Chapter 38 Overstaffing: Chen Junbo and Li Yang's First Argument (...)

After passing through the hanging flower gate, Li Yang hurriedly returned to the main house.

With the completion of the accounting verification at the Flower Bureau, Zhong Qian carried stacks of the women's hall's ledgers back to the Flower Bureau, and the desks in the hall were put away. She no longer had an excuse to avoid the woman in Lanxin Pavilion.

Bi Fang also returned to his own courtyard, and Chen Junbo ordered the dining table of the young couple to be moved to the main house of Lanxin Pavilion.

In this way, her unilateral attempt to "stand on equal footing" was quietly and effortlessly brought to an end by the other party.

That's fine too.

After all, they were engaged and lived under the same roof; they couldn't keep hiding like this forever.

When Chen Junbo entered the room, Li Yang sat blankly at the table, his eyes fixed on the ground.

He held out one hand and waved it lightly in front of the young woman's eyes until she came to her senses, then withdrew his hand and sat down opposite her.

The two looked at each other in silence, each burying their heads in their stomachs. Despite the table full of delicious food, neither of them tasted anything.

Li Yang comforted himself, thinking that after all that time, he could just pretend that day was over... as long as he didn't bring it up again...

After the dishes and chopsticks were cleared away, Chen Junbo looked at the person in front of him and saw that she was touching her braids one moment and then going to fix the window pages the next. She had just lit incense on one side and was about to flip through a storybook on the other.

He curled his lips into a slight smile and asked casually, "How did today's inventory check go?"

Hearing him say that, Li Yang felt as if she had been granted a pardon. Her biggest worry now was that Chen Junbo would bring up the old matter again, and secondly, that the two of them would have nothing to say to each other.

She quickly told Chen Junbo about the inventory check that day, "Do you know that there is a warehouse manager in the flower shop who is eight feet tall and exceptionally robust?"

Young Master Chen had just lit the ceramic stove when he paused, flicking out the match. He then gently placed the teapot on top of it and said, "Oh? Is that so?" As he spoke, his eyes quickly swept over the young lady's face.

“That man is called ‘Brother Long.’ Such a dashing man, I’d believe it if you said he was a general. My mother-in-law truly has a knack for choosing people for the flower shop.” She suddenly frowned, “However, I think that although Brother Long is very handsome, he’s not cut out to be a storeroom manager. Looking at his ledgers today, the entries are all over the place…”

Upon hearing this, Young Master Chen's brows relaxed. "Then let the manager return him."

"Well, that's all we can do." Li Yang's tone suggested she was reluctant to part with 'Brother Long,' but then she added, "By the way, Butler Bi really put in a lot of effort today. The rocks and saplings over there were piled up haphazardly. Xiao Lu and I had just finished counting one row when we turned around, and guess what..."

Chen Junbo smiled and listened to her speak while his hands kept moving as he poured hot water into a cup and handed it to Li Yang.

Upon seeing the teacup, Li Yang didn't even bother to take a sip, and continued, "He was like a big monkey, arms and legs outstretched, lying on that pile of strange rocks, about to climb inside... It was so funny, it's a pity you didn't see it."

As she spoke, she made a gesture of spreading her arms wide, followed by an exaggerated burst of laughter, making a show of it.

Upon hearing this, Chen Junbo couldn't help but smile. After a moment, he said, "When has he ever done such work? Only you have. Next time you go to inspect the warehouse, bring more servants and young men with you. Don't do these kinds of tasks yourself, or you might fall and hurt yourself."

With an "Oh" in response, Li Yang's face flushed, and he smiled and said, "I forgot. You're right. I'll bring more people next time."

Watching her drink the hot tea, Chen Junbai asked, "Are the accounts at the flower shop settled?"

The two hadn't spoken for several days, but following Chen Junbai's questions, they ended up talking about a lot of things related to the shop's goods, inventory, and accounts.

The sky was clear and the stars were sparse; the bright moon rose along the eaves.

Chen Junbo: "As you said, the shop still has a deficit of six or seven hundred taels, plus three months' expenses, which amounts to a revenue of one thousand taels. That's no small sum. Do you have any ideas?"

it is a pity……

Li Yang pouted and said, "I've been thinking about this on the way back. Right now, it seems the only option is to clear out the inventory and return the warehouse. We should save money wherever we can."

After a pause, he added, "But this batch of goods is from a year ago, and the quantity is so large, I estimate we'll have to offer a discount."

When it came to planning the flower arrangement, she became worried and picked up the teapot to pour herself a drink.

“But I don’t understand, so many of the products in this flower shop have shockingly low profit margins.” She looked at Chen Junbo with a puzzled expression, and seeing that he was looking at her, she lowered her head to pour tea. “Why spend so much time and manpower on businesses that don’t make any profit?”

As he spoke, he downed it in one gulp.

Did they add a lot of salt to this dish today? Why am I so thirsty?

Just as he was about to refill his glass, Chen Junbo pressed his hand down, saying, "You won't be able to sleep in a bit."

With an "Oh," Li Yang obediently put down his teacup, still rambling on: "In short, the profits are insufficient, but there are quite a few people working in the shop."

You saw it yourself on the second floor of that brothel; there are only four tables, and not a single customer has come all day. They do have eight waiters... but without these waiters, it seems they wouldn't be able to handle customers even if they did come..."

The man in front of him suddenly stood up. Li Yang thought he had disturbed him, so he gradually quieted down and looked at him.

"It's alright, you can talk, I'm listening." Chen Junbo turned around and went to the antique shelf to search through a pile of paintings.

Li Yang murmured, "It's nothing much, just the basics. I always feel that this flower arrangement doesn't seem like a proper business."

Although Chen Junbo had his back to Li Yang, he immediately replied, "What you say is very true."

“Right?” Li Yang’s interest was piqued. “Among all the flower shops in town, even the street vendors, all those who sell flowers are doing very well. It’s strange that the Chen family’s flower shop is losing money.”

Once she started talking about what she had been thinking about day and night, it was as if she had opened a floodgate: "In earlier years, it was fine. At that time, most of the people in the town and even the surrounding areas made a living by farming. Eight or nine out of ten households grew rice."

But now, look at the counties surrounding Songshan Town, such as Ganquan County, Guazhou, and Yi County... which one of them isn't vigorously converting rice paddies to cotton fields? Isn't it all because of the town's ever-increasing prosperity?

Ironically, this flower shop, located at the best intersection on East Street, with the most lucrative business in town, is a losing proposition…

Hearing her say this, Chen Junbo seemed intrigued, and returned to the table with the scroll in his hand, saying, "You know about these things too?"

"Hmm?" Li Yang didn't know what he was asking about, so he tilted his head to look at the other person.

Chen Junbo: "How do you know about the agricultural situation in these surrounding counties?"

Li Yang smiled: "I don't know much about farming. When I was little, my father would occasionally go to the surrounding areas to sell animal hides, and he would take my mother and me with him. After selling the hides and getting the money, we could spend the rest of the day sightseeing. I remember back then there were vast rice paddies..."

Recalling the past, her face unconsciously softened. "But these past few days, I've looked at the flower shop's accounts, and a large number of fresh flowers are supplied from surrounding counties. I suppose the flowers in other flower shops in the town are the same. To supply so many fresh flowers, a considerable amount of land must be used."

When Chen Junbo first heard her mention her family, he learned that her father was a hunter. No wonder the girl said that the mountains behind the house were covered with wildflowers.

He made a mental note of it, and then said, "What you said makes sense. If that's the case, we might as well send away the waiter in this shop, along with the dragon store manager you mentioned earlier."

"This won't do!"

The young woman, who had been calm and composed at first, suddenly changed her expression, frowned, and questioned sharply, "Doing this, they, they... this won't do!"

Chen Junbo was taken aback: "What's wrong with you?"

Li Yang was taken aback, seemingly surprised by his own loss of composure.

However, the thought of how the shop assistants would survive without income... when she first arrived in town, she was penniless, had crawled through dog holes, and even secretly ate the fruit offered at the temple... these memories flashed before her eyes...

Brother Long is really not suitable to be a warehouse manager, and the warehouse is going to be closed down anyway. If it were just Brother Long who is being closed down, she would have no objection, after all, doing business is not like running a charity.

But these waiters, she observed, were diligently attracting customers, without any faults or mistakes... Although some were incompetent, the Chen family had hired them, so poor management meant the owner was incompetent... Her mind raced, but she couldn't come up with a definite idea, and her intuition told her she didn't want to go down this path.

Thinking of this, she composed herself, looked up at the other person, and said, "I want to try and see if I can make the flower business a success."

Hearing her words, Chen Junbo raised an eyebrow. "I'm just suggesting it; you make the decision. After all, the bet only lasts three months, so getting rid of the extra people is the most effective solution."

With each word he spoke, Li Yang's face visibly paled: Yes, the gambling period was only three months, and these many people were like a mountain pressing down on her back.