fixed wage; you can only make big money by doing your own business! We’ll buy the fabric and silk thread ourselves."

Shopkeeper Liu had heard them and smiled. "Want to buy silk thread? Come on in, we have the newest styles!"

Wen Lan and Yu’er looked embarrassed, their faces reddening as they walked into the shop.

Shopkeeper Liu indeed brought out some silk threads. Wen Ye chose a few spools she needed, and the other two followed suit, picking the same ones.

Besides the silk, they also needed plain handkerchiefs—pieces of white cloth already cut to size that had not yet been embroidered.

"How many should we buy?" Wen Lan asked.

Wen Ye calculated how much they could finish in a day. "My sister and I will buy 60 plain handkerchiefs and the corresponding silk thread."

"That will cost over 400 wen." Wen Lan touched the money that hadn't yet grown warm in her purse and whispered, "Ye, the family is waiting for money to buy grain. Should we just buy materials for 30?"

Wen Ye said, "We’ll buy for 60. We can use the remaining money to buy over ten catties of brown rice; if we’re frugal, it will last until then."

"But… there are so many other things we need to buy at home."

"Oh, as long as we don't starve! The situation has changed! Opportunity knocks but once. We must act now." Wen Ye was firm. "In 15 days, after Miss Yao’s birthday, rabbit handkerchiefs will become a huge hit."

"We’ll sell our rabbit handkerchiefs the very next day and we’ll definitely fetch a high price. If we don't make a big profit now, there will be many imitators later, and we won't be able to charge a premium. We have to seize this chance to make a big score."

Wen Ye had a keen sense and judgment for market trends.

Opportunities like this don't come twice! She was determined to make her first pot of gold, regardless of the consequences! Once she had the capital, she could use money to make more money.

There was no system in this broken transmigration of hers; she had to grasp every single opportunity!

Wen Lan was hesitant. Could she be sure that everyone would love rabbit handkerchiefs like Miss Yao did, and that they would pay a high price? Or was Miss Yao just a sucker?

Wen Lan sighed, but still nodded. "Alright!"

Even if they couldn't sell them for a high price, they could sell them for 10 wen and wouldn't lose money.

"What about you, Yu’er?" Wen Ye really wanted to pull Wen Yu’er along. "You should buy more plain handkerchiefs and embroider them too. Let’s make a fortune."

Wen Yu’er touched her purse. She had come out today with a mission: to buy 10 feet of high-quality cotton cloth to take home, which would cost 400 wen.

She had 650 wen on her now. She could either pay a 200 wen deposit to take on contract work, or spend 200 wen to buy some plain handkerchiefs and silk.

Just now, Ye said… opportunity knocks but once!

For some reason, there seemed to be a power in Wen Ye that moved her.

Wen Yu’er decided to take a gamble. "I’ll buy 80."

Wen Lan gasped slightly, looking at Wen Yu’er. 80? If she bought so many, wouldn't she not have enough money left for the cloth?

Wen Ye was also slightly stunned; she hadn't expected the gentle Yu’er to be so bold.

Wen Ye placed the plain handkerchiefs and a dozen spools of silk on the table. "Shopkeeper, I want 60 plain handkerchiefs and the silk."

Shopkeeper Liu clicked her abacus and said, "For you two sisters, it’s 480 wen. For the young lady named Yu’er, it’s 640 wen."

She looked up at them and kindly warned, "You’re buying so many materials—are you planning to sell them to me? But if you calculate it, the average material cost per handkerchief is 8 wen, and I can only buy them from you for 10. You’d only be making 2 wen per piece."

"If you take on work here, I pay 3 wen per piece as a wage. No matter how you calculate it, taking on work earns you more!"

Wen Ye smiled. "Don't worry, shopkeeper. By then, you’ll be the one buying them from us at a high price."

Shopkeeper Liu was speechless. From the eight handkerchiefs she had just bought, she could already see their level of skill. The embroidery was good, but it lacked professional technique. They were just common flowers and plants; only a fool would pay a high price for them.

But since they insisted, she said no more. After all, business had been delivered to her doorstep; it would be a waste not to take it.

"Alright, pay up!"

Wen Ye handed over 480 wen, and Yu’er paid 640 wen. Finally, they packed up the embroidery thread and the plain handkerchiefs and left together.