When the family left, they used three carriages. Li Mai and her two daughters were in one carriage, Zhou Quan, Yu Bao, and Chu Yan were in another, and the maids were in the third.
The guards and attendants all rode horses. They set off from the west of the town, and after getting onto the official road, they headed south, first to Yongzhou City, then to Xiangzhou, and then to the capital.
Currently, the Li family business only has shops in Yongzhou and Xiangzhou, as well as in Xiabei Town and Shangbei Town. Li Mai has no plans to open any shops at the moment.
Five days later they arrived in Yongzhou City.
Manager Qian has already received news of their arrival today and has prepared rooms and meals for them.
After Manager Qian took charge of Yongzhou, Li Mai let him live in his mansion there.
The sign above the gate reads "Li Mansion".
After they arrived, Magpie and Pearl went to settle the children's lodgings. Li Mai, Zhou Quan, and Chu Yan met with Manager Qian and inquired about the current situation of the three shops.
Today, there is a pomegranate clothing store, a pomegranate fabric store, and a Ruyi Xiangge store.
The Xiangge Pavilion opened this spring. The Xiangge Pavilion here opened later than the one in Xiangzhou, which opened in early December before the Lunar New Year.
"Of our three shops, the clothing shop is the best, followed by the fabric shop, and then the incense shop. However, because we have liquid incense and balm incense, we have made a name for ourselves in the industry because of this unique type of incense."
“A few days ago, someone claiming to be from the Fu family in the capital came to me and said that the Fu family owns five rouge shops in the capital and wants to sell our perfumes and perfumes. They asked me to inquire about your opinion. After I received the news that you were coming, I didn’t send anyone back and waited for you to come and ask.”
"The Fu family?" Chu Yan raised an eyebrow.
Li Mai glanced at him. "What, are you familiar with the Fu family?"
"I'm not very familiar with them, but the Fu family is among the top ten merchant families in the capital, ranking third after the Yu family. As you know, Master, the top ten families in the capital are all families with a history of over a hundred years and a deep foundation."
"Our Chu family is famous for its inns, restaurants, and money shops, and we are firmly in first place. The Yu family is firmly in second place for jade, antiques, and porcelain. The Fu family is firmly in first place for cosmetics and gold and silver jewelry. Even Sister Nan's Jin Yu Ge is no match for the Fu family's jewelry shops. For the past hundred years, the Fu family has always been doing business with women."
"It is said that the current head of the Fu family has no sons, and the entire family business is managed by his three daughters. I have also heard that none of the three daughters of the Fu family are planning to get married, but instead plan to find husbands to join the family and carry on the Fu family line."
Manager Qian suddenly realized, "I was wondering why that young man looked like a beautiful young lady that day, and why the Fu family had such a young master doing business outside."
"Did she say what her name was?" Chu Yan asked.
"They didn't say that, they only said that if our boss is willing, he can talk to her in person, and she's willing to come to Qing Shi Town to see you. If not, then she won't bother you anymore," Manager Qian said.
“Then you should know how to notify her, right? Go and inform her. I will greet her at the manor tomorrow morning.” Li Mai agreed.
Manager Qian agreed, and after discussing some other matters concerning the shop, he left.
At this moment, Li Mai asked Chu Yan, "Tell me properly, which young lady from the Fu family do you have dealings with?"
Chu Yan silently looked at her master. How could she have seen through that?
Li Mai looked at him with a smile. This kid usually doesn't care much about other people's affairs. He won't say a word unless it concerns someone he cares about.
This time, the Fu family and their daughter were special to him, and he immediately sensed something unusual.
Chu Yan knew she couldn't outwit her master, so she hesitated for a moment before saying, "We've met the second young lady of the Fu family, Fu Haitang, a few times."
Upon hearing this, Li Mai knew she had guessed correctly and said with a smile, "Well, tell me more about the Fu family and their three young ladies. If they are of good character, I might consider cooperating with them."
"If that doesn't work, I'll open my own incense shop in the capital."
Chu Yan paused for a moment, then explained to Li Mai in detail some things about the Fu family.
After listening, Li Mai exchanged a glance with Zhou Quan and smiled, "So, of the three young ladies of the Fu family, the eldest and third young ladies have already found husbands, gotten married, and had sons, while only the second young lady is still unmarried?"
Chu Yan shook her head. "When I left the capital, she was still unmarried. I don't know how she is now."
Li Mai nodded. "Well, in your opinion, should we cooperate with the Fu family or not?"
Chu Yan thought for a moment, "If Master doesn't plan to open a shop in the capital for the time being, we can cooperate with the Fu family, but you have to negotiate the terms with them. We will only sell them one or two kinds of products. We can't afford to be taken advantage of."
After hearing Chu Yan's words, Li Mai smiled slightly and nodded, "Okay, when the Fu family comes to visit tomorrow, will you accompany me to meet them?"
Chu Yan paused for a moment before nodding, "Okay!"
After dinner, the family went to bed early.
The next morning after breakfast, Zhou Quan took the children out for a stroll and shopping.
Li Mai and Chu Yan stayed at the mansion to wait for others. Manager Qian brought over the account books and showed Li Mai the sales figures from the three shops.
After looking at it, Li Mai had a general idea of the consumption situation in Yongzhou City.
"Not bad. Our shop hasn't been open for long, but to achieve this result, Manager Qian must have worked very hard." Li Mai smiled and gave Manager Qian a thumbs up.
Manager Qian smiled sheepishly, "It's all thanks to the master's excellent teaching. Before going to Qing Shi Town, I never expected things to turn out this way."
“My teaching definitely has some merit, but if you are a piece of rotten wood, then no matter how well I teach you, it will be useless. Now that Manager Lu and Zhu Qiang are married, if you meet a suitable and kind woman who wants to get married while you are here, you can arrange it. The conditions I offer you are the same: a courtyard is essential.”
“You have a wider network of connections here, and you know more people. If you find a kind woman, she might be able to give you a son or daughter,” Li Mai said with a smile.
Manager Qian coughed lightly, his face slightly flushed, and nodded, "Yes, if there are any suitable ones, I will report to the master and let you take a look first."
Li Mai smiled and nodded, then said, "Our new fragrance will be on the market soon. I've scheduled it for early August. You can work on a marketing plan to promote our new product."
"What is it?" Manager Qian sat up straight and asked expectantly.
“It’s a series of rose-scented products, including perfumes, liquid perfumes, balms, and soaps,” Li Mai said with a smile.
There is a garden in the middle of her business, where some roses were planted this year. When the roses bloomed in May, the first batch of roses was harvested, and Xu Changhe and his people made rose essential oil for storage.
After harvesting the second batch in June, we used the steaming method and produced a large batch of rose essential oil.
She also brought several bottles of essential oil with her when she came out, which she intended to take to the capital for Xu Changhuan, Madam Nanling Chu, and the Princess.
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