Chapter 19

Su Jia’s Oriental Musical Instrument Store opened smoothly on the planned date, but business these days wasn’t as easy as imagined. It was also Su Jia’s first time running a store, so she was naturally a little cautious. As a result, the store’s performance was only average.

Tao Sheng later analyzed that the biggest problem with the zither store was its market position. Most of the families living in the capital were either rich or noble. Those who could afford to hire a zither teacher often had higher expectations for the quality of the instrument.

However, in the capital, the top sources for quality instruments were monopolized by established businesses, leaving little room for an unknown, small shop like theirs. Music stores were also a niche business, not a necessity, so the store’s performance could only be described as mediocre.

Tao Sheng did a good job teaching Zhou Xiaomei how to play the zither, though. Mrs. Zhou was so pleased that she introduced several new clients to her, growing this part of the business. Since teaching required no upfront cost and also boosted the sales of zither scores, it actually brought in more profit than Su Jia’s zither store.

That afternoon, Tao Sheng had just arrived at the shop when she saw an old acquaintance she hadn’t seen for a long time.

It was Zhang Xinyue, whom she had met at Ning Garden.

Zhang Xinyue was excited to see Tao Sheng. She immediately grabbed her hand and said, “After we parted at Ning Garden that day, I’ve been looking for you everywhere for two months but couldn’t find you.”

For Zhang Xinyue, it would have been easy to inquire about a girl from Marquis Wenyuan’s mansion, but asking about a relative of the Luo family, an unknown family in the capital, was much more difficult.

Tao Sheng smiled and replied, “I heard from the Marquis’s wife that you are the daughter of Mr. Zhang in Chaoyun Lane. Why didn’t you ask your sister-in-law to help inquire with the Marquis’s wife?”

Zhang Xinyue leaned in and whispered, “You know how things are in our family. Even though my cousin’s wife is my sister-in-law, she’s the daughter of a princess and was personally granted the title of county lady by the emperor. My cousin was lucky to marry into a wealthy family. I can only respect my cousin’s wife. How could I dare to trouble her?”

Tao Sheng nodded.

She understood this delicate relationship. Although, in name, they were close as aunt and sister-in-law, the Zhang family was a merchant family, and the county lady came from nobility. Their relationship was tricky to navigate, and Zhang Xinyue had to find the right balance in how to interact with her sister-in-law.

In normal families, it would be common to ask a cousin’s wife to help inquire about something, but in the Zhang family, Zhang Xinyue had to be more careful.

Zhang Xinyue was sensible and didn’t want to embarrass her father or brothers, so she held back from asking her sister-in-law for help.

Tao Sheng invited Zhang Xinyue to the tea room in the back, where they drank tea and chatted about old times. Tao Sheng briefly explained her background—her parents had passed away early, and now she lived with her aunt and cousin. She had come to help her aunt run the store.

Zhang Xinyue’s interest perked up. “My father plans to return to our hometown after summer to escape the heat. I was wondering what gifts to bring for my friends and family. I’d like something rare and fashionable, so they know I didn’t waste my trip to the capital. I overheard your mother mention you have several zithers that would be perfect for young ladies just starting to learn. They would make great gifts for my friends and family. Could you help me choose some and pack them up?”

Tao Sheng had never met a customer as generous as Zhang Xinyue, who immediately asked for a large order.

“How many gifts will you need for your friends and family?” Tao Sheng asked.

Zhang Xinyue asked for pen and paper and replied, “I’ll make a list, and you can help me choose.”

Zhang Xinyue had many friends and family members. In total, she needed 32 zithers. This one order alone equaled the store’s usual sales over several months.

Tao Sheng knew that Zhang Xinyue mainly wanted to support her friend’s business, as there were many other types of gifts she could have chosen from the capital.

“We don’t have that much stock at the moment, and it will take some time to order more,” Tao Sheng said. “If you’re in a rush, Sister Zhang, you can take the ten we have in stock now and get the rest from other music stores.”

Although Tao Sheng originally approached Zhang Xinyue with the hope of gaining a customer, she was embarrassed that Zhang Xinyue was buying so many instruments. Tao Sheng didn’t want to make things difficult for her by insisting she buy all the zithers from this store.

Zhang Xinyue insisted, “I won’t leave the capital until the 15th of next month, so there’s no rush. Just send someone to inform me when you’re ready.” After that, she immediately asked Tao Sheng to exchange their home addresses.

After getting Tao Sheng’s address, Zhang Xinyue happily looked at it and asked the maid to settle the bill.

Tao Sheng watched as the maid from the Zhang family took out the money without blinking an eye and paid the full amount directly. He knew that for a wealthy girl like Zhang Xinyue, this little money was nothing. The most important thing was that she wanted to take care of her friend’s business.

Tao Sheng no longer held back and immediately said, “Thank you.”

When facing such a big customer, the music scores displayed on the wall came in handy.

Tao Sheng asked Zhang Xinyue and her friends about their zither skills in detail, then selected suitable zither scores as gifts.

Zhang Xinyue was stunned by Tao Sheng’s actions: “If you can even do these, your zither playing must also sound good, right?”

After more than an hour, Tao Sheng stood up to see Zhang Xinyue out. “Although my zither skills are not the best, they are still acceptable. It’s getting late today. I’ll play the zither for you when I’m free another day.”

Zhang Xinyue’s eyes sparkled: “Will you play the zither for me alone?”

Tao Sheng said, “Yes, only for you.”

Zhang Xinyue looked expectant: “Then you must keep your word. I will come to see you another day.”

After Zhang Xinyue returned home, she went to the study and told her father about today’s purchase of gifts for returning home.

Mr. Li, the teacher of the Zhang family, was playing chess with Mr. Zhang. Hearing this, he smiled and said, “The emperor has the idea of promoting ritual music ^[1]which is music used in ceremonies and important events., and the purchase of zithers and music is in line with his wishes. This gift is indeed appropriate. Yue’er has made great progress.”