The women arrived at noon and did not leave until nearly evening, browsing the whole while.
Such a crowd had been enough to draw Jinxiu herself out.
The sales figures mattered little to her. What mattered was that these women had come here at all—proof that their clothes held genuine appeal, and that more customers would follow.
"Jinxiu, the clothes here are just beautiful! So many styles I've never seen before."
Jinxiu kept her professional smile in place and replied casually, "As you may know, my master is from the capital. He's seen a great deal of the world—nothing like our little corner of it."
"Your master is from the capital?"
"You didn't know? Oh, forgive me—I've said too much."
"No, no, not at all. My husband has long wished to pay a visit to Master Zhao. I wonder if you might be able to arrange an introduction?"
Jinxiu put on a look of genuine difficulty. "That's rather hard to manage, I'm afraid. My master dislikes being bothered with trifles—why else would he have traveled all this way from the capital to live in seclusion here?"
"Just the other day, a certain Master Lin came to call and was turned away at the door. Which Master Lin, you ask? The one who placed first in the imperial examinations in the seventh year of Wan'an and rose as high as prefect."
Several of the women went numb with shock. One let a garment slip from her fingers to the floor.
Good heavens. If even a prefect had come to pay his respects to this mysterious Master Zhao, what manner of man must he be?
Their own husbands groveled before the village elders; getting an audience with the county magistrate was the stuff of dreams.
And they had dared to imagine they might attach themselves to Master Zhao's coattails. The sheer nerve of it.
The young woman who had dropped the dress hastily snatched it up and brushed it with her hand. Under ordinary circumstances she would have thought nothing of it—it was only a piece of clothing, after all. But now this garment had become a garment from the shop of a powerful and mysterious personage of great wealth and influence, and it seemed to carry an entirely different weight.
"There's no need to worry, miss," Jinxiu said. "What's dropped is dropped. Someone—take this dress and see to it."
The girl's mother spoke up at once. "Jinxiu, we'll buy it. We'll take it."
"Madam, we would never sell a soiled garment to a customer. If you like the style, please choose a fresh one. We'll set this one aside."
The floor was as smooth as a mirror. Could a dress really be ruined simply by falling on it?
No. Something else was happening entirely. On one side, deference and respect were being offered; on the other, a brand's values were being quietly, firmly established.
"Jinxiu, is that Master Lin… still staying here in Taoyuan Village?"
"He is, yes. He's taken up temporary residence and is helping with some village affairs. I should mention—Master Lin is not an ordinary man, so please, everyone, do be careful not to disturb him."
The women all rushed to assure her they would do nothing of the kind. The gap in standing was simply too great. To intrude uninvited and earn Master Lin's displeasure would be far worse than saying nothing at all.
Several of the ladies had originally come because they had seen how Taoyuan Village was thriving, and wanted to scout opportunities on their husbands' behalf—perhaps there was a share of the prosperity to be had. But once they learned that even a former prefect of the fifth rank had been shown the door, every last one of them quietly let the idea go.
"Please take your time browsing, ladies. If you have more than you can carry, leave your address and we'll have everything delivered to your home."
"I have something to attend to, so I'll leave you now."
"Oh—one more thing. All the shops in Taoyuan Village are under my management. If any of your families are interested in bringing business here, come and see me about renting a space. We're currently offering three months' rent free."
"Or you're welcome to visit the rental center just across the way."
"Of course, of course—please go ahead, Jinxiu. Don't let us keep you."
"Good day to you, Jinxiu."
The ladies watched Jinxiu go, and when they turned back to the clothes, each garment seemed somehow to glow with a new luster.
*These are clothes fit for the people of the capital…* "Young lady, wrap this one up for me. And this one, and this, and this…"
"I saw this one first—wrap it for me."
"On what grounds does seeing it first give you the right? Have you paid?"
Before long, the women were on the verge of coming to blows over the merchandise.
The shop manager stepped in quickly. "Ladies, please—there's no need to worry about running short. There's another batch of the same styles in the shop next door, and even if everything sells out, we can rush to make more and deliver them to your homes as soon as they're ready."
"Madam, please—that piece is a display sample, it isn't for sale…"
These women, filling more than a dozen carriages, were all wives and daughters of Qingniu Town's prosperous families. Some of their households held several hundred mu of farmland, a few even more than a thousand. Others ran businesses or restaurants. With annual incomes of several hundred to well over a thousand taels of silver, the shop's prices of one or two taels a garment were easily within reach.
Some women bought not only for themselves but for the men at home as well, with one customer spending over twenty taels in a single visit.
The shop manager presented her with a card, bowing respectfully. "Madam, having spent over twenty taels, you are now a member of Jinxiu Apparel. From this day forward, all your purchases will be discounted by five percent."
"You will also receive early access to new arrivals and the opportunity to acquire certain exclusive pieces not available to the general public."
"Whenever a new collection is released, we will send you a personal invitation to attend the launch. Might I take your address?"
The village elder's wife listened as though she were hearing scripture from heaven—she could not quite follow what the manager was saying.
But she understood clearly enough that she had been granted some form of privilege.
Once a person has food in their belly and clothes on their back, what is the most intoxicating thing in the world?
Privilege. Something others cannot have, but you can—that is the most intoxicating thing of all.
The other women were eaten alive with envy. They quietly tallied the prices of the clothes in their arms and drifted back toward the racks.
Then they left their addresses, hearts already fluttering at the thought of the invitation and the launch event the manager had described.
Oh, the face it would give them!
The dozen or so carriages departed, leaving behind more than two hundred taels of silver—equivalent to half a year's income for some of the less prosperous gentlemen in town.
A number of these ladies might have some explaining to do when they got home.
But that, of course, was none of Taoyuan Village's concern.
Jinxiu told Jinyi about the afternoon, and both of them were left marveling at the spending habits of grown women. To blow a tenth of one's husband's annual income in a single afternoon—truly, these ladies were something else. Sisters, please, a little restraint!
Though in the broader context of Taoyuan Village's current scale, two hundred taels was not a particularly large sum.
Even so, setting aside the income from Immortal's Bliss liquor, two hundred taels was not easy money. It was, after all, the annual tax revenue of a mid-to-large-sized village.
"I didn't expect the ready-made clothing business to break into the market so quickly. Qingniu Town has far more than a dozen wealthy landlords and gentry."
"And there's more than one Qingniu Town in the area."
"The clothing shop may well become one of the village's mainstay industries."
"That's what I'm thinking, Elder Sister. I'd like to pull the ordinary clothing lines from the three shops and sell them through a separate storefront instead."
"The margins on everyday clothes just aren't there. Discount too heavily and you make nothing—and it risks cheapening the Jinxiu brand."
"For Jinxiu Apparel, I want to carry only items priced above one hundred wen. Let's earn our money from those who have money to spend."
"I'm behind you completely."
"Keep at it. I hope your Jinxiu Apparel will one day rival Immortal's Bliss—bringing in real wealth for the master and helping him build Taoyuan Village into something even greater."
"It will, Elder Sister. I'll work hard!"