Le Yuanhou’s Mansion.
The night was gradually deepening, but the Shuyu Pavilion in Le Yuanhou’s Mansion was still brightly lit.
The best courtyard in Le Yuanhou’s Mansion is this Shuyu Pavilion, reserved for his beloved eldest daughter, Li Junyao, who had lost her mother when she was young. Even after the marquis remarried and had a son and daughter with his second wife from the Zhong family, Li Junyao remained the most favored one.
Not only was she favored by the old lady, but also the marquis, out of respect for his deceased wife, never had the heart to criticize her. Raised with such indulgence, she was pampered from a young age, regarded as a precious gem. Not to mention, she had Madam Duan, a loving aunt.
Just from the furnishing and decoration of the Shuyu Pavilion, it is clear that Li Junyao, though of average appearance and character, could be seen as the most well-off lady in the capital city. She might be pampered and arrogant, but she loved to be adored and could not be offended at all.
No wonder she would get angry over such a little thing.
"Miss, I specifically visited Ruifu Building, the servant who received Young Master Duan that day did say that the young master did bring a girl and indeed presented her with the peony lamp," Lu Lan hurriedly reported after she entered.
Li Junyao sneered, "Just like I thought! Who’s that shameless hussy!?"
"The information I got is that the woman does not seem to be a native of the capital city. She came here for business," Lu Lan reported.
A businesswoman?" Li Junyao frowned.
"Yes, it appears she is in the grape wine business. Her name is Ji Xinhe. She has teamed up with Guilin Home, and they invited her to the capital. It seems her store is about to open, and grape wine is included," Lu Lan truthfully recounted.
Li Junyao snorted, "Turns out she’s just a mere merchant. I thought she was something more. A lowly maid dares to seduce my fiance, has she not heard of my reputation?!"
"I have had someone look into Ji Xinhe’s background, it was nothing more than a simple peasant girl with no foundation. If Miss wants to deal with her, it would be very easy and wouldn’t take any effort," Lu Lan confidently added.
Li Junyao pounded her fist on the table, "How dare she embarrass me! I’ll let her see what she truly is! Does a sparrow expect to become a phoenix? A contemptible merchant, she really has the nerve!"
"So the Miss means..."
Li Junyao chuckled coldly and said maliciously, "She sells grape wine, right? Just in time, I was worried about there being no fun for my birthday. Order her grape wine, make sure she is the one to deliver it."
Lu Lan nodded her head in a knowing manner, "I understand, Miss, you can rest assured."
Li Junyao tugged at the handkerchief on her hand and threw it onto the floor, "You lowly hussy! Dared to seduce my fiance, I will make sure you pay!"
——
Perhaps the days had been busy and fulfilling, time had passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed. The workshop had produced a lot of pickled canned food and grape wine, enough goods, and the store had been renovated, just waiting for the opening.
Ji Xinhe decided that it should be done in these two days.
Almost every day during this period, Marquis Mu Houchu came straight to her house after the morning court session. Not one of her useless servants dared to stop him. Ji Xinhe was frustrated, but too busy with the store to argue with him, so she let him be. Anyway, he would go back to his mansion at night.
The store’s space was large, probably three or four times the size of the one in Lian’an Town. The decor was tasteful and stylish, with clear divisions of pickles area, canned food area, and grape wine area, all marked with signs, giving a clear and elegant view at a glance. All the furnishings in the store were personally arranged by Ji Xinhe.
For the opening of the store, she selected five agile servants from her own home to help manage the store. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to handle the workload during the opening days.
Early in the morning, while Ji Xinhe was arranging for a boy servant to clean the store, Master Liu, the owner of Guilin Home, personally dropped by.
The moment Master Liu entered the store, he admired, "This is a nice shop. I’m sure the business will thrive once it opens."
Ji Xinhe smiled and said, "I hope your kind words come true, Master Liu. Please step inside."
Master Liu, with his big belly, walked in following Ji Xinhe to the teahouse inside the store.
A boy servant then served tea: "Miss, Master Liu, please drink."
Ji Xinhe took a seat, took a sip of her tea, and then asked with a smile, "Master Liu, may I ask why you are here today?"
Master Liu chuckled. This girl still asked why? Was it necessary for him to mention it at first?
This girl was really cunning. Whoever spoke first would naturally seem inferior. The initiative of this partnership would then lean towards the other party.
Master Liu laughed helplessly and had no choice but to say: "Your store is about to open, so I was thinking, since Guilin Home and Qinghe Shop are partners, isn’t it time to start supplying the grape wine?"
Ji Xinhe didn’t look surprised at all, she had anticipated that he would mention this. She just smiled and said, "Of course we should. But I wonder if Master Liu minds the conditions I set."
The conditions Ji Xinhe mentioned were, of course, the agreement she had previously signed with Wu Zhanggui of Lian’an Town, that she would get 80% of the profits from selling grape wine in Guilin Home, and she would only supply three hundred jin per month.
However, this agreement only applied to Wu Zhanggui in Lian’an Town, if we are talking about Guilin Home in the capital city, a new agreement would have to be signed.
Master Liu hadn’t come to see her all this time because he wanted to keep Ji Xinhe waiting, hoping she’d take the initiative to ask him, so he might gain a bit of profit. Who knew that this girl could resist temptation much better than him and didn’t even come to see him for half a month. Seeing the shop about to open soon, Master Liu had no choice but to come today no matter what.
Looking at Ji Xinhe’s aloof manner, it seemed that she wouldn’t compromise at all.
Master Liu said regretfully, "Honestly, Miss Ji, the conditions you proposed before are a little too high. It puts me in a tough situation."
Ji Xinhe suppressed her laughter and said, "Master Liu, we’re talking business here. I don’t want to beat about the bush. Whoever gets the benefits will get them, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Guilin Home. Since you’ve come to me, you must have made up your mind. So there’s no need for more testing or guessing. Let me be straight with you, my conditions are 80% of the profits and supply 300 jin a month. So, Master Liu, will you agree or not?"
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