Chapter 1676 - 1507: Female Supremacy 11
Qi Gongshuangshuang’s business inspection this time lasted for half a month, far exceeding the expected few days, mainly because several old shopkeepers kept pulling her aside, imparting business wisdom.
Initially, these old shopkeepers believed that once the young lady became the family head, she finally understood the importance of progression and seized the opportunity to teach her useful skills so she could quickly take hold of the family’s business.
However, as they began instructing her, they realized the young lady was simply a genius, learning everything swiftly and applying it effortlessly, bringing them a great sense of accomplishment in teaching her.
Whenever Qi Guanshuangshuang inspected a Qi Guan Family enterprise, she would be pulled aside by the shopkeepers to receive a lesson in business strategies.
Qi Guanshuangshuang was quite moved by the loyalty of these old shopkeepers, as they selflessly and wholeheartedly imparted the lifetime of business experience they had accumulated to her without reservation.
This was an enormous contribution, considering ancient people were extremely stingy with knowledge and experience and disliked passing it onto outsiders; these experiences could even be considered their family treasures.
Due to this, Qi Guanshuangshuang patiently accepted the teachings of these old shopkeepers without haste, learning and inspecting businesses along the way, only returning to Yun City after half a month.
Because prior notification had been sent, when Qi Guanshuangshuang returned, Zhou Bing, Qi Guan Family’s steward, had already opened the main door to welcome her.
After running around outside for many days, Qi Guanshuangshuang was somewhat tired; this body had never practiced Martial Arts and was not physically robust, mainly weakened by the original Qi Gongshuangshuang’s indulgence in revelries.
After running around for half a month, Qi Guanshuangshuang, upon returning, washed up and then had a good long sleep, resting for a full day and a half before feeling rejuvenated.
Upon waking up, with the service of the four Mei Lan Zhu Ju servants, Qi Guanshuangshuang dressed appropriately. Actually, Qi Guanshuangshuang considered dispensing with their services, as she had hands of her own and could do these simple tasks herself.
Upon merely hinting at this intention, the four Mei Lan Zhu Ju servants lined up and knelt, tearfully pleading guilty like flowers drenched in rain, insisting that their poor service had led to Qi Guanshuangshuang’s dissatisfaction, asking her to punish them.
Qi Guanshuangshuang was taken aback by the stunning sight of four handsome men tearfully pleading, and finally, the matter was left unsolved; she continued to accept the care of the four, gradually becoming accustomed to it.
While heading out to eat, Qi Gongshuangshuang felt her slightly weak legs and contemplated putting Martial Arts practice on the agenda.
Always feeling weak, aside from other things, trekking long distances to inspect business would be strenuous, potentially leading to illness from exhaustion on the road, a thought she could not accept.
When Qi Guanshuangshuang awoke, it was already noon, and the meal was richly laid out; while eating, steward Zhou Bing came to report the recent happenings in Yun City.
Indeed, after Qi Guanshuangshuang left, Yun City stirred with two major pieces of news: one involved the Fang Family, and initially, the news of Fang Miaozhen’s reckless gambling that squandered a million taels of the family fortune broke out.
Now, all parents in Yun City would tell their daughters not to follow Fang Family’s second daughter, Fang Miaozhen, who gambled away half of the family’s legacy.
Of course, the claim of half was exaggerated, but losing a quarter of the family’s estate was not overstated; if not for the tearful pleas and obstruction by the Fang Family’s main husband, Fang Miaozhen would have been beaten to death in a fit of rage by her mother!
Apart from the Fang Family’s issue, the second major event involved Boss Zhang, who gambled alongside Fang Miaozhen; yet it engulfed his entire family.
Reportedly, Boss Zhang, while fleeing with the silver swindled from Fang Miaozhen, encountered robbers, and their entire family of over ten members perished, wiped out cleanly, not one was spared.
Upon hearing this, Qi Guanshuangshuang halted, spoon full of porridge in hand, and smirked coldly; the Fang Family indeed acted ruthlessly, going so far as to eliminate an entire family.
Her plan was to have the Fang Family deal with Boss Zhang, such as imprisoning him, leading his family to lose all wealth and fall into poverty, a common method for business families to handle adversaries.
Business families often had officials as backers, making such actions easy to execute.
Qi Gongshuangshuang hadn’t anticipated that the Fang Family would be involved with robbers, much less that the Fang Family would ruthlessly take lives.
It’s said the crime shouldn’t extend to wife and children, yet Boss Zhang’s family included several young children, all killed together.
Despite feeling some pity for a few of the Zhang Family’s children, Qi Gongshuangshuang didn’t overly blame herself; Boss Zhang had compelled many to ruin through his gambling den, relying on Yan Tongzhi’s influence.
Many had not intended to gamble but were lured into it by Boss Zhang, and many more families shattered under his pressure.
The Zhang family members were known for their unruliness outside, though the young ones were innocent, the children of families devastated by Boss Zhang’s coercion were equally innocent, and Boss Zhang had never shown empathy or mercy even once.
Qi Guanshuangshuang took out 300,000 taels and placed them on the table, instructing Zhou Bing, "Deliver these 300,000 taels to the Magistrate.
Request the Magistrate to thoroughly investigate the death of Boss Zhang’s family; as for the direction, whoever in Yun City harbors the deepest hatred toward the Zhang Family is most suspect, follow this lead to catch the murderer."
The four Mei Lan Zhu Ju servants had long been informed of Qi Guanshuangshuang’s plan and understood it was a strategy hitting two targets: dealing with Boss Zhang and the Fang Family.
In the past life, the Fang Family had heavily exerted effort against the Qi Guan Family, with Fang Miaozhen succeeding in defeating Fang Miaqing and claiming Fang Family’s inheritance through merit in annexing Qi Guan Family.
Zhou Bing, as steward and confidant, was naturally included in Qi Guanshuangshuang’s plans; when she returned to rest, Mei Xin, gestured by her, had already revealed her prior calculations to Zhou Bing.
Thus, Zhou Bing knew the 300,000 taels Qi Guanshuangshuang offered was the gain from Fang Miaozhen; Zhou Bing calmly agreed on the surface and retreated to handle the task.
Internally, he felt pride; his mistress’s abilities were formidable, her intellect sharp, utilizing Fang Family’s money to discomfort the Fang Family, calculating against foes without spending a penny - truly impressive!
He had long disliked Fang Miaozhen, who exploited her friendship with the mistress to deceive her; now being dealt with by the mistress was most deserving.
After Zhou Bing departed, Qi Gongshuangshuang instructed Ju Xin, "Ju Xin, send someone to invite Fang Miaqing, the eldest daughter of the Fang Family, to my villa for a flower viewing."
Ju Xin, though perplexed over Qi Guanshuangshuang’s intentions, considering her plan against the Fang Family, wondered why she invited the Fang Family’s eldest daughter to view flowers; what was there to discuss with the Fang Family?