Anyway, Jiang Yao had completely come to hate those two maids in the Earl's mansion named Lianxiang and Lianyu. They fought with Pei Lingyu every day, and at the last birthday banquet of the Earl's wife, they even scratched Pei Lingyu's face in front of all the relatives.
Lianxiang and Lianyu were instructed to use the excuse of treating their injuries to get closer to Pei Lingyu.
Jiang Shuwan had no idea how far Pei Lingyu had progressed with the two women.
Anyway, according to the timeline of her previous life, she had just married into the Earl's Mansion when Pei Lingyu smashed up the wedding hall. He felt that if he had anything to do with her, he would be letting down his beloved Jiang Yao, so he never entered her room.
When Lady Bo saw that she couldn't win Pei Lingyu's heart, she went and bought Lianxiang and Lianyu to take back to the mansion.
The timing of Lianxiang and Lianyu's entry into the manor was roughly the same in both lifetimes.
In his previous life, Pei Yanzhi was intoxicated by their soft and fragrant service several times, and they ended up sleeping together.
Those born into prominent families in Jiangnan who become monks are not lacking in skills.
If Jiang Yao had been more level-headed and hadn't argued with Pei Lingyu, she might have suffered less.
Ultimately, she is the legitimate wife. As long as she gives birth to a child soon, no amount of pity or compassion can take her place.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shuwan shook her head, since this matter had nothing to do with her anyway.
No need to overthink it.
After eating a pastry, Jiang Shuwan's attention returned to Donglai Street.
Donglai Street is more than twice as wide as Dongfu Street, and it is a major traffic artery at a crossroads. The street is wide and tidy. Not to mention the East Market, it is a good street and good shops that can be presented in the whole capital.
With ample foot traffic, if managed well, it could very well become the next Suzaku Street.
They lost the competition, and now the streets are very desolate, with the few customers they have left over eating their leftovers.
Some loyal customers did support the business, but their investment was too large, and a few loyal customers couldn't support a store. Half of the stores have already closed down.
The remaining establishment was barely holding on, its place desolate and rather pitiful.
"Miss, Donglai Street is closed."
Jiang Shuwan nodded without saying a word. For three days in a row, she came every day, staring at Donglai Street in deep thought, but she didn't say what she was going to do next.
Brother Nai, however, had an idea.
“Miss, the merchants in the East Market are arguing every day because of the setback on Donglai Street. Why don’t we start from there, escalate the situation, and make them blame each other and fight each other?”
“Especially Song Yi. He was originally the clear choice for vice president, but now many people are complaining about him, and he can't even hold onto his position. Why not start with him?”
"Song Yi? His father isn't the president of the Dongshi Chamber of Commerce, but he made a mistake once, and even his father couldn't protect him?" Qingxing asked curiously.
She remembered this Song Yi; he was a scholar-like businessman, young and shrewd in business, from a family of merchants, and his father was the president of the East Market Chamber of Commerce. He was a prominent figure wherever he went.
"That's right. Merchants are profit-driven and very pragmatic. Those shopkeepers used to be grateful to him, but now they've all turned their backs on him and won't even give him face because of his father."
When Brother Nai mentioned this, he shook his head and sighed. When the two streets opened, Song Yi had greeted him. He was a refined young man, and you couldn't tell from his demeanor that he was a businessman.
The two exchanged a few words at the time, and although they were competitors, Brother Nai had a pretty good impression of him.
Later, Song Yi often visited Dongfu Street. Sometimes they would meet and exchange a few words. Song Yi admired and respected Dongfu Street's success. Of course, he might not have thought so in his heart, but on the surface, they were very peaceful and friendly. They would even invite him to drink and ask him for advice.
After several such exchanges, Brother Nai remembered him and realized that Song Yi was indeed no ordinary person. He also encouraged himself that there were too many capable people in the capital, and he needed to work harder so as not to embarrass him by having a mistress.
"You won't even give his father face?"
Hearing what Brother Nai said, Jiang Shuwan was slightly surprised.
The Song family is a long-established merchant family that has been in business for over a hundred years. In terms of strength and wealth, the Song family is undoubtedly the number one in the East Market.
Is the Song family doomed simply because of a bad investment in Donglai Street?
That can't be...
Just then, Song Yi appeared on the street of Donglai Street again; he was also there to inspect the stores today.
Then, as soon as he came in, all sorts of unpleasant sounds rang out.
"Pooh!"
"They can't even handle the West Market's capital, yet they dare to be our vice presidents? Do they even want to be president in the future? It's laughable that our mighty East Market has been defeated by the West Market."
"I've lost all face over the decades, and he still has the nerve to come? I've lost several thousand taels of silver, I'm so angry and remorseful!"
Upon seeing Song Yi arrive, the shopkeepers didn't give him a friendly look, hurling all sorts of veiled insults. Song Yi's servant was so angry that he clenched his fist.
What did you say?!
"How can you talk like that!"
“Our young master did it all for the East Market. When the West Market opened its food street, who among you saw the potential? It was all thanks to the young master’s good judgment. Besides, you all followed him because you thought it would be profitable.”
"Smiling when you're making money, cursing when you're losing money, have you no shame?"
The servant was so angry he wanted to hit someone. Ever since the shop started losing money, these shopkeepers had been treating his young master like dirt.
They change their minds faster than turning the pages of a book; it's infuriating.
Some well-mannered old shopkeepers also spoke up for Song Yi.
"We can't blame him entirely. He also opened a shop and lost money. If there were a way, wouldn't he want to make money? Let's talk things out and not act like this."
"Ha, the Song family has plenty of money. They can afford to lose, but I can't!"
"That's right. The Song family is rich, but they don't seem to be giving us any financial assistance. They made such nice promises when they were trying to get us to open shops, saying they were afraid of both honor and loss. But how many people can the Song family actually lose?"
"With a fortune of ten thousand taels, losing a few thousand taels is nothing."
"Moreover, he already had several shops on Donglai Street, but he lost money on labor and materials, unlike us who spent thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to buy shops and open them."
"Not to mention the losses in labor and materials, as well as the time and effort we invested, we lost several thousand taels just on the shop rent, while the West Market made a fortune. Not only were the customers thronging the streets, but the shop prices had also increased two or three times."
“We live right next to each other, but while others are in the bustling city center, we are ignored and our shop prices have dropped to one-third.”
"The shop I bought for 10,000 taels of silver immediately lost 6,000 taels. It's strange that out of so many streets, he chose Donglai Street. Maybe he was afraid of losing money because he couldn't compete with the West Market, so he deliberately chose a shop he already owned to reduce his investment..."
"What? The shop he opened was originally his?"
"Well, how dare they scheme against us? Do they really think we're afraid of the Song family..."
As they entered, the crowd was filled with righteous indignation. No matter how Song Yi explained, the shopkeepers wouldn't listen. They simply beat him and threw him out, and then spat at him.
"..."
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