I was chased by my sickly junior brother who had two lives

In the prosperous capital, Chen Jia and Yang Xia's encounter was like the intersection of stars, colliding to create brilliant sparks. Since becoming business partners, their friendship has deepened day by day, not only managing accounts together while using abacus beads, but also sharing happiness in their spare time.

One day, the sun was shining brightly and the breeze was not dry. Chen Jia invited Yang Xia with great enthusiasm: "Yang Xia, the weather is so pleasant today. Let's not waste this good time and go out for some fun, okay?" Yang Xia readily agreed. She was wearing a simple green cloth skirt and her hair was neatly tied up, which made her look more refreshing and capable. Chen Jia was wearing a pink brocade dress with flowers. The hem of the skirt danced in the wind, just like the flowers blooming in spring.

The two of them walked hand in hand through the streets of the capital, seeing bustling crowds and dazzling shops along the way. As they walked, they came to the famous cloth market in the capital. In the cloth market, colorful fabrics unfolded before their eyes like a gorgeous painting, with silk and cotton fabrics of various textures and colors, which were dazzling.

Chen Jia's eyes wandered over the fabrics, and suddenly an idea came to her mind. She turned to Yang Xia and said, "Yang Xia, you see the cloth market is so prosperous, the business of silk and cotton cloth must be very promising. You and I have the fate and ability to cooperate in business, so why not expand our business and get involved in the cloth and silk business. What do you think?"

Yang Xia tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment and said, "Chen Jia, this cloth and silk business seems to have a bright future, but we still don't know much about it, and we need to carefully consider many aspects such as the purchase channels, fabric quality control and market demand."

Chen Jia gently took Yang Xia's hand and said with a smile: "Yang Xia, what you said is very true. But I know that you are quite experienced in fabric dyeing, which is our great advantage. As for other aspects, we can slowly explore and gradually improve. Look at the fabrics in this fabric market, although there are many colors and patterns, most of them lack uniqueness. If we can launch unique dyeing works, we will definitely attract many customers."

Yang Xia's heart was moved when she heard Chen Jia's words. She had a strong interest in dyeing cloth since she was young, and she spent a lot of effort on dyeing cloth, and also developed a unique dyeing skill. At this moment, touched by Chen Jia's words, her eyes flashed with eagerness to try: "Chen Jia, you are right. I really want to display my dyeing skills on a bigger stage. But where should we start?"

Chen Jia looked around and pointed to a piece of brightly colored but ordinary silk and said, "Take this silk for example. It has excellent quality. If it can be dyed with a unique pattern or color, its value will definitely double. Yang Xia, tell me, what colors and patterns are you good at dyeing?"

Yang Xia approached the silk, gently stroked its texture, and said: "I have tried many dyeing methods, such as the gradient color dyed with natural plant dyes, such as the transition from light blue to dark blue, which is like the fusion of the sky and the deep sea, fresh and profound; and the floral pattern made by tie-dyeing method, which is smart and natural, just like the flowers scattered on the ground in spring. In addition, I can also use special printing and dyeing techniques to present the artistic conception of landscape scrolls on the cloth, with flowing ink and poetic charm."

Chen Jia listened attentively, her eyes full of surprise and expectation: "Yang Xia, you have such exquisite dyeing skills. If you apply these to our cloth business, why worry about the store not being prosperous? We can first select some high-quality plain silk and cotton cloth, let you give full play to your dyeing talent, and then find a suitable store in this capital city to open a unique silk shop."

Yang Xia nodded slightly, and then said with some concern: "Chen Jia, although dyeing cloth is my specialty, I am quite unfamiliar with running a shop and dealing with customers. I am afraid that there will be omissions and affect the business."

Chen Jia patted Yang Xia's shoulder gently and comforted her: "Yang Xia, you don't have to worry. I will take care of the business affairs. You just need to focus on the dyeing process and provide us with exquisite goods. We are partners, and we should support each other and learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses."

Yang Xia felt warm in her heart and looked at Chen Jia with gratitude: "Chen Jia, I feel much more at ease with your words. Then let's pick out some fabrics first. I can't wait to show my skills."

So, the two began to carefully select fabrics in the cloth market. With her keen insight into market trends, Chen Jia selected some soft, pure-colored silk and cotton fabrics. Yang Xia, from a dyeing professional perspective, carefully identified the texture and quality of the fabric to ensure that it could better absorb the dye and present the ideal effect.

"Yang Xia, look at this piece of white silk. Its texture is as delicate as silk. It will be magnificent if it is used to dye the landscape pattern you mentioned." Chen Jia said as he picked up a piece of silk.

Yang Xia took the silk and examined it carefully in the sunlight. She said, "This silk is indeed good, but before dyeing, it needs some special pretreatment to make the color more lasting and brighter."

While selecting fabrics, the two of them bargained with the stall owners from time to time.

"Boss, the price of your silk is quite high. If we buy in bulk, you have to give us some discounts," said Chen Jia.

The stall owner smiled and responded: "Girl, my silk is of top quality and the price is very fair. But if you really want it, I can lower the price a little, but not by much."

Yang Xia said, "Boss, we really want to cooperate with you for a long time. If you offer us a better discount, we will come here often in the future."

After a heated debate, the stall owner finally agreed to give them a more satisfactory price.

After selecting the fabrics, the two returned to Chen Jia's residence with their full harvest. As soon as they entered the house, Yang Xia couldn't wait to prepare the dyeing tools and dyes. She neatly arranged various natural plant dyes, including blue dye extracted from isatis root, red dye obtained from madder, and yellow dye made from gardenia.

"Chen Jia, I plan to dye a piece of blue gradient silk first, and you can see the effect." Yang Xia said.

Chen Jia watched curiously as Yang Xia skillfully soaked the silk in water to make it fully wet, then tied it with ropes at different parts of the silk to form different dyeing areas. Then, she slowly poured the prepared blue dye into the dye vat and gently stirred it to evenly distribute the dye. Afterwards, she carefully placed the tied silk into the dye vat to allow the dye to slowly penetrate.

While waiting for the cloth to be dyed, the two began to discuss the name of the silk shop.

"Chen Jia, the name of this shop has to be carefully considered. It should reflect the exquisiteness of our fabrics and silks, and also have a unique charm," said Yang Xia.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jia said, "I think the name 'Jinxiu Xuan' is good. 'Jinxiu' represents exquisite and gorgeous silk, and it also implies that our business will be as brilliant as brocade."

Yang Xia's eyes lit up: "'Jinxiuxuan', this name is very good, simple and elegant, and full of connotation."

Soon, Yang Xia took the dyed silk out of the dye vat and untied the rope, and a blue gradient painting as deep and layered as the sky appeared before her eyes. Chen Jia couldn't help but exclaimed: "Yang Xia, this is so beautiful! If such silk is hung in our 'Jinxiuxuan', it will definitely attract countless customers."

Yang Xia looked at her work with a pleased smile on her face: "This is just a preliminary attempt. I believe that with our continuous exploration and innovation, more exquisite dyeing works will be produced."

After that, the two devoted themselves to the preparation of the silk business. Chen Jia ran around looking for a suitable store and handling various procedures for opening a store. At the same time, she actively contacted some old customers and potential customers to warm up for the opening of "Jinxiuxuan". Yang Xia was busy day and night in the dyeing workshop, constantly trying new dyeing formulas and pattern designs, striving to make every piece of silk and cotton cloth a unique work of art.

With the joint efforts of the two, "Jinxiuxuan" finally opened grandly on the commercial street of Beijing. On the opening day, the store was filled with various exquisite silks and cottons dyed by Yang Xia. The brilliant colors and unique patterns attracted the attention of many customers. Chen Jia and Yang Xia dressed in their best clothes and greeted every customer warmly, introducing the characteristics and quality of the silks to them.

"Madam, look at this piece of silk. It was dyed using a special technique. The floral patterns on it are so lifelike that you can almost smell the fragrance of the flowers. If you use it to make clothes, it will surely make you the center of attention at the banquet." Chen Jia said to a customer with a smile.

"Girl, this cotton cloth is so soft and the color is so elegant and fresh. It is perfect for making clothes for your children at home." Yang Xia added.