Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 336: Siding with Reason, Not Relations

Chapter 336: Chapter 336: Siding with Reason, Not Relations

Yi Chichi thought it was possible.

If there’s a legitimate reason, a borrowed appointment at Kao Shan Village won’t be an issue.

Now there’s a question, "How long is the borrowed appointment?"

"That depends on how many days you need to finish the drawings."

So, the problem fell back to Yi Chichi.

She looked at the two of them, "I need an accurate number of designs, especially embroidery patterns, specific measurements, and the clearer the requirements for the embroidery patterns, the better."

"Additionally,"

Her gaze fell on Ning Jiandong’s face, and she stated word by word, "Let’s discuss the price of the embroidery patterns first."

Her attitude was extremely firm, showing no sign of negotiation.

Ning Jiandong had no choice but to nod, and the two proceeded to discuss in detail the size, pattern, and price of the embroidery designs.

Discussions about the size and embroidery patterns went smoothly, but they hit a snag when it came to the price.

Ning Jiandong wanted to get her embroidery patterns at the lowest price, but Yi Chichi was not having it, and beside them, Gu Xinghua was being a fence-sitter causing trouble, which nearly drove the two to a fight over the price.

Half an hour later, the two still hadn’t reached an agreement, each took a cup of tea to cool down their overheated brains.

They were almost fuming and desperately needed to cool off.

Gu Xinghua looked at Yi Chichi, then at Ning Jiandong, and hesitantly suggested, "How about each of you takes a step back?"

Yi Chichi exploded upon hearing this, "Haven’t I already stepped back? I have! It’s Uncle Ning who won’t budge, he’s like Zhou Bapi, wanting me to work for free."

"Don’t slander me!"

Ning Jiandong didn’t like hearing this and countered with evidence, "Dear niece, you’re asking for an absurd amount, equating the price of patterns with finished products. If you were in my position, would you agree to this price?"

"I would."

Yi Chichi responded without hesitation, "The embroidery designs aren’t just used once and then discarded. Moreover, Yue Embroidery has many variations. Using different stitching and needlework methods on the same design can produce unique pieces."

She then used embroidery pieces like Fish Playing Among Lotus, Phoenix Among Peonies, Butterflies Playing Among Peonies, and Portrait of a Lady as examples.

Seeing the noticeable change in Ning Jiandong’s expression, she concluded, "In short, if you buy a quality embroidery design, you can create multiple unique products with different stitching and needlework. It’s a great deal; my asking price is not high at all."

Gu Xinghua thought it made sense and said to Ning Jiandong, "I think Xiao Yi is correct."

Ning Jiandong was speechless at this fence-sitter and testily asked him, "Whose side are you on?"

Never seen anyone not standing with their own but with outsiders instead.

"I stand by reason, not by relation."

Gu Xinghua puffed out his chest with righteous indignation.

It seemed like he implied Ning Jiandong was being unreasonable.

Gazing at Yi Chichi, Ning Jiandong was still reluctant to give up, "Dear niece, what will you do if I don’t agree?"

"I’ll leave!"

Yi Chichi didn’t hesitate, took her belongings, and made a gesture to leave.

"Come back."

Seeing she was serious, Ning Jiandong quickly stopped her.

Yi Chichi turned and smiled at him, "Do you agree?"

"I agree!"

"Pay up first."

She extended her hand, confidently demanding her payment.

"By the way, settle my special consultant allowance too."

"You draw while I’ll get the finance to come over."

Not knowing how to handle her, Ning Jiandong had no choice but to comply and arrange for Gu Xinghua to send a borrowed appointment request to Baoshan Commune and Kao Shan Village simultaneously.

First by phone, then by telegram.

In the 70s, making long-distance calls wasn’t just troublesome; it was extremely so.

Unlike today, where you dial directly to connect, back then, you first needed to register, then report your identity, and inform the operator who you wanted to reach.

Think that’s it?

No, it’s not.

The operator needed to transfer switches, not just once, but several times.

If you couldn’t get through, you’d have to register again.

With bad luck, it might take days to get through.

So, people living far apart back then either wrote letters or sent telegrams to contact each other.

Calls were really not an option for many; one, you might not reach the person via phone.

Two, phone calls were expensive, and switch transfers charged fees too.

Gu Xinghua got lucky and managed to get through first try, directly booking a call with the secretary of Baoshan Commune under Yi Chichi’s instructions.

Thus, the call went directly to the secretary’s office.

After a brief conversation, Yi Chichi’s borrowed appointment was settled.

She could stay an extra twenty days in Yangcheng.

Once the borrowed appointment was complete, Ning Jiandong brought finance over too.

The rest was straightforward: settling accounts between both parties.

For twenty weaving designs, priced 20 and 48 respectively, totaling 680.

In total, there were nine embroidery patterns: two large ones, priced at 120 each, totaling 240.

Four medium ones, a series, priced at 80 each, totaling 320.

Three small ones, although small, required high color pairing and composition standards, priced at 60 each, totaling 180.

The finance winced at the prices as they settled the accounts, murmuring about how expensive it was, truly too expensive.

Then asked if she could discount it.

Yi Chichi extended her hand, "Sis, no discounts, just pay up quickly; no payment, no work."

"I’m heartbroken!"

She held the money, reluctant to let go, but Ning Jiandong couldn’t stand it, "Just give it to her, our goal is to earn foreign exchange, don’t be petty over this small change."

Once the foreign exchange comes in, this amount is insignificant.

The price of one piece of embroidery can surpass many low-priced industrial items.

The market isn’t big enough, but if it were, he would love to turn the Friendship Store into an embroidery shop, selling only to foreign guests embroideries, lacquerware, porcelain, and such.

The finance didn’t know his thoughts and let Yi Chichi take the money, lamenting, "It’s so hard for others to earn some money, but you earn too easily."

"Not that easy."

Yi Chichi casually pulled out ten banknotes and handed them over, "Sis, can you exchange them into national coupons for me?"

"Sure, what coupons do you want?"

"Meat, grain, oil, sugar, alcohol, tobacco, the rest is up to you."

The finance nodded, "I’ll allocate them for you."

"Okay."

In fact, the stipend and benefits from the Friendship Store included coupons, but they were limited and not sufficient.

Exchanging was necessary.

National coupons weren’t easy to exchange elsewhere, but the Friendship Store was a good place for it, not to be missed.

So, she exchanged them.

With that, the finance left with the money and the signed documents from her.

Ning Jiandong and Gu Xinghua, like Zhou Bapi, stood on either side of her, one giving a signal with his eyes to start working, the other urging her to start drawing.

Yi Chichi’s lips twitched, "Treat me to dinner."

"We’ll eat at the canteen."

That was fine; the Friendship Store’s canteen served decent food.

If it’s free, no reason not to enjoy it.

So, Yi Chichi got to work.

She was so focused and immersed that she didn’t notice when Gu Xinghua and Ning Jiandong had left; by the time they appeared again, it was dinner time.

"Take a break, let’s eat first, then you can rest after having a good meal, and continue drawing tomorrow."

As he spoke, Ning Jiandong remembered something, "Where are you staying tonight?"