That noon, everyone in the Wen family got to taste a small piece of sweet potato and potato. Xie Changshi was also pulled into the council hall by Gu Yuzhi, where they whispered to each other for a while before finally meeting Qi Shiwei in the evening.
The guard Qi took out the letters from the Emperor and others, as well as some silver notes: "Your Highness, these silver notes were given to you by the ladies of the harem. They heard that you were going to purchase medicinal herbs and were afraid that they would not have enough, so they asked me to bring some back for you."
Gu Yuzhi took the silver note blankly, feeling a sense of unreality. He held the note and looked at it over and over for a long time. "Thank you, Chief Secretary. My sisters-in-law are so kind. When our sweet potatoes and potatoes are ripe next year, I will definitely let them all have a taste."
Those were grown on his fiefdom, so they have a different significance.
He tilted his head and looked at Guard Qi: "Weren't these the medicinal herbs your sisters-in-law bought for you? Why aren't they used?"
Guard Qi scratched his head and smiled slyly: "Your Highness is unaware that Consort De sent a letter to the Zou family. The Zou family expressed that, in order to thank Your Highness for helping them occupy the Mobei market, they are willing to let Your Highness take the medicine first, and settle the bill after Your Highness's pharmacy makes a profit."
Shopkeeper Wen narrowed his small eyes even more, and Teacher Shu pushed up her glasses, extremely uneasy: "The young prince is being chased around and fed by several concubines. With this kind of popularity, it would be a wonder if the young prince doesn't become rich."
She sighed as she spoke, "It's fortunate that you are young, Your Highness. If you were any older, I'm afraid the Emperor would be angry."
Gu Yuzhi asked with a puzzled look, "Why is Your Majesty angry? Is it because your wives don't give you money? But Your Majesty is the Emperor, you must be richer than your wives."
Manager Wen...
Shu Xiaohan...
Your Highness is too young, and these topics are somewhat inappropriate. Fortunately, Chief Secretary Xie brought up the matter of the escort agency's arrangements, and Gu Yuzhi's attention was quickly diverted.
With so much more readily available cash in the treasury, Gu Yuzhi felt his back straighten considerably: "Chief Secretary Xie, we just happen to be looking at pharmacies. Let's find a larger place, preferably with a courtyard in the back. I see that Li's Medical Clinic is quite large, so we can't be too stingy."
Chief Secretary Xie glanced at Gu Yuzhi without leaving a trace. Although His Highness's idea was not wrong, was our competitive spirit a bit too high?
However, he dared not say such a thing. As soon as the New Year was over, he found a familiar broker and quickly bought a two-courtyard house with a shop. He moved all the medicinal herbs in the mansion to the backyard. At the same time, in order to prevent the people from Li's Trading Company from causing trouble, he also sent guards to guard it.
Although Judge Qin did not agree to practice medicine at the pharmacy, he offered very professional advice on the pharmacy's decoration and asked Qin Shinan to help organize the medicinal materials while he helped select the pharmacy's employees.
The advantage of having money is that everything can be done at the fastest speed. In just over a month, the pharmacy was renovated and the pharmacy staff were almost trained. Qin Shinan usually led them to ensure that there would be no problems.
Manager Wen had already thoroughly understood the prices at the pharmacy here. After calculating all the costs, he prepared a price list for the pharmacy. Looking at this long list of prices, Gu Yuzhi stood with his legs crossed, his lips pouting so much they could hang an oil bottle: "Manager Wen, I can't just hand out this price list directly. I almost couldn't explain the difference between potatoes and sweet potatoes before."
Fortunately, Chief Secretary Xie was preoccupied with these matters and temporarily forgot about this incident; otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble.
Manager Wen chuckled and said, "Your Highness, why worry? Haven't you been learning from Manager Yu how to read accounts and do business all this time?"
"Oh right!" Gu Yuzhi immediately smiled. "Luckily, Teacher Shu reminded me in time."
Gu Yuzhi covered his mouth and chuckled secretly when he thought about it.
During this period, because Gu Yuzhi wanted to learn how to do business, Shen Yu'an acted as his tool, learning from Manager Yu until he was dizzy and wanted to quit. Manager Yu complained about him several times.
Because he had learned from Manager Wen beforehand, he showed great talent in this area. Every time Manager Yu sighed in front of the screen, he would receive a gratified look from Chief Secretary Xie.
However, before Gu Yuzhi could produce a price list, Xie Changshi had already discussed it with Manager Yu and finally brought the items to Gu Yuzhi for a final decision. Except for a few items that differed significantly, the rest were roughly the same. Gu Yuzhi made a few minor adjustments, and the matter was settled.
Although tired, Xie Changshi had been receiving good news lately. He took the revised document from Gu Yuzhi and said with a smile, "The only thing missing from the pharmacy is a qualified manager. Everything else has been arranged. Your Highness can choose an auspicious day, and our pharmacy can open for business as usual."
No sooner had Chief Secretary Xie finished speaking than a servant came to report that Prefect Qi had brought a stranger to discuss something with Young Master Wen.
Gu Yuzhi skillfully hid behind the screen. A moment later, Prefect Qi came in and greeted Shen Yu'an: "Young Master Wen, please forgive my uninvited visit."
Shen Yu'an coughed lightly: "Prefect Qi, you're too kind. Please have a seat." He glanced at the person standing behind Prefect Qi, "And who is this?"
Prefect Qi sighed: "Young Master Wen, I heard that your Wen family is going to open a pharmacy, so I specially recommended someone to you. This person is called Mu Sheng. He used to be the manager of Huashoutang Medical Clinic in the capital. A few years ago, he resigned from his employer and returned to Changzhou because his mother was seriously ill. He has had bad luck these years and has not been able to find a suitable job."
Gu Yuzhi was craning his neck to look when he heard Prefect Qi say this. He exclaimed, "Prefect Qi is such a good person! Now Chief Secretary Xie won't have to worry about finding people anymore!"
Prefect Qi, completely unaware that he had been given the "friend card," continued, "Young Master Wen, Steward Xie, don't be afraid of your ridicule. This Mu Sheng is a distant relative of mine. He grew up in the northern desert and his character is absolutely impeccable. Otherwise, I wouldn't have recommended him to you."
As he spoke, he nudged Mu Sheng and said, "Tell Young Master Wen about your situation. If you catch his eye, you won't have to worry about finding work everywhere."
Mu Sheng cupped his hands in greeting to the two men and briefly recounted his story. Xie Changshi listened attentively, nodding as he asked many questions about the business operations and the problems they had encountered in the early stages.
Mu Sheng was indeed quite capable; he explained things clearly and thoroughly, and even Manager Wen nodded in agreement.
Chief Secretary Xie did not give an answer immediately. After seeing the two off, he sent someone to secretly investigate Mu Sheng. A few days later, the guard returned with news that Mu Sheng was indeed fine.
Only then did Chief Secretary Xie send someone to deliver a message to Prefect Qi, officially making Mu Sheng the manager of Wen's Pharmacy.
At the same time, Shu Xiaohan had another minor argument with Manager Wen...
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