Chapter 172 Heading to the Estate on the Outskirts of Beijing
The estate owned by Min Qiao in the suburbs of Beijing originally belonged to a third-rank official, but the family was later confiscated for embezzlement, and the estate came into circulation and was bought by Min Qiao at a high price.
Min Qiaoshi thought that estates in the suburbs of Beijing were rare and could retain their value, and that they could be sold whenever she needed money.
Moreover, with an estate in the outskirts of Beijing, fruits, vegetables, and grains could be transported to the Marquis's residence for consumption, saving money on purchasing grains and vegetables.
Most importantly, Madam Min Qiao personally visited the estate. The land was secondary; the main thing was that the estate was built entirely in the style of a Jiangnan garden, with pavilions, towers, bridges, and flowing water, offering a beautiful view at every turn—truly a masterpiece.
Min Qiaoshi fell in love with the estate almost at first sight.
Therefore, they bought the estate from the Ministry of Revenue at a price far exceeding that of others.
At that time, Madam Min Qiao was thinking that with this estate, she could stay there for a while when she had free time.
But after she bought the estate, she never came to stay there even once.
The reason is simply that I don't have time.
Having resolved the matter of Madam Zheng's poisoning during this trip back to the capital, she considered her goal achieved.
As for bringing the conflict between the Lu and Min families to the forefront, that was merely incidental.
What happens next, and whether the war will get out of control, is not her concern.
All she has to do is remain perfectly invisible, eat, drink, have fun, and enjoy life.
Therefore, the elegant and tranquil manor on the outskirts of Beijing became her only choice.
She came to the village with the intention of staying for an extended period.
So, three days in advance, she arranged for Ayi to bring people over to clean and tidy up.
This time, she brought everyone she could with her.
Qiao Yuanyao and her daughter will definitely be brought along. Mu Jin and her son will also be brought along.
When it came to Su Rongrong, Madam Min hesitated.
We agreed not to have too much contact, but after thinking about it, I ended up bringing the person along anyway.
After all, she had used the name of the Earl of Enping when she was in Jiangnan. When she reminded the Earl of Enping to be careful of incurring the wrath of the Lu family and expressed her apologies for it, the Earl of Enping did not blame her at all. On the contrary, he was very happy that she could use him.
He also said that as long as she helps take good care of Su Rongrong, he will take care of those scumbags from the Lu family if they dare to mess with him.
Min Qiao was extremely ashamed.
He had no choice but to instruct his subordinates to take extra good care of Su Rongrong.
Then he rummaged through his own treasured possessions, found some valuable items, and added them to Su Rongrong's dowry list.
Besides the masters, a few maids from Songhe Hall were left behind to guard the courtyard, while the rest were taken along.
Wei Jia injured her leg and needed to rest, so she brought it along as well.
After Wei Jia was injured, many things were inconvenient for her to handle, especially those outside the mansion.
Therefore, Yang An was urgently recalled by Madam Min Qiao.
Now, Yang An's family has changed their household registration. Granny Fang received fifty acres of land as a reward from Madam Min Qiao, Yang An received five hundred taels of silver as a reward, Yang An and Granny Fang's two sons and two daughters-in-law each received one hundred taels, and the eldest grandson, who had worked for less than a year, also received a reward of twenty taels of silver.
With the silver coins bestowed by Madam Min, the Yang family could live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
Even after the household registration was changed, apart from Yang An and Granny Fang, Yang's two sons and two daughters-in-law continued to help Min Qiaoshi with her work. They were now hired workers with employment agreements.
The monthly allowance remained the same as before. The two sons of the Yang family received five taels of silver per month, while the two daughters-in-law continued to receive two taels per month.
The eldest grandson of the Yang family has also returned to the academy to study. He's just waiting to take the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai next year.
The youngest grandson of the Yang family is also studying at the academy.
Now that they've been freed from slavery, once Yang's eldest grandson passes the imperial examination and returns as a scholar next year, their eldest granddaughter's marriage prospects can be improved.
In short, everything in the Yang family is developing in a positive direction.
Only Yang An and Granny Fang had nothing to do, and after only a few days, the couple couldn't get used to it.
Upon hearing that Wei Jia had been injured and needed to recuperate for a while, Madam Min Qiao summoned him back to help. Yang An was overjoyed and happily returned to work.
However, he was very sensible and always prioritized Wei Yu's opinions.
Although he had been managing Min Qiao's affairs for decades, and Wei Jia had only taken over for half a year, Yang An, who had resumed these affairs, had a very proper understanding of his position.
He was currently just an employee of Min Qiao's family, while Wei Jia was Min Qiao's confidante. Therefore, he consciously placed himself in the position of an assistant. When faced with decisions that required making choices, he would proactively consult Wei Jia, who was recuperating from her injuries, and would not overstep his bounds or make decisions on his own.
Of course, Yang An was able to swallow his pride and help Wei Jia not only because he was bored and because his status was different from Wei Jia's, but also mainly because he had been away from the capital for half a year and only after returning did he truly discover Wei Jia's capabilities.
Previously, he helped Madam Min manage external affairs, and it was already quite an achievement to avoid making mistakes. The income from those estates, shops, and workshops was generally kept within a controllable range, with profits and losses remaining roughly the same year after year.
However, due to poor management, in just six months, the income of several shops in Beijing has far exceeded the income of an entire year in previous years.
Just like the most common and most profitable cosmetic shops.
In previous years, when he was in charge, the cosmetics shop operated in an orderly manner and could earn about three thousand taels a year.
However, after failing to manage the business effectively, a membership system was introduced, requiring customers to deposit money in advance at the store. For every 100 taels deposited, customers would receive a 5 tael rebate. The more they deposited, the more they would receive.
They also offered a discount for purchases over a certain amount. For every ten taels spent, five coins were deducted. Those who didn't care about the five coins could choose a small free gift.
What shocked Yang An the most was that Wei Jia had the shop launch a limited-edition new rouge, with a unique fragrance and exquisite packaging, which looked very high-end.
Ordinary rouge is priced at a few dozen coins at the cheapest. But the most expensive one in their shop costs twenty taels. That price is already outrageous.
However, Wei Jia's new rouge is limited to twenty boxes, with each box priced at one hundred taels!
When Yang An heard the price, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
But surprisingly, not only were those twenty boxes sold out, they were snapped up in no time.
Just as Yang An was stunned, the shopkeeper of the cosmetics shop told him that this was nothing.
So, after limited editions came seasonal releases. And after seasonal releases came bespoke orders. The prices were absolutely outrageous! Each one was more expensive than the last, yet they were all incredibly sought after!
Now, their shop has become synonymous with nobility, grandeur, and high class in the eyes of aristocratic young ladies.
When these young ladies meet at a banquet, they inevitably start comparing their finds, seeing who has snagged the latest rouge, eyebrow pencil, and mouthwash...
Yang An listened, completely stunned.
However, these ever-evolving methods were not limited to cosmetic shops; other shops also adopted different sales methods depending on the items they sold.
In short, within six months, all of Min Qiao's shops sold out and generated huge profits.
Faced with this result, Yang An was completely convinced.
When I first returned to the capital, I had said that before retiring, I would personally teach Wei Jia a lesson.
And guess what? Who was teaching whom?
So Yang An readily relinquished all his duties and promptly went home to retire.
When Wei Jia was injured, Madam Min summoned him back, and he immediately came running.
To be honest, he was really curious about where Wei Jia's endless stream of ideas came from.
Working under Wei Jia was like opening a whole new world for him. He was happy all the time.
With him busy, only Granny Fang was left at home with nothing to do.
She had originally planned to cook and tidy up the house. But good heavens, her eldest granddaughter wouldn't let her lift a finger! She said that as an elder, she should rest and wait on her, and how could she be asked to do any work?
So, after Yang An went back to work, Granny Fang shamelessly approached Madam Min.
Sure enough, when Madam Min Qiao came to stay at the estate, Granny Fang also packed her bags and followed her there.
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