Chapter 530 The Arrogant He Family
Cotton seedlings growing in the cotton fields were transported away wave after wave, and cotton covered almost the entire Huzhou area.
There were only so many cotton seeds available, and other regions couldn't get any. In order to keep up with the imperial court's policies, the local prefect also sent people to buy cotton seeds from the south and promote their cultivation in his jurisdiction.
This busy period lasted until mid-to-late March, when spring was in full bloom.
Everything in the village is developing in an orderly manner: the farmland is lush and green, the market is bustling, the workshops are working at full speed, and a huge waterwheel is slowly being built...
Cheng Wanwan was looking at the ledgers of the soap and glycerin workshops. After such a long period of development, the two workshops have become more and more mature and larger in scale. Currently, they have a total of more than 290 employees. Even in modern times, they can be called medium-sized enterprises, let alone in ancient times.
At the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), Granny Qi came in to report: "Madam, Master Qian has arrived and is already waiting in the flower hall."
Cheng Wanwan was slightly surprised. Ever since the Qian family started the skincare business, Old Master Qian had been incredibly busy. He always had the housekeeper come to pick up the goods, while he himself would come once a quarter to reconcile accounts. The first quarter of this year wasn't even over yet, so Old Master Qian shouldn't have come early. It must be something important.
She put down the ledger in her hand and went to the flower hall.
"Greetings, Mr. Sui'an." Old Master Qian quickly stood up and bowed. "I've come uninvited, I hope I haven't disturbed you."
Cheng Wanwan asked, "Did something happen?"
"As expected, nothing can be hidden from Anren." Old Master Qian immediately got to the point. "Anren said that there would be some problems when a new product was launched. I didn't take it seriously at the time because this business belongs to Anren. Who wouldn't dare to give Anren face? But after leaving Huzhou and going to the provincial capital, I realized that there are always people more capable than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding."
Cheng Wanwan listened quietly.
After the "Dahe Zhao's" skincare products were launched last year, they instantly gained popularity and have been in short supply ever since. If the workshop's production speed hadn't been slow, they would probably have been sold all over the country long ago. It was precisely because of the low production volume that it took more than half a year for them to be fully rolled out in the provincial capital market.
There are far more wealthy people in the provincial capital than in Huzhou. Even ordinary people have spare money to buy skincare products that aren't too expensive, leading to a surge in sales. People come to the Qian family's store every day to pre-order skincare products that haven't even been produced yet, and orders are already booked for six months in advance. In addition, the launch of the beauty product lotus root powder has propelled the Qian family's store to its peak. The continuous booming business naturally attracts the jealousy of its competitors.
Back in Huzhou, there were other competitors who caused trouble. For example, some narrow-minded shopkeepers paid a few people to lie and say that "Dahe Zhao's" skincare products were poisonous and would cause rashes all over the body after application. Fortunately, Cheng Wanwan had anticipated these incidents and prepared anti-allergy medication in advance, which made it easy to resolve the crisis.
"Those merchants in Huzhou are wary of Sui'an people's status, so they only dare to use these tricks in secret. But that Manager He from the provincial capital is going straight to their door and robbing them by force." Old Master Qian looked worried. "He told me to tell Anren that his backer is Lord He from the capital. There's nothing the He family can't get if they want it. However, since Sui'an people also have ranks, the He family doesn't want things to get too ugly, so they gave Anren two choices: first, sell the skincare formula to the He family; second, the Qian family leaves, and Anren and the He family cooperate, splitting the profits 50/50."
"The He family of Beijing?"
Cheng Wanwan raised an eyebrow. The He family, where He Xiao is from?
The head of the He family is a second-rank official, so he shouldn't be so shameless as to steal business from a sixth-rank woman. Even if he wanted to steal, he wouldn't dare to do it so openly. Doing this is simply writing the word "shameless" on his face.
She took a sip of tea and asked, "Who is this Manager He to the He family?"
"I specifically sent someone to inquire carefully. This Manager He's father is the son of a steward of a fourth-rank official's residence from a branch of the He family. He is in charge of managing the He family's business in Yuncheng..."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
How can a butler's son be so arrogant?
But then again, it does seem very true. Even a dog or a cat belonging to a wealthy family is of higher status than an ordinary person. Who would dare to mess with them?
"It's already a blessing that our Qian family can cooperate with Anren. We've made a lot of money from this business, it's time to withdraw," Old Master Qian said wistfully. "I've brought all the accounts for the skincare products, we can settle them today..."
Cheng Wanwan put down her teacup and said calmly, "Why is Old Qian in such a hurry to withdraw? Why don't we take a look at the He family's next move?"
Old Master Qian was taken aback: "Although Manager He is only the son of a steward, he is backed by Lord He, a fourth-rank official. Lord He is backed by the direct descendants of the He family, and the head of the He family seems to be a second-rank official. Madam An, we can't afford to offend him..."
“Although I am only a sixth-rank official, I am still a court lady recognized by the Emperor. The He family’s humiliation of me is a blatant slap in the face to the Emperor.” Cheng Wanwan said with a faint smile, “I actually hope this matter will escalate, the bigger the better. At that time, I’ll see whether Lord He will side with his own branch or, in order to protect the reputation of the He family, make that branch suffer.”
If it got out that a mere steward of the He family dared to step on a sixth-rank official, the reputation of the He family, a century-old clan, would be ruined.
She was a sixth-rank lady, and if she were to be manipulated by this Manager He, she would truly be unworthy of her status.
She continued, "Old Qian went to reply to Manager He and said, 'Let him give it a try.'"
Old Master Qian understood the crux of the matter and immediately nodded to get it done.
Cheng Wanwan didn't dwell on the matter anymore. Every two days, she sent people to the city to inquire about the situation of the imperial examination in the capital.
The imperial examination was at the end of February, and now it's mid-to-late March. Judging by the time, news should be coming back from there soon.
If there is still no news, it means that neither of the two children passed the imperial examination... However, she believes that Zhao'er will definitely be on the list, but perhaps the journey is too far and she has not been able to get here for a while.
On the last day of March, instead of the messenger from the capital bringing good news, they were greeted by the legendary Manager He.
Manager He was about thirty years old, dressed in silk clothes, and followed by four servants. He made quite a grand entrance, and anyone who didn't know him would think he was a young master from some wealthy family.
After registering to enter the village, he was led to the entrance of Cheng Wanwan's courtyard.
To the people in the surrounding area, Anren's mansion was grand and luxurious, but to Manager He, who had seen it all since childhood, it was nothing special.
Cheng Jia, who was guarding the door, went in first to report, and then led Manager He into the reception room. He had someone serve very ordinary mountain tea. Manager He smelled it but did not take a sip. Instead, he looked around and examined the furnishings and decorations in the room. They were all very rustic, such as bamboo woven flower vines and flower pots carved from tree roots. They were exquisite, but too crude.
Just then, footsteps came from the doorway.
Manager He stood up, looked at the person who walked in, and immediately cupped his hands and said, "I, He, greet the people of Sui'an."
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