Chapter 112 Cousin Jiang Yan

Qin Xin and Du Juan touched their stomachs simultaneously – they were both stuffed.

Not only did they eat their fill, but when they left, Li Yao had someone pack up a bunch of freshly baked pastries, and now the whole carriage is filled with the aroma of pastries.

The aroma is very tempting when you're hungry, but if you're already full—the taste is really hard to stand.

Shen Wantang couldn't stand the aroma either, so she simply ordered the people from Zuixianlou to send the pastries directly back to the Prince's Mansion. One portion was given to Princess Ning, and the rest was given to Granny Chai to share.

As for giving it to Xiao Qingyuan—she couldn't remember.

The carriage moved forward at a leisurely pace, bringing Shen Wantang to the front of a clothing shop.

The shop is a three-story pavilion with an imposing plaque hanging in the middle that reads "Jinxiu Pavilion".

Inside, there were many young ladies with their maids picking out fabrics. Shen Wantang glanced at them briefly and then went straight up to the third floor.

Jiang Yan had been waiting for a long time in the private room on the third floor.

Upon seeing Shen Wantang enter, a smile appeared on his fair and handsome face: "Cousin, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you!"

Shen Wantang said apologetically, "I'm sorry, cousin, I went to Zuixianlou and was delayed there for a while."

Jiang Yan smiled good-naturedly: "It's alright, come and sit down. Let me show you our profits these days, you'll be very surprised."

Shen Wantang sat down and then opened the ledger that Jiang Yan had prepared long ago.

This month's accounts are unusually thick, due to the large and complex volume of incoming goods and the extremely substantial sales.

After reading it, Shen Wantang nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad. If this trend continues, our shop will soon become one of the top large-scale cloth shops in the capital."

Seeing that she was only satisfied and not surprised, Jiang Yan couldn't help but ask her, "Cousin, did you foresee that we would earn so much money? What we earned in this month is more than what we earned in the past two years."

Shen Wantang had indeed foreseen this. After all, she was reborn, and she had deliberately instructed Jiang Yan to monopolize all the fabrics that were about to become popular in the capital. They had spent all their savings, so it was only natural for her to make money.

However, even though her cousin had been proven in her previous life to be an absolutely trustworthy person, Shen Wantang never revealed a single detail about her rebirth.

She didn't answer her cousin's question, but only instructed him: "Cousin, sell off this batch of goods as soon as possible. Don't hold onto inventory, and don't raise prices just because of supply shortages, especially for Shuiyunyan cigarettes. Sell them when you can, and don't keep using them as a gimmick."

Jiang Yan was puzzled: "My cousin knows that our goods are in short supply and many people want to pay a premium to buy Shuiyunyan, so I specially stocked up on a batch of goods and released a little bit every day to attract a steady stream of customers! Why are you telling me to sell them quickly? If we sell them, how will we make money?"

“Cousin, we can monopolize these goods for a short period of time, but we can’t monopolize them forever. Shuiyunyan is selling so well and making so much money, other shops must be very envious. They must already be trying to find ways to get their hands on it.”

Shen Wantang showed extraordinary patience towards Jiang Yan because he was her strongest support and arm for the future. She had been reborn, but her cousin had not. She needed to nurture him again and help him grow into a towering tree.

“Once others bring in their goods, our goods will become worthless, so we should sell them all while they are still valuable.”

"When we eat meat, we should also let others have a little soup, otherwise we will become the thorn in the side of all the other shops and their common enemy, which is not conducive to us making a fortune in silence."

"Also, can't we sell anything other than Shuiyunyan? Shuiyunyan will only be popular for a while. Nobody will wear Shuiyunyan every day. Maybe in a few days, Xueyunyan will become popular?"

Jiang Yan nodded: "What you said makes a lot of sense. Then I'll listen to you and get people to sell all the goods as soon as possible. However, even if we do it quickly, it will still take a month to sell all the goods. I brought back too many goods from Jiangnan this time."

Shen Wantang laughed: "A month is fine, that's already very fast."

Of course she knew that Jiang Yan had brought back a lot of goods from Jiangnan this time, because it was she who ordered the fabric and patterns for Jiang Yan, and she was also the one who ordered the quantity.

She looked at her cousin's attire for a while, and a thought struck her: "Is the fabric of your clothes brought back from Jiangnan?"

Jiang Yan knew immediately that she was interested in the fabric, and he was very happy. It was not easy for him to finally pick out a fabric that his cousin would like!

"Yes, this is new material from Jiangnan!"

Shen Wantang reached out and touched it. The material was a bit stiff, but it would make an outer garment exceptionally well-structured and crisp, very suitable for men.

This particular fabric wasn't among the fabrics she had given her cousin before, so it's clear that he picked it out separately when he was buying fabrics in Jiangnan.

His judgment has actually improved; that's quite remarkable.

It seems the trip to Jiangnan was worthwhile.

How much stock did my cousin buy?

Jiang Yan shook his head: "This material wasn't what you specified, so I didn't dare to get it. But I really like it, so I specially had someone make a set for me to wear back for you to see. If you like it, I'll write again and have someone send it to you. I've already spoken to the manager of the cloth shop over there."

He wasn't always so obedient to Shen Wantang. When he first started the fabric business, he often made his own decisions about where to buy the fabric, but the fabrics he picked were always hard to sell and he always ended up with unsold stock.

However, the materials and patterns that Shen Wantang selected sold very well, and there was very little stockpiling.

After a while, Jiang Yan understood the difference between himself and Shen Wantang. He no longer dared to underestimate his cousin. He liked to consult her before making any business decisions, big or small.

During his trip to Jiangnan to purchase goods, he was overwhelmed by the dazzling array of fabrics and patterns, and he was eager to buy several kinds to resell.

However, he ultimately restrained his impulse to spend money. Since his cousin hadn't allowed him to buy anything else, he obediently only bought the items she specified. He didn't spend any of the remaining silver notes and brought them all back with him.

The fabric of his clothes was bought with his own money.

I was thinking of wearing it back to show my cousin, just in case she was satisfied?

To her surprise, she was quite satisfied when she saw it today!

"This fabric and pattern are very suitable for men. Besides the color my cousin is wearing, are there any other colors?"

"Yes! We also have moon white and lake green. This material is very popular in the Jiangnan region right now!"

As Jiang Yan spoke, she went to the cabinet next to her and pulled out two pieces of fabric: "Cousin, look, this is it."

Shen Wantang glanced at the fabric and quickly made a decision: "Ten bolts of each of these two colors, and twenty bolts of the dark blue fabric that my cousin is wearing. Once these fabrics are brought in, they will be placed next to the women's fabrics. The ladies who come to buy fabrics will also buy some fabrics for the men in their families."

"Okay, I'll go write the letter right away!"

"Oh, by the way, cousin, remember to wear this outfit out more often."

Jiang Yan is handsome and dashing, making him the perfect person to be a living advertisement.