The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

"Dr. Qinglan, take a look at this. This silk is a new arrival in the shop, of excellent quality. And look at this, hehe, this is also a fine material. If used for embroidery, it will surely bring out the lifelike details of the embroidered items even more." The shopkeeper personally greeted them, his face full of enthusiasm. You see, if Dr. Qinglan took a liking to something, wouldn't all those young ladies who followed her flock to her?

Doctor Qinglan usually stays at the Holy Medicine Hall and rarely comes to these places, so he naturally wants to seize this opportunity. He can almost imagine how considerable the turnover will be today.

Before Qinglan could speak, An Xinhe, who was standing next to him, grumbled unhappily, "Young Master Qinglan, if you want to buy satin, you can go to our An family's shop. Why come to Liu's Embroidery Shop?"

An Xinlian frowned, tugged at An Xinhe's sleeve, and was about to give her a look to tell her to keep quiet when she heard a hearty laugh coming from the doorway.

"Does this young lady mean that the products of our Liu's Embroidery Shop are inferior to those of An's Shop?" As soon as the words were spoken, everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man who was over eight feet tall, with a slender yet robust figure. He wore a tall hat and a wide belt, and a silver robe that accentuated his elegant appearance.

"Young Master, what brings you here?" The shopkeeper immediately stepped forward to greet his master. The young master was the only son of Rong Jincheng's richest man, so he naturally couldn't afford to be negligent.

"If I hadn't come, our Liu's Embroidery Shop might have been outcompeted," Liu Zhan said meaningfully, glancing at An Xinhe.

When An Xinhe saw that it was actually the young master of the Liu family, her heart pounded wildly. When Liu Zhan's gaze fell on her, her face flushed red.

“I…no, no, Liu…Liu Ji…” At this moment, An Xinhe, who was usually quick-witted, was at a loss. She wanted to make a good impression on Liu Zhan, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t even utter a single word clearly.

"Hehe...did you see that? So, the fifth young lady of the An family actually stutters, haha." A young lady from some unknown family in the shop said loudly.

Upon hearing this, all the women present burst into laughter. An Xinhe's face turned bright red, the blush spreading from her cheeks to the roots of her neck. However, this time, it was a flush of anger. How could An Xinhe endure such humiliation? Especially in front of the young master of the Liu family, whom she admired?!

She was about to rush forward when An Xinlian quickly grabbed her wrist and gave her a wink. "Xinhe, don't you know where we are and in front of whom?"

She didn't care what the young master of the Liu family thought of Xinhe; what she cared about was what the young master Qinglan thought of her. She was Xinhe's older sister, and if Xinhe lost face, she would lose face as well.

Although An Xinhe was unwilling, she had to suppress her temper under the gaze of her older sister. She bit her lip, stomped her foot, and stood aside angrily.

An Xinlian smiled and said, "Young Master Liu, my sister has lost her composure. Everyone in Rongjin City knows that Liu's is the best, and no one can compare."

Liu Zhan raised an eyebrow and glanced at An Xinlian indifferently. This woman is quite shrewd!

However, he wouldn't bother arguing with a little girl. He turned to face Qinglan with a smile, "Brother Qinglan, I was very grateful for your help in curing my mother's illness last time. I've been wanting to express my gratitude, but I haven't had the chance. How about this, Brother Qinglan, take whatever you like today, it's all on me."

"Young Master Liu is truly generous." Qinglan smiled nonchalantly, but suddenly her gaze fell on a certain place, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She then strode forward and walked to the counter.

Everyone's attention was originally on Qinglan, but seeing his actions, they also stepped forward, wanting to see what had attracted Doctor Qinglan's attention.

"Shopkeeper, could you please bring out that embroidered handkerchief for me to take a look?" Qinglan pointed to the target and spoke gently.

Everyone looked at the spot he was pointing to with surprise; it was a woman's embroidered handkerchief!

The pink silk, adorned with exquisite floral and bird patterns, looked incredibly lifelike. Even those present who didn't know how to embroider could appreciate the craftsmanship. To be able to embroider such a handkerchief must require extraordinary skill, making this handkerchief a true masterpiece.

Does Young Master Qinglan want this? Could it be that he intends to give it to a woman? Is it a woman he admires?

The women who had come to see Young Master Qinglan all frowned. Who was that woman? As if realizing something, they all turned their gazes to An Xinlian, who was standing next to Young Master Qinglan. It was said that Young Master Qinglan had been inviting the An sisters out every day these days.

Rong Jincheng has no shortage of women who admire and actively pursue Young Master Qinglan, but none of them have ever had the opportunity to travel with him, let alone have him take the initiative to invite them. What does this mean?

Could it be that An Xinlian, the eldest daughter of the An family, is the one that Young Master Qinglan admires, and the embroidered handkerchief he is currently caressing is also meant for her?

Not only did these women think this way, but An Xinlian herself was also overjoyed. The envious glances from the women around her made her feel even better.

"I'll take this one." While everyone was lost in thought, Qinglan smiled and said firmly. He had just passed by Liu's Embroidery Shop and thought he should get some more silk and embroidery thread for the young lady of the An family who was lying in the hospital bed. So he went into the shop, but he never expected to see this embroidered handkerchief in Liu's Embroidery Shop.

This was clearly embroidered by An Mi! He had only glanced at it a few times when he delivered food and medicine to her, but he couldn't be mistaken; it was definitely hers!

Is she embroidering these things to sell on consignment?

"How much is this?" Qinglan asked the shopkeeper, but noticed that he seemed a little troubled.

“Brother Qinglan, if you like this embroidered handkerchief, you can take it. There’s no need…” Liu Zhan also noticed the exquisite embroidery, but he had seen plenty of good embroidery and it wasn’t anything special to him.

“That won’t do. Young Master Liu runs a business, how can Qinglan take it for free? The money must be paid.” Qinglan declined. From beginning to end, he never thought of taking advantage of Liu Zhan. Knowing that the embroidered handkerchief was made by An Mi, he was even more unwilling to take advantage of An Mi.

"This...this embroidered handkerchief was consigned to the shop by someone else. The person asked for fifty taels of silver per handkerchief..." The shopkeeper frowned, cautiously observing the reactions of those around him.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, gasps filled the room, and everyone present was in an uproar with varying expressions.

Fifty taels of silver? A handkerchief made by a top-notch embroiderer costs only one tael of silver, but this handkerchief costs fifty taels of silver. Isn't this blatant robbery? They even steal a person's underpants!