Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

211  Shri and Shrimati Part :2

Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Vijayanagar State, Capital City - Hampi

In the bustling royal capital of the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, people are strolling along the main streets of the prosperous city, going about their daily business.

On a prime street where the real estate prices are sky-high, a luxurious women's apparel shop stands out. The exterior of the shop is adorned with elaborate decorations, featuring large glass windows showcasing its opulence.

Frequently visited by upper-class women in extravagant attire, this shop attracts attention with high-end carriages often stopping nearby. Upon entering the establishment, it becomes evident that it is no ordinary shop. The walls are adorned with cloth artworks, showcasing various styles of embroidery. A wooden mannequin, showcasing the craftsmanship of the shop owner, is used as a cloth hanger. Wealthy women who visit the shop select the designs they prefer, and the skilled staff takes custom measurements for their orders.

After providing their measurements, these high-class women promptly exited the shop, making way for another group of guests. They didn't need to pay or convey any information to the shop owner. It seemed as if the owner already knew their addresses, and the clothes would be directly shipped to their homes once the tailoring was completed. The shop is owned by none other than Latha Bhai, the short-tempered beauty who introduced new gold embroidery techniques to the empire. Surprisingly, her shop was only a few blocks away from where the queen's shop was about to open.

Latha Bhai is currently in her design studio on the second floor with her father, Arjan. She paces around nervously as her father tries to calm her down. She is very uneasy about the queen opening a similar shop just a few blocks away. It's not that she fears the queen would steal her business; it is quite the contrary. Latha is concerned that with her shop nearby, the queen might not attract enough customers, ultimately losing face. As a result, she might be forced to move her business to another street, something she is extremely reluctant to do.

"Latha, that could never happen; there are laws and regulations against doing such a thing," her father, Arjan Bakshi, comforted her. He came to meet his daughter after being informed that she had not eaten properly since their family received the invitation card from Her Majesty the Queen. Without further ado, Bakshi, being a devoted father, left his busy work to comfort his daughter.

Hearing her father's comforting words, Latha did not feel better as she retorted, "Laws and regulations are only for people like us. Do you really think that these laws and regulations can apply to His Majesty the Emperor? These laws and regulations only apply to him as long as he himself follows them. As long as he does not want to follow these laws and overthrow them, who can stop him? And as the only wife to His Majesty the Emperor, who can stop Her Majesty Queen Kavya?" She said the last part with a hint of jealousy.

Even though Arjan knew what his daughter said was true, he persisted in comforting her, "Latha, it's not like that...." Suddenly, before he could complete his words, he was disturbed by a commotion on the street. Latha and Arjan both walked near the window to see what was going on. What they saw left them stunned in silence; particularly, Latha had a terrified expression, and Arjan had a dark expression on his face. What arrived in front of their shop was the carriage of Her Majesty, The Queen, Kavya Devaraya. Both father and daughter were surprised and stunned; a bad premonition crept into their minds, but sadly, they could not do anything about it. Still, reluctantly, Latha and Arjan started to get ready to greet Her Majesty, the Queen. They had to be good hosts and welcome Her Majesty. Hence, Latha quickly wiped her face, put on some light makeup, and, as she already wore a good set of clothes, she did not have to change. Arjan just ironed his clothes with his hands gently, and both of them were ready. Kavya got down from the carriage, curious about the shop where her female friends usually talked about. She always wanted to visit this shop, but it's just that she did not have an adequate reason to do it. Now she had one.

As she entered the shop, she was greeted by a beautiful girl and a middle-aged man, both dressed in luxurious clothing. However, her gaze was caught by the girl who wore an altered version of a saree that she had never seen before. She was impressed by the design and ingenuity of the designer, as she had not considered that sarees could also be altered like this, the design gave her a lot of inspiration. After the greetings from the pair ended, Kavya sat down with Latha in private and began to speak, "Ms Latha, I have come to your establishment today to talk about cooperation."

Latha, who heard the queen's words, was surprised, as she had previously guessed that Her Majesty, the Queen, would tell her to change the location of the shop or something. Now, she is talking about cooperation. What is happening?

"With pleasure, Your Majesty. You only need to ask, and I will try my best to fulfil the request," Although not yet fully clear about the details, she replied.

"I have heard about your reputation for unique and innovative embroidery techniques, so I have come to you in the hopes that you could help me bring my designs to life. My design involves a lot of gold embroidery, and I have come to conclude that your embroidery designs highly align with what I am looking for," Kavya said. She then waved her hand, after which her maid Radha came with a bag and handed it to the queen. Kavya reached into the bag and handed over the design of her new product to Latha.

Latha was already stunned into speechlessness by the praise she was receiving from Her Highness. When she received the design drawing, she was even more astonished. What she was seeing was a type of clothing she had never seen before, a whole new league from her own. The designs were exquisite and unique. Seeing this design, Her confidence began to waver as she felt it shouldn't be Her Highness worrying about her shop; it should be the other way around. However, being a woman business owner, especially in an era where women's status is very low, her mental fortitude is tough after dealing with patriarchal challenges. Hence, Latha quickly regained her confidence, and her eyes burned with a fighting spirit. She readily accepted the challenge.

"I can do it, Your Majesty," she said.

Kavya was very happy that Latha accepted her offer, but couldn't figure out why she suddenly became so serious. Nevertheless, she quickly put away her doubts, thinking 'all is good that ends well.' They both signed the cooperation agreements between their individual companies. The general summary of their agreement is that Shri and Shrimati Boutique Apparel Company would outsource the embroidery work of their products to Latha Bhai Luxurious Apparel Company. After signing the agreement, Kavya was about to leave, but suddenly, she remembered something, "Oh, by the way, Latha, do you know anyone who is experienced in different types of cloth materials? I need to find a suitable supplier for my product".

Latha beamed as she introduced her father, Arjan Bakshi, a key player in the textile business across the empire. Coincidentally, he happened to be in the same building. Kavya, taken aback by the revelation of their relationship, initially assumed he was the shop manager. However, upon reflection, she quickly pieced together the reason behind Latha's flourishing clothing company. Considering the presence of Latha Bhai Luxurious Apparel in every capital city and the current location serving as the company's headquarters, Kavya realized the financial backing required for such an establishment must be substantial. Now that Bakshi Textile was revealed as the backer, everything fell into place.

Arjan was very happy talking with Her Majesty, the Queen, as he finally found a connection with the royal family. Unfortunately, though, he couldn't be the supplier for Her Majesty's shop because she wanted materials of higher quality than what he normally handled. Fortunately, he had a vast list of contacts who specialized in materials like that. He connected Her Majesty, the Queen, with them, and the deal was successful. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

After finding two collaborators to cooperate with, Kavya went on to find the jeweller she was looking for. After some searching, she found the right person: Punit Kundan. Punit, a refugee from Rajasthan, had to run away due to persecution by the local nobles in his hometown.

Upon further inquiry, Kavya discovered that Punit was a descendant of a long line of jewellers, with a legend suggesting that it was one of Punit's ancestors who came up with the Kundan style of jewellery. Though Punit was just starting out in the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire with only one shop front, Kundan Jewelry became renowned throughout the capital for the unique and breathtaking jewellery he crafted.

Another cooperation agreement was signed between Shri and Shrimati Boutique Apparel Company and Kundan Jewelry Company, where the jewellery for Kavya's first product is outsourced to Kundan Jewelry Company. Punit was also very happy, as he was sure that this deal would Greatly boost his popularity throughout the Empire, making it easier for him to expand with no connections.

P.S. Damn, I got carried away, I thought of finishing the 'Kavya Starting a Business arc' In one and a half chapters, but as I started writing, it somehow became 3000+ words, fortunately, it ended there. So this arc will totally have 3 chaps, the next is the last.

P.S. 300,000 Words and still going strong Let's Goo.

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