As soon as I entered the door, I saw Xiao Si walking back and forth, holding fresh tea leaves in his hands, frying them and packing them. Everything looked very orderly.
"Madam, who are you looking for?"
Xiao Si, who was standing by, held the tea leaves, looked at Xu Miaomiao curiously, and spoke.
"She came to see me."
Suddenly, a man holding a fan lifted the curtain gently. He was wearing a green gown with a faint scent of tea. He walked towards Xu Miaomiao step by step. Xu Miaomiao bowed immediately when she saw the man: "Mr. Ye, long time no see."
The man smiled slightly, made a gesture of affection to Xu Miaomiao, and followed Xu Miaomiao up to the second floor. The man began to wash and pour tea, and then gently placed the teacup in Xu Miaomiao's hand: "Madam Xu, why not give it a try."
Xu Miaomiao gently picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Mr. Ye, you are good at tea art. It seems that there is a reason why your tea house can become the number one tea in the south."
"Mrs. Xu, you are so flattering. No matter how great Ye's Tea House is, how can it compare to your department store? In just three years, you have not only opened a store in the capital, but you have even cooperated with the imperial court. It is not easy for a woman to get to this point. Who can not admire you?"
"I think it's just that Bai County is a relatively remote place. Everyone in the capital doesn't know your reputation, Madam Xu."
Hearing this, Xu Miaomiao raised her cup awkwardly, took a sip of tea, looked at the person opposite her and said, "What Mr. Ye said is all in the past. Now the department store can no longer hold on."
"Alas! Madam Xu, what you said is wrong."
As the man spoke, he raised the teapot beside him and filled Xu Miaomiao's cup with tea. He looked at him and said, "It's not easy to do things. When I took over Ye's Tea House, it was also extremely difficult. I spent so much energy and time to get to where I am today. It's not that simple to do things!"
Xu Miaomiao frowned slightly when she heard this. She looked at the man anxiously and said, "Does what Mr. Ye said before still count?"
The man took a sip of tea, nodded to Xu Miaomiao, and smiled warmly: "Of course it counts. I, Ye, always keep my word."
Seeing this, Xu Miaomiao heaved a sigh of relief, and looked at the man and said, "Now I have a question. I want to run this shop well, but not just in Bai County. Why is it so difficult to run it in the capital? They are obviously the same things, why can they survive in Bai County, but they are really useless in the capital?"
The man did not speak for a long time. He picked up the teacup beside him, looked at Xu Miaomiao and continued, "Madam Xu, do you know why I still live in Bai County even though my tea shop has already opened in the capital?"
When Xu Miaomiao heard this, she shook her head.
"Although Bai County is not as prosperous as the capital, it has beautiful mountains and rivers, which are most suitable for the growth of tea. Although Bai County is relatively poor, why is it that Xujia Village in Baixian has no worries about food and drink every year, and even contracts most of Bai County's tax revenue?"
"Because the largest tea garden of your Ye family is located in Xujia Village."
Hearing Xu Miaomiao's words, the man nodded: "That's right. What's the most important thing about tea? That's its essence."
"From the very beginning, we supervised step by step. Maybe our tea is not as good as the tea from other places, but why is it worth a fortune? It is not only because of the reputation of Xujia Village that I worked hard to build, but more because of the brand of Ye's Tea House. The audience of the tea house is completely different. It is mostly used among princes and nobles, and in wealthy families."
"Unfortunately, the grades of tea are different. You are like a ninth-rank official, and you only drink some crumbs. But the Nangong family in the capital naturally drinks the best tea of the Ye family. But if you come to Bai County, the tea you buy will naturally be less than one thousandth of the tea in the capital."
Xu Miaomiao heard the conversation and nodded: "I have thought about this question too. As long as the department store is the basis, there are many different stores in life that cater to different groups of people. But it is easier said than done. Now when people mention the department store, they subconsciously think of it as a store opened by that woman. How could scholars come here?"
"They don't want to come, not because you are a woman." The man slowly looked at Xu Miaomiao and continued, "If the things in your store are good enough and the brand of the department store is really valuable enough, how could they see the department store clearly just because you are a woman? In the end, it's still this brand that is not that valuable. That's why people use the fact that the shopkeeper here is a woman as a joke and an excuse to not want to come."
"Then according to Mr. Ye's opinion, what should I do now?" Xu Miaomiao looked at the man and said. At that time, she was just a doctor and did not have much experience in doing business. Now, after hearing what the man said, she seemed to suddenly wake up in her heart and could not wait to find a solution.
"Madam Xu, have you heard of Thirteenth Lady?"
Hearing this, Xu Miaomiao's eyes lit up and she nodded immediately: "Of course I have heard of her, but I heard that she is from the south and built a unique brothel by herself. Her reputation in that area is also very good. It's a pity that I also wanted to imitate her and open a brothel like her, but I failed in the end."
Hearing this, the man smiled slightly, looked at Xu Miaomiao and continued: "She was able to open a brothel there because there are more scholars there. Unlike Bai County, the land here is barren, and people are more concerned about maximizing their profits. If you open a brothel here, naturally not many people will come. After all, there are very few scholars in Bai County."
"Shisan Niang was just a singing girl in a brothel before, but now she has created a world of her own in Nanseng with her own abilities. Her shop sells gold, silver, and jewelry, as well as rouge and powder used by girls. It covers a wide range of products."
Xu Miaomiao nodded.
She took out another invitation and handed it to Xu Miaomiao, saying, "Unfortunately, she is holding a chrysanthemum banquet next month during the Autumn Festival. Madam Xu, why not go and take a look? Maybe you can learn something from her."
Xu Miaomiao's eyes lit up when she heard this. She picked up the invitation and looked at the visitor excitedly: "Miaomiao has taken note of everything Mr. Ye said today. Thank you very much."
After the man finished speaking, Xu Miaomiao turned and left.
Watching her leaving, the man behind her laughed and raised his eyebrows. He was really curious about what kind of situation Xu Miaomiao could reach when she was all alone.
"Mrs. Xu, please remember to say congratulations on my behalf when you get there."
“It’s natural.”
Xu Miaomiao turned around and responded to the man.
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