The Wicked Girl Flying a Kite (2)
Children come home early from school and take advantage of the east wind to fly kites.
——
"Miss." Upon seeing her push open the door, the people inside quickly put down what they were doing and bowed respectfully to her.
Jiang Wanrou nodded slightly, her steps never faltering. She walked around the screen and straight into the room. "Where is my father?"
The people inside looked at each other, but no one dared to answer.
"What's going on? Didn't he have several important documents to sign this afternoon? Where is he?" Seeing that no one was speaking, she became a little angry. Her face darkened, and she shouted sternly, "Don't you even know where the master is? You don't even know to report back? What kind of job are you?"
"Master... he accompanied the young master to fly kites at the manor in the suburbs." Finally, the servant standing at the front stepped forward and answered her tremblingly.
The waiter felt he was really unlucky today, being pushed out to bear the brunt of this young lady's anger.
Jiang Wanrou seemed to suddenly deflate, and after a moment of stunned silence, she asked, "What about those documents? Did the master take them with him?"
"Uh...no, the master just sent someone back to say that we should invite the fourth master over later. He...he has to accompany the young master on horseback today, so he won't be back tonight." The waiter's face was ashen. He felt that every word he said, no, even just one word, was bringing him one step closer to death.
To everyone's surprise, Jiang Wanrou simply lowered her head and remained silent for a long while before asking, "Which horse are you riding?"
"This... I don't know about this." The waiter, unsure of her attitude, spoke cautiously.
"I understand." Jiang Wanrou didn't say anything. She picked up a pen and paper from the table next to her and wrote a few words, "Tell Father..." Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly paused, then crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it aside in a fit of anger.
The waiter quickly reached out to catch it, but before he could get a firm grip, he could only see Jiang Wanrou's back as she walked out. Her attendant followed behind her like a shadow, dutifully.
"Prepare the horse, I'm going to see... my brother." Her voice was carried away by the wind, revealing no emotion.
——
"Why are you here?" Hearing her words, the father didn't look up, continuing to play with the child in his arms, seemingly unconcerned that the child was covered in dirt. "Have you finished with the matters at the Punishment Hall?"
Hearing her younger brother's giggles, Jiang Wanrou felt a surge of anger welling up inside her, threatening to explode at any moment. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "All done, not much to do. But the manager of the jewelry store in the East District has something to report..."
"You can't solve it?" Her father looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze, and Jiang Wanrou panicked immediately, hurriedly denying, "No, I can."
"Then what are you doing here?" The father's sharp eyes were like a knife, not exactly sharp, but it cut dully, bringing out a pain that was connected to the flesh and bone.
"I just... came to take a look," Jiang Wanrou replied sullenly, her head lowered.
"Sigh." The father sighed in disappointment, waved his hand, and someone immediately came up and took the noisy little boy from his arms.
When the child handed it to the servant, the little boy slapped his face with his muddy hand, making a crisp sound. However, the servant didn't seem annoyed at all. He just looked at the child with a helpless expression and jokingly scolded, "You little rascal."
"You big rascal!" The child retorted, making a face and then cursing back.
Jiang Wanrou saw her father pause for only a moment before bursting into a hearty laugh, "Good child!"
Praise without reservation.
Their loving father and filial son made Jiang Wanrou seem somewhat superfluous.
“Father…” she couldn’t help but speak. Her father looked at her and sighed again. “Alright, your brother is still young. I’m just spending more time with him. You’ve only been in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department for two years, and recently you’ve also taken over those jewelry shops. There are a lot of people watching you. Be careful. If there are any problems with your business, go to your fourth uncle.”
Jiang Wanrou looked up, as if she wanted to say something more. Her father gently patted her head, the strength and warmth of his palm still there. "You've always been the most hardworking one. I trust you the most. I believe you will continue to be, won't you?"
The expression on her father's face was very familiar; it was the smile Jiang Wanrou had seen on his face most often—that gentle, eager smile, and that look of expectation and satisfaction—it was all too familiar to her; Jiang Wanrou had seen it many times.
Her father was talking to her, and had just touched her head. His hand was still on her shoulder, but his gaze had already drifted into the distance.
Jiang Wanrou followed the gaze and saw her younger brother, ten years her junior, being helped onto a horse by servants. The horse was the foal her father had given her when she won first place in archery among her brothers of similar age at her birthday banquet when she was almost seven. That horse was exceptionally gentle and intelligent, and having been trained for so many years, even a beginner could ride it several laps on their own, let alone her younger brother who had been learning to ride and shoot for two years.
At the same age, her younger brother, perhaps because it was his first time riding such a large horse alone, clung tightly to the horse's neck after finally managing to mount with the help of servants. It took a lot of coaxing and persuasion from those around him before he slowly sat up and took the reins, but he dared not move. The servants had barely taken two steps with the horse when he became terrified and started crying and demanding to get off.
Even so, the father did not blame him at all, and the eagerness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. He simply told the servants to quickly take him down, completely forgetting about Jiang Wanrou standing to the side.
Jiang Wanrou watched quietly with an awkward smile.
After a while, her younger brother started flying kites happily again, and the sounds of their playful laughter echoed throughout the entire meadow.
Only then did her father remember Jiang Wanrou, who had been standing beside him, and he spoke again, "I see that all those kites in your room are just sitting there. Your younger brother happened to see one the other day and really liked it, so why don't you let him have it?" Although it was a suggestion, the decision had already been made. Jiang Wanrou silently shut her mouth, which she wanted to use to argue. "I need to check the profits of those shops in two months. You can decide for yourself. You have to make some progress. I hope you won't disappoint me."
"knew."
Her father waved his hand, and Jiang Wanrou tactfully left. But as she reached the door, she glanced back one last time and saw her father personally carrying her younger brother onto the horse, his praising voice carried clearly to Jiang Wanrou's ears by the wind.
She paused for a moment, then ran away as if fleeing.
——
Two months later.
I followed Jiang Wanrou into the study, carrying a thick stack of account books. The master was waiting inside. I glanced around discreetly, slightly surprised to see that Fourth Master was also there.
I heard Jiang Wanrou greet everyone, "Father, Fourth Uncle." Then she gestured with her eyes for me to hand over the account book.
I respectfully handed over the ledger, then quietly stepped aside, keeping my eyes downcast and mind at ease, acting as a mere tool and refusing to utter a word.
The master took the account book, flipped through it casually a couple of times, and then tossed it to the fourth master, saying, "Take a look."
Fourth Master smiled nonchalantly, said nothing, and took the ledger to start reading.
Jiang Wanrou stood quietly in front of the table, waiting in silence.
"These accounts look pretty good," Fourth Master said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with them." He flipped through them twice more, then put the ledger back.
The master didn't even touch the ledgers, nor did he look up, focusing instead on the documents in his hand. The fourth master, however, spoke with interest, "Quite impressive, how did you do it? Sales and profits have increased several times over."
“Previously, we mostly sold expensive jewelry, which didn’t have a large customer base. We were lucky to get one order a month. So…” Jiang Wanrou paused for a moment, then smiled smugly, “I focused on getting some cheaper gemstones, as well as copper and silver, and had the craftsmen rush to make a batch of trendy bracelets, necklaces, and rings.”
"We had all the shop assistants set up on the counter at the entrance, and put up banners with love slogans. We assigned two apprentices to each shop, charging an extra five silver dollars for engraving for free. In less than half a month, most of the first batch of goods had been sold."
"Well done, that's a clever move," Fourth Master praised directly, but before he could finish speaking, he heard the Master's voice.
"Can it be effective in the long term?" The old man finally looked up from his pile of documents and looked at Jiang Wanrou with a scrutinizing gaze.
"For the first two months or so, the novelty wears off and there will be fewer customers, but there will still be more customers than before." Jiang Wanrou clenched her fist slightly, and I knew she was a little nervous.
It's really rare, but she only acts like this in front of the master.
"Isn't there a way to sustain it for a longer period of time?"
“It’s inevitable that there won’t be as many people as there were at the beginning, but we can continue to launch a series of new activities to attract customers.” Jiang Wanrou answered each question without showing any emotion. “Next, I plan to make a batch of slightly more expensive items based on the current season, and launch them for a limited time, with each store having a limited quantity. Once the time is up, they will no longer be available. First come, first served, and the fewer items you buy, the fewer there will be.”
"Then how can you be sure that someone will buy it? If not, wouldn't it be a complete waste of money and a laughing stock?" As he listened to her words, Fourth Master gradually sat up straight and began to imagine the situation as well, unable to resist asking first.
"Just find a few popular models, take some photos, and publish them in the newspaper. Say that this is a trend that is popular abroad." Jiang Wanrou raised her head slightly, and then seemed to be putting on an arrogant attitude again. "This series must not be released too frequently, at most once every six months. When that happens, there will naturally be plenty of ladies who will want to buy it."
"Not bad." The old man finally smiled. "You did a great job. You didn't disappoint me."
Jiang Wanrou finally relaxed her clenched fist, looked up, and said earnestly, "I will do better."
"Hmm, you don't need to worry about these shops for now." The old man said calmly, then lowered his head to continue reading the documents.
"Why?" Jiang Wanrou looked up abruptly, her surprise completely undisguised.
“I have something else to give you.” The old man seemed somewhat displeased with her questioning, and even his tapping on the table paused. “I will have your younger brother take over. Just do as you say, and nothing will go wrong.”
"Other things? What else is there! It's just that I'm going to work hard again to make a wedding dress for that good-for-nothing!" Her fists clenched again, and her face turned red.
To be honest, in all the years I've followed her, this is the first time I've seen her speak to the old man like that.
Actually, it was quite satisfying.
"How dare you talk to me like that! He's your brother, it's only right that you help him out. We're family, why be so formal?" The old man slammed his hand on the table twice, speaking earnestly.
"Helping others? It's just stealing credit, why make it sound so nice?" Jiang Wanrou sneered, her tone sarcastic.
"I think I've really spoiled you rotten! You've become so lawless! From today onwards, you're to stay in your room and reflect on your mistakes!" The master was furious and made the decision.
"Don't even think about locking me up," she said, then turned and left.
I knew I was in trouble. I didn't want to stay here and become a sitting duck, so I quickly bowed and followed.
He almost bumped into the door she slammed shut.
Jiang Wanrou used considerable force, and the door slammed against the doorframe with a loud "thud," echoing in the quiet study.
I didn't have her guts. Afraid of being caught in the crossfire, I quickly left and gently closed the door behind me. Just as the door was about to close, I peeked through the crack and saw the master raise his teacup high, while the fourth master reached out to stop him—the next second, there was a crisp sound of porcelain shattering.
I couldn't help but sigh. If the two of them have a falling out, those of us who serve them are in for a lot of trouble.
It's really strange, though. Jiang Wanrou was groomed as the heir for so many years, and she was in charge of the punishment hall at the age of fifteen. But as the young master grew up, she became less and less like an heir.
The businesses she owned didn't last long; every time they showed promise, they were handed over to others, mostly ending up in the hands of the young master, whom everyone considered "hopeless." In truth, the young master was merely an ordinary person, but compared to Jiang Wanrou, he was utterly inadequate. Anyone with eyes could see who should be chosen. Even at banquets, the old master rarely accompanied her anymore, while the young master was brought along more and more often. The old master would tell everyone how wonderful his son was; even the favor he once bestowed upon her seemed to have vanished. Things that were once exclusively hers now either included with the young master or were simply handed over entirely. In fact, the young master's current status far surpassed, if not surpassed, hers in her youth…
If it were just these things, it wouldn't be so bad. Jiang Wanrou is about to come of age, and according to tradition, the heir will lead a group of peers to worship their ancestors on the day of their coming of age, becoming the first person to offer incense and kowtow. They will also receive 3% of the shares in advance as proof.
But the master didn't mention it at all. A few days ago, there was a rumor that the master wanted to transfer 1% of the shares to the young master as a birthday gift for his eighth birthday.
I've heard that quite a few people have already started privately discussing taking sides again.
I don't know if it's true.
If it's true...
So her younger brother got all this without doing anything, making Jiang Wanrou, who had worked so hard, seem like a joke.
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