Chapter 439 - 158: Shopping_2
Ruo Lan felt fortunate on Yueyao’s behalf, for her aunt had arranged a good marriage for her, and she immediately said, "Luckily, Yueyao is engaged to the second son of the Shen family. She won’t be the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law nor will she have to manage the household provisions. It is indeed a great fortune amidst misfortune. As long as the parents of the Shen family are alive, they will not split the family. When the elders of the Shen family pass away after two or three decades, by then, their children will have grown up and the provisions can be handed over to the daughters-in-law."
Yueyao was amazed at how far ahead Ruo Lan had thought for her. Yueyao had never shopped in her past life, and even the two shops were her first visit in two lifetimes.
East Street was the busiest area in the Capital City, devoid of peddlers calling out beside the road. Both sides were lined with various shops, including rouge and powder stores, gold and silver jewelry shops, and stores selling western goods. The patrons coming in and out of these shops were all respectable people dressed in silk and satin.
Yueyao went directly to her own shop.
The shopkeeper received sudden news yesterday that the master was not going to do business and wanted to liquidate the shop, which shocked the two shopkeepers so much it felt like a bolt from the blue. They immediately sent a note to Lian Mansion, only to be informed that the Third Young Lady had gone to the Ma’s Mansion.
The shopkeeper knew it was bad news from the start, as the astuteness of Madam Zhuang, the Eldest Young Madam of the Ma Family, was well-known to him. But he held a stroke of hope that the people from the Ma’s Mansion would not interfere. However, as soon as he submitted the note requesting to see Yueyao, he knew he was not so lucky. The Eldest Young Madam of the Ma Family did not even meet her, merely sent word to tidy up the shop’s inventory and said nothing else.
The shopkeeper didn’t sleep all night, and more white hair appeared by morning. Upon hearing that Yueyao was coming, he was overjoyed and hurried to meet her.
Listening to the shopkeeper’s reluctance to let go of the shop’s business and mentioning that the shop was making a good profit, Yueyao’s face showed scorn as she spoke, "The shop is making a good profit, but I am afraid if you continue running it, I will have to subsidize it with my silver every year."
The shopkeeper shuddered, initially grateful that the young lady was inexperienced in household affairs, but now it was clear to him that she understood everything, which was why she no longer wished to do business. The shopkeeper was filled with regret; if only he hadn’t been so greedy, just maintaining the normal profits from previous years would have sufficed for the shop to sustain itself smoothly. He hurriedly said, "Young lady, rest assured, I will certainly manage the shop carefully. I will make the shop more profitable, and there won’t be a repeat of last year. Young lady, the business is really good, it has made quite a lot in just these past few months."
Yueyao didn’t want to waste words with him and directly said, "Once untrustworthy, always useless. Do you really think I am a fool? I just couldn’t be bothered to settle the accounts."
The shopkeeper’s face turned pale.
Yueyao had the shopkeeper’s indenture in her hand, and she did not want to break relations completely, making both parties look bad. Yueyao did not want to push things to the limit, nor did she want to drive the other party to ruin, as she believed in leaving a margin in matters.