Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

Shopkeeper Sheng used the word "must". Li Yu thought it must be something big, so he packed up and went out.

She met Manager Sheng in an inconspicuous little courtyard.

The courtyard was part of the Crown Princess's dowry and was specifically given to them for their use.

Li Yu had been here several times and was not curious about the structure of the courtyard. After entering and seeing Manager Sheng, he went straight to the point.

Shopkeeper Sheng was afraid of delaying things, so he said directly: "There's news from the East Palace that Concubine Liang, Concubine Zhen, Concubine Jing and several other ladies have known about the competition. They might go to watch the second round of the competition the day after tomorrow."

Li Yu was stunned for a moment, and said, "The competition a few days ago attracted a lot of people. It's normal for the empresses in the palace to hear about it, but they don't need to leave the palace."

"Because of Prince Hui's matter, the emperor was in a bad mood a few days ago. It is said that the concubines were afraid of making him angry and did not dare to do anything. The emperor's mood has improved in the past two days, and they probably want to take this opportunity to go out of the palace to take a look." As a person from the Eastern Palace, although Manager Sheng has been working outside the palace, he knows a lot about what is happening in the palace.

Li Yu pursed her lips and said, "If they really go, we won't be able to be as comfortable as we were in the past few days." We must stay on our toes at all times to avoid saying or doing the wrong thing.

No, not just them, the contestants and the common people will also be restrained.

But everything has its pros and cons. If the ladies in the palace really went there, and if they said a few good words, Tingyu Handicraft Workshop would become famous in the capital and even in the entire Dayu Dynasty in the shortest time.

Those handicraft workshops opened outside the capital will enter the local market in the shortest time possible.

Li Yu pondered for a moment and said, "At present, they just said it's possible, and they haven't confirmed whether they will go or not. Let's prepare first, so that even if they really go, they won't be in a rush. Also, talk to the guys who were there that day and ask them to calm down and not panic.

Also, don't spread this kind of uncertain news, otherwise if someone in the palace finds out, they'll inevitably find us once they trace the source."

Shopkeeper Sheng: "I save all that."

*

Li Yu and Shopkeeper Sheng discussed some precautions and then left.

Inside the palace, the queen knew that several concubines wanted to watch the competition, but she did not stop them.

Because she was going to go too.

During the first round of competition, she intended to watch, but if she went alone, it would be too conspicuous and those who were interested might check.

Now that other concubines have expressed their wish to go, she can just go with them.

Anyway, she had an average relationship with those concubines, so when others saw her, they would just think that she was trying to show off in front of the concubines and the people.

The Queen had her decision revealed to others. Shufei had also been planning to go, but when she heard that the Queen was going, she immediately looked disgusted and said she would not go.

"I was the one who arranged the summer banquet last year, but she took all the limelight on the day of the banquet. I don't want to see her showing off this time."

As long as the queen was there, the people could not see her at all.

This was exactly the effect the Queen wanted. After hearing the report on the situation in Concubine Shu's palace, she smiled slightly.

*

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and on the fifth day of April, the second round of clothing-making competition was held.

Since the Queen sent someone to give a confirmed message yesterday, all the helpers in the workshop perked up.

Not only was it leaked by someone, but the common people and contestants also heard about it and kept looking in the direction they came from before the competition began.

Shopkeeper Sheng called out twice before the sixty contestants arrived.

There are two groups in total for today's competition, one making clothes for boy dolls and the other making clothes for girl dolls. No one will be eliminated from each group, only ranking.

What is different from the first round of competition is that after today's clothes are made, the contestants need to put them on the cotton dolls and then put them out for display.

In addition, each group today has thirty citizen judges, and they have three quarters of an hour to select their three favorites.

The guys in the workshop will help them write down the numbers they choose and then make a unified count.

At that time, the person with the highest number of votes will be first, and the person with the lowest number of votes will be 30th.

*

During the competition a few days ago, the people who were chosen to be judges all received a snack, so when the competition just started today, many people volunteered to be the judge.

Manager Sheng was happy to see this happen, but he did not choose just anyone. He still carefully selected sixty people, and these sixty people were divided into two groups. Thirty women were responsible for selecting clothes for girl dolls, and the remaining twenty women and ten men were responsible for selecting clothes for boy dolls.

The few men who were not selected were dissatisfied with Manager Sheng's choice, saying that he looked down on men and that Manager Sheng was probably having relationships with the selected women.

The women who were watching were extremely angry when they heard this, but because of their reputation, they did not argue with the men who were grumbling. As a result, the men became more aggressive and their words became more and more unpleasant to the ears.

*

The women were shaking with anger.

Seeing this scene, Li Yu stepped forward and stood between the two groups, staring at the men and asked, "Do you know how to sew? Do you know how to embroider?"

The man looked disdainful and said, "Sewing is for women, how can men understand it?"

Li Yu pointed at the competition venue and said, "Today's competition is about making clothes. We are going to see how good the contestants are at sewing. Since you don't understand, how can you judge?"

This made sense. Several men choked for a moment, and then one of them said quickly: "The selected people certainly don't understand, but why were they selected?"

Before Li Yu could answer, Shopkeeper Sheng came over from somewhere else and said, "Do you remember the two handkerchiefs I showed you when I was selecting people? Those two handkerchiefs look exactly the same, but in fact, there are big differences in the needlework and embroidery.

When I asked you to choose which one was better, you all chose the one with poor workmanship, while the ten people who were selected chose the one with good workmanship.

That’s the difference, they can tell whether the needlework is good or bad, but you can’t.”

Several men were speechless.

The women just felt refreshed and had a better impression of the workshop.

*

Everyone in the venue was nervous at first, but because of this incident, they almost forgot that the Queen and several concubines were about to come, and they relaxed unconsciously.

It was not until there were two quarters of an hour left before the end of the competition that a man asked whether anyone else would come from the palace.

No one answered him because the queen's carriage had already arrived.

The people became restless, and the contestants in the arena became a little anxious. Princess Jianing and the other four who were originally sitting on the stage stood up at the same time.

"The Queen Mother said that everyone should do what they are supposed to do and there is no need to perform formalities." A eunuch trotted forward and shouted.

But no one dared to do what he said.

Shopkeeper Sheng exchanged a glance with Li Yu, then turned back and told the shop assistants to keep things as they were.

Most of them are looking at the Queen now. Some people might take this opportunity to cheat, so they have to be careful.

They must ensure the fairness of the competition!