Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

As autumn deepens, the leaves in the mountains turn a brilliant gold, and when swept by the wind, they drift down and carpet the ground.

Li Yinyin could ride a horse, but Li Chengming wasn't comfortable with such a long journey, so he simply hitched up a horse and carriage. It was slower, but safer enough.

After arriving in the prefectural city, Li Yinyin was taken directly to a mansion where Xiao Liu and the others often stayed when they were not in the village.

"Miss?" Xiao Liu greeted Li Chengming first, then hesitated before calling out to Li Yinyin.

Li Yinyin became curious: "Xiao Liu, how did you recognize me? Didn't I look like the young master well enough?"

“No, that’s not it. The girl’s disguise is already very convincing,” Xiao Liu glanced at Li Chengming. “It’s because the master is by your side that he was able to guess it so quickly.”

"So it was you who gave me away, big brother," Li Yinyin said with a smile that curved her eyes. "As compensation, big brother, don't forget to take me out with you tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liu said from the side, "Miss, Master has important business to attend to tomorrow. If you'd like to stroll around the city, would you mind accompanying me?"

Li Yinyin became dissatisfied: "Do I not look like the type to do serious work?"

Li Chengming glanced at Xiao Liu, stopping him from saying what he was about to say, before comforting his sister: "Who says Yin Yin can't handle important matters? Tomorrow you'll be coming with me, so you'd better help me out properly."

"Brother, if you need anything, just tell me," Li Yinyin said before going to rest with the maid who had come to serve her.

After washing up and lying in bed, Li Yinyin's smile finally faded.

"Just you wait and see, I'll definitely be able to help tomorrow!"

The next day, Li Yinyin got up early, changed her clothes, drew her eyebrows, and went to find her older brother.

After Li Chengming led her to have a meal, he went out.

Once they were in the carriage, Li Chengming said to her, "Today we're going to a poorly managed embroidery shop. I've arranged with the owner to take a look. If it's suitable, we'll buy it directly."

“When this embroidery workshop was thriving, it employed many embroiderers. Now it is struggling to survive, but it still supports quite a few people. The condition the owner sold it to me was that these embroiderers be treated well.”

Li Yinyin was somewhat surprised. In such a chaotic world, it was truly remarkable that someone would be willing to protect so many women.

"What does my brother need me to do?"

“You are more discerning when it comes to embroidery. If we buy the embroidery workshop today, I want you to supervise the lead embroiderers to carefully classify their subordinates into appropriate grades based on their embroidery skills, without showing favoritism,” Li Chengming asked gently. “Can you do that?”

“I’m a man now,” Li Yinyin said, sitting a little further away from her older brother. “A man can’t say he can’t do it, so I definitely can!”

Even though she had moved a little further away, the carriage was only so big, and Li Chengming reached out and flicked her forehead: "Who said any nonsense in front of you? Don't learn these things."

"Nobody, I just overheard other people chatting," Li Yinyin said confidently. "Big brother, is there something wrong with what you said?"

Li Chengming gave his sister a disgruntled look: "We're almost there."

“Okay,” Li Yinyin sat up obediently, waiting for the carriage to stop.

Although they said they were almost there, the carriage actually took about an hour to reach its destination after leaving the city.

Feeling drowsy, Li Yinyin got out of the car behind her older brother and immediately met several pairs of surprised eyes.

She wanted to hide behind her older brother, but remembering that she had come out on business today and represented her brother's reputation, she could only straighten up and pretend not to notice the gazes of others, standing tall with her head held high and eyes straight ahead.

The owner of the embroidery shop was a woman of poor health and a stern expression. When facing Li Chengming, she did not hesitate to put on her most imposing demeanor in an attempt to intimidate the merchant. However, after studying Li Yinyin's face for a moment, her expression softened somewhat: "And this young lady is?"

Li Yinyin's eyes widened like a cat's, and she subconsciously looked at her brother.

Although Li Chengming was somewhat surprised, he quickly realized: "Madam Zhao has a good eye. This is my younger sister. She came out with me to broaden her horizons."

“Those of us in this line of work may not be the best at other things, but we do have some expertise in recognizing people, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to make such good embroidery,” Madam Zhao bowed slightly. “I hope we didn’t frighten Miss Li.”

“Madam Zhao, there’s no need for that,” Li Chengming said, leading his sister aside to avoid her greeting. “My sister is quite bold; otherwise, I wouldn’t dare bring her to such an occasion.”

The upper class of Jiang State generally believed that women from lower classes were so fierce and resilient because of life and the times. Therefore, in order to show the demeanor of noble ladies, they required their daughters to be gentle and obedient.

However, Madam Zhao disliked and scoffed at these requirements. Therefore, she was particularly fond of Li Yinyin, who was dressed in men's clothing and obviously did not follow the rules. She also changed her attitude towards Li Chengming, who indulged his sister: "Master Li is really a good brother."

Li Chengming accepted the praise without hesitation before discussing the purpose of his trip with Madam Zhao.

Madam Zhao did not state a price directly, but instead said that she could first introduce Li Chengming and others to the buyers, and then they could discuss the price after they decided to buy.

Li Chengming naturally followed the host's lead.

Li Yinyin followed beside the two, listening to Madam Zhao's introduction and looking at the embroidery in the embroidery workshop. She was satisfied, but her face remained expressionless.

Compared to her composure, the remaining embroiderers in the workshop were filled with trepidation.

But they seemed to trust Madam Zhao, so they didn't interrupt.

After hearing Madam Zhao's introduction, Li Chengming spoke in front of all the embroiderers: "I understand Madam Zhao's meaning. As a businessman, as long as there is profit to be made, I will naturally not arbitrarily lay off my subordinates."

The embroiderers breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but Madam Zhao was still waiting for the next sentence.

“However,” Li Chengming said, “what I’m going to do is very different from traditional embroidery. Apart from a few of the most skilled embroiderers who can continue to do the old embroidery, everyone else will be ranked according to their embroidery skills and made according to my embroidery patterns.”

"As long as the work is done well, I won't be stingy with the wages."

"But I know that for some people, money is not as important as their pursuits, and I admire such people very much. However, in my embroidery workshop, if someone cannot follow my rules, I will definitely not want them."

Madam Zhao frowned: "Could Mr. Li tell me what kind of embroidery he's making?"

“Madam Zhao, let’s be business. Your request is a bit excessive,” Li Chengming said with a smile, glancing at Li Yinyin. “I can only say that this is something my sister and others researched together. I have nothing else to say.”

Despite the stares from Madam Zhao and the group of embroiderers, Li Yinyin maintained her smile steadily, completely unaffected.

This is nothing compared to my past life; it's just a drop in the ocean.