Free Web NovelChapter 143: Chapter 143
Chapter 143
"Qin Yueqian!" The leader of the Qin family could no longer contain his fury after being accused with such harsh words. He roared his daughter’s name with a fierce and terrifying demeanor.
If it had been anyone else in the Qin family hearing this tone, they would likely have been scared to death. However, Qin Yueqian was not like the others. Not only was she unafraid, but the corners of her mouth also lifted in a defiant smile.
Seeing his daughter mocking him like that, Qin Majiao felt a severe headache. Ever since he became a high-ranking official, aside from the officials aligned with the Crown Prince, he had never encountered anyone daring to challenge him in this manner before.
No, even the Crown Prince’s officials maintained their decorum. It was only Qin Yueqian, a worthless woman who grew up in his Qin family, who dared to defy him like this.
"Fine. Since you want it, take your mother’s dowry back. But... you should know that when doing business, you can’t just sit back and do nothing. If you don’t manage it well, the shops will soon lose their customers and will easily go out of business," Qin Majiao threatened.
Although he wasn’t great at business, he still wielded considerable power. It wouldn’t be hard for him to ruin a successful shop. All he had to do was announce that the shop belonged to the villainous Yueqian, and anyone who patronized it was supporting her wickedness.
With that, her shop would suffer greatly. Eventually, she would come begging for them to take over the business because she wouldn’t be able to handle the taxes.
Fine, giving her the shops today was just for show. They would see who would emerge victorious later.
Of course, Qin Majiao planned to retaliate against this little villain, unaware that he would soon be the one spitting blood!
Yueqian didn’t reveal that she saw through the other party’s plan. To obtain her mother’s dowry first, she remained silent and feigned happiness like a fool.
"Thank you. Now, Mother won’t have to worry. I’ll have money to buy servants," Yueqian hugged her mother. Ailing’s expression seemed to improve significantly as well.
Though she played along with the family head and Furen Deng, everyone knew that Ailing genuinely cared for Yueqian. Hearing that her daughter would have servants following her and wouldn’t live in poverty anymore, her face naturally brightened.
However, Qin Majiao was not satisfied with just this. He didn’t want Qin Yueqian to leave just like that. What he wanted was for her to return as a member of the Qin family and marry Young General who had vowed to keep the position of his principal wife for her.
But the situation now couldn’t be meddled with any further. Even Furen Deng remained silent, so there was nothing more he could do. Soon, Yueqian left with Miss Tang, leaving Qin Majiao and Furen Deng to plan again for the future.
"You’ve got the shops now. Your life should improve from here on, right?" Tang Mujin said happily. Even the Tang family’s servants who overheard couldn’t help but smile in delight.
Everyone knew that Eldest Young Miss Qin was their master’s benefactor. So when they visited Yueqian’s small manor, they didn’t show any aggressive behavior.
"I suppose so. By the way... are you interested in managing a skincare business?" Yueqian asked her friend casually, but Tang Mujin raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Hmm? Why are you asking about that?"
"Oh, it’s nothing much. If you want to manage a skincare shop, I could sell my mother’s dowry shops to you."
"Eh!! What are you saying? How could you sell them to me? Those shops are your mother’s dowry. If you sell them, what will you give your daughter as dowry in the future? And what about the profits you could make?!" Tang Mujin was taken aback. Her friend had just received the shops from her mother and now wanted to sell them?
"It’s alright. If you don’t want to buy them, I’ll sell them back to the Li family. They can manage the business better, and they are trustworthy. I’ll sell them at a fair price, but I’ll arrange for them to send a portion of the profits to my mother each month for her expenses," Yueqian calculated.
She herself wasn’t troubled about money. Her business dealings with the Art Institute brought in profits far exceeding the income from her mother’s dowry. Thus, she didn’t care much about it.
However, not caring didn’t mean she would let the rights that belonged to her and her mother disappear! She knew exactly how despicable the Qin family was. She knew why they coveted her mother’s dowry. Given her vile father’s behavior, Yueqian knew she had to act quickly. Otherwise, she might lose all the dowry again.
Furthermore, by selling the rights back to the Li family, her mother’s original family, she would receive gold coins that she could exchange in her own department stores. Gold was highly valuable in the department stores, so the more gold coins she had, the better for her.
Additionally, she and her mother knew well how the Li family operated. They were smart and fiercely loyal. When her mother married that despicable man, they provided her with several important shops to ensure she had a stronger position in the Qin family. And it worked, as the Qin family’s wealth had been supported by her mother’s contributions.
If she sold the shops back to them and made a profit-sharing agreement for Ailing until her death, she believed they would be the only one group she could trust to honor such a contract.
The Li family’s members were merchants who highly valued keeping their word. Otherwise, how would they become wealthy enough for the Qin family to seek alliances with them?In this era, commerce was considered a disreputable profession. Typically, the primary wife positions in noble families were given to the daughters of important officials, while concubines would be assigned to descendants of merchants or their less significant sons, who would be married off as sons-in-law. This arrangement was intended to leverage the power of wealth behind them.
However, the Qin family was very clever. They weren’t originally a great family. They showed their sincerity by proposing to Li Ailing as the primary wife for their eldest son. Consequently, the Li family had to reciprocate with sincerity. They knew that officials sought their daughters for specific reasons. They weren’t foolish and, of course, they loved their daughters.
For her to escape being merely a merchant’s daughter, potentially destined to be a powerful official’s concubine, they allowed her to marry into the Qin family, which was full of scoundrels. Fortunately, they had taught Ailing well, ensuring she wasn’t a fool. hus, they were confident that she would manage to survive and thrive. Even Qin Majiao probably didn’t know about this hidden intelligence!
"Yueqian, so you truly care for your mother this much." Tang Mujin was almost moved to tears. If she had assets like shops, which could generate profit for herself, would she think of selling them to maintain the business and still have income to send to her mother?
The only person who could think like this was her Yueqian!
Having always trusted her friend, Tang Mujin now felt she trusted Qin Yueqian even more. Her friend was the smartest and the best daughter.
"Don’t act like that. Just tell me if you want to buy a shop for your dowry when you get married," Yueqian asked again. Tang Mujin was from the Tang family, hich had the lineage of a noble daughter. Her mother was also a noble’s daughter, with a dowry of clothes, jewelry, and valuable items that didn’t generate income for them at all.
It would be better for her to have a shop under her own management, providing a steady income in the future, unlike the dowry which was sold piece by piece, as her mother had done.
"But I have no knowledge in this field. I..." Tang Mujin understood what Yueqian was saying. If she had a shop to manage, her life would be less difficult. However, she had no business knowledge, unlike Yueqian’s mother or Yueqian herself, who had Li family blood. Everything they touched turned to gold, and their businesses thrived.
"That’s why I’m offering you a skincare shop. You don’t need any business skills. Just stock the products, and people will come to buy them." In the capital, especially among women, there was always a demand for skincare products, whether for nourishment or makeup. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Skincare shops are numerous, and all of them sell well. There’s no need to compete with anyone. There are too many women in the capital, and sometimes skincare products sell out so quickly that there isn’t enough to meet demand.
Yueqian planned for her friend to manage this business. On occasion, she might send some products to Mujin to sell. As for knowledge about cosmetics, it wasn’t like she didn’t have any. Although she was more interested in poison, making poisons required at least some knowledge of herbs.
In this area, she could help her friend. However, she had no ability to assist with jewelry shops, clothing stores, or stationery shops.
"R-Really? How much will you sell it to me for? I-I don’t have much money."
"In that case, just give me what you have. Sell any jewelry you bought but don’t wear. Those things aren’t useful in the long run. You can also sell the clothes you wore when you were younger. Keeping them only means they’ll go to waste."
"C-Clothes can be sold? I’ve worn them already. Who would want them?" Tang Mujin was shocked. She didn’t quite understand Yueqian’s thinking. Besides, the clothes had already been worn by her. How could they be sold?
"Why can’t they be sold? Good-quality clothes just need to be priced a bit lower than the normal ones. Don’t small noble families have children? Have someone sell them secretly to those families. If no one knows they’re used, who would find out?" Yueqian advised.
"But..."
"Don’t you trust me? Have you ever seen any of my old clothes from when I was a child?"
"Well, no, I haven’t..." Tang Mujin replied, her eyes widening. She couldn’t believe her friend had been trading like this before recommending it to her! This was a secret she was just now learning about her friend!
This proved Yueqian’s keen business sense. Her friend was exceptionally talented and the best. Others often saw Yueqian as foolish and clueless, but in reality, her friend had come up with these ideas since she was young. If such a person is considered foolish, then what should be said about the Qin family, who failed in business?
"Yueqian, tomorrow I will sell all my childhood clothes. I will use the money to buy your skincare shop!" Tang Mujin declared confidently.
She acted as if she had grasped some profound wisdom. Only Yueqian shook her head. Well... she had previously considered buying unused clothes from noble households to resell. If it weren’t for the hassle and the risk of raising suspicion about who was behind the trade, she wouldn’t have let such a money-making opportunity slip away.
In the era she came from, selling second-hand clothes was common, and this type of business was so prevalent that the price of good-quality fabric had dropped by more than half! However, no one was doing that here yet. People wearing these clothes were confident that no one would know they had bought second-hand garments, so they offered fairly good prices, with only a small reduction from the original price, ensuring significant profits.There are plenty of business opportunities in this era, depending on whether anyone is willing to take them or if they remain stuck in outdated notions, like the fake nobility of the Qin family!
