Everything on Pei Yan’s side was proceeding in an orderly fashion according to his plans, while Yu Tang’s side was somewhat chaotic.

First, she couldn’t figure out whether things were going smoothly on Pei Yan’s end. Second, their family shop had failed to catch this year’s prosperous pre-Spring Festival market—because Uncle Yu Bo had stayed in Jiangxi too long and returned only after entering the twelfth month, they rushed as fast as they could and chose to open on the eighteenth day of the twelfth month. But according to custom, on the twenty-second or twenty-third day of the twelfth month, a few days before the Little New Year, the market shops would all close for the season and wouldn’t reopen until after the fifteenth day of the new year. This year’s business would yield no profits—they could only rush to open before the year’s end to get an auspicious start.

Because of this, Yu Tang was also called by her uncle to help at the shop for two days.

In her uncle’s words, it was fine if she didn’t know how to do business, but she couldn’t be ignorant of the family’s financial transactions: “Even if you take in a live-in son-in-law, you must know in your heart how much the family earns in a year, whether it’s losing money or making profit. Otherwise, you’ll be easily deceived.”

Both Yu Wen and Chen Shi agreed with this reasoning and had Yu Tang wear coarse cloth clothes to keep accounts in the back storeroom. They also required of Yu Tang: “From now on, come to the shop once every five days. You need to know what kinds of things our family shop sells and how much profit each item makes.”

Hearing this, Yu Tang shook her head inwardly.

No wonder everyone was unwilling to become live-in sons-in-law!

Their family could be considered reasonable, yet they were already guarding against this live-in son-in-law everywhere when they didn’t even know where he was yet. Anyone willing to marry into their family, as long as they weren’t a fool, would feel uncomfortable being treated this way. How could there be trust and reliance?

If a married couple didn’t even have the most basic trust and reliance, how could there be harmonious union?

Perhaps taking in a live-in son-in-law wouldn’t necessarily solve all their difficulties.

While Yu Tang’s imagination ran wild, she stood at the storeroom entrance with the account book, registering incoming and outgoing goods.

When Yu Tang’s grandfather was still alive, their family had their own small workshop and could even make carved lacquer pieces with complex craftsmanship requiring skill. But after her grandfather passed away, when her father hadn’t yet passed the scholar examination, the master craftsman their family had supported for two or three generations was suddenly poached by a century-old shop in Suzhou. Only her uncle alone knew the carved lacquer technique in their family. Their family line was thin to begin with, and after this incident, her uncle’s temperament became increasingly cautious. Even the several apprentices he recruited, after working in the family for over ten years, he still held back and was unwilling to teach them the complete technique. Unable to manage alone, he produced fewer and fewer carved lacquer pieces with almost no fine products, and the shop’s business declined year after year.

Rather than finding ways to recruit talented apprentices, Uncle placed his hopes on Yu Yuan. Yu Yuan did honestly learn the craft for several years, but whether due to lack of talent or Uncle’s poor teaching ability, Yu Yuan’s skills were mediocre—not even as good as Uncle’s senior apprentice, Xia Pinggui.

Xia Pinggui had been an apprentice at the Yu family since age six. He was two or three years older than Yu Yuan and had been taken as an apprentice by Yu Tang’s grandfather on behalf of his son when the old man was still alive. When he was young, he lived at the Yu residence. Later, when Yu Tang grew up and considering the difference between men and women, Wang Shi had him move to live at the shop. When Changxing Street caught fire, Wang Shi preferred to arrange for him to stay at the Yu family’s old residence rather than have him move back to the Yu household.

When the shop was completed this time, Xia Pinggui brought several junior apprentices and moved back to the shop.

Though Xia Pinggui and Yu Tang didn’t meet often, they had grown up together. Occasionally when he visited the Yu household, he would run into Yu Tang. Seeing Yu Tang helping keep accounts at the storeroom entrance, he had a rough serving woman from the shop fill a warming pot and brought it over to Yu Tang: “Young Miss, the weather is too cold. Keep yourself warm and be careful not to catch a chill.”

In the entire lacquerware shop, besides the Yu family members, Yu Tang only recognized Xia Pinggui.

She smiled and thanked Xia Pinggui, accepting the warming pot.

A smile appeared on Xia Pinggui’s honest, loyal face. He said “You’re welcome” and continued supervising the shop’s young workers in storing the goods.

Yu Tang noticed there were also two black lacquer plain four-sided tables in the storeroom. She couldn’t help asking Xia Pinggui: “How is it that our family also sells furniture now?”

When she was young and came with her father to play at the shop, she had been in the storeroom. In her memory, the storeroom was full of shelves divided into compartments, with various sized lacquerware boxes and cases of all kinds displayed on the shelves, from nine-compartment combination boxes for sweets to cases for rouge.

How had it become like a general store now?

Xia Pinggui hesitated for a while. Seeing Yu Bo, Yu Wen, and the others standing at the front of the shop discussing display arrangements, he lowered his voice: “We’re too close to Hangzhou City here. Now mother-of-pearl inlay is becoming popular everywhere. Families who want carved lacquer are particular about craftsmanship. If we don’t sell some tables, chairs, food boxes, and such, business will be even harder to do.”

Yu Tang didn’t understand.

Xia Pinggui explained to her: “In the past, when marrying off daughters or bringing in brides, they’d always buy one or two carved lacquer cases to store things. But since the Sheng family from Jiangxi opened their shop in Hangzhou City three years ago, it became fashionable in Hangzhou City to buy mother-of-pearl inlay cases instead.”

Since the family ran a lacquerware shop, she knew about mother-of-pearl inlay—shells and sea shells polished and inlaid on cases. The shells shimmered with iridescent luster under light, with gem-like brilliance. Some people who cared about appearances but couldn’t afford hundred-treasure inlay cases would buy these as substitutes.

But people’s preferences came in countless varieties. Some families with substance particularly disliked flashy things. Moreover, what was inlaid wasn’t even gemstones but shells, the substitute for gemstones?

Yu Tang thought for a moment and said, “Could it be that the Sheng family has some new technique that makes mother-of-pearl inlay much cheaper to sell than carved lacquer?”

Xia Pinggui’s eyes showed admiration. He said with respect, “Young Miss is truly clever. Indeed, as you said, their family has now created something called ‘backed color mother-of-pearl inlay.’ The natural color is much cheaper than ordinary mother-of-pearl inlay, and if you want other colors, you can have them custom-made, which costs much more than the regular colors. They’ve both made a name and done business. They’re at the height of their success now. I heard that what was presented for the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner’s birthday was a twelve-panel screen of ‘A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’ made by their family.” Speaking to this point, he hesitated, “However, our shop’s main issue is still the designs—they haven’t changed in many years…”

Though the words were tactful, Yu Tang still understood.

She said, “Are you saying our family’s carved lacquer craftsmanship isn’t good enough?”

Xia Pinggui’s face reddened as he mumbled an acknowledgment. Yu Tang didn’t hear clearly what he said, but she understood the meaning.

She remained silent for a long while.

In her previous life, after their family shop burned down, it was sold. She didn’t know how their business had actually been. Later, when Yu Yuan earned money, her uncle wanted to revive the family business, but he passed away before he could get the business going.

Now their family had spent great effort to rebuild the shop and spent a lot of money stocking up on goods. Surely they couldn’t just barely scrape by?

This was what she couldn’t tolerate most.

Spending the same time and the same effort, yet not doing as well as others.

One had to find the cause and think of solutions.

She looked at the various objects piled in the storeroom and sighed inwardly. She didn’t even want to look at these goods a second time—what about those who bought things?

Could they possibly postpone the opening and find a way to readjust the inventory?

Yu Tang pulled Wang Shi aside and quietly asked her.

Wang Shi smiled bitterly upon hearing this. She hugged Yu Tang and said in a low voice, “Good child, you’re thoughtful. Your uncle has been in business his whole life—how could he not know these principles? But we still owe the Pei family money for rebuilding the shop. Where would we have extra money to stock up on goods? Besides, good pieces are kept by each shop as treasures of the store. How could they easily sell them to our family? Even if they did sell to our family, if customers took a liking to them and we couldn’t make more, it would easily cause trouble. Better not to display them at all.”

Yu Tang was startled. “Is it because there’s no money?”

Wang Shi paused, her voice even lower: “It’s not entirely about money. The family also lacks the personnel…”

Meaning the family lacked the craftsmanship.

This was consistent with what Xia Pinggui had said.

Over these years, the shop had been managed by Uncle. She was afraid that probing deeper would embarrass her aunt, so she mumbled a few words and returned with her aunt to the shop floor. Finding an opportunity, she pulled Yu Yuan aside for a private conversation: “How are the skills of those masters invited back from Jiangxi? Do you think relying on just these few people will work?”

Yu Yuan had been worrying about this matter these past few days too.

He said, “Those masters’ skills are all mediocre. One of them isn’t bad, but he’s skilled in gold tracing, while our family made its name with carved lacquer. Father’s thinking is that gold tracing is cheaper. But I feel this is putting the cart before the horse.”

Every lacquerware shop had its own characteristics. Their family had spent several generations building a reputation for carved lacquer. To switch to gold tracing at this point, moreover in a technique their family wasn’t familiar with—Yu Tang agreed with Yu Yuan’s viewpoint.

Yu Yuan had already argued with Yu Bo several times over this matter during this period. Wang Shi firmly stood on Yu Bo’s side, saying things like “haste makes waste—first use gold tracing to earn some money, then find ways to have your uncle’s scholar friends help draw some new carved lacquer designs, and the shop will gradually recover.” Now suddenly encountering someone who thought along the same lines as him, the resentment he usually suppressed couldn’t be held back. He couldn’t help saying, “I don’t know what Father is thinking either. However good gold tracing is, it’s not our family’s technique. Abandoning our own foundation like this—what will the Yu family use to establish itself?”

In the previous life, the father and son had quarreled over this matter.

Yu Tang smiled and said, “Didn’t you say you wanted to open a shop in Hangzhou City?”

Yu Yuan’s face flushed red. “If Father insists on having his way, I’ll go open a shop in Hangzhou City.” After saying this, fearing Yu Tang would misunderstand, he quickly added, “This isn’t your sister-in-law’s idea. It’s my own idea. She can’t make decisions for me yet.”

Yu Tang saw his appearance of protesting too much and laughed heartily.

Yu Yuan realized he had misspoken and also smiled bashfully.

Yu Tang felt this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

In the previous life, even after Yu Yuan had proven his abilities, he hadn’t been able to convince Uncle. In this life, still a young man learning the craft under his father, he would be even less likely to convince Uncle.

Rather than the father and son having an unpleasant falling out, it would be better to temporarily separate and each manage their own businesses. After all, this family business would ultimately be left to Yu Yuan anyway.

Of course, Yu Tang also had a small selfish motive.

She wanted to be like Jiang Ling from her previous life—an extraordinary woman who could earn money to support herself and also support her family.