Chapter 48: Capability
Su Yaoguang and her mother came out of the academy and immediately headed to Chun E’s Clothing Shop.
Chun E stood at the door, watching and watching, almost turning into stone, finally seeing that slender figure appear.
"My God of Wealth, you’ve finally shown up." Chun E ran over eagerly, "If you hadn’t appeared, I would’ve kept your Silver to myself."
Su Yaoguang laughed, "Judging by sister’s words, it seems you’ve sold a few bottles."
"What do you mean sold a few bottles? The ones you left with me, they’ve mostly sold out over the past few days, only eight of the largest bottles remain," Chun E said, "Quick, come count them."
Chun E took the mother and daughter to the back room and took a bag out from the cabinet, pouring out the silver ingots from the bag. Additionally, there was a sales ledger next to it.
The ledger was written very meticulously, specifying when things were sold, who they were sold to, and for how much Silver. If Su Yaoguang wanted to check, she could trace all the transactions clearly.
"I found Copper Coin too scattered and inconvenient to carry, so I exchanged it for silver ingots for you. If there’s anything wrong, just let me know."
"Sister’s helped us immensely. Sister is a big-shot Boss in business, how could your ledger be incorrect? Even I didn’t think of so many details."
"My daughter came back and said she met a kind-hearted sister who helped sell goods, really thanks to you for being so enthusiastic in helping us two," Zhang Zhaodi said.
"Aunt, no need to be so polite. Yaoguang also helped me a lot. Besides, I’m not helping for free. Yaoguang is giving me a share!" Chun E covered her mouth and laughed, "By the way, do you have new goods today?"
"Yes, yes, we’ll set up the stall later," Su Yaoguang said, "Before I finish setting up the stall, I’ll choose a few outfits for sister, you hurry up and match them."
Su Yaoguang first pulled out some old goods Chun E had and matched a few outfits, then she let Chun E put them on, and put beautiful makeup on her. Of course, she and Zhang Zhaodi also did their makeup.
Chun E stood in front of the mirror, never getting tired of looking.
"Everyone has a love for beauty. Sister, teach me to do makeup, this look is so pretty, I don’t want to wipe it off."
Su Yaoguang agreed generously, "Alright!"
"By the way, why didn’t I see your sister today? Your sister has unparalleled looks, last time the business benefitted a lot thanks to her help, you should bring her today to attract some business."
"Sister?" Zhang Zhaodi wasn’t aware of Su Yaoguang dressing Zhou Wangshu as a girl to attract business, hearing Chun E mention a sister, she couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
"My sister is otherwise engaged and has traveled far," Su Yaoguang said, "Sister, today I’ll need your help, later you..."
After hearing Su Yaoguang’s words, Chun E readily agreed, "No problem."
All it requires is finding a few people to cheer, once she sets up the stall, let those people help call out a few times, spread the fame, after which they won’t fear business not coming.
Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi had just set up the stall, and people quickly gathered around. With the experience from last time, this time there were a few regulars, plus a few folks helping to hype it up, their business quickly picked up.
Zhang Zhaodi hadn’t seen them do business before, now experiencing it personally, her old face beamed with more wrinkles.
Last time small bottles sold well, this time she made more small bottles of rouge and powder, even smaller than before, and of course, priced at half, indeed selling even better.
"No rush, no rush, we have more stock, line up..." Zhang Zhaodi greeted the customers.
"I like this color, and this one too, it’s really troublesome," a young girl said hesitantly.
"That’s simple," Su Yaoguang laughed, "Buy both. We have smaller bottles here, you can buy one of each, it’s affordable, use this one today, that one tomorrow, and have something new and fresh."
"Little Boss, how do you make your rouge look better than others’? When applied, one’s entire being seems to glow!"
"That’s because sister has good taste and recognizes quality stuff. My formula is ancestral, others can’t find it; you just use it, it will definitely make your skin better and better."
...
After noon, Su Yaoguang started packing up.
Zhang Zhaodi said, "It’s still early!"
"We just got Wang Shu into the academy, lots of things haven’t been prepared for him, while there’s still time, let’s buy the necessary items for him. Also, we’ll prepare some money for him to have on hand."
Now having earned money, Zhang Zhaodi wasn’t stingy anymore. After all, it’s her son-in-law, if he makes a name for himself, the two women will be proud too. If he could outshine Zhong Lanhua’s self-centered son, even better. If not, it doesn’t matter, knowing more words will make him more responsible. For instance, this time, Grandma Su lost out because she couldn’t read.
"Thanks to you, Yaoguang, we sold quite a bit today at our shop, this is your share." Chun E handed a bag of money to her.
"Thank you, sister. Sister, I’ll leave the remaining stock to you to sell. We siblings settle accounts clearly, as per our usual agreement. Is that okay?"
"Remove the ’okay’, let’s continue to collaborate," Chun E said, "If you have time, teach me how to do this makeup, it is just too good-looking. By the way, would you be willing to do bridal makeup? My cousin is getting married, you could do her makeup, style her hair, I’ll give you one hundred cents as wedding money, will it work?"
"Of course," Su Yaoguang said, "such business, feel free to find me, I’d never refuse money!"
"Haha... you really suit my temperament," Chun E finished saying, giving her a time, and asked her to go into town again tomorrow, then follow her cart to the cousin’s house.
Su Yaoguang directly picked out a few men’s outfits from Chun E’s store, then borrowed Chun E’s needle and thread to modify them for Zhou Wangshu on the spot. After her small alterations, the originally ordinary clothes suddenly looked luxurious.
"This fabric was expensive, a few years ago very fashionable, I bought too much, didn’t sell it all, kept it tucked away ever since, now it’s reborn," Chun E said, "Yaoguang sister, can I also modify the remaining clothes according to your style? If they sell, I’ll give you a twenty percent share."
"Sure," Su Yaoguang said, "Sister, feel free to modify them. Once you’re done, place a few wooden models wearing these clothes there. Buyers will see how they look on the wooden models and know the effect, saving time trying on clothes. The wooden models can be faceless, but the shape must be good."
"Yaoguang sister’s brain is really sharp. I’ll do exactly as you said," Chun E said, "Earlier I went to the temple to offer incense, drew a fortune slip, it said I’d meet a benefactor. Now it seems, my benefactor is Yaoguang sister."