Chapter 285 Mother-of-pearl craftsmanship that sells for big prices
After another seven or eight days, Zhuangzi worked hard to produce more than two hundred stones of white sugar.
Yang Fu also sent a message back, saying that he had prepared a lot of various silk and satin porcelain, boxes of ornaments, and velvet fans. In addition to his own boat, it could fill three boats, so Huo Xi decided to make another trip to Songjiang.
Thinking that the Mid-Autumn Festival will be in two days, I feel a little hesitant.
Yang then said: "We are a family together, why can't we celebrate the festival? Why waste two days."
Huo Erhuai also said: "The guy from last time was very easy to talk to. It's better to be experienced than to be a stranger. We'd better go find him. What if we're delayed for two days and he returns to China?"
Yang nodded as soon as she heard this: "Yes, yes, go earlier and come back earlier. Nian'er's vacation has been postponed once. You have to go back to the school after fifteen."
Only then did Huo Xi remember that she was so busy that she had forgotten about that naughty boy.
The holidays were over, and I was supposed to send him back to his school, but there was another three-day holiday during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I didn't send him there. My family was also busy, so I extended his leave once.
Thinking of the boy who was having fun on Zhuangzi, he decided: "Mom, we'd better go back to the city and go after the Mid-Autumn Festival. You and Nian'er won't go with us this time."
"Ah, isn't mother going with you?"
Huo Xi nodded: "When I go to commemorate my son, he will cry again when I am alone in the capital. Also, it will be the Double Ninth Festival soon, so I can collect some crabs if I stay in the capital. Let's make more bald butter this year. I want it."
Give people gifts.”
Now the family has no shortage of income from butter, but they still make a lot of it every year. Most of it is for gifts. I keep what I can’t finish, and I sell some.
Yang nodded: "Okay, okay, then Mom and Nian'er will stay. Mom is not worried about him staying alone in the capital. Last time we went to Huzhou, we didn't take him with us, which made him feel wronged. Mom feels distressed when she thinks of him like that.
I’m thinking of taking him with me to Songjiang this time.”
"He has been playing like crazy during this period. He is either catching fish or climbing up trees in the village every day. He has become wild. Don't let him follow."
"Okay, okay, mother, stay and watch him write big characters."
Huo Nian, who had taken Bao Kang and a group of boys around to fish for cicadas in Zhuangzi, didn't know that his sister was going to put a halter on him again.
He was holding a net bag, riding on Bao Kang's neck and stretching out his hands to pick up the cicadas on the tree.
"Higher, higher, higher..."
"Wow, I caught it! I'll bake it and eat it later. It's delicious!" The boys from the tenant farmers clapped their hands and cheered.
Huo Nian had never eaten cicadas before and swallowed: "Is this edible?"
"Yes, it's delicious!"
"Okay, let's try baking it later."
"It tastes better when deep-fried! It's crispy. If it can be coated in flour and fried, it will be even more delicious!"
"Then I'll go home later and ask my mother for flour and oil. Let's look for more..."
Yang always responded to Huo Nian's requests. Pi Xiaozi took oil and flour and took Bao Kang to bake some cicadas outside. After eating a few, he felt they were not as delicious as they said, so he took them with him.
He took Bao Kang back home.
When he got home and heard that his sister was not taking him to Songjiang, he burst into tears.
"Why are you crying? Aren't you going to the school?" Huo Xi glared at him.
Huo Nian sniffed: "I want to go to Songjiang with you."
Yang then coaxed him: "Mother isn't going either, how about you stay at home with Nian'er? Nian'er wants to stay and study. Fang Qi and the others have gone back to the school. If you don't go back, we won't be able to keep up.
Aren’t you laughing at me?”
Huo Nian was afraid of being laughed at by his classmates, so he wanted to go to Songjiang with him: "Can't we go to Songjiang with my father and sister to sell goods, save money to buy land, and collect rent? I can fish with my father and sell fish as before."
"no!"
Huo Xihe restrained him.
You little brat, you just want to be lazy. You didn't study or go to school at a young age, you just thought about fishing, saving money to buy land and collect rent.
As long as he can remember, life at home has improved and he has never been hungry. He doesn't know that life is hard and he still doesn't want to study.
Huo Nian looked at her aggrievedly, with tears on her eyelashes.
Huo Xi didn't relent, and she didn't try to coax him. She thought that when she came back from Songjiang, she would take him to experience the hardships of life, which made him always think about being lazy and think that memorizing and writing in big characters was the hard work of everything.
The next day, Huo Nian reluctantly said goodbye to his friends on the Zhuangzi, got on the boat, and returned to the city with his family.
After returning to the city, Huo Xi asked Yang Fu and Shopkeeper Shen to take people to the ship to stock the goods.
She took Yang and others back to Qionghua Lane.
When Yang and others met Lou Qingyao, they had a conversation with her. They were very fond of her daughter, Xiao Nannan. They all sympathized with her experience and reassured her.
Lou Qingyao, mother and daughter, arrived at Qionghua Lane with more smiles on their faces, as if they were alive again.
Someone helped her take care of the little girl, and Grandpa Zou could help her with some tasks. She didn't even have to worry about three meals a day, and she could only concentrate on the tasks at hand.
The little girl was taken around the alleys by Grandma Zou, and she gained the favor of a group of old ladies, aunts and aunts, and brought home a bunch of snacks every day.
Every night she told Lou Qingyao that she liked living here.
Lou Qingyao took her daughter and settled down with peace of mind. She walked around the city with Yang Fu a few times and bought many exquisitely crafted storage boxes and accessories. Her mood broadened and she gained more inspiration.
Huo Xi had seen the collection boxes she and Yang Fu bought and was very satisfied. Many of them were not as good as the dozen made by Lou Qingyao.
Huo Xi encouraged her: "You can ask Grandpa Zou to help you with some chores, and Grandma Zou will also help you with things in life. If you need anything, just tell us and shopkeeper Shen can buy it for you."
.Try to use good materials as much as possible, don’t ask for more, we only make high-quality products.”
"Don't worry, boss, I don't have to worry. I've already told the two shopkeepers to help buy some good wood and collect some conches and seashells. When the time comes, Mr. Zou will help me grind the materials, so I can go faster.
"
Huo Xi nodded: "If you need help, just ask. You can always ask for help with polishing, cutting and other tasks."
Lou Qingyao nodded in agreement: "When shopkeeper Shen comes back to help me buy ingredients in a few days, I will hire two helpers."
Huo Xi originally wanted to buy two servants for her to use, or ask her to bring two more apprentices out, but she was afraid that she would think too much, so she had no choice but to press the button.
Follow her and watch the work she does these days.
She mainly made boxes these days. It seemed that there were two different techniques, so she picked up two different boxes and took a closer look.
"Does the owner prefer this kind of floating or flat inlay?"
Huo Xi still understands floating inlay and flat inlay.
Floating inlay means that the mother-of-pearl is inlaid on the surface of the utensil, slightly higher than the surface of the utensil, and the overall look is slightly undulating. And flat inlay means that the inlaid mother-of-pearl is integrated with the utensil.
The floating inlay has a three-dimensional effect, while the flat inlay is integrated into one, with distinct changes. Each has its own advantages.
"They are all very beautiful. They don't necessarily need to be made into boxes, such as combs, bronze mirrors, musical instruments, and fan handles... Nowadays, there are many literati in the capital. It would be nice to inlay some mother-of-pearl on the fan handles and musical instruments.
It’s good-looking and unique. Noble people like to be different, so you can think more about this aspect.”
Huo Xi's words were like a revelation to Lou Qingyao.
Sure enough, I am still immersed in my own creation, too confident in my own craftsmanship, and also trapped in my own craftsmanship. I am a bit stuck in the sky.
"Thanks for the tip, boss. I will try to make more different things."
"Okay, think more about it."
After watching Lou Qingyao's production, Huo Xi thought that tomorrow would be the Mid-Autumn Festival. She wanted to invite her family and familiar people like Shen Qianzhong to have a lively Mid-Autumn Festival. While thinking about it, Kan Er didn't expect