"What, mistress, you're going to borrow money?" Cui Niang stared at Lan Qin in surprise when she heard Lan Qin say this.
"Yes, I plan to borrow money from the bank to expand my Daqing Hot Pot branches," Lanqin said slowly and deliberately.
“Master, I have only repaid 500 of the 3,000 taels of silver I borrowed from you. Why don’t I go back and think of a way to get the remaining 2,500 taels back?” Cui Niang said hurriedly.
“No need. Your two thousand five hundred taels is just a few months’ worth of gate tower fees, it won’t do much good. Besides, where are you going to find that kind of silver?” Lanqin said. “What I need to do is expand the store, I can’t let others take away the market share. It has to be done quickly, I can’t delay any longer.”
"My lady, why don't you borrow money from the prince?" Shui Ling asked. "The money from those banks charges interest."
“I’m afraid even the Prince doesn’t have that much silver to lend. Besides, I don’t want to ask him for help again. Last time, when we were setting up that shop, the Prince already contributed over eight thousand taels of silver. That was a way for the Thirteenth Prince’s wife to make a living, but these branch shops aren’t for her anymore. Asking the Prince for more silver will cause gossip among the other people in the inner quarters. Besides, the amount of silver I need is not small. It’s safer to negotiate a cooperative relationship with the money shop.” Lanqin said, “I’ve already thought it through. Not only do I want to open branch shops, but I also want to hire some capable people to manage the business of my branch shops.”
The maids exchanged bewildered glances, unable to understand why Lanqin had become so enthusiastic about doing business, something completely unsuitable for a noblewoman in the inner quarters.
Lanqin knew they didn't understand her actions, but she didn't care. In any case, the Fourth Prince supported her. What Lanqin was most worried about was that her mother-in-law, Consort De, would interfere. Fortunately, she hadn't received any information from her mother-in-law yet.
"Master, you're borrowing so much money. What if the business loses money?" Cui Niang was worried that if Lanqin messed things up, it would affect her position in the Fourth Master's heart. After all, men wouldn't be happy if a woman from the inner quarters went out and showed her face in public. Although the Fourth Master supported Lanqin, Cui Niang felt that it was the master who tolerated Lanqin, not that he truly supported her.
“Cui Niang, we won’t lose money. Our first Daqing Hot Pot restaurant has always been very successful. The Thirteenth Prince’s wife already told me that she made several thousand taels of profit last month. Her annual income is only 1,500 taels, which is enough to support the entire household for a year. I never expected that she would suddenly have several thousand taels of income. It’s simply unbelievable,” Lanqin said.
"Master, why do you work so hard to do such a big business?" asked Cui Niang. Several maids also wanted to ask this question, so they all listened quietly to what Lan Qin had to say.
"To pass the time in this boring life in the backyard!" Lanqin said. In fact, she could not tell these people, who were the closest to her besides the Fourth Master and the children, what she was thinking at this moment.
Cui Niang and the other maids looked at each other, not understanding why a concubine like Lan Qin, who was favored by the Fourth Prince, would find life boring.
Lanqin said, "I've thought about this for several days now, and there's no major risk involved. I've decided. You don't need to try to dissuade me. Just don't tell anyone." Lanqin didn't want Nian Shi and the others to know about her affair. Because Nian Shi could enter the palace, what if she went and told Consort De?
“Master, if you’ve made up your mind, then I won’t try to dissuade you. But does Your Majesty intend to keep it a secret?” Cui Niang asked.
“I will talk to him. But right now, besides money, what I need most is management personnel. The success of the first Daqing Hot Pot restaurant can be replicated. What we need are capable management talents.” Lan Qin only regretted that she hadn’t taken that business management course she applied for in her previous life, otherwise she could use it now.
“Niang Cui, let Cui Da and Cui Er come and help. The Prince isn’t going out these days, so they’re just sitting around doing nothing. They might as well help me. Then I’ll go back and talk to Father and ask my younger brothers to come and help. They’re always eating and drinking off Father, they don’t even know how hard life is.” Lanqin had made up her mind. She was determined to mobilize her less capable brothers from her maternal family, which would also lighten Lingzhu’s burden.
“Yes, then I’ll go back and tell them right away,” said Cui Niang.
Lanqin nodded and then instructed Sihua and Shuiling to take stock of all her jewelry and fabrics, as well as all the items bestowed upon her by the emperor's concubines in the storeroom.
"Master, what are you doing now?" Cui Niang asked nervously.
“I’ll pawn our belongings. I can scrape together the money first, and then borrow some more. I have more than a dozen sets of jewelry that are just sitting there gathering dust. It’s better to pawn them and turn them into cash. And all that fabric, I can’t possibly wear it all. It’s just going to get eaten by insects if I leave it there. It’s better to sell it,” Lanqin said.
Cui Niang panicked and hurriedly said to the maids, "Master, you mustn't do this! If others hear you rummaging through your belongings and selling them off, they might speak ill of you to the Prince. Besides, those things all came from the Imperial Household Department and were gifts. Selling them off like this is a serious offense!"
"Unless you go out and tell them, no one will know!" Lanqin insisted, but she had already changed her mind. She thought it better to pawn these things at a pawnshop and redeem them later when she had earned enough money.
“Yes, Your Majesty, you mustn’t. If someone uses this to make a big deal out of it in the palace, you mustn’t do such a thing,” Si Hua also said.
Lanqin knew the maids meant well, but was it necessary to be so afraid?
“Alright, I’ve made up my mind. We won’t sell it. Instead, we’ll pawn it and redeem it as soon as Daqing Hotpot makes money,” Lanqin said.
Everyone started talking at once.
"Your Majesty, this matter must not be known to the ladies in the palace, otherwise who knows what they might say," Cui Niang had no choice but to say.
"Hmm. I know. We'll see. If my dear mother-in-law tries to interfere again, by then Daqing Hot Pot will already be open. It won't matter then," Lanqin said.
"This is the only way. Master, are you sure you can handle this?" The maids were even more nervous than Lanqin. After all, if something happened to Lanqin, they would definitely be implicated. Sihua had served Lanqin for many years and they had all grown attached to her. They hoped that things could continue like this forever, but Lanqin was about to cause trouble again.
"I'm 100% confident. We won't lose money; we'll definitely make a profit. You don't need to worry," Lanqin said with a smile.
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