Baoxiangfang.
Aunt Yun instructed people to clean up the collapsed shelves before taking Jiang Yimian upstairs.
The second floor is very large, with a similar decor to the first floor. It is still filled with shelves, making it look a bit crowded.
Jiang Yimian glanced at it casually and then looked away.
Aunt Yun led her into a room and sat her down before saying, "Manager Jiang, I'm sorry you had to suffer today."
Jiang Yimian simply waved her hand and said with a smile, "I don't feel wronged at all; on the contrary, I just watched a good show."
Aunt Yun just smiled, had someone come in to pour tea for the two of them, and then brought out the account book before saying, "Manager, take a look at the account book first. In recent years, Baoxiangfang's business has been declining day by day. Three months ago, the person in charge of spices in the shop was poached by another shop, and business has been even worse."
Baoxiangfang used to be a place where money flowed in every day, and every young lady in the capital would praise it. Now, it can only live off its past achievements.
They are mostly regular customers. Although they still hold some status among the ladies, that's about it.
Jiang Yimian had expected this, so she wasn't too surprised. She took the ledger and carefully looked through it, becoming more and more astonished as she read.
She had thought that Baoxiangfang's business was much worse than before, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad.
In recent days, my daily income has barely remained at around a thousand taels, but this is before deducting costs and labor. It looks like a lot, but the actual profit is not much.
Not to mention that there were several days when the turnover was only a few hundred taels.
In the past, Baoxiangfang's peak profits reached 6,000 taels, and even on ordinary days, they were around 4,000 to 5,000 taels. Even after deducting costs, the profits were extremely high.
However, now, it can only barely maintain around a thousand taels. Although this number is still amazing compared to her soap workshop, it is just a drop in the ocean compared to Baoxiangfang's previous turnover. It can only barely ensure that Baoxiangfang does not lose money.
Seeing that her brows were furrowed, Aunt Yun felt a little helpless. "Although everyone outside is saying that Baoxiangfang's business has plummeted because Qiuniang was poached, I know that it's not just that."
Baoxiangfang was once highly sought after because its fragrances, cosmetics, hairpins, and jewelry were all the latest trends in the capital. Whenever a new item came out, it was sure to be in high demand and short supply.
But now, with other more exquisite and beautiful products available, Baoxiangfang has gradually declined.
Rouge and face powder are the most popular items among young women, but nowadays almost every shop is of similar quality, and Baoxiangfang's only appealing name is that.
Previously, the shop was famous for its incense balls, which helped sell other items in the shop more. Now that the incense balls are gone, they can't come up with any new and interesting products, so business has naturally declined.
It's also her fault for not discovering the drawbacks of Baoxiangfang sooner.
Jiang Yimian nodded, then asked curiously, "Does Baoxiangfang also have workshops that make incense balls, rouge, and face powder?"
Aunt Yun nodded, "The backyard and basement of Baoxiangfang are workshops. The third floor used to make some hairpins and jewelry, but now the demand is not so great, so we moved to the backyard. The third floor is temporarily empty."
Jiang Yimian was slightly surprised, somewhat unable to imagine how amazing Baoxiangfang's business must have been during its heyday. No wonder Baoxiangfang, which had declined, was still the first choice for many people.
Aunt Yun simply smiled and said, "Would you like to come with me to the backyard for a look, shopkeeper?"
Jiang Yimian nodded, "Aunt Yun, just call me Yimian."
Aunt Yun paused for a moment, then simply smiled and nodded.
The two went downstairs together to the backyard.
Before even entering, you can smell a rich fragrance, a mixture of various fresh and floral scents, without a trace of unpleasant odor; on the contrary, it makes you feel comfortable.
Jiang Yimian sniffed the various fragrances in the air and said, "There are gardenias, cinnamon, cloves, sandalwood, and jujubes."
I guessed it was the "Spring River Moon" I smelled outside; I didn't notice anything else.
The Spring River Moon incense really does smell better than other incense balls, no wonder that incense master was poached by someone else.
Aunt Yun glanced at her in surprise, then said with some delight, "Yimian also knows about fragrances?"
If the other party truly understands incense, wouldn't we no longer have to worry about business? Baoxiangfang would surely remain the number one incense shop in the capital, just like before.
Jiang Yimian simply waved her hand and said with a smile, "I don't know anything about incense, I just know some medical skills."
Aunt Yun then responded, "I see."
However, a hint of disappointment unconsciously appeared on his face.
Indeed, a perfume-making genius isn't something you can just acquire by wishing for it.
Although Xie Yu's letter to her said that this Miss Jiang could definitely bring Baoxiangfang back to its former prosperity, she felt it was unlikely. The most famous incense had been replaced by someone else, and although the other products were good, they were not that amazing.
Although her hairpins and jewelry were favored by many nobles, that was all; they did not reach the popularity of her incense balls.
The two looked around at several workshops in the backyard, which were used to make rouge and face powder. There was nothing particularly special about them, but the craftsmanship was quite mature, and the quality was relatively good for ancient times.
But in Jiang Yimian's opinion, it was far from good enough. The rouge was not delicate enough, it was not moisturizing, and it was not easy to apply to the skin.
As for face powder, it's too easy to get colored, making it look unnaturally white and not very practical to apply.
Seeing that she was staring at the cosmetics in her hand without saying anything, Aunt Yun said, "Yimian, don't worry. Although the fragrance of Baoxiangfang is much worse than before, the rouge and face powder are still barely good, so Baoxiangfang won't be unable to make ends meet."
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, but simply nodded casually. In her heart, she felt relieved. It seemed that when she went back this time, she would not only have to make lipsticks, but also put the method of making face powder on the agenda.
At least let the people of the capital see what truly good things are.
The two then went down to the basement level.
As soon as you enter, you are enveloped in various fragrances, and a few girls are busy extracting fragrances from various flower petals and things with special scents.
As soon as the two women approached, the group nodded to them, "Aunt Yun."
Aunt Yun responded and then introduced Jiang Yimian to them.
Upon learning that he was the new manager, the girls greeted him politely, "Manager Jiang."
Looking at the five people in the workshop, Aunt Yun said helplessly to Jiang Yimian, "The business of the incense pills in the shop has been sluggish lately. Many people have left with Qiu Niang, which has made this place quite deserted."
She was both angry and resentful towards Qiu Niang. If it weren't for the Princess forbidding her from attacking Qiu Niang, Bao Xiang Fang would not have fallen to its current state.
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, frowned, and felt that something was not right.
Xie Yu has never shown his face in Baoxiangfang, and the people in the neighborhood should know that the person behind Baoxiangfang is not simple.
It's hard to believe that a shop of this size, which has stood the test of time in Beijing for so many years, doesn't have powerful backers.
But Qiu Niang not only left on her own, but also took many incense makers from the shop with her, which was obviously strange.
Unless, Xie Yu deliberately let them go.
If that's the case, then it makes sense.
Xie Yu deliberately let Qiu Niang leave and let the other party take her away, but what was Xie Yu's purpose?
They were willing to sacrifice Baoxiangfang's business to get Qiuniang and her people away.
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