"Alright, alright, everyone, our shop is small and we can't handle too many orders at once. We'll wait for the next batch. Once we finish delivering the orders we have, we'll take your orders." Sun Miao'er looked at the ever-growing pile of contracts in front of her, pondered for a moment, and then brought the bustling scene to a halt.
The person who signed the contract in front of them was very pleased with himself.
The man behind him immediately frowned and said in a shrill voice, "Shopkeeper, you can't do this!"
Encouraged by her, the people in line behind also started making a fuss, "That's right, Manager Sun, how can you do this? We've been waiting in line for so long, are you deliberately trying to rip us off? No way, you have to take our order!"
Sun Caiping winked at Sun Miao'er from behind, shook her head slightly, and whispered, "We can't take any more."
Sun Miao'er looked at the indignant group of people in front of her, cleared her throat, and said, "How about this, customers who have been queuing for more than half an hour will have their price reduced by five qian of silver? What do you think?"
Five coins is the biggest concession. When starting a business, losses are inevitable. Now, let's make up for the losses later.
Sun Miao'er comforted herself in this way.
Upon hearing that the shopkeeper had made a concession, the people behind immediately changed their tune, "Five taels of silver! Which shopkeeper would be willing to risk that? Shopkeeper Sun, are you serious?"
"The price will be clearly stated in the contract, and I will never go back on my word. Are you all afraid that I will run away?" Sun Miao'er calmly soothed everyone's emotions and tried her best to control the situation.
Finally, a few people remained stubborn and refused to budge, insisting on placing their orders today. Sun Miao'er tried her best to appease them, saying, "If you really refuse, then we can only ask you to find another company."
I've only ever seen shops open their doors to solicit business; I've never encountered a shopkeeper who proactively responded to a customer's order. Their unreasonable demands were ineffective.
Sun Miao'er thought of giving them a way out, and said, "It's not that I intend to refuse you all, but if I were to take your orders today, what would happen to the customers who have been waiting in line?"
"If I give you more money, those customers who gave me a five-coin discount earlier will probably think I'm a person who goes back on my word, and who will trust me in the future?"
After finally finishing all the orders for the day, Xiao Ning's shoulders ached from writing, so she put down her pen and rubbed them.
Sun Miao'er patted his head gently and said, "You've worked hard today, go and rest for a while."
Xiao Ning whispered sweetly to Sun Miao'er, "Sister, it was my own idea without your permission, but Xiao Man and I want to help you."
Sun Miao'er knew he was thoughtful, but being this thoughtful might become a burden for the child in the future. "Xiao Ning, you and Xiao Man did a great job. I just didn't expect you to prepare such a big surprise for me!"
Xiao Ning pursed her lips, a hint of seriousness on her childish face. "I saw my sister busy with all this, and I was afraid she would get tired and unhappy."
“Xiaoman used to help her older sister with chores, and I hope I can help her more in the future.”
Sun Miao'er felt a warmth in her heart, "Xiao Ning should focus on her studies now, so that she can help her older sister in the future!"
Sun Miao'er picked up a thick stack of contracts on the table, estimating there were about a hundred contracts. The terms were for one month, which meant she had to process at least three contracts every day.
"Liu'er, go and check the warehouse to see how much stock we have left." It would be a lie to say that Sun Miao'er wasn't worried. Right now, she had to place orders, ship goods, and embroider according to the customers' needs.
A short while later, Liu'er returned with the order slip. "Manager, there are sixty horses left in total, and we are short thirty more."
"Tsk..." Sun Miao'er slammed the thick contract on the table with an unusually cheerful sound, "thud".
Even if a heavy stone weighs on her heart, she still has to muster all her strength to deal with it.
Even more difficulties were yet to come. The next day, the Wei family replied that they did not have the kind of material they wanted for the time being because winter had arrived, there were no mulberry leaves, the silkworms were difficult to raise, and there was not enough raw silk. The better materials they had previously made could no longer be produced.
"Alright, I'll figure something out. You prepare the available stock and give it to your aunt to embroider the designs."
Sun Miao'er wondered where she could order the materials. Even if she could, she probably wouldn't be able to get credit; she would have to pay in cash. Besides, the Wei family had given her a cheap price before, so ordering from a stranger now wouldn't give her much of a bargain.
Liu'er replied, "Aunt Caiping is already working on it, but some of the customers want complicated designs this time, so it may take a whole day to finish."
Liu'er's words implied that one embroiderer was definitely not enough, and finding embroiderers to help had become a problem.
The ensuing events disrupted her original plans, but she kept telling herself not to rush, because the more anxious she became, the more chaotic things would get.
We must remain calm and composed.
After settling the accounts and rounding everything up, they still had one hundred taels of silver left. They needed to order goods and hire embroiderers, which would be expenses.
There's always a way out. After seven days, we finally managed to order a batch of goods. Although we still couldn't gather all the goods, we had to find a way step by step.
Sun Caiping helped Sun Miao'er come up with a plan, and finally they chose a path. She took the fabric back to the village. The embroiderers in the village whom she had once instructed all had some skills and could help her share some of the burden. Moreover, with her overseeing the work, she could also keep an eye on the quality and help correct any parts that were not embroidered well.
Moreover, many embroiderers in the village make a living by doing odd jobs, which are much cheaper than those in the city.
Sun Miao'er's willingness to entrust the work to them was a great help to them.
After thinking it over, this was the only feasible solution. Sun Miao'er gave a few simple instructions and then sent Sun Caiping back with the goods, while she continued to try to raise money.
Half a month passed quickly. Sun Caiping led the embroiderers in Fushui Village to work overtime and finally completed half of the order. However, they were still short ten bolts of cloth. Sun Miao'er really couldn't raise the money and wished she could empty her savings.
It seems she has no choice but to swallow her pride and borrow money. She had considered it before, but it takes immense courage to ask for money. She wouldn't have gone to this point unless absolutely necessary.
After that commotion, she became a celebrity at Duhuanlou. The staff at Duhuanlou all knew she was Manager Hu's honored guest, so they didn't dare to stop her and let her go up to the third floor.
Hu Tingzhi's study has always been a forbidden area of Duhuan Tower; one generally cannot enter without prior notice.
"Manager Hu, how have you been?" Sun Miao'er greeted Hu Tingzhi warmly upon seeing him.
Hu Tingzhi is incredibly wealthy; surely he wouldn't be stingy enough to lend her a little money? Any antique in Duhuan Tower could solve her immediate problem.
Sun Miao'er thought to herself sullenly, "One hundred taels would be enough."
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