Chapter 115 He Fell From Grace
"What should we do with this shop?"
Xie Qi squeezed the white contract in his hand until it crumpled into a ball.
Yun Zheng said, "This price is much higher than the market price. I've calculated our accounts, and if we want to buy this shop, we'll probably have to spend all our savings."
I just made some money a few days ago, and now someone has tricked me and is going to rip me out.
Yun Zheng lowered his head, feeling guilty.
If he had kept a close eye on the Jiang family all the way, perhaps no one would have taken advantage of the situation.
They were far too careless, thinking that when Eunuch Yuan first took office, no one would dare to do anything under his nose.
"Higher than market price..."
Xie Qi clicked his tongue: "The shops on Wanbao Street are priceless and have no market value. Apart from this one, where are we going to find one that's still available at market price?"
"So, are we just going to buy this shop like this?"
Yun Zheng said with a bitter face, "If we spend money to buy a shop, we won't even have the money to stock the goods."
Xie Qi pondered for a long time, "Money can be earned again, but if we miss this shop, who knows when we'll get the next one."
If you don't have some impressive family background to offer to Yuan Xu, you won't be able to integrate into the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce. If you can't even get through the doors of the Chamber of Commerce, Yuan Xu will only abandon you and support someone else in the future.
Suppressing his anger, Xie Qi smoothed out the white contract in his hand and said calmly, "Buy this shop."
He is not someone who can't accept defeat; in the business world, he accepts both winning and losing.
"But I can't just take the blame for this. Go to the Jiang family and investigate carefully to see who gave Madam Jiang this idea and who the shop ended up with."
"I see."
After spending the entire afternoon painstakingly calculating with an abacus at Jixia Manor, Xie Qi couldn't help but burst out laughing in exasperation.
The person behind this is probably setting the price based on the amount of money in his account, right?
The price was painful for him, but not unbearable.
Fortunately, he had previously purchased a batch of goods from Xiecuifang and made a considerable amount of money. Without this money, he would never have been able to raise the funds to buy the shop.
Xie Qi casually tossed the sheep's hair brush aside, pressed his brow, pondered for a long time, and then went to the Imperial Textile Bureau.
Yuan Xu was a eunuch with no relatives or children, so he was unlikely to be greedy for things like money and beauty.
He was only brought to Suzhou Prefecture because his superiors needed to avoid trouble for the next few years, which is why he was transferred here. Therefore, as long as he completed the tasks assigned by his superiors, he would be fine.
After finishing his official duties, Yuanxu would relax in the textile bureau's residence, playing the zither and listening to music, which was quite pleasant.
When Xie Qi came to find him, Yuan Xu had just arrived home and couldn't help but snort when he saw the visitor.
"Nothing good ever comes from your visits to me."
Xie Qi said, "Not at all. It's really good news that I came to see you today."
He casually pointed to the wooden chair beside him, raised an eyebrow, and his face was full of mocking laughter at his rambling.
"As you know, I just emptied my pockets to buy the Jiang family's shops on Wanbao Street..."
"Wait."
Yuan Xu sat up, a half-smile on his face: "So, how did you manage to buy that shop on Wanbao Street?"
He told Yuan Xu the whole story, and Yuan Xu laughed heartily.
"The person behind this is quite talented. If you find out who it is, you can introduce me to them."
"If it is found out, Xie will definitely have been recruited by my father-in-law..."
Yuan Xu waved his hand: "Alright, just tell me what you want to see me about today."
"Then I'll just say it directly."
Xie Qi coughed lightly: "I've exhausted all my family's wealth to buy the shop on Wanbao Street. Now that I have the shop, I have no money to stock it with goods..."
"You want to borrow money from me?"
"Of course not."
Xie Qi smiled and said, "You must still have many good things left by Jiang You in your weaving workshop, right? If you don't need them for the time being, I can help you sell them for a while."
"If I exchange it for silver, I can support a few good opera troupes for you, so you can listen to music every day."
"..."
Yuan Xu was amused by his shameless appearance.
It's one thing to borrow his influence, but now they want to borrow his possessions too.
However, the things Jiang You left behind were indeed useless to him, and were just sitting empty in the storeroom. He might as well exchange them for silver to offer to his master.
Yuan Xu said, "Whatever you say, but since you've taken all the benefits, you should give me something in return."
"At the Dyeing Competition in six months, I need you to become the champion. Only by taking another step forward can you be of use to my master."
Xie Qi understood Yuan Xu's meaning.
He wanted to become a royal merchant so that he could bring his master a continuous stream of wealth in the future.
"Rest assured, Father-in-law, I will certainly live up to your expectations."
Yuan Xu waved his hand, and had someone take Xie Qi to the textile factory's warehouse.
Jiang You is the kind of person who accepts anything, no matter who gives it to him. Sometimes he gives it to people around him, or he sends it to the Jiang family.
Even so, Xie Qi was somewhat taken aback when he pushed open the heavy wooden door.
Inside, gold and silver jewelry were piled up, calligraphy by famous artists stood casually to one side, furs and fabrics were piled up like clouds, and Hangzhou silk and Shu brocade were countless.
Xie Qi naturally couldn't move everything out; selecting three or five items as centerpieces to let outsiders know that Jixia Manor had a rich history and powerful backing was enough.
If there aren't any good items, wouldn't it be a waste to have shops on Wanbao Street?
His gaze swept across the storeroom, and when he saw the three bolts of brocade inside, he smiled slightly.
This thing looks familiar to him.
This brocade decoration is a family heirloom craft of the Xie family.
The Xie family is most famous for their intricate weaving technique, which allows them to weave more than a dozen colors on a single piece of cloth, along with complex patterns.
Because this kind of craftsmanship is time-consuming and labor-intensive, it is rarely seen even in the Xie family.
However, the Xie family did indeed send quite a few of these things in order to curry favor with Jiang You.
Xie Qi smiled faintly as his fingertips traced the brocade embroidered with peonies: "I'll take these three pieces with me. Please trouble the young eunuch to inform Lord Yuan."
The craftsmanship that the Xie family was so proud of was transformed into something sold at Jixia Manor.
He couldn't wait to see the reactions of his wonderful grandmother, mother, and father.
As Xie Qi passed the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he paused again.
On the display shelf sat a red velvet wooden box, half-open, revealing a South Sea pearl the size of a pigeon's egg inside.
These South Sea pearls are imported from the West and are rarely seen here, hence their high value.
If a middle-class merchant family owns one of these, it can be passed down through generations.
Xie Qi looked at the pearl, which was white and glowing with a rosy light, and couldn't help but reach out and open it.
This is a gold hairpin adorned with South Sea pearls. It features three large, high-quality South Sea pearls, resembling pigeon eggs, and is dangling with a string of small gold flakes that jingle when shaken, creating a delightful effect.
Xie Qi held it in his hand, delighted with it.
"I'll take this hair ornament with me too."
He still had some silver in his hand, and since Yuanxu wasn't in a hurry for money, he decided to give the hairpin to Yuanzhu first.
As for his identity as the owner of Xiazhuang in that episode...
Thinking about how he had stumbled due to carelessness, and how Yuan Xu wouldn't have been able to recover for a while without it, Xie Qi lowered his eyes for a moment.
We'll talk about Jixia Manor with Yuanzhu after he participates in the Dyeing Competition and wins the championship...
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