Chapter 72 Chapter 72 On the afternoon of the tenth, ...
On the afternoon of the tenth, Jiang Wan was invited by Earl Wenyuan to talk about porcelain for three hours, and successfully signed the supply order for all porcelain in the Earl's mansion for the next five years.
Although the amount was not high, this was the first Lin'an nobleman to fully entrust her with the supply of goods, and it was also the first step for Jiang family porcelain to enter the vision of aristocratic families.
As soon as she left the Bo Mansion, she heard the system announcement:
"Congratulations to the host for making a name for himself at the Antique Appreciation Banquet, gaining recognition from the Lin'an business community, and earning 100 points."
"Innovation is the source of vitality. Congratulations to the host for inventing the first colored transparent glaze. You have earned 100 points."
"Congratulations to the host for becoming the supplier of the Bo Mansion and receiving fifty points."
"Host's current points: 420."
The boost to Jiang Wan's fame from the banquet quickly took effect. Over the next few days, six of the eight shops originally owned by Yuwanlou in Lin'an sent letters welcoming the new owner. Three of them had already changed their storefront signs to "Qingjiangju" and reported on the progress of their restructuring efforts.
Progress was slow, limited to a name change and minor interior renovations, removing elements that clearly identified the Yuwan Building. These were superficial changes, with virtually no changes to the porcelain-making methods, sales plan, or staff.
Still, just having these superficial efforts was already impressive. Before arriving in Lin'an, her requests for industrial restructuring had fallen on deaf ears, with no response. After all, the former Yuwanlou family was incredibly powerful and influential, so getting them to accept the new owner would require gradual progress.
During this time, she would have to visit these shops more often, win over the hearts and minds of the people, and complete the industrial restructuring as soon as possible. This way, she could be free of worries and focus on helping He Wanrong.
Speaking of He Wanrong, Jiang Wan had been worried since she'd asked Hua Qingzhi to investigate the Shangshu Mansion yesterday, but to no avail. So, after returning from Wenyuan Bo's residence, she told Jiang An everything that had happened, asking him to recruit a few skilled martial artists to help her investigate the Shangshu Mansion at night.
Upon hearing his beloved was in danger, the usually gentle and steady Jiang An was terrified. Within three days, he had not only found seven or eight experts but also figured out a map of the Shangshu Mansion, the guard changeover times, and the rest of his masters' schedules.
Seeing that her brother was so concerned, Jiang Wan simply handed the matter over to him, so the task of inspecting the shop and rectifying the situation fell on her alone.
On the morning of May 14th, Jiang Wan was having breakfast at the Fulai Inn, planning to go check out the shops in the East Market after he was full.
When she was in Xiaofangpan City, she would buy two buns from a small stall and eat them while running to the commercial street. Now that business has picked up and she doesn't have to work as hard as before, she has time to sit in the inn and have a leisurely breakfast.
But in comparison, she actually missed her days in the small town even more. It was hard work, but simple and happy. After returning to Lin'an, she felt the pressure of too many unknown dangers lurking around her.
Jiang Wan reached for the steamed buns on the plate, but found only an empty plate. She turned her head curiously, only to be met with a pair of dark, deep eyes.
After not seeing him for two months, he looked even more indifferent. Living in Lin'an for so long had made his complexion even more fair and translucent, and his thick eyelashes drooped like crow feathers, making it impossible to discern any emotion.
Even if you are standing in the busiest inn in Lin'an, holding the snatched steamed bun in your hand, you can still think of the process of cutting and polishing, the accumulation of stones like jade, and the rows of pines like emerald green.
For a few seconds, Jiang Wan stared at him blankly. It was as if the yellow sand from the Wusun Ancient Road that night before their departure had blown into her heart again, stirring up all sorts of strange thoughts. She panicked and wanted to escape, but her feet remained planted in place, not moving an inch.
After a while, Jiang Wan managed to utter a few words: "Don't steal my steamed bun."
"I was just passing by and was hungry. I didn't have any money." Wen Shen shook the steamed bun and stuffed it directly into his mouth. "You came to Lin'an and didn't even tell me."
"Why should I tell you?" Jiang Wan snatched the remaining half of the steamed bun from him while he was talking. "I've already told you that once we leave Dunhuang, I won't recognize you as my friend anymore. And stay out of my business."
Ever since the bet at Yuwan Tower, Jiang Wan had sensed a force trying to stop her. Now that He Wanrong couldn't be contacted, it was likely they had been targeted.
The situation is fraught with danger, and Wen Shen, the emperor's uncle, is not trusted by him, so it is better not to drag him into this mess.
"Last September, I lost a battle at the border. The cause was the case at He Guogong's Mansion. I'm also investigating what you're about to do," Wen Shen said. "You can't contact He Wanrong because she's not at the Minister of Personnel's Mansion. It's best to recall those martial arts masters you sent out so they don't get caught in the act."
"What!" Jiang Wan was shocked. "Then where could she be?"
Wen Shen glanced at the people coming and going outside and said, "When you finish your shop, come to my house in ten days and tell me the details."
"Why wait ten days?" Jiang Wan said anxiously, "Can we go to your place now?"
"You can't do anything now. Miss He is safe now, but if you act rashly, it will make her unsafe." Wen Shen gave her a meaningful look and stood up.
This time, he was wearing an elegant suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, giving him a dashing presence. As he passed her, he paused slightly. "Also, bring out the same fearless spirit you had in Xiaofangpan City. Don't be afraid of getting in trouble, and don't hide from me."
Jiang Wan immediately became angry and was about to retort, but Wen Shen had already walked away.
He walked on the street, his robe fluttering, his tall and slender figure standing tall, and just looking at his back made people imagine a lot.
The beauty was pleasing to the eyes. Jiang Wan stared at her for a while, and his anger subsided a lot. He paid for the meal and went to the East Market.
Jiang Wan spent the entire day inspecting the eight shops. She concealed her identity as the owner, posing as a regular customer. By selecting items and interacting with the shopkeepers, she learned about their personalities and sales strategies. She also learned about the shops' reputations from other customers and observed the target audience for their porcelain.
Practice makes perfect. This information is much more real and specific than Yuwanlou’s previous annual report.
Jiang Wan discovered a number of issues: In their annual reports, Lin'an shops, because they regularly supplied goods to various aristocratic families, reported annual revenues ranging from as high as 100,000 taels of silver to as low as 30,000 or 40,000 taels. However, in reality, most shops underreported their annual revenues by around 20%, especially for goods supplied exclusively to aristocratic families. Because of the privacy concerns, bills were easily manipulated.
Furthermore, Yuwanlou previously catered primarily to the wealthy, lacking affordable porcelain, and offering poor after-sales service, which discouraged many ordinary people from purchasing from it. After the rectification request was issued, none of the eight shops listed affordable porcelain as required, nor did they have dedicated after-sales staff.
However, there were also some advantages. For example, they maintained strict quality control over porcelain, had a pleasant shop environment, offered good employee benefits, and had a relatively complete supply chain. The Jiang family's previous shop lacked wholesale access to raw materials, purchasing them directly from the market, which resulted in higher prices. They also lacked a logistics and delivery system, as well as employee management and training systems; these needed to be learned from the shops in Lin'an.
After sorting out this information, Jiang Wan had a rough plan. She sent invitations to the eight shopkeepers, explaining that she had just taken over Qingjiangju and was still unfamiliar with many aspects of the business. She wanted to invite them to Jufulou for a chat, scheduled for noon on May 18th.
Jiang An would also be attending this dinner. Firstly, after hearing the news about Wen Shen, Jiang Wan had called off his brother's plan to visit the Shangshu Mansion at night. Jiang An had been worried all day, so Jiang Wan wanted to get him out to relax and find him something to do. Secondly, he wanted to make him familiar, as many matters at Qingjiang Residence would require Jiang An's attention in the future.
So on May 18th, the two of them booked a private room at Jufulou in advance, ordered some food and drinks, and waited for the eight shopkeepers to arrive.
At noon, the shopkeepers arrived one after another in the private room. Jiang Wan exchanged pleasantries with them while ordering the waiter to serve the dishes.
At 1:15 PM, the dishes were served, the time agreed upon in the invitation. However, only six of the eight shopkeepers had arrived, and the two who hadn't responded to inquiries about the rectification were still missing.
Being late for such a banquet without making any prior announcement is extremely impolite and may even be a way of intimidating the organizer of the banquet.
The six shopkeepers who had already arrived looked at each other, and then looked at Jiang Wan in tacit understanding.
Jiang Wan wasn't surprised at all and said calmly, "It's getting late, let's start eating."
"Well...won't you wait a little longer?" A shopkeeper named Zhou who was sitting opposite her asked tentatively.
Starting the banquet before everyone is gathered means that latecomers are not important to the party, which is a blatant disregard.
Normally, new shareholders would treat the old owners with respect and tolerate them as much as possible in order to quickly win over the old ones. But this Boss Jiang refused to give in at all. Was he ignorant, or was he truly so confident that he didn't care whether these old employees stayed or went?
Jiang Wan smiled and said, "It's one past noon. I'm sure you're all hungry. Let's eat something first. Here, I'll toast you all with the first drink!"
The six people at the table subconsciously exchanged glances before raising their glasses and drinking.
Jiang Wan took two bites of food, and after everyone had started eating, he said:
"This is the first time I'm treating you all to a meal since I took over Qingjiangju. I don't know your tastes, so I ordered all our signature dishes. Please eat to your heart's content. I'd also like to take this opportunity to share my ideas and ask for your help in reviewing them."
"Firstly, in previous years, we've operated on a commission basis, taking 10% of net profit to cover franchise fees, logistics and transportation costs, raw material procurement costs, employee salaries, and training expenses. However, shops in different locations and with different sales volumes require different materials and their employees' business responsibilities vary. If we manage them uniformly, it will lead to an imbalance between supply and demand."
"You all have extensive experience running shops and understand your own business best. Therefore, I'm thinking of charging each shop an annual franchise fee of 10,000 taels of silver, eliminating the commission system. All other expenses will be borne by the shop itself. Regarding logistics and raw materials, we at Qingjiangju have our own system and will offer you lower internal prices. Staff recruitment and training will also be fully delegated to each shop, and all they need to do is wear the uniform."
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