She Came to Heal, Stayed to Conquer

In May, the Capital City is filled with the fragrance of locust flowers, making it the most pleasant time of year.

On the morning of May 22, Vermilion Bird Street was already teeming with people. A grand three-story building was festively decorated, the three gilded characters ”Brocade Workshop” on the vermilion plaque gleaming in the morning sun.

On either side of the storefront stood four life-sized sandalwood models. The two male figures wore distinctively tailored mandarin-collar long gowns, while the two females donned modern Republic of China-style outfits with slanted-collar qipaos and tops paired with skirts, drawing the attention of many passersby.

This time, since Han Lei was in the Capital City, she put a lot of effort into the decoration of the Brocade Workshop.

The Brocade Workshop had a relatively large storefront. Once decorated, it looked like a modern high-end clothing mall.

The ground floor of the Brocade Workshop primarily sold ready-to-wear clothes. Han Lei chose Republic of China-style clothing for the designs.

Republic of China-style clothes, whether for men or women, were easily accepted by people of the Da Jing era, not as advanced as modern fashion.

The second floor of the Brocade Workshop mainly sold high-quality fabrics and accessories for custom tailoring.

These fabrics weren’t limited to the current era’s silks and textiles, but also included polyester, blended fabrics, chiffon, georgette, jersey, and lace fabrics, among others.

Han Lei had Yang Haibo recruit a few skilled embroiderers and trained them in the backyard of the Mandarin Duck Hairpin shop.

Making clothes was the embroiderers’ strong suit. After Han Lei bought sewing machines, overlock machines, charcoal irons, and other tools from the system and taught them how to use them, they sewed with even greater ease.

If someone liked a design on the ground floor but the size or fabric didn’t fit, they could buy fabric on the second floor and have the embroiderer make the piece according to the design.

Of course, the price would naturally be higher in that case.

With a series of crisp firecracker sounds, the gilded bronze doors slowly opened.

Inside the hall on the ground floor, dozens of garments were tastefully arranged, ranging from men’s crisp mandarin-collar Zhongshan suits to women’s elegantly patterned three-quarter sleeve dresses.

Next to each ready-to-wear item hung a sandalwood tag, inscribed in small regular script with descriptions like ”Moon White Satin Long Gown” and ”Light Mauve Silk Qipao.”

The most wonderful were the dressing mirrors standing at the doors of several fitting rooms, reflecting every detail, causing the ladies shopping to cover their mouths in surprise.

Climbing the carved staircase to the second floor, one was greeted by a dazzling sea of silks and satins.

The eastern sandalwood rack draped with soft sheer fabric from Suzhou and Hangzhou and cloud pattern brocade from Sichuan, while the western glass cabinet displayed unfamiliar textiles.

There was chiffon light as cicada wings lightly trembling in the breeze and polyester with fine dark patterns shimmering with a pearl-like luster.

Several embroiderers were skillfully sewing along a row of counters by the wall, golden threads tracing out brilliant paths under the solar lamp’s light.

A bamboo curtain of Xiangfei separated the third-floor entrance into two areas.

In the women’s section behind a plain silk screen, a variety of underwear was displayed, the fitted tailoring on the sandalwood models causing a few ladies’ ears to turn red.

The men’s section offered crisp cotton shirts, with collars and cuffs cleverly hiding snap buttons.

Curiously, dozens of solar lamps were suspended from the ceiling, combining cold and warm light to illuminate the novel clothing in a dazzling manner.

In each corner of the floors were several gilded boxes that sprayed fragrant mist, filling the entire hall with the elegant scent of jasmine, adding an extra touch of dreaminess to this brocade world.

At this moment, outside the grand doors of the Brocade Workshop, Wei Chengchao, dressed in a brand-new lake-blue brocade robe, with a jade pendant tinkling at his waist, greeted the endless stream of guests.

Unlike the last time, when Wei Chengchao stood at the door with a resentful look, this time, there was a genuine smile on his face.

Although he was still made the nominal owner through medicinal coercion, the success of the Mandarin Duck Hairpin and Drunken Immortal Brew, and the ten percent bonus made it seem worthwhile to him.

In just two months, he had transformed from a once notorious, infamous scoundrel into a well-known figure in the Capital City’s business circle.

He even became an exemplar for his group of roguish friends, with even Mr. Wei, the Prime Minister, and his wife repeatedly praising his achievements.

”Congratulations, Mr. Wei! The splendor of this Brocade Workshop even surpasses that of the Mandarin Duck Hairpin by three notches!”

The son of the Assistant Minister of Rites congratulated him while shaking a sienna gold folding fan, his eyes constantly wandering into the shop.

Wei Chengchao clasped his hands in return, the laugh lines in the corners of his eyes showing his sense of pride.

”You flatter me, you flatter me. Today I’ve especially prepared fine wine, and we must have a drink or three together!”