Chapter 26 The Maid Takes Charge
Upon hearing the crisp "Wait a minute," Qian's mother's eyelids twitched involuntarily.
Li Nanke took the contract from Song Yi's hand with his chubby little hand.
Madam Qian's eyelids twitched even more violently, and she quickly gave Manager Liu a wink.
Manager Liu stroked his goatee and looked at Li Nanke with a smile.
"Does the young lady think there's something wrong with the contract?"
However, he was rather skeptical. It was questionable whether an eight-year-old girl could even recognize all the words on the contract.
Qian's mother is a woman who has been through a lot, so how could she be frightened by a little girl?
Li Nanke ignored Manager Liu and glanced at the contract.
Then she tilted her head back and looked at the young man sitting next to Manager Liu with a smile.
The man was only in his early twenties, as thin as a monkey, with a pale face and a pair of very restless triangular eyes.
"Young master, your surname is also Zhang? What a coincidence! My maternal grandmother's surname is also Zhang. Oh, you wouldn't happen to be related to my maternal grandmother, would you?"
Manager Liu's expression changed, and he plucked out two of his whiskers, wincing in pain.
Zhang Jiulang glanced at Manager Liu subconsciously, then rubbed his hands together and gave a dry laugh.
"That's quite a coincidence."
Li Nanke's eyes lit up even more, and she ran over to Zhang Jiulang.
She looked up at Zhang Jiulang, her grape-like eyes blinking rapidly.
"Does Uncle Zhang know my maternal grandmother? Oh, she's the wife of Minister Song, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. I think Uncle Zhang and my maternal grandmother look a bit alike."
She was born with a beautiful and lovely appearance, and her obedient and adorable appearance would make anyone who saw her fall in love with her.
Zhang Jiulang nodded subconsciously.
"My aunt and I..."
"Cough cough cough!"
Manager Liu suddenly interrupted Zhang Jiulang's words with a series of violent coughs.
Madam Qian stepped forward and said with a smile, "This servant doesn't think this young master Zhang looks like Madam Song at all. There are many people with the surname Zhang in the world. How could it be such a coincidence that we meet someone from the same family?"
As she spoke, her heart began to beat even faster.
How did this little girl come to the conclusion that Zhang Jiulang resembled his wife?
It doesn't look like it at all.
Did the little girl find out something and deliberately trick them?
No, absolutely not.
Over the years, she and Manager Liu have acted with great secrecy, making it impossible for anyone to detect anything amiss.
Suppressing her doubts, Qian's mother secretly glared at Zhang Jiulang.
Zhang Jiulang snapped out of his daze and nodded quickly.
"I mean I look a bit like my aunt, but I don't know your maternal grandmother, little girl."
After saying that, he impatiently urged Song Yi on.
"The sincerity shown by my Zhang family is already quite great. Three thousand taels of silver for two unprofitable shops is already a very high amount."
Are you going to sign a contract or not? If not, I won't buy it. There are plenty of other shops; I don't necessarily have to buy from yours.
Song Yi immediately became anxious.
"No, no, sign it, we'll sign it right now."
She had no business experience and was anxious to save her husband, fearing that Zhang Jiulang might leave in a fit of anger.
He immediately took the contract from Li Nanke and was about to sign and press his fingerprint on it.
Seeing this, Qian's mother quickly dipped her brush in ink and handed it to Song Yi.
As Song Yi took the pen and prepared to sign, Qian's mother and Manager Liu exchanged a glance, both revealing smug smiles in their eyes.
After today, they will all receive a reward from their master, and will be well-fed and clothed for the rest of their lives.
Just as Song Yi's pen was about to touch the paper, Li Nanke reached out and pressed it down on the paper.
A drop of thick black ink fell onto her delicate white hand.
"Mother, wait a little longer."
When Song Yi met her daughter's clear and bright eyes, the impatience she had felt earlier because Zhang Jiulang was leaving immediately subsided.
He put the pen aside and wiped the ink off Li Nanke's hands with a handkerchief.
She earnestly asked her daughter, "Ke'er, is there anything else you think is wrong?"
Li Nanke pointed to the contract and asked innocently, "This contract only says that I want to buy a shop. Sister Zilan said that when I went to the shop yesterday, there were also many writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and grain and oil in the shop."
"Shouldn't we move all these things home first, and then sell the shop to Uncle Zhang?"
hiss.
Manager Liu then plucked out two more whiskers from his beard.
She slowly sat up straight, and her gaze towards Li Nanke was no longer one of indifference.
Song Yi also realized what was going on, "Yes, Manager Liu, what should we do with the goods currently in the shop? Should we move them out first?"
Manager Liu sighed.
"The goods in the shop were naturally all packaged together and sold to Young Master Zhang."
Song Yi frowned.
Although she didn't understand business matters, she intuitively felt that there was something wrong with this statement, but she didn't know where the problem lay.
Li Nanke tilted her head and asked in a clear voice, "Since it's going to be sold to Young Master Zhang, why isn't that stated on the contract?"
Song Yi suddenly realized.
"Yes, why wasn't this written on the contract? How much stock is left and what is its value? Shouldn't all of that be specified on the contract?"
Manager Liu felt a slight unease.
They deliberately omitted this point from the contract.
Because of him, Madam Qian and Zhang Jiulang had already reached a private agreement that he would only give the two shops and their furnishings to Madam Zhang.
The three of them secretly divided the remaining goods in the shop equally.
Whether it's writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, or grains and oils, they can all be taken outside and resold for a good price.
They could also take the opportunity to make a small fortune.
Unexpectedly, this was discovered by the little girl Li Nanke.
A dark glint flashed in Manager Liu's eyes, but his face showed a helpless expression.
"Has the young master's wife forgotten? Our two shops barely make any money, and the goods in the shops have been piling up for a long time and are no longer worth anything."
I have Mama Qian take the account book back to the Crown Prince's wife every month. Don't you remember the records in the account book?
Song Yi looked completely bewildered.
She knew nothing about business, and both shops were managed by Aunt Qian and Manager Liu.
Mrs. Qian brought back the account book to show her.
Although she could read, she got a headache looking at the dense records in the ledger. Each time, her mother would just read it to her once and that was considered enough.
Manager Liu continued, "We're not making any money to begin with, but Young Master Zhang didn't mind that our goods have been sitting for so long and he even offered a high price. It's practically breaking the rules of this industry."
Therefore, this matter wasn't clearly stated in the contract, lest someone accuse Young Master Zhang of breaking the rules.
Madam Qian also comforted Song Yi, saying, "Saving the young master is the most important thing. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Zhang Jiulang looked impatient. "If you don't sign now, I'm really leaving. I'm busy with business."
Song Yi's eyes reddened with anxiety as she looked at Li Nanke expectantly, waiting for her daughter to make a decision.
Manager Liu frowned and patiently coaxed Li Nanke.
“Girl, you are still young and don’t understand business matters, so don’t get involved. You might jeopardize the chance to save the prince.”
I'll order a plate of snacks for the girl, and ask Mama Qian to take her out for snacks and to listen to storytelling. Go have some fun!
He acted as if he was casually dismissing a child.
Li Nanke puffed out her cheeks, then put her hands on her hips and pointed at Manager Liu, cursing angrily.
"You big liar, you're lying! Qian Mama has already told us that my mother's shops are all profitable, and you've embezzled all the money."
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