Chapter 128 Making a Big Profit
The other item was a scroll found on the top shelf of the sandalwood shelf.
When you take it down and open it, you'll find a snowy forest scene. The painting depicts snow-covered mountains and forests in the distance, with gnarled old trees in the foreground. The whole painting is bold and vigorous, with a profound artistic conception, making it a very suitable birthday gift.
Having chosen the birthday gift, Yu Qingci did not linger. After leaving the storeroom, she gave a few more instructions to the gatekeeper before departing.
Back at Guanlan Pavilion, he instructed Lianqiao to select two brocade boxes of suitable size, put the two birthday gifts inside, and told Lianqiao and Baishao to deliver them to Steward Lu, who would then personally deliver the gifts to the palace.
Two days later, the Empress's birthday banquet finally ended, and people in the capital began to inquire where to buy Xia Guang brocade.
Just two days later, business suddenly picked up at the embroidery workshops under Yu Qingci and Su Chengniang's names, all because of the 150-tael bolt of Xia Guang brocade.
The purchasing servants of those wealthy and powerful families would hesitate at first when they inquired about the price, but after going back and returning, they would readily pay for the purchase.
Most of the women personally went to the shops to choose the patterns, buying several bolts at a time without even flinching. Within two days, the Xia Guang brocade in the shops became noticeably scarce.
Seeing that the shop was bustling with customers, Yu Qingci raised the price of the Xia Guang Jin by several tens of taels.
As expected, prices continued to rise and the demand soared. Every day, the number of customers going to the fabric shop to buy Xia Guang Jin only increased, and the shopkeeper and his assistants were extremely busy.
At this moment, Su Chengniang, Pei Mama and the others finally felt relieved after a long period of anxiety. Their spirits lifted and their eyes shone brightly, and they began to frantically click on the abacus in their hands.
As the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable. The brocade set worn by the Imperial Concubine at the Thousand Autumn Banquet, when made into a palace gown, stole the show. The name "brocade set" became an instant hit among the noble ladies of the capital. In less than half a month, the price of brocade set in the capital was driven up to 300 taels per bolt, and even then, it was still in short supply.
Su Chengniang's mood these days has been like a roller coaster. In less than a month, she has earned more money than she had in the previous few years. It's as if a pie has fallen from the sky and landed on her and her daughter's heads. In her excitement, she hurriedly ordered the caravan below to continue south to collect goods.
However, this time it's not just about Xia Guang brocade; we'll bring back some of all kinds of brocade, including Shu brocade, Yun brocade, tribute satin, and silk, as long as they are of high quality and have good patterns.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the more variety of fabrics a shop offers, the more customers it will retain. With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, other fine fabrics besides Xia Guang Jin are also selling well.
Take advantage of this wave of popularity to build the reputation of the fabric shop. As long as it is managed properly, there will be no worries about business in the future.
Because of this batch of brocade, Yu Qingci and her daughter made a fortune, and the cloth shop in the General's Mansion also earned a lot of money.
These days, the shopkeepers of the two cloth shops in the General's Mansion have changed from their usual worried faces. Now, looking at the bustling scene in their shops, they smile from ear to ear, secretly glad that they have followed the right master.
The young mistress is wise; after this battle, the cloth shop's business improved significantly.
Unfortunately, the General's Mansion didn't invest much capital at the time. They bought a few dozen bolts of brocade for 3,500 taels each. By the time the price of the brocade rose to 200 taels, the shop had sold out.
It was the young mistress who transferred a batch of Xia Guang brocade from her own dowry shop to continue selling, which prevented their business from declining again after just starting to pick up.
Who would have thought that the young mistress, at such a young age, would have such extraordinary foresight, managing to buy and store so much brocade in advance, as if she could foresee the future?
The brocade is selling so well in the capital right now that many people are envious of the shops that have it and want a piece of the pie. If it weren't for the powerful backing of the Marquis of Nanping, they would have been coveted long ago.
Other shopkeepers, backed by powerful families, who had sensed a business opportunity, had already sent their servants to the south to make urgent purchases.
However, with the continuous snowfall in the dead of winter, it's not easy to travel such a long distance back and forth. By the time the brocade can be bought and transported back, it will be after the New Year. After the New Year, the price of brocade will gradually drop.
Yu Qingci did the math and realized that their batch of Xia Guang brocade would probably be sold out before the New Year.
The General's Mansion invested 3,500 taels this time, and also transferred a batch of goods from her shops. Now, the silver brought back exceeds 20,000 taels. After deducting the initial 3,500 taels of capital, this time they made a net profit of more than 17,000 taels.
As for her and her mother's shop, they invested more and naturally earned more than the General's Mansion's shop. Yu Qingci truly experienced the feeling of counting money until her hands were sore.
Madam Ning felt the same way; she was overjoyed to see so much more silver in the household accounts all of a sudden.
She knew her daughter-in-law was capable, but she never expected her to be this capable. In just over a month of managing the household, she had managed to bring back so much money for the family. Holding her daughter-in-law's hand, Old Madam Ning was overwhelmed with emotion once again.
Back then, the general's mansion, despite its size, didn't have much silver in its accounts. Not only the master, but even the servants felt uneasy.
When Granny Wang reported to her that the young mistress had taken almost all the money in the accounts to do business, she was so worried that she couldn't eat.
She wanted to call her daughter-in-law over to ask her what had happened, but she was afraid of upsetting her and causing more discord between them. So she hesitated and ultimately didn't ask.
Now she secretly rejoices at her indecisiveness, thankful that she didn't question her daughter-in-law back then, otherwise she wouldn't have such a large income now.
Thinking of this, Madam Ning sincerely praised, "It is our General's Mansion's blessing to have such a good daughter-in-law as you. With you by my side, I can just focus on eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures in peace."
Yu Qingci smiled gently: "Now that my daughter-in-law is in charge of the household, she should naturally share the burden of increasing the family's income. Making money through business is her duty and is not something that Mother should praise."
After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a while, Old Madam Ning couldn't help but ask:
"Daughter-in-law, how did you know everyone would be scrambling to buy Xia Guang Jin, and why did you have so many stock brought back in advance to sell?"
Yu Qingci replied casually, "It's just a coincidence. My mother heard that someone presented a batch of newly made Xia Guang brocade to the empress in the palace, thinking that this kind of brocade might become popular in the capital in the future, so she sent someone to bring a batch back to try it out."
We were lucky to have encountered such a good opportunity.
Madam Ning smiled and praised without any doubt: "It's all thanks to your good judgment that we have this opportunity. By the way, the brocade you sent back last time, you said you wanted to make some new clothes for me and Yun Chu, but we don't need it at all."
I spend my days in the courtyard eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers, not going anywhere. Yun Chu is also in mourning and cannot go out to visit relatives and friends, so neither of us needs it. Since this material is so valuable, why don't we send it all to the shop to sell?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com