Seeing that she was absent-minded, Hongye didn't say much. She took a moment to whisper to Cuiming, "Could it be that Miss is missing the Marquis?"
Cui Ming was also very busy today, and was annoyed by the affairs of the sewing room. Upon hearing this, she said, "You know about this again. Hurry up and help Miss with the accounts."
“That’s true…” Hongye couldn’t help but frown, and her voice rose a little: “These shopkeepers are really slippery. Last time, when Miss caught them red-handed, I thought they would behave themselves, but I didn’t expect them to still try to cheat us. It’s just like the old saying, ‘They won’t give up until they reach the Yellow River.’ It will be too late to regret it once they are replaced.”
Qin Yuan, after listening to her speak, came back to her senses and said, "I've seen them. Some were honest, but a few still had a侥幸心理 (a sense of侥幸, a feeling of getting away with something).
“Exactly, just like that Madam Lu,” Cuiming said disdainfully. “Yesterday, although she was scared, she still told me that her family’s situation was special, hoping that Miss was just scaring her and that there would be some way out for the sake of her family. Today, when she heard that Miss was going to find someone to replace her, she showed that desperate attitude again. Fortunately, I told her what Miss had advised, and she has temporarily settled down to work with me and stopped doing anything. It’s both pitiful and hateful to see. If only she had known then what she knows now.”
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "You did a great job today. These days, you should work with her and that new old woman. It's good that they don't get along, as it will make it easier for you to sort out the accounts of the sewing room. You should know that if you understand one thing, you'll understand everything. Then you'll have a solid foundation to manage other things."
Cui Ming nodded and noted it down.
Hongye, seeing this with envy, asked, "When will the tea room make its move?"
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Let's wait a few days. I'm busy right now. If you push me too far, even a rabbit will bite."
The Marquis's mansion has survived for so many years, surely they can wait a few more days to organize the dowry shops and stockpile pepper. If it weren't for Mama Lu's own initiative, she wouldn't have taken action.
That should be enough to keep these bossy mothers in check.
When Madam Gu learned that Cuiming had already ousted Granny Lu and chosen a new granny to be Granny Lu's assistant, with the two of them managing the sewing room together, she was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped. She asked Granny Zhao, "Why is she so obedient?"
Logically, shouldn't Mrs. Lu have made a huge scene?
If it weren't for the fact that Mrs. Lu loved to cause trouble and stand out, she wouldn't have had to endure so many years before finally getting in charge of the sewing room.
Granny Zhao was also confused, and said, "Given her personality, she's probably going to cause a big scene. Perhaps she wants to wait and see?"
Madam Gu looked strange. "Back when I was managing things with the old lady, it took me a year before I dared to deal with these stewardesses. But this new sister-in-law is quite something, making such a fuss right from the start."
Her manner of conduct showed no signs of her being the illegitimate daughter of a minor official.
Could it be because the old lady was backing her up?
Madam Gu was a thoughtful person, so she couldn't help but overthink things.
Zhao Mama smiled and reassured her, saying, "Madam, have you forgotten that she has the Marquis protecting her? It's inevitable that she'll be unable to stand being treated badly. As for Mama Lu, she can't take things lying down and is very concerned about her reputation. I guess she'll lose her temper soon. If she's too eager to please and offends all the other head maids, what are you worried about, Madam?"
Madam Gu nodded, then shook her head, saying, "How can I not worry? She wants to buy pepper, and the price of pepper on the market has gone up. The shopkeepers haven't been able to find a suitable source yet. I'm really worried that she won't buy it, but I'm also worried that she will."
What if her auspicious dream is true?
Madam Gu was a little unsure.
No matter how she tried to flirt with this young-looking woman, it was to no avail.
Moreover, Qin Yuan has never suffered a loss so far.
She herself was assigned tasks by the Marquis.
Gu Baozhu was very willful; it took a lot of coaxing to get her to practice needlework.
After waiting for ages, what on earth was that embroidery?!
She's not even as good as her youngest daughter who's just started learning embroidery.
Madam Gu Liu had to manage the household, deal with her children, deal with Master Gu Liu, and coax Gu Baozhu. She was so tired that she didn't want to talk.
Why are all the days so frustrating?
She dared not cause any more trouble. If the Marquis was just saying it in anger that day, that would be fine. But if he really did something to Sixth Master Gu, who knows how Sixth Master Gu would make trouble for her and make her spend money again.
Madam Gu Liu did not expect that Qin Yuan would come looking for her even though she had stopped provoking her.
The next morning, Qin Yuan met her in the main room and asked her, "Sixth sister-in-law, you said you would help me ask about pepper last time, did you manage to find out?"
Madam Gu chuckled dryly, "I did ask, but..."
"But what?" Old Madam Gu, who had somehow managed to help Qiuju out, immediately interrupted.
"Mother has arrived."
Madam Gu quickly rose and bowed.
Qin Yuan also bowed and stepped forward to help her up, saying with a grin, "Mother, I was asking about pepper with my sixth sister-in-law. She also gave a gift, and said she would ask around for me. The manager of the shop that was part of my dowry hasn't done much business, but they heard that there have been a lot of inquiries about pepper lately, so the price has gone up by five taels of silver per catty. This stuff is used in small quantities, and I don't know who's buying it, but the price has gone up. I was just thinking of asking my sixth sister-in-law if she could find out anything."
Madam Gu raised her eyebrows in surprise and asked Qin Yuan, "Could your dream be so accurate?"
Rong Momo came in with Xiao Hong and the two children, and said, "Madam's dream is too accurate. It must be a very auspicious dream. Madam is a blessed person."
Madam Gu, who was standing to the side, turned pale; this was exactly what she had feared.
If Qin Yuan's auspicious dream comes true, wouldn't she be even more favored by Old Madam Gu and the Marquis? It seems that the management of the Marquis's mansion can no longer be kept.
What should we do?
Even though Madam Gu was quick-witted and resourceful, she was at a loss for what to do.
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Whether this dream is accurate or not is still unknown, but the price of pepper has been driven up now. If I buy more, wouldn't it be even higher? If those wealthy merchants really do find pepper overseas and bring it back as Manager Leng said, we would suffer huge losses."
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu immediately nodded and said, "What you say is very true. That's the way to do things. You can't just see the good and not the bad. You have to think things through more to avoid making mistakes."
So mature for such a young age.
The more Madam Gu looked at her daughter-in-law, the more she liked her.
Madam Gu then said, "Just as Third Sister-in-law said, my shopkeeper also asked for this price. I don't know why, but the price of pepper has gone up recently. I was thinking of finding good quality pepper at a lower price for Third Sister-in-law, but..."
Qin Yuan sighed and said, "Should we wait and see? If the price goes up, it's uncertain whether the stewardesses will still be willing to buy. I can't make a decision on my own. When I collected the money, I gave an approximate price of fifty taels of silver per catty."
Madam Gu's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't know what she was thinking, but she said, "If we need to wait, then let's wait. I'll send people around to ask around again. If there's any news, I'll tell Third Sister-in-law immediately. I wonder how Gu Shiqi's inquiries went."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com