flstandardbreds Chapter 118 Preparations in Advance!
Chapter 118 Preparations in Advance!
In the end, Mu Xin Nuan never saw the boy's true face, but he did leave her a name.
"A-Chu?" The next morning, Mu Xin Nuan was doing her makeup in front of the mirror at her dressing table. She murmured the name again, and after a while, she seemed a little annoyed. "What? It's clearly a fake name! If you don't want to say it, you can just not say it. But you actually used a fake name to deceive me! It's simply hateful!"
“Miss, you guessed right. The second young lady actually mobilized a large sum of cash from the jewelry shop. Now, apart from the gold and silver jewelry, the jewelry shop basically has no cash left.”
"Hmm, so they really are doing a big renovation?"
"Indeed, I've heard that the Second Miss intends to make that clothing shop extremely luxurious and opulent! It seems she's going to cater specifically to wealthy families."
"Her shop originally catered exclusively to wealthy families, but with this grand expansion, it's highly likely she's now targeting officials and their families. She probably won't even do business with some merchants anymore!"
"Why wouldn't you do business? Has Miss gone mad?" Mu Qing said incredulously.
Mu Xin Nuan laughed, "You don't understand! All noble families are extremely concerned about their image! The higher their status, the more they feel that their food, clothing, and daily necessities should be different from ordinary people! Do you think that once her business reaches the level of a duke's mansion or a prince's mansion, she will still take on business from commoners?"
"Does Miss mean that from now on, Second Miss will only accept business from ladies and wives of high status? She won't do any other business?" Mu Qing still found it somewhat unbelievable! She felt that Second Miss was turning away the God of Wealth by doing this!
“You wouldn’t understand if I told you! The more this happens, the more prosperous her business will become! Moreover, the money of noble families is much easier to earn than the money of ordinary people!” As she spoke, Mu Xin Nuan took out a jade hairpin from her dressing case.
"Take this for example. Let me ask you, if I were to sell it to you for one hundred taels, what would you think?"
"One hundred taels?" Mu Qing grew up in the General's Mansion and had seen many good things. She had a good eye for their value.
“Miss, one hundred taels is indeed not too expensive, and this hairpin is worth that price! However, if I were to buy it, I definitely wouldn't be able to bear the cost!”
“That’s it! But if I had someone polish this jade hairpin a little, make some minor repairs, and then resell it to some noble ladies, they would be willing to pay a thousand taels!”
"A thousand taels? Miss, are you joking? How could this ordinary jade hairpin be worth a thousand taels?"
Mu Xin Nuan laughed, not at Mu Qing's naiveté! In her past life, she herself hadn't understood this and always thought it was impossible! It wasn't until later, when she finally learned that Mu Xin Yao's jewelry shop, with its extremely unique and rare designs, attracted many noble ladies, that she realized there was actually a way in this world where obscure items could be sold for high prices with just a little embellishment! That's called design!
In this life, Mu Xin Nuan naturally anticipated that once Mu Xin Yao found an opportunity, she would definitely use this method again to earn a lot of money for herself!
Merchants? In the Great Yong, where everyone is considered lowly, many noble families have servants engaged in this kind of business.
They look down on merchants, yet they need vast sums of money to support their extravagant and decadent lifestyles! Without money, they lose face! Mu Xin Nuan thought about it and found these people utterly ridiculous!
On the one hand, they utterly despise merchants, yet on the other hand, they constantly hope that their businesses will generate substantial profits! Because their wealthy and luxurious lifestyle ultimately depends on money!
This is what nobility is! This is what a distinguished family looks like!
"Miss, what should we do? Should we set it on fire again?"
Mu Xin Nuan shook her head. "Some things, once done, can't be done a second time! Do you think Mu Xin Yao won't get suspicious? She might be waiting for you to start a second fire!"
"But Miss, are we just going to stand by and watch the Second Miss reopen this clothing shop?"
“Of course!” Mu Xin Nuan smiled slowly. “Impossible!”
"Go and call Granny Yu in. I have something to ask her."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Miss, what do you need this old servant for?" Granny Yu stood aside, waiting for her mistress's instructions.
"Granny Yu, I heard you have a son who is very capable. Is he currently serving in the outer courtyard?"
"That's right, Miss. My son isn't very capable either. He studied in the countryside for a few years and can barely read a few words."
"Hmm. What's his name?"
“Miss, his name is Xingwang.” Granny Yu seemed a little embarrassed. “We country folk, when we name someone, we just want a good omen.”
"That's right. I'm thinking of transferring him out to gain some experience, but I don't know if he's willing. To be honest, it's not a good job. Let him work as a shop assistant in an outside shop for a few years to learn more. Didn't you say he's studied for a few years? His future prospects outside will naturally be different from staying in the manor. However, it will probably be more arduous than staying in the manor."
Granny Yu could easily tell that her young mistress was intentionally promoting her son. Moreover, judging from the implication, even when her young mistress got married, her entire family would likely be part of the bride's dowry. She quickly smiled and agreed.
"It's his good fortune that Miss thinks highly of him! Don't worry, I will make sure he works diligently and conscientiously for Miss."
Mu Xin Nuan nodded, glanced out the window, and said, "Then let him start preparing. It probably won't be long."
"Yes, Miss." Granny Yu was a clever woman. Since it was Miss who had sought her out alone, these matters were probably being kept from Madam. In any case, as long as Miss was well, they, as servants, could have a good life. Besides, it was just Miss acquiring some property outside; it wasn't anything shameful. In fact, it made Granny Yu feel that Miss was indeed much wiser than before!
For the next two weeks or so, Mu Xinyao's jewelry shop was incredibly successful! It also brought Mu Xinyao a large sum of money! This further strengthened Mu Xinyao's resolve to manage her business well.
Seeing the jewelry shop's profits increase significantly, Mu Xinyao gradually came to believe that the incident at the clothing shop was most likely an accident, and not the result of someone deliberately causing trouble!
However, this feeling didn't last long before another piece of news arrived that was enough to send Mu Xinyao back to hell!