Chapter 62 "Hello, Grandma." ...
"Hello, Grandma."
"Hello, Grandma."
Xiao Yan led her entourage slowly toward her mother-in-law Yang's courtyard. Behind her followed Qingfu and Mao'er, along with a string of second-class maids carrying various items. All the maids and servants they encountered along the way greeted them respectfully.
"Qingfu, it's been quite a while since you've come to see me," Xiao Yan said, turning to Qingfu beside her.
"This servant would like to make time to serve you, but in the summer you opened two new sweet little houses. You've opened new shops and are now doing nothing. I've been so busy these past few months that my waist has gotten thinner. I haven't even had a chance to complain to you yet, and you're blaming me for not coming to see you. I'm so wronged."
With a friendly smile, Qingfu complained that she had finally learned her lesson. Her plaintive singing and acting immediately made everyone around her laugh.
That's right. After getting married and having children, Qingfu did not return to Xiao Yan's side as a close aunt. Instead, she became one of the managers who helped her manage the outside business. Now, she is mainly responsible for the part of Xiaotianju's business for the inner quarters of the high-class families.
Xiao Tian Ju was the shop that Xiao Yan was assigned to by her father when she returned to her parents' home; at the time, it was just used for practice. After being upgraded and adjusted in recent years, it was renamed Xiao Tian Ju and is now quite popular among the women and children of Jiangzuo City.
Today, Xiaotianju's operations are mainly divided into two systems: one is external, which is open to the public and operates a wide range of delivery services, with products mainly consisting of iced drinks, herbal teas, seasonal sweet soups, and various snacks.
The other product line targets women in traditional Chinese households, offering a variety of nourishing and beautifying soups and stews tailored to specific needs. Both lines are now thriving.
Today, Qingfu came in for two reasons: first, to report on recent business; and second, because the weather is getting cooler and it's the perfect time for nourishing the body, she brought Zhou Baishu, a female doctor specially trained by the shop, as instructed by Xiao Yanhui. The purpose was to first take the pulses of the women of the Qin family and then prepare nourishing soups for winter according to their individual tastes and constitutions.
As for the second-class maids carrying the items, apart from some of the fine silks sent by the Xiao family, the rest were all exquisite pieces from Xiao Yan's own shop.
Currently, she has three most profitable businesses: Xiaotianju, Xiangshuzhai, and Liuguangge.
As the name suggests, Liuguang Pavilion mainly deals in glass products. That's right. Although Xiao Yan Hui kept complaining that she was too busy to work this year because she took over Qin Ji's accounts, she actually spent more time and energy trying to make glass and occasionally thinking about making some "small inventions".
However, all that time was well spent. Even though the technology wasn't yet mature enough to make large pieces of transparent glass, and the luxurious full-length mirrors that could bring in a fortune were still a distant dream, the craftsmen below could easily create unique decorative pieces and blow out colorful flowers, birds, insects, and fish to make jewelry. Some small handheld mirrors with unique charm swept through the hearts of the women like a hurricane.
These glass jewelry pieces and delicate glass mirrors are now considered the most fashionable items among the women of Jiangzuo City, making Liuguang Pavilion a fortune in the past six months. And this trend is still spreading. If Xiao Yan Hui weren't still somewhat hesitant to fully commit, given the business environment already established by the Qin and Xiao families, she can't even imagine how much she would have earned by now.
Unlike Liuguang Pavilion, which was hesitant to expand its business, Xiangshuzhai, specializing in toothpaste and toothbrushes, focused on high sales volume and maintained a high profit margin. After all, she currently had high-quality snow salt and glass that were practically free, but these were considered high-end and expensive items by outsiders.
She dared to price a glass toothbrush and a mint salt teeth whitening set at fifty taels of silver with purchase limits. However, the sales volume would depend on the relatively cheaper bamboo toothbrush and green salt tooth powder.
Both Liuguang Pavilion and Xiangshuzhai officially opened in the last six months. Even Xiao Yan herself only realized how much money she could make after looking at the quarterly accounts a few days ago.
"...This servant thinks that the health-preserving soup business can be expanded further."
One second her mind was still immersed in the piles of silver, but the next second, when she heard Qingfu talk about expanding the business, Xiao Yan immediately came back to her senses.
"Oh! Why do you say that? Tell me what you're thinking."
The two then quietly discussed business expansion as they walked along.
However, only a general outline was given; the Rongxin Hall of the mother-in-law, Madam Yang, was just ahead.
Before anyone could announce her arrival, Cuiyu, Yang's personal maid, came out with a big smile: "Please come in, Madam. Madam has ordered me to prepare your favorite osmanthus pastries, honey-soaked plums, and the bamboo wine you sent a few days ago. Madam said this year's wine is excellent and she insists on having a drink with you."
“That’s wonderful. Since Mother is in such a good mood, I must join her for a few drinks. This year’s Green Bamboo Wine is indeed well-brewed. It tastes exceptionally clear and sweet, but it’s not strong. You can drink a few more cups without any problem.” Xiao Yan Hui also chimed in with a smile.
"That's what Madam said too. No wonder you and Madam are so compatible. Even your tastes are becoming more and more compatible." After entering the courtyard, Cuiyu hurriedly took a few more steps, personally lifted the curtain, and led Xiao Yan back into the hall before stopping.
"I told you you were almost here. Sure enough, I just sent Cuiyu out and she came to greet you. Please sit down." Madam Yang, who was sitting at the head of the flower hall, was talking to her two daughters. When she saw Xiao Yan come in, she pointed to the first empty seat on the left and gestured for her to sit down and talk.
"Yes, Mother." Xiao Yan bowed and sat down in her seat.
"Why did you bring so many things today, sister-in-law? What are they?" Qin Baozhen, the eldest daughter of the Qin family, and Qin Baozhu, the second daughter, couldn't sit still when they saw the maids carrying various boxes and chests entering in one after another.
"These are new goods from Liuguang Pavilion and Xiangshuzhai. They all look pretty good to me. I was coming to Mother's place anyway, so I brought them over. I also sent the things I prepared for my two younger sisters to your courtyards, and some fabrics that I thought were nice to me, so I had them sent over there as well."
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Hearing Xiao Yan's reply, the two of them thanked her with delight.
"Sister-in-law, what did you send to me? Did you send any hairpins with flowers for the twelfth month?" Qin Baozhen asked expectantly.
“We have flower hairpins, but not for all twelve months, only this month’s. It’s only been six months since the shop opened, so if you want to collect all twelve months’ worth, you’ll have to wait another six months,” Xiao Yan teased her.
"Oh! Sister-in-law, this shop of yours really knows how to whet people's appetites."
"Sigh! We still couldn't get through the back door this month."
Upon hearing this, the two sisters sighed together.
"You two are such a handful, you two always have this kind of tantrum with your sister-in-law every month, don't you get tired of it?" Yang was amused by the conversation between the three of them, and she pointed at each of them with her finger, laughing uncontrollably.
"Qingfu and Madam Zhou have also arrived." After a few words, Madam Yang's gaze fell on Qingfu and Zhou Baishu, the female physician from Xiaotianju. She nodded to them and then turned to Xiao Yan to ask, "Wife, is it time to change the health-preserving soup again?"
"With the weather getting cooler, it's the perfect time to nourish ourselves for winter, so I called them over to give my mother and sister some seasonal tonic recipes." Xiao Yan waved her hand, signaling Zhou Niangzi to come forward and take their pulses.
"It's all thanks to your hard work. Both of them have grown quite a bit this year, and I'm sleeping better than before," Yang said in praise.
It must be said that Ms. Yang is a woman with a very good temper and is very good at providing emotional value.
To be honest, even though her mother had said before she married into the Qin family that Yang was an easy person to get along with, Xiao Yan Hui was still secretly worried that she and her mother-in-law would not get along before she actually married into the family.
After all, most mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law have never gotten along well throughout history. Let alone being as close as family, it would be a blessing if they could just maintain a semblance of peace.
Moreover, Qin Ji was the eldest son of a concubine. Although to the outside, the Qin family seemed to value him highly and there were no apparent conflicts among the brothers, it was hard to say what the true situation was like without experiencing it firsthand. After all, according to common sense, the eldest son of a concubine was not a pleasant prospect for the legal wife.
But after actually entering the Qin family, Xiao Yan Hui discovered that everyone in the Qin family, from Master Qin to Madam Yang and even her younger siblings, was easier to get along with than she had imagined.
Perhaps all of this is because Qin Ji himself is truly capable and good at making money. Because in the Qin family, Xiao Yan Hui discovered that not only was she, the eldest mistress, treated with great courtesy, but Qin Ji's status was also much higher than she had expected.
Although it was only a short month before Qin Ji was trapped in Yunzhou, it was enough for Xiao Yan to realize that not only his younger siblings, but also his stepmother Yang and his father Qin Ji respected Qin Ji's wishes.
They rarely refuted Qin Ji.
Furthermore, the operation of the Qin family's entire business system is quite interesting. Industries such as refined salt and high-proof liquor are actually controlled by Qin Ji alone. Admittedly, these are industries he developed, but according to the traditional operating model of large families in ancient times, the son's say would inevitably be lower than the father's.
However, in the Qin family, Qin Ji's say was almost absolute. Otherwise, no matter how many reasons there were, it would be impossible for her, as a new bride, even if it was only temporary, and even with her husband's full support, to take over all the most important businesses in the family.
In Xiao Yan Hui's view, if the Qin family's businesses were operated according to modern models, those highly profitable industries would all belong to Qin Ji alone. He controls the source factories, while the entire Qin family is merely a large distributor under him.
In modern times, it's quite normal for a son to start his own business completely independent of his father and have full control over it. However, in this ancient society, it seems somewhat unbelievable that he could obtain such a degree of freedom and autonomy.
Even Xiao Yanhui secretly wondered if the Qin family had already split up, which explained their current somewhat strange state.
Regardless of the reason, it is an undeniable fact that she has hardly had to worry about interpersonal relationships in the Qin family over the past year, which is something that Xiao Yanhui is extremely satisfied with.
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