"When running a shop, there are always times when you make money and times when you don't, but you have to prevent your employees from enriching themselves and selling inferior goods as good ones. So sometimes you can turn a blind eye, and sometimes you can't tolerate some things. There's a limit to this, and no matter how much I say, it won't work. You still need to slowly explore and grasp it on your own."
"If they don't want to put in so much effort, then we should share some of the profits with them. With the dividends from the shop, they will naturally work hard."
"But there are also some people who use your princess's name to deceive people outside. They must be punished. Their words and actions represent the face of the royal family, so they must not act recklessly."
The Seventh Princess disagreed with this. She was a princess and her father was His Majesty. Who would dare to deceive her?
What's more, those servants have signed their indentures, so who would dare to act recklessly?
But she didn't say this, she just nodded continuously, looking like she was willing to learn.
The Eighth Princess and the Ninth Princess listened attentively and really remembered Qin Wan's words in their hearts. Their mother never told them these things, and the people around them had never said these things. Now that someone was teaching them, they naturally tried hard to remember them.
Qin Wan talked to the girls until noon, and then invited them to eat. "Your prince brother is busy, and I don't know anyone in the palace. Would you mind keeping me company?"
The Eighth Princess wanted to agree because the Crown Princess's words were so good!
But as soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't help but look at the Seventh Princess.
The Seventh Princess smiled politely: "I would like to have dinner with my sister-in-law, but I have already made an appointment with my mother to have dinner. I will come to bother my sister-in-law another day."
Qin Wan smiled regretfully, "It's hard to refuse Mother's request to have dinner with me. In that case, let's make an appointment another day. Sister, please bring some snacks for Concubine Min."
Qin Wan had snacks brought to the Seventh Princess and the others, two servings each, including portions for their mother and themselves.
After seeing off the princesses, Qin Wan had someone send a portion of snacks to Concubine Li and other concubines, without bias, so that everyone got one.
When Xie Qing returned, he happened to see several princesses leaving. After they exchanged greetings, Xie Qing asked Qin Wan, "Why are they here?"
Qin Wan smiled and handed him a cup of tea: "Little girl, I'm a little curious about me. Come over and talk for a while. Are you not busy today?"
Seeing that she changed the subject, Xie Qing did not ask any more questions. If she could not handle the affairs of the palace well, she would naturally tell him: "I am not busy today, so I came to accompany you. You said, right after we got married, the emperor fell ill and could not get up. I am afraid that outsiders will say that you have brought bad luck to the emperor."
Qin Wan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Someone outside has spread this rumor?"
"There are some vague rumors, but I suppressed them all." Xie Qing was not surprised by this. After all, there were too many people who tried to bring him down. Throwing dirty water on his wife was equivalent to throwing dirty water on him. It was nothing unusual. However, since he was married to Qin Wan, he had to protect her at all times. "Don't worry, I won't let the rumors spread."
"That's fine." Qin Wan's thoughts drifted elsewhere. "Father may be ill from overwork. Now you can reassure him. Now that you've let him go, he'll naturally rest well. Just do whatever Father tells you to do. For important matters, ask Father later. For unimportant matters, you can make the decision yourself."
Xie Qing was thoughtful when he heard this: "You mean, Father is fishing?"
The two looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
Qin Wan held his hand and said with a smile, "In that case, let's just let those rumors go."
"No, I don't care what people say about me, but you can't let others say anything about you." Xie Qing was adamant about this point. "You will be the mother of a country in the future. You are not allowed to have any stains. As the emperor, no one dares to point out my stains."
Qin Wan couldn't help laughing when she heard his twisted logic: "Okay, enough talking, let's go eat first."
On the other side, the Seventh Princess was eager to verify what Qin Wan said, so she separated from the Eighth and Ninth Princesses after leaving the East Palace and went straight to Concubine Min's palace.
When she met Concubine Min and the Seventh Princess, she spilled the beans about Qin Wan's business tactics. "Mother, I think she's trying to fool me. A prosperous shop is one that thrives in everything it does. Besides, we hold the indentures of those people; their lives and deaths are in our hands. How dare they pocket the profits?"
Seeing her daughter like this, Concubine Min felt a little worried. She had only taught her the ways to survive in the palace, but not how to manage her subordinates. She pulled her daughter aside and said carefully, "So what do you think of the Crown Princess's shop? Is it a good business?"
"Of course it's good, every shop is doing good business. But she seems to do everything by herself. As a rich lady, and now the Crown Princess, it's not proper for her to do business like this." The Seventh Princess admired Qin Wan but also felt that some of her actions were inappropriate.
Concubine Min shook her head. "You're looking at the problem too one-sidedly. What do you think of Lu Bai's shop?"
The Seventh Princess's expression changed, and she suddenly understood: "Mother, I understand. The Crown Princess opened the shop like this, and it seems that she is doing it herself, but she is only in charge of the affairs. After that, it seems that she is only in charge of what the shop does, whether the goods in the shop are good or bad, and she doesn't care about anything else."
"But Mrs. Lu Bai stays in the shop every day. If she has things to sell, she'll even carry them around... Oh, she's promoting things. My daughter heard that's called promoting things. She even personally uses her connections to beg people to try the items. It's completely unmanaged. Although her shop seems to be doing well, it just doesn't seem to be as successful as the Crown Princess's."
Concubine Min nodded and said, "Also, when the Crown Princess is away, she never talks about her shop's business, nor does she give things from the shop as gifts."
As she spoke, she pointed to the snacks on the table and said, "Look, you asked for the recipe, and she gave it to you. These snacks, she gave them to you as a gift, and they're not from the shop, but made in her own kitchen."
"As for Lu Baishi, all the gifts she gives away are from the shop. You can tell whether she puts in the right amount of effort or not. That's the first point. Secondly, she runs the business herself and shows her face in public. Not to mention you're a princess, even your maternal grandparents, though they're also military commanders, would look down on such behavior."
"Her behavior will not be accepted by the rich and powerful, so naturally no rich and powerful ladies will be willing to buy her things."
The Seventh Princess suddenly realized the difference between Qin Wan and Bai Wanyi. One was a mastermind, able to run a successful shop behind the scenes. The other worked hard and did everything by himself, yet still didn't do well.
These two people don’t know that Bai Wanyi’s shop is not just doing badly, it’s not making any money at all!
What is the definition of making money? Making a lot of money!
For example, if the cost of goods is 10%, the profit must be at least 70% to cover the expenses of housing, labor, publicity, etc., and the profit must be 100% to really make money.
Bai Wanyi's shop now has a profit of only 7.5%, which means it barely breaks even. It is a hard-earned income and cannot achieve the goal of making money or making a lot of money.
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