Chapter 131 Shamelessness as Always 2
However, Madam Ning was no longer the weak and easy-going sister-in-law she once was. Although she didn't know how to refute the two women's entanglement, she decided not to speak and kept glancing at her daughter-in-law.
Yu Qingci smiled and said, "It's no use for you two aunts to say these things to my mother. This brocade was brought back from the south by my mother's caravan. My mother wanted to help me and shared some with me, so I really don't have any extra brocade."
To be honest, after selling for several days in a row, the cloth shop is running out of stock. If it weren't for the daily limited supply, the shop would probably be out of stock by now.
However, my two aunts just said that this kind of thing only costs thirty taels a bolt in the south. I have an idea for you. This Xia Guang brocade is not only available in my mother's and my shop, but also in the most famous Liu Guang Ge in the capital. Liu Guang Ge is a shop opened by the family of the Imperial Concubine, so their supply must be much better than ours.
You all know the purchase price. Why don't you offer 130 taels per bolt to buy from them? That's 100 taels more than the purchase price. I think the owner of Liuguang Pavilion would be happy to supply you with the goods.
"If you can get your hands on this, I'll buy it all for three hundred taels per horse. I'll take as many as you have without hesitation. You'll make a net profit of one hundred taels per horse with minimal effort. Isn't that a worthwhile deal?"
Wei and Ma exchanged glances, and Wei forced a smile and said:
"My dear niece-in-law, you're joking. The Imperial Concubine's family isn't stupid. Why would they let us have such a good business? If we could get that stuff ourselves, would we need to come to you?"
Yu Qingci looked at the two of them meaningfully, a sarcastic smile on her lips, as if to say, "So you two know very well what's going on."
However, both of them were thick-skinned, so Wei simply looked at Yu Qingci and said:
"Niece-in-law, just give me a straight answer: are you going to give this to me or not?"
Madam Ma: "Even if we give a little less, it doesn't matter, as long as we save face for our General's Mansion. We can't just let your eldest branch make a fortune in silence while your own nephews and nieces starve to death. If word gets out, people will laugh at the General's Mansion for being heartless and ungrateful."
Yu Qingci's face turned completely cold: "I'd like to see who dares to say that the General's Mansion is heartless and ungrateful? Even if you two aunts argue until the end, you won't get a single piece of this brocade."
Wei and Ma were shocked to find that Yu Qingci showed them no respect whatsoever. They had been talking non-stop since they entered the room, and their mouths were dry from talking, only to end up like this. Their anger was rising.
They wanted to throw a tantrum like before, but seeing their niece-in-law's icy face and the servants and maids around them, they didn't dare to act recklessly.
Madam Wei chuckled and said, "Niece-in-law, that's too unreasonable of you. How about this, we won't buy on credit, we'll just pay with silver directly, no matter how much, just name your price, thirty taels a bolt, no, fifty taels, and we'll pay right away. Niece-in-law, at least sell us some, okay?"
Madam Ma, who was listening nearby, felt a pang of heartache. The price had suddenly increased by twenty taels, something she hadn't originally intended to pay a single penny of.
However, she didn't dare complain that her second sister-in-law had paid too much.
Seeing that Yu Qingci remained noncommittal, Madam Wei grew anxious: "So, what does my niece-in-law mean? How much money do you want before you're willing to give it to us?"
Yu Qingci: "I made it clear just now that our cloth shop has very little stock left and is almost sold out. My mother's stock is barely enough to support herself. If you two aunts had come to beg us three or five days earlier, perhaps we could have managed to spare a few bolts for you. But right now, we really can't give you a single bolt. So even if you beg until the end, I can't conjure one up."
After Yu Qingci finished speaking, she spread her hands.
Madam Wei and Madam Ma were so angry they could only glare at each other, but they were still unwilling to go back like this. Madam Ma rolled her eyes and smiled at Old Madam Ning, saying:
"Sister-in-law, since my niece-in-law says so, then let it be. We won't force her. But I have something else to discuss with you."
That's your nephew Yunbing. He's getting married after the New Year, and we've been busy preparing the betrothal gifts for his wedding these days.
"When I met with my future in-laws to discuss the marriage, I accidentally let it slip. Now they all know that the fabric shop in the capital that sells 'Xia Guang Jin' (a type of brocade) belongs to our family, and they're saying they'll include several bolts of 'Xia Guang Jin' in the betrothal gifts so that both families can save face at the wedding."
Madam Wei hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, sister-in-law, niece-in-law, my Yunli's marriage is coming soon, and her in-laws also want to do the same. Anyway, your branch of the family will be giving dowries to the two children, so why not give them Xia Guang Jin?"
Surely my niece-in-law wouldn't even be unwilling to give me this small dowry?
Yu Qingci revealed a mischievous smile: "Second Aunt, I heard that my cousin Yunli's in-laws came to your door a few days ago to talk about breaking off the engagement. Is that true?"
Wei's smiling face immediately fell again: "Who told you that? That's utter nonsense, it's not true!"
Yu Qingci said meaningfully, "So it was all just a rumor. That's good. I was worried about my cousin Yunli and was thinking of writing a letter to my father to ask him to keep an eye out for a suitable family for her. Now it seems that's not necessary."
Wei's face turned pale and then red, and she couldn't speak for a long time, her chest aching from holding it in.
Yunli was originally betrothed to a favored illegitimate son of the Wu family, a third-rank official family. However, the Wu family was too materialistic. After her elder brother died for the country, the Wu family had expressed their intention to break off the engagement. It was Yunli and her husband who went to the Wu family's house and made a scene. The Wu family was afraid that it would sound bad if word got out, so they continued with the marriage.
Now that she heard that the second branch of the family had separated from the General's Mansion and become a collateral branch, they started causing trouble again, directly sending the matchmaker to return the betrothal gifts, saying that the marriage was called off. This angered her and the second master so much that they went to the second master's house to make a scene once again.
But this time, the Wu family wouldn't even let them in, saying that the Wu family was not a place that a poor family like theirs could possibly be worthy of.
The daughter, Yunli, locked herself in her room and cried for many days because of this.
At this moment, Yu Qingci brought up this matter in public, and even said that she asked her father to help Yunli find a new husband. If the Marquis of Nanping could really arrange the marriage, it would definitely be good. Wei felt extremely uncomfortable, as if cat claws were scratching at her heart.
Madam Ma sneered inwardly. How could her shrewd second sister-in-law believe her niece-in-law's nonsense? In any case, she didn't believe that Yu Qingci would be so kind as to help Yunli find a husband.
She was relieved that her son's in-laws were somewhat accommodating and did not suggest breaking off the engagement.
The main reason is that the Wang family married off an unfavored illegitimate daughter. The betrothal gifts have already been received, so even though they know that the family has now become a collateral branch of the General's Mansion, they don't care much.
So right now, she was more concerned about how much of the brocade Yu Qingci was willing to give her.
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