After this battle, Lin Yue did not indulge in the joy of victory. She knew very well that although "Yue Jin Pavilion" had temporarily resolved the crisis, there were still many challenges ahead.
That night, she gathered Ah Xiang, Ah Fu and several senior embroiderers, and sat them in the tea room of "Yue Jin Pavilion" to discuss future development under the warm yellow candlelight.
Ah Xiang spoke first, with a hint of worry in her voice, "Miss Lin, even though we've uncovered the traitor this time, Qingfengzhai will definitely not let us off the hook. We need to be even more careful from now on."
Lin Yue nodded gently, her eyes firm. "Ah Xiang is right. Qingfengzhai will surely bear a grudge now that their conspiracy has been exposed. But we can't let this happen. Instead, we need to take the initiative. I'm thinking we need to expand our business and not just focus on this small market in the city. I think we can develop new products, perhaps starting with a moisturizing cream with medicinal properties."
An elderly embroiderer frowned and hesitated, "Miss Lin, expanding the business is a good thing, but I'm afraid we're a little short of manpower and energy."
Lin Yue looked at her with a smile and explained, "Auntie Wang, don't worry. I'm thinking, first of all, we can start in the surrounding towns and find reliable local merchants to cooperate with us in selling our handicrafts. Secondly, we can collect some useful herbs to use as raw materials for making moisturizers. As for manpower, we can recruit some new people with potential and let the sisters guide them more, so as to gradually expand our team."
Ah Fu slapped his thigh and said excitedly, "Miss Lin, this is a great idea! I heard there's a market in the next town, and merchants from all over come and go every month. If we can open up sales there, our reputation will spread even further."
Everyone was in the middle of a heated discussion when suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door. Ah Fu hurriedly stood up to check. A moment later, he returned with a panicked young waiter. The waiter gasped, "Miss Lin, this is bad! I was just passing by Qingfengzhai and heard the people inside discussing hiring some thugs to cause trouble at Yuejin Pavilion and ruin our reputation."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. A flash of anger flashed in Lin Yue's eyes, but he quickly composed himself. After a moment's contemplation, he said, "It seems they've reached a point of desperation. Ah Fu, go to the government office early tomorrow morning and explain this to the police chief. Have them keep an eye on the area around Yue Jin Pavilion. Also, we need to step up our security here. Starting today, we'll have people taking turns guarding the shop."
After making the arrangements, Lin Yue turned the topic back to business development: "No matter how bad Qingfengzhai plays, our business cannot be delayed. Ah Xiang, you will start preparing some samples that suit the style of the surrounding towns tomorrow, mainly simple, generous and practical styles. Ah Fu, you go and collect information about the time and location of the markets in the surrounding towns, as well as the preferences of local merchants. Aunt Wang, you can go to the nearby pharmacies and ask if there are any dregs left after the medicine is boiled. A few days ago, when I went to the market to buy supplies, I happened to see the backyard of the nearby medical clinic. There were piles of dregs like small mountains. Perhaps these seemingly useless dregs still hide unknown secrets!" Everyone obeyed the order.
In the afternoon, Aunt Wang returned to "Yue Jin Pavilion" excitedly with a large basket of medicinal residues. As soon as she entered the door, she shouted: "Ms. Lin, your trip was not in vain. You have collected quite a lot!" Lin Yue hurriedly came forward and took it with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Wang. These medicinal residues may become our secret weapon." After that, she plunged into the research on the medicinal residues.
A few days later, Ah Fu came running back with a beaming face. "Miss Lin, great news! Boss Zhang from the market in the next town is willing to help sell our handicrafts on consignment. He also said that if our products sell well, he can recommend them to other big merchants!" Upon hearing this, Lin Yue's eyes were filled with joy. "That's great, Ah Fu, you did a great job! Ah Xiang, how are our samples going?" Ah Xiang wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded. "Don't worry, Miss Lin, everything is ready and we're just waiting to ship them to the next town."
However, just when everyone thought everything was going well, trouble struck. The thugs hired by Qingfengzhai snuck into the area near Yuejinge under cover of night. One morning, a shop assistant, who had just opened the shop, discovered that the entrance had been splashed with dirty water and plastered with notes slandering Yuejinge. Ah Fu's face flushed with anger: "These bastards, they must be Qingfengzhai!" Lin Yue frowned at the scene before her, and said calmly, "Don't panic, Ah Fu, let's clean up here first. Ah Xiang, go get some pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. We'll write a notice and tell everyone the truth."
After cleaning up the store entrance, Lin Yue was leading the group in posting notices when a passing woman stopped and said worriedly, "Miss, what's going on here? These rumors are not good. Can you still trust your stuff?" Lin Yue quickly smiled and explained, "Miss, don't worry. These are just malicious attempts by our competitors to disrupt our business. The quality of our handicrafts and newly developed moisturizer is absolutely guaranteed. Look, this is our sample. If you're interested, you can try it." As he spoke, he took out a sachet and handed it to the woman. The woman took it with some doubt, sniffed it, and her expression eased a lot. "Hmm, this sachet is beautifully embroidered and smells good. Miss, I believe you this time."
Before one crisis subsided, another arose. Just before the Yuejinge handicrafts were to be shipped to the market in the next town, the carriage carrying them suddenly broke down; an axle broke. The driver rushed in anxiously, reporting, "Miss Lin, what should we do? The market opens tomorrow, and if we can't deliver these goods, we'll miss out on a big event!" Ah Fu paced anxiously, wondering if it was Qingfengzhai again. Lin Yue took a deep breath. "Never mind whether it was them or not. The most urgent thing is to solve the transportation problem. Ah Fu, go look around nearby and see if you can rent another carriage." Ah Fu responded and hurried out.
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