For wealthy ladies and young women, a tael of silver was not a large sum. They were very interested in this novel cloth bag and inquired about where they could buy it.
Upon learning that the silver shop sold these cloth bags, the women rushed over to buy them.
As soon as they entered the shop, they eagerly said to Manager Duan, "Manager, I want to buy that cloth bag that costs one tael of silver."
Shopkeeper Duan shook his head regretfully: "I'm so sorry, sir, the bags are all sold out."
"Oh dear, how come they're sold out so quickly?" the woman said regretfully. "I really wanted to buy one."
Seeing the situation, Manager Duan's eyes lit up and he quickly came up with a plan.
He smiled and said to the woman, "Madam, if you really want it, you might as well leave a deposit. I'll hold it for you as soon as the new stock arrives."
Upon hearing this, the woman thought it was a good idea and immediately left a deposit, saying, "Okay, I'll buy five to give to my family."
Thus, thanks to their quick wit and ingenious marketing strategies, the Duan family's shop became incredibly successful.
Customers flocked to these unique cloth bags, placing orders one after another. Manager Duan happily collected the deposits and wrote them down: "Madam An ordered five cloth bags, Madam Li ordered two cloth bags..."
After the shop closed that day, Duan Dayi quickly organized the profits from the sale and the day's accounts, put them in a bag, and then rushed to the Lin residence without stopping.
Upon arriving at the Lin residence, Duan Dayi happily and carefully handed the heavy bag and account book to his wife, Madam Ma, solemnly instructing her, "Old woman, this is today's shop profit and account book. You must keep it safe and remember to give it to Miss later."
His face was beaming with a wide smile, his mouth practically stretching to his ears. "Haha, old woman, do you know what? Business at the Silver Shop is booming! All those cloth bags are sold out, and we've also sold over a hundred pieces of jewelry!"
Duan Dayi was very excited. "Old woman, let me tell you, you should quickly ask the master to bring more cloth bags to sell. Quite a few people have paid deposits to buy those bags. If you make the packaging more exquisite, you can definitely sell them for a better price!"
Seeing her husband's overjoyed expression, Madam Ma couldn't help but laugh as well. "Alright, husband, I understand. I'll tell Miss in a bit." She took the bag and account book, replying happily, "Husband, you've really worked hard today!"
Duan Dayi waved his hand and laughed heartily, "Not at all, not at all! This is nothing! I'm overjoyed to have such good business!" With that, he turned and walked away, calling back as he went, "I'm leaving now, I have to open the shop first thing tomorrow morning!"
"Take care, my lord." After watching Duan Dayi leave, Madam Ma picked up the bag and account book and hurried back to the west wing of the inner courtyard.
"Miss, this is the shop's profit for today," Ma said softly, handing the bag and ledger to Lin Yajun.
She put the bag aside and said to Madam Ma, "Madam Ma, the shop's profits are a secret, and no one can be told about them."
Madam Ma quickly replied, "I understand, Miss. My husband is very discreet and will never tell anyone."
Mr. Ma also knew that there was fierce competition in the business, and the prices of the goods he sold were a secret and could not be revealed to outsiders.
Lin Yajun then carefully examined the ledger, and the numbers on it made her eyes widen in disbelief—she had actually earned more than three hundred taels of silver in one day!
This figure far exceeded her expectations; she thought the shop could only earn a hundred taels of silver a day at most.
Lin Yajun couldn't help but be secretly surprised: "This shop's business is so good, and the profits are so high, why would that family still sell the shop?"
She opened it, glanced at the silver inside, and praised with satisfaction, "Manager Duan is so capable."
She decided to offer Duan Dayi and his son a generous wage. She smiled and said, "Starting this month, each of them will earn twenty-five taels of silver per month. At the end of the year, I will give them bonuses based on the shop's performance."
Upon hearing this, Madam Ma was overjoyed and beamed with delight. She quickly said, "Thank you, Miss. We will definitely do our best to manage the shop for you from now on!"
Lin Yajun also knew about their family situation. She knew that the four of them lived in a dilapidated house in a large courtyard, where they ate, drank, relieved themselves, and slept all in that run-down little house.
So she offered, “I will pay you six months’ wages, a total of six hundred taels. You can use this money to buy a small courtyard so that your family can live more comfortably.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Ma was moved to tears. She knelt down with a thud, kowtowed deeply, and said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Miss! You are truly a benefactor to our family!"
With this money, the family could finally own their own courtyard in Beijing, which was undoubtedly great news for them.
Lin Yajun held the cloth bag in her hands and walked lightly to Xu Shi. She then gently placed the heavy cloth bag in Xu Shi's hands and said in a low voice, "Mother, this is the money the shop earned today."
"Did you settle the bill today?" Madam Xu looked at her daughter with suspicion. When she opened the cloth bag and saw the gleaming silver inside, her eyes widened in astonishment. "Good heavens, can you earn so much silver in a day?"
Madam Xu could hardly believe her eyes. She quickly counted them and found a full five hundred taels of silver!
The rice shop that Madam Xu used to run only earned five hundred taels of silver a year. How could she not be shocked that her daughter had earned so much money in a single day?
Seeing her mother's surprised expression, Lin Yajun quickly explained, "Mother, we found a great shop. The Duan family father and son are good at business, and the shop is doing incredibly well, which is why we made so much money today. But please don't tell anyone about this."
"I won't tell, Mother won't tell." Madam Xu nodded repeatedly, indicating that she would definitely keep this secret.
She clutched the silver pouch tightly and said to Lin Yajun with emotion, "Daughter, you are so capable! You are our family's lucky star!"
"Ah Jun is lucky. He made so much money in one day by buying a prime shop. It's really amazing."
Mrs. Xu showered Lin Yajun with praise, making Lin Yajun smile shyly. She had never been praised like this before.
The more Mrs. Xu thought about it, the more she felt that her daughter was truly remarkable. Not only did she drive away the annoying second wife, but she was also a shrewd businesswoman. This made her exclaim, "My daughter is becoming more and more capable!"
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