Opening an antique shop and getting rich through all the worlds

Chapter 120

“Half a month from now is the Great Qi’s winter solstice. There will be festivities in the capital, and a palace banquet too. Are you interested in going to see it?”

Wen Zhi’s lips curved upward, his gaze burning bright.

The ancients placed great importance on the winter solstice, so it should be quite lively. She had only seen palace banquets in murals; being there in person would feel completely different.

Shen You became interested. “I’m basically an illegal resident over there, and I don’t understand court etiquette. Would that be okay?”

“It’s fine.” Wen Zhi thought for a moment, half-joking. “Besides, you wouldn’t really count as an illegal resident—aren’t you a Western Region merchant?”

Of course, this identity definitely couldn’t be known to outsiders.

“Great!” Shen You nodded. At this kind of grand feast, she might even be able to sell things and make some money.

She hadn’t even attended the winter solstice festival yet, but she already knew what she wanted to sell!

Modern light-up hairpins, made in miniature lantern shapes with little lights inside—they would absolutely take the ancient world by storm!

The bulk goods bought online were all copper-plated. Modern color-preserving copper had a very bright color and didn’t oxidize easily—it would be a rare treasure in ancient times too.

But since it was still just copper, she’d need to make a couple in gold and silver, crafted more exquisitely, to sell at high prices.

At this thought, Shen You smiled brightly.

“Tomorrow I’ll go to Lan City to open the shop. After I finish delivering the goods and return, it’ll be just in time for the winter solstice.”

With that settled, after Wen Zhi left, Shen You began preparing the items she wanted to sell for the winter solstice.

Early the next morning, she went to the antique street to find someone.

“Boss Shen, with your requirements, the labor costs won’t be low.” The shop owner warned upfront.

“I know.” Shen You sent him the reference designs. “Just use modern processing techniques. I need these urgently, so I’m troubling you.”

The main selling points of her hairpins in ancient times would be that they glowed and were novel curiosities—traditional craftsmanship wouldn’t actually be necessary, which was why she came to this shop to have others make part of them.

After paying, Shen You went to eat some Cantonese-style steamed rice noodles. Since she was already out, she decided to browse the antique street market while she was at it.

The cultural artifacts section was dazzling—all kinds of wooden beads, mostly gourds. Every time she came, she told herself she was just looking, but whenever she saw something reasonably priced, she couldn’t help wanting to buy it.

Shen You took a liking to a mother-of-pearl box. The wood was ordinary, but at least it was a genuine antique, and the mother-of-pearl work was decent.

It was a bit worn, but there was room for restoration.

“This one’s 100,000. Since we’re in the same business, I won’t jack up the price.” The stall owner quoted.

“You call that not jacking up the price? It’s from the late Qing dynasty—probably collected from some village. With this wood and condition, it’s not worth that much. Five thousand.”

Shen You carefully placed the item back on the stall. If she accidentally dropped it, she’d have to pay 100,000 today.

“Five thousand is too little. You’ve got to let me make some profit, Boss Shen. Twenty thousand.”

“Six thousand at most. If not, forget it.”

“Fine, take it.” The owner handed the item to Shen You.

This price wasn’t exactly a steal, but at least she wasn’t losing money. Once restored, she could put it in her studio.

After browsing for an hour, when Shen You headed back, she was carrying another gourd—this time a 40-centimeter one, the kind with a head bigger than the body.

From behind, with her maroon jacket and matching beret, slightly curled long hair, and a large gourd hanging on her back with a small one dangling from its vine, she cut quite a figure.

Several people who saw her asked which shop she’d bought it from and how much it cost.

Just as Shen You was getting ready at home to switch to the [Lan City] dimension, another scene was unfolding on the Great Qi side.

It had rained again, and the stone-paved streets all bore a cold hue.

Early in the morning, however, the small workshop was bustling with visitors—extremely lively.

“Manager Liu, money isn’t a problem. Could you make us a batch of slippers first?” The person in dark clothing spoke in a negotiating tone.

Meanwhile, from the shop that had expressed disdain for the workshop’s new slippers just days ago, the manager himself had come calling.

“Miss Liu, it was our shop assistant who was short-sighted before—he didn’t recognize quality goods. I hope you won’t take it to heart.” Manager Gong’s face showed embarrassment and regret.

In just a few short days, the slippers made by this workshop had taken the capital by storm. At ‘There’s a Shop,’ paired with cotton socks from the Western Regions, everyone who tried them praised them.

Now those noble and aristocratic young masters were all waiting to buy them. The best shops in the city had tracked down the source and come knocking immediately.

When they inquired, they found orders were already backed up far into the future.

Other shops were trying to imitate too, but word was that Miss Liu’s shoes had even made it into the palace! The others always seemed to fall short somehow.

Just based on this reputation alone, those who weren’t short on money were willing to pay extra for shoes made here by Miss Liu.

Manager Gong’s guts were green with regret now. This incredible windfall had come knocking first, but he’d missed it entirely.

In the end, ‘There’s a Shop’ was making all the money.

“We’ll definitely complete the orders we’ve already accepted on time. As for future orders, we really can’t move up the timeline. If you think the schedule is too long, you can try asking other shops.” Liu Erniang replied unhurriedly.

She truly hadn’t taken the small incident from a few days ago to heart—it was just that they genuinely couldn’t handle more orders right now.

Originally, she’d only wanted to keep the workshop afloat and not let Miss Shen lose money. Unexpectedly, in just a few days, she’d collected a thousand taels in deposits, hired several skilled women to help with the rush orders, and moved the workshop into the city.

She and Sister-in-law Chen now focused on researching new shoe designs.

She knew other shops were making this type of slipper too. If they couldn’t stay one step ahead with more exquisite styles, their business would soon be replaced.

After hearing her words, the various managers hesitated briefly but still decided to place partial orders here—if they had to wait, they’d wait.

They could have other shops make the urgently needed batch first, so it wouldn’t delay anything.

If they left empty-handed today, when Liu’s workshop came out with new good products later, they’d be even further back in line.

The managers all paid deposits, signed contracts, and left the workshop in a hurry.

With such a profitable business, naturally there would be plenty of envious eyes.

Before long, someone else came calling.

Leading them was a middle-aged wealthy merchant in brocade robes, followed by several others.

These were people from the merchant guild, surnamed Jin, who also dealt in silk, brocade, and ready-made clothing.

He squinted as he looked her up and down, then asked, “Are you the workshop manager?”

“That’s me.” Liu Erniang replied gently.

Although she’d collected quite a few deposits, Liu Erniang still dressed simply in daily life, especially when working—she kept things as simple as possible.

The wealthy merchant merely glanced at the teacup on the table, showing no intention of drinking the tea.

“Manager Liu, your workshop has been doing quite well in business recently.”

The words were pleasant enough, but coming from him, they carried additional meaning.

“Too many shops want to cooperate with you, but your place here…” He looked around again, then smiled and shook his head. “You probably can’t handle so many orders.”

“Why not consider placing your workshop under our merchant guild? Our Ruyi Workshop is one of the top shops in the capital. Of course, you’d still be in charge.”

This was essentially a disguised takeover of Liu’s workshop.

With the merchant guild backing them, dealing with such a small workshop and a widowed woman would be all too easy.

If she was smart, she should hand over the workshop and techniques, and she could still make a living in the capital.

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