The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

The eldest aunt smiled and started chatting with Xie Jin, "Bihua, I didn't expect you to be able to attend Old Madam Shen's birthday banquet this time. Oh, by the way, I remember, you are also related to the Shen family, right?"

Xie Jin smiled and said, "My aunt has a good memory. Old Madam Shen is my late mother's dear aunt. She treated me very well when I was still in the boudoir. She always thought of me and gave me rare things many times. She was very caring towards me. Now I happen to be in Shanghuai and I caught up with such an important event as her birthday banquet. Of course, I should come to congratulate her."

"Yes," the aunt nodded and said, "Yes, you are coming. You have always been a well-educated and good child."

After that, the eldest aunt smiled and looked around at Xie Jin's clothes, and asked, "This dress is very special."

Following his aunt's gaze, Xie Jin also lowered his head to look at his sleeves, then raised his head again with a faint smile and replied, "This is Lingnan's ramie yarn. It is also called Xiangyun yarn because it makes a rustling sound when walking. It is a kind of silk, but different from the silk here, it is dyed with yam, and the very unique thing is that the dyeing process must use local river mud. River mud from other places cannot be dyed into this color. The process requires three washes, nine boils, and eighteen suns to finally present a double color of one side reddish brown and the other side black. Today is Madam Shen's birthday banquet, so I wore this reddish brown color. In fact, I usually wear the black side more often."

Hearing about fabric, Mrs. Xie became interested and said, "I have also heard that there is a special fabric in Lingnan called Xiangyunsha. The production process is complicated and it takes a year to make the finished product. Its characteristics are very similar to what you are wearing today."

Xie Jin continued slowly, "Some people think that the name Xiangyunsha is not elegant, so they changed it to Xiangyunsha. I heard that this craftsmanship existed as early as the Tang Dynasty, but the Lingnan area is wild and barbaric, and the people in the Central Plains don't like it, so the things there are naturally not popular. This was a tribute from the local area that entered the palace. The emperor's newly favored concubine Zhang found it from somewhere and loved it very much. She often wore it when she went in and out, and then it began to be accepted."

The eldest aunt laughed and interrupted, "I was wondering why I had never heard of this before. So this is what it is. I think the craftsmanship of this fabric is so complicated and special, and it has gone through many years. It is worth a good taste."

Xie Jin smiled and said, "Yes, this dress is very comfortable to wear. It feels like even the rustling sound when walking gives it life. Oh, by the way, I heard that this fabric has another wonderful thing. As time goes by and the number of times it is worn increases, the color will become lighter and lighter, and the texture will become finer and finer. In fact..."

Xie Jin paused and looked at Mrs. Xie as if she had something to say.

Madam Xie understood and said, "Bihua, we are all family members at the table, so feel free to say whatever you want."

Xie Jin then continued, "In fact, I just met the wife of the governor of Lingnan Dao not long ago. I think my aunt can use this relationship to deal with the Xiangyunsha workshop over there and perhaps add more color to Yongshengfang."

Mrs. Xie laughed when she heard this and said lovingly, "Bihua, you and I are really in sync. You know, while I was listening to you talking, I was thinking, Yongshengfang has always been famous for its large size and comprehensiveness, so naturally we can't miss this Xiangyunsha. But I was confused because we have never dealt with Lingnan before, where should we start."

The eldest aunt at the side stopped fanning herself, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "This is not just telepathy, it's simply a mutual understanding! Bihua, you are thoughtful, intelligent, affectionate and righteous, you are really your aunt's good niece!"

They were talking lively and oblivious to the people around them. Huanhuan was listening with great interest. When she heard Xie Jin's thoughts about Yongshengfang, she couldn't help but secretly praise him. But when she heard her aunt's praise of Xie Jin, she felt a moment of loss. She was surprised to find that it was the first time she cared so much about her aunt's words. She turned her head to look at Xiangyue, and found that she seemed like a hermit, not blending in with the joy and happiness here, but just quietly holding the cup and sipping tea.

At this time, a soft female voice sounded: "Xie Jin, um, Madam Crown Prince's Consort, can you please talk to me for a moment?"

Everyone at the table looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall, slender lady with a yellow complexion looking at Xie Jin with a probing look.

Xie Jin was stunned for a moment, then said: "Isn't this Miss Mo? Of course, let's talk over there." After that, he stood up and walked with the lady to the southeast corner where there were fewer people.

The eldest aunt said unhappily, "Who is this?"

Xiangyue put down the cup, took a long breath, and said in a long voice: "Ms. Mo from Mingdao Tea House was our classmate when we were girls' school."

After she finished speaking, the people at the table stopped talking, and all eyes naturally turned from Xiangyue to Xie Jin. Xie Jin and Miss Mo walked along, attracting a lot of attention. Many female relatives took the initiative to greet Xie Jin. The older ladies were very enthusiastic, and the younger ladies were a little respectful. Just by following the eyes along the way, it can be seen slowly that Xie Jin has a high status among the female relatives in Shanghuai.

Xie and Mo finally stopped at a place in the southeast corner. Miss Mo seemed very embarrassed and spoke several times before she finished her story. In contrast, Xie Jin seemed normal and calm. His expression and attitude were very firm. Finally, Miss Mo's expression changed from embarrassment to hesitation and embarrassment. Finally, she tried to say something again. Xie Jin showed no surprise. He said a few words and left Miss Mo alone to walk back.

When she sat back down, her aunt waved the fan in her hand and asked, "Bihua, what does Miss Mo want to talk to you about?"

Xie Jin took a sip of tea and said, "She said that her father lost a lot of money in gambling with someone, and she wanted to introduce our Qingcha Garden's tea to her teahouse to boost business."

"It's a good thing, but why does Miss Mo look so embarrassed?" Mrs. Xie asked.

"She said her family sent someone to inquire, and found out that the tea from Qingcha Garden was out of stock and the price was too high. She asked me if I could give them a special price because of our former friendship." Xie Jin lowered his eyelids as he spoke, hiding the disdain that flashed across his eyes.

"Oh? What did you say?" The aunt stopped waving the fan in her hand and asked with great interest.

"The tea from Qingcha Garden has always had no trouble selling and is the object of competition among tea merchants. I am able to supply it to them because of our friendship as classmates in the past. I did not agree to lower the price." Xie Jin acted like a seasoned businessman at this moment, with a hint of shrewdness in his elegance.

"Miss Mo got along pretty well with us in the past, so why don't you just give her some face?" Xiangyue advised.

"All the girls in the girls' school are either rich or noble. How can they not get along with each other?" Xie Jin asked, leaving Xiangyue stunned.

Xiangyue added: "Miss Mo's family is in trouble, so let's just do a favor for our former classmate."

Xie Jin waved his hand and continued to say: "Sister, you don't know that you need a tea permit to run a tea business. Miss Mo suddenly showed up, so I'm afraid she doesn't have this permit. More importantly, Qingcha Garden is a family business that has been run for many years, and it has its own rules. If we lower the price for the Mo family today, how can we explain to those tea merchants who have been doing business with us for many years? If you want to use our Qingcha Garden to increase your value, you naturally have to pay the corresponding price."

"Well said!" The eldest aunt slapped the fan in her hand on the table and said, "She is worthy of being the daughter of Mr. Xie San. A good father will have a good daughter!"

Everyone at the table didn't expect the eldest aunt to react so strongly. They were all stunned for a moment. Then Xie Jin reacted and wanted to thank her with a smile. Mrs. Xie was about to say something when she heard the eldest aunt sigh and say, "What a pity, what a pity. Our Qu'er is not blessed. Right now, our Qu'er needs such help!"

This time, everyone was really stunned.