Chapter 26 What's the point of comparing yourself to her? Will you lose money?
Seeing Yu Zhiyi's indifferent expression, Du Ziheng felt a little uncomfortable.
As the only son of the prime minister, he didn't have many friends since childhood, and most of them were just platonic friendships; there were very few people he could confide in.
Yu Bingyue before she fell in love is one example.
Yu Zhiyi, who came later, is one of them.
She helped him, but last time he blamed her without even knowing the facts.
Moreover, this was all on the premise that You Bingyue actively sought out trouble!
He felt terrible and wanted to do something to make up for the harm he had caused.
Seeing that Madam Yao had taken the account book, and that her eyebrows were raised high after a short while, he seemed to have thought of something and said, “Mother, Zhiyi has only been in charge of the household for a short time, and all the managers under her are cunning. It’s normal for her to make some mistakes.”
As the son of a prime minister, he not only had to be well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and the essential skills of a noble young master, such as playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but also had to learn how to manage his subordinates.
If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If there is no benefit, those in charge will not wholeheartedly seek the interests of the Du family.
Therefore, it's perfectly normal for some people to have ulterior motives.
As long as it's not excessive, even Prime Minister Du won't pursue the matter.
He felt that Yu Zhiyi had suffered because she didn't understand this point, so he wanted to plead for her.
He even temporarily forgot the purpose of his visit.
Mrs. Yao glanced at her son speechlessly: "You should take care of your own shop first."
Yu Zhiyi nodded: "Mother is right. There is a proper order to things. Let's deal with the young master's matter first, and we'll talk about mine later."
Let's talk about it after he leaves.
I don't want to listen to his nonsense.
Du Ziheng choked for a moment.
He was doing it for her own good, but she didn't appreciate it at all.
He could only continue, "I want to hand over the management of Nanhua Bookstore to Zhiyi."
He began learning to manage businesses independently at the age of thirteen. Nanhua Bookstore was one of his businesses, and also his favorite, because among all businesses, only bookstores were full of scholarly atmosphere, representing the integrity and spirit of literati.
In fact, he had complete autonomy, but he knew that his mother did not like Bingyue, so he came to ask for permission first in order to prevent any further trouble.
He believed that with Bingyue's abilities, they would soon be able to make a profit.
Once her mother sees her abilities, her opinion of her will change, and she won't need to report everything anymore.
Madam Yao asked Yu Zhiyi, "What does Yi'er think?"
Yu Zhiyi passed the buck back: "Mother can decide."
She didn't want to get involved in their relationship, lest she end up like Yu Jiaojiao, becoming a part of their conflict.
She even wanted to persuade Yao not to get involved, but she knew that was impossible.
Madam Yao couldn't bear to see her son in a difficult position, and since You Bingyue hadn't caused any trouble these past few days, she relented: "Then let's try it for a month. If she can't generate higher profits after a month, don't say anything about her abilities anymore."
"Three months, I guess? It always takes time to implement new policies."
Yao: "...Okay, three months it is."
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Du Ziheng showed no sign of leaving, and instead steered the conversation back to Yu Zhiyi: "Mother, collecting debts sounds simple, but there are many twists and turns involved..."
Yu Zhiyi interrupted him: "Young master, you are overthinking it. I think it's quite simple. I didn't even go myself; I left it to Ziyuan to handle. The stewards were very cooperative. Except for one who sent himself to jail because he knew his sins were grave, the others were all very obedient."
Du Ziheng: "?"
Do you want to hear what you're saying?
Those shopkeepers are all cunning and treacherous. Even he, the young master, has to outsmart them. How can you say they are obedient?
He increasingly felt that Yu Zhiyi had been tricked, and his eyes became complicated.
He wanted to speak frankly, but he was afraid of hurting her feelings.
She has a strong sense of pride, and I don't know if she'll listen: "You haven't dealt with the people below you. Although they all seem respectful on the surface, they all have their own agendas. You've probably been deceived."
"Honest advice is hard to hear, and I know you may not be able to accept it, but that's the truth."
Yu Zhiyi's native language is speechlessness.
"Young master, would you like to take a look at the account books before you speak?"
Madam Yao was both amused and exasperated by her son's foolishness, and handed him the account book.
Du Ziheng stared in astonishment, his eyes widening: "This..."
He had also helped collect debts before and knew the revenue of these shops. Although it fluctuated, the total amount was basically around ten thousand taels.
But Yu Zhiyi actually received half more than the original amount!
He didn't want to think too much about it, but he couldn't help but speculate about conspiracy theories. Was this perhaps a misrecording of accounts?
Yu Zhiyi said, "The silver has already been delivered to the treasury. If you don't believe me, you are welcome to go and see for yourself."
Du Ziheng: "..."
Seeing Yu Zhiyi's cold gaze, he awkwardly dismissed the absurd idea, but couldn't help but wonder: "I haven't heard of any shops being particularly profitable or popular recently, so how come there's so much extra money?"
Yu Zhiyi chuckled: "Of course, they spat out what they had swallowed."
"I reckon they'll be throwing up for months to come."
Madam Yao laughed and said, "Yi'er is truly a clever person. With just one move of killing the chicken to scare the monkey, she scared those parasites out of their wits."
Du Ziheng was very curious, but neither his mother nor Yu Zhiyi seemed inclined to explain, so he could only continue to be itching to know.
"Thank you for your kindness, young master. I also want to give you some advice: don't spend money recklessly these next few months. If the bookstore loses money, I won't use the manor's money to cover the losses for you."
Du Ziheng owns only two businesses: a bookstore and a clothing store.
He viewed clothing stores as places tainted by the stench of money, and although they were quite profitable, he disliked them.
He only liked bookstores, even though bookstores only made a third of the profits of clothing stores.
Honest advice is indeed hard to swallow. Du Ziheng frowned, clearly displeased.
But remembering that he had just said the same thing, he didn't get angry: "Don't worry, Bingyue is very intelligent and has many ingenious ideas, so she definitely won't lose money."
Yu Zhiyi didn't argue: "In that case, congratulations in advance on making money, young master. I'm sure you'll make a fortune, and your share of the profits will be substantial. Don't forget to buy some gifts for your mother."
Du Ziheng always felt that these words were strangely sarcastic.
However, Yu Zhiyi's smile was so sincere that he couldn't get angry. He could only respond with a snort and then returned to the Moon-Viewing Pavilion in a depressed mood.
Despite the pain in her internal organs, You Bingyue stepped forward to greet her: "How are you?"
Seeing his sweetheart, Du Ziheng felt a little better: "My mother has agreed. I'll have Du Lin take you to get the official seal later. You can make all the decisions yourself."
Overjoyed, You Bingyue disregarded the presence of onlookers and planted a kiss on his lips.
Although the servants at Guanyue Pavilion were already used to the way the young master and Miss You interacted, they still felt embarrassed.
Dulin also quietly turned his face away, feeling he couldn't bear to watch.
You Bingyue didn't care at all about the reactions of those around her.
A bunch of old fogies who simply don't understand love in this new era.
Her lips were burning hot, but her eyes were cold.
That gold digger actually said she only knows how to rely on men?
Ha, she'll show that woman what she's made of!
Feeling the joy of his beloved, Du Ziheng completely forgot Yu Zhiyi's advice and naturally didn't remind You Bingyue either.
Of course, even if you remind them, it probably won't do any good.
Linfeng Pavilion.
"Miss, let's also create a money-making plan, and we must crush her under our feet!"
After learning that You Bingyue had taken over Nanfeng Bookstore, Ziyuan was in a state of excitement.
She could disregard whether her mistress was favored or not, since the mistress herself didn't care, but she absolutely could not allow that woman to surpass her mistress in any other way.
Especially making money!
Yu Zhiyi didn't understand what was making her so excited: "Maintaining the current model is fine, why compare yourself to her?"
What should we compare?
Is it better to lose money?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com