Power Up, Artist Yang!

While Yujia was out buying materials for the cloak, she came across her first dilemma.

She didn't know what Zixu's favorite color was.

Or, to put it in more exact terms, she had a faint idea of what his favorite color was, but she didn't know what it exactly was. It was either teal or blue. It had to be one of those two: she only ever saw those two colors around him, and besides, they were the most common colors in his paintings.

He did wear both colors in almost equal frequency, which also made the decision difficult.

As Yujia stood in front of rows of fabric, she found herself stuck between two shades. One was a rich shade of blue. The dye was so vivid yet dark, akin to the deepest layers of the ocean. In fact, Yujia imagined in dim lighting that it could look almost black. Nonetheless, when light struck it in just the right way, the complex shades of blue could be seen. Meanwhile, the other one was a teal green, similar to jade in its hues. It was also dark, but not nearly as dark as the blue. It was the same shade as the leaves amongst shadows in the forest. 

Comparing the two, Yujia figured she liked the blue more. The green one was lovely, but it would be better as silk for a set of robes. As it was brighter, it would be more difficult to match with other robes when it was worn as a cloak. The dark blue was more versatile.

Therefore, Yujia picked up the roll of blue satin. The texture was smooth against her hands, and when she went to check its thickness, it also seemed relatively sturdy. It did seem like a good pick for winter robes, and considering the season, it also made sense for the store she chose to begin selling fabric for winter.

Overall, she found the fabric-choosing process to be highly entertaining. It was wonderful to look at the various kinds of colors and cloth types. For example, the idea of making Yu Zixu neon pink robes sounded ridiculous, but it was a fun idea to picture in her mind.

When she went to the front counter to purchase the roll of fabric she selected, the store owner, an old woman, gave a nod at the sight of the cloth. "Young Miss, you selected a good piece."

"I was thinking of sewing a cloak with it," Yujia explained.

"There's not a better type of fabric to make cloaks with," the grandma explained, running her fingers along the cloth. "This one is both lightweight, insulating, and easy to clean. Not to mention its quality of course— it can last seasons upon seasons without a problem, as long as it's stored well when not in wear."

Yujia reached to pull out her satchel of taels. "That sounds lovely. How much is it?" 

"For a roll of this quality… fifteen taels." 

Fifteen taels was not a bad price at all. Yujia began to pull ingots out of her bag, before she was stopped by another word from the store owner.

"Young Miss, if you want to spare an extra tael, I'll sell you threads for embroidery as well. I have some excellent silver ones."

"Ah, embroidery?" Yujia bit her lip, thinking of her inability. "Would those threads be good for sewing the cloak together too?"

"Oh no, the embroidery ones are far too fine for work like that. If those are the threads you need, I can sell those as well."

Upon hearing this, Yujia replied, "Then, could I get some of both? Two taels?" Two taels was a tad bit expensive for some strings, but Yujia thought it would be appropriate to give a little extra when expecting a little extra as well. "And, I was thinking of buying some furs to line this cloak. Could you direct me to a good place?"

The old woman hastily assured that she could, then went behind the counter to look for threads. She came back a moment later with an unwrapped package. There were spools of silver thread and a few more smaller spools of various other colors. Along with that, there were also loops of dark blue thread, essentially the same color dye as the cloak itself. Furthermore, she also included some strips of cloth that looked like they could be sewed to make straps for fastening the cloak.

Yujia thanked her for this, exchanged the money, then exited the store. Before she left, the old lady had also given her some instructions to a store that sold furs, assuring her it was the best place. However, it was all the way across the capital, so Yujia had some ways to go before getting there. She also now carried two parcels, one large as it was the roll of blue satin, so Yujia considered first heading back to Lingxin to drop things off somewhere. 

Her plans ended up changing, for on the way back to Lingxin, that was when Yujia ran upon Three Inks.

She hadn't entered this art supply store of hers when she first left Lingxin. Yet now that she was passing it, she figured she might as well drop a hello. 

The moment she wandered in, she was taken aback by how different everything looked.

Three Inks was originally a store that looked high-end, from the wooden paneling to the various ornaments. It generally gave a modest yet elegant look. Except now, when Yujia walked in, was it just her eyes, or did everything look like it was glittering in richness? The wood looked more polished, but beyond that, the decorations were more expensive and numerous. Every table seemed to hold a different decoration; every display was now framed with precious metals. It almost hurt to look at how extravagant everything was. Every corner was oozing with gold and silver and gemstones and crystals. 

Yujia felt broke just walking into the store, although she certainly wasn't wearing anything poor.

Even the clerk they hired, Gao Yi, seemed to radiate pure wealth. From just a glance, one could tell that the silks he wore were of the highest quality, intricately woven and embroidered. It didn't look any worse than the quality of palace-wear. A hefty jade ring circled his thumb, while the abacus he calculated values on was also made of precious jade— a far upgrade from his old simple clothes and wooden abacus.

Yujia blinked a few times. If it weren't for Gao Yi standing there, his face the same as usual— albeit a bit plumper— Yujia might've doubted if she walked into the right store.

Gao Yi, on the other hand, was more than pleased to see her. He immediately set his brush down, running to greet Yujia with a deep bow.

"Owner, you finally returned!" he exclaimed.

Yujia nodded, exchanging pleasantries before observing, "I see that… business has gone well the past few months?" 

Gao Yi agreed vigorously, "Business is better than ever. In the past months, we've made a few partnersh.i.p.s with other merchants here and there, which allowed us to access high quality materials quicker for our products, and thus better quality products. Better quality products at cheaper production prices also led to more sales."

"And this business partnership discussion was with… Zhizhong?" 

"No, no." Gao Yi proudly crossed his arms, explaining, "The other owner explained that I could take whichever liberties I would like with making business decisions. So I pulled a few strings here and there with my connections and got these amazing deals."

"Is that so?" Yujia thoughtfully tapped her chin. "I assume he paid you well?" If she remembered correctly, Gao Yi was hired in the first place and considered trustworthy because Zhizhong paid him a never-before-heard salary in terms of generosity.

"Oh, of course. He is always so generous with pay, but this time, he said I could reap all the profits I earned, as long as I put some of it into the shop itself." Gao Yi waved his hand at all the decorations. "Hence, I took some liberties with decor, if you don't mind." 

Yujia slowly turned her head, absorbing all the glittering treasure within her eyes again. Blinded by wealth: she truly experienced what this phrase meant now.

The new decor was meant to inspire awe and admiration, Yujia figured. Yet to her, it was nothing short of obnoxious. To put it frankly, she hated the new look of the shop.

"I'm not sure how to put this nicely but…" Yujia winced as she spoke, "I do mind." 

Gao Yi's expression immediately fell. "Y-you don't like it?" he stammered.

Yujia squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again and replying, "I appreciate all the thought you put into decorating the store. But Three Inks was always meant as a store where both nobles and commoners were welcome. This is why we sell pencils and other supplies of various quality levels, no? If you decorate the store like such, wouldn't anyone who comes from poor— or even average— financial background immediately believe that they couldn't afford anything from this store?"

"But our shop's good fortune hasn't decreased by any bit since I revamped it with the new decor. If it's about money, don't worry! Our sales have only increased since then," Gao Yi assured.

Pausing for a moment, Yujia thought about his words.

Was this really about money?

Truthfully, she did start this business at the beginning because of money. She needed taels to save herself from an unwanted marriage. Once that dilemma was solved, she still liked to reap the benefits of sales in the shop. The reasons were honestly pure greed at the start.

Except, after so much time has passed, hasn't her mindset changed? Part of her motivation was still fueled by the idea of making more sales. However, another part, Yujia knew, was much more than that. She made things such as oil paints and sketchbooks widespread because she wanted to share her artistic experience with others. She liked the idea of others enjoying and finding useful the things she made. 

This had evolved into something that was more than greed, hasn't it?

She also knew that regardless of era, there were always going to be people held back from chasing their true passions. Whether it be societal or financial or personal reasons holding them back, she understood the struggle. Some things she couldn't do much to help, but to take the first step in making art supplies easily available to all on a financial basis was definitely something she could accomplish.

And to ensure that, she had to ensure that the store was a space they felt safe to buy in— not somewhere they felt smothered and belittled in. Shop decorations shouldn't have been too big of a deal. When Yujia thought about it, nevertheless, wasn't space the most important, vital, and inescapable part of everything? A different environment could provide a different mentality entirely.

Sure, the customers that came from lower-end backgrounds probably couldn't spend as much as nobles, their existences less valued. But wasn't that the same for every aspect of their lives? Weren't they always the least valued group, despite being the most common group?

Yujia was in a place where she had the power to change something about that. She could make those customers, valued nowhere else, valued in her shop. Despite the fact that this choice of hers wouldn't have much of an impact, if this meant that only one person felt more welcome in the shop, more welcome to follow their artistic dreams, then she would consider this decision of hers valuable. 

"The walls look nice," Yujia ended up forcing out the single compliment she could derive. "All these decorations, though…" she waved her hand, gesturing at the agate vases, the historical-painting folding screens engraved with gold, the pearl-string dividers, "they can all go away. Bring back the old decor."

Gao Yi looked more than rejected, but although despondent, he at least knew how to remain professional. With a curt nod, he called over one of the workers helping him manage the store, ordering for the decorations to be taken down.

Yujia thought back to how Bo Zhizhong was the one who designed the original store. She couldn't help but ask, "Has Zhizhong stopped by the store anytime recently?"

"Oh yes he has, multiple times," Gao Yi informed.

Yujia's eyebrows knitted, waving her hand at the decorations still remaining. "He said nothing about all this?" 

Right as she said that, a worker walked past, lugging a giant golden statue, about half the size of half his body. Yujia gawked at the sculpture depicting a man on a horse, wondering how she didn't even notice that when she walked in. Yet at another glance at all the other flamboyant decorations, she was once again reminded of how the sculpture fit in with the rest of the blinding room.

"No," Gao Yi said, "in fact, he didn't even blink an eye or say anything at all. I thought he liked it, so I was rather surprised when you said you didn't like it, if I am to be honest."

Yujia wrinkled her nose. 

How much richness was the Bo Family living in for a scene like this store to be something Zhizhong wouldn't even blink an eye at? She recalled how exhausted Zhizhong was before she went off to her trip, though, and Yujia figured that the exhaustion might play into it.

"If I am to be honest again, though," Gao Yi whispered under his breath, "ever since you went on that trip, Owner, the other owner has not paid much attention to the store. He let me do everything." 

"Is that so?" Yujia pursed her lips in a reply.