Chapter 171: Discussion
"Grace, here’s eight thousand. It’s the profit from this period—the dividend I promised you. However, I’ve used all my cash to buy the storefront and still need to cover renovations, so I’m a bit short. I’m going to have to ’requisition’ this from you for now. We’ll stick to our original agreement, though. Once we start making a profit, we’ll split everything fifty-fifty."
Hayley pulled a small, cloth-wrapped bundle from her red suitcase. Inside was a thick stack of bills.
Grace stared, dumbfounded. "Hayley, you..."
"Even brothers keep clear accounts. I won’t waste time with pleasantries. We’ll stick to our agreement. I was originally going to wire this to you, but since Mom’s shop is about to open, I just brought it with me."
"The family has five shops now. After rent and employee wages, we probably clear three to five thousand a month. After all, you can’t expect clothing sales to be great every single day."
"Giving you a dividend of a little over ten thousand a year shouldn’t be a problem."
"As for the shop here in Coronet, I’d like your advice. You’re full of ideas and well-read—much more cultured than me, who barely finished a few years of school. I need you to think. Besides selling clothes and the high-end customization you mentioned, what else can we do?"
Hayley waved her hand and spoke bluntly.
Grace preferred talking with straightforward people like this who didn’t beat around the bush.
She wouldn’t refuse the money she was owed. After all, Hayley was right—it’s best to keep clear accounts, even with family.
She didn’t want financial issues to cause conflicts with her brothers and sisters-in-law down the line.
As for suggestions for the clothing store, she actually had plenty.
"Hayley, the shop we bought has two floors. I think we can sell our regular collection on the first floor. On the second floor, we can set up private rooms for high-end custom orders. We’d only offer private fittings and custom designs to clients who spend a certain amount in the store."
"Right now, we only have clothes, which is a bit understated. I think we could add bags and shoes, especially bags."
"There are a lot of wealthy people here in Coronet, and many of them aren’t short on cash. If the bags are well-made, they could sell for a high price."
"Of course, the style and craftsmanship have to be top-notch."
"That’s where I can’t help much. Your best bet is to find a master craftsman who specializes in this. If Lily can do it, that would work too. But she’s just one person, so the quantity would be limited. I suggest we partner with a reliable tailor shop. That would make things much easier for us."
Grace shared all of her ideas with Hayley.
Even before Hayley came to Coronet, Grace had already formulated a detailed plan.
Even if Hayley hadn’t come, she had planned to open her own clothing store for custom designs once she had the money.
Moreover, she was thinking of finding experienced old tailors to be the resident experts at the shop. There were quite a few people like that around; as long as the terms were right, finding a few wouldn’t be a problem.
Hayley’s eyes lit up when she heard this. She hugged Grace and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "My dear sister is the clever one! I never would have thought of this. I absolutely adore you!"
"Don’t you worry. Once I start making money, I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of. You’ll get every penny you’re owed."
"Grace, you really are our family’s little good luck charm!"
Grace was a little dazed by Hayley’s enthusiasm.
She touched her cheek, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Afterward, she and Hayley discussed handbag styles.
Grace could recall quite a few classic handbag designs.
Especially the heritage-style bags that became wildly popular later on, like lacquerware bags and several other expensive designs made with traditional craftsmanship.
She only knew their general appearance and could sketch the designs from memory, but she had no idea about their internal construction.
She didn’t normally use a bag herself—just a simple crossbody bag when she went grocery shopping. But this wasn’t a problem for Hayley, who could find professional craftsmen to make them.
As long as they had a design sketch, the internal structure would be easily handled.
"Grace, you really are my little money-maker," Hayley exclaimed again.
She carefully put away the sketches Grace had drawn, then thought for a moment before asking, "How many days do you have off? Do you have to go back to class soon?"
"Yeah, we have to go back tonight. Classes start tomorrow," Grace nodded.
"That’s a shame. Once you’re back in class, we’ll stay for another two days to look around, and then we have to head back too. Your little nephews have school, and we can’t have them miss that much."
"When the time is right, we’ll come back to handle their school transfers. It should be easier since we have property here."
Back then, household registration wasn’t as complicated as it would become later. If you owned property, transferring your registration was quite simple.
Grace had several properties in her name, Irene Lynch and Gregory Winslow had one, and Nolan Winslow and Lily Callahan had one as well. All they needed was to get a certificate from their local neighborhood committee back home, which was very convenient.
After dinner, Grace and Joanne Chase went back to the university.
Irene Lynch had packed them a ton of food and drinks, stuffing their bags full.
When they got back to the dorm, the few classmates who hadn’t gone home all turned to look.
Everyone knew Joanne Chase had latched onto Grace, following her around everywhere lately. They just hadn’t expected her to follow Grace home for the holiday.
They noticed she was wearing new clothes and new shoes and had even scored free meals at Grace’s house.
A few of them couldn’t help but feel jealous.
But having learned their lesson from Pearl Thorne, they didn’t dare say anything. They just looked down on Joanne in their hearts.
Joanne naturally sensed her roommates’ hostility, but she didn’t care.
The only friend she cared about was Grace.
Back at school, Grace immediately dove back into her studies.
Joanne, still thinking about Irene Lynch’s shop, would run over to help out in her spare time between classes.
Luckily, the shop wasn’t far. She could help out during the day and return to the dorm to sleep at night.
Grace didn’t say anything when she found out.
Irene Lynch would pay Joanne a wage. Joanne was putting in the work and getting paid for it, which would make her life much easier. It was a win-win situation, so of course Grace wouldn’t object.
Time passed quickly. Irene Lynch’s shop was booming. She also successfully found two apprentices to share some of the workload, which made things less tiring for her.
Joanne continued to help out every day and went home with Grace on the weekends. It was as if she had completely come to see Grace and her family as her own.
The Qingming Festival had just ended, followed by Labor Day and Youth Day. It wasn’t a long break, but for university students whose lives were a monotonous line between two points, any holiday was a rare chance to breathe.
Even a super-achiever like Grace was happy about the upcoming break.
But her cheerful mood evaporated the moment she reached the school gate.
Joanne’s parents had come all the way from their hometown to the university.