Chapter 117: Business Flourishes
In just a little over ten days, Jinxiu Garden and Bu Xian Lou had become the talk of all Jingling City. Every day, groups of people waited outside the gates of Jinxiu Garden, trying their luck to see if they could go in for a cup of tea.
Wei Yi, Yun Chun, and the other tea attendants had also won themselves a following in a very short span of time. There were even people who quarreled heatedly over which tea attendant possessed the better tea-brewing skill.
Each day, Steward Qin looked through the account books and felt his heart pound in alarm. He had never imagined that selling tea could bring in such enormous profit. In only a little over ten days, there had already been more than ten thousand taels in revenue—and that was still with the early opening restrictions in place, when invitation cards limited the number of guests entering Jinxiu Garden. Otherwise, they might have earned even more.
Mu Yunyao was in the tea room examining a newly delivered batch of tea leaves. All of them had been dried and roasted according to her own methods. Each leaf had been handled with extraordinary care, and its fragrance was so rich that it was especially pleasing.
Jin Lan came in to report, “Miss, Steward Qin has arrived.”
“Show him in,” Mu Yunyao said, rising to go out and meet him.
Steward Qin bowed. “Miss.”
By now, Steward Qin’s admiration for Mu Yunyao had long since reached its peak. More than once, he had written letters praising her, constantly urging Old Cheng to beat the drum a little louder and encourage Wang Ye to bring this little golden treasure into the residence as soon as possible.
“Miss, here are the accounts from these past days. Would you like to take a look?”
“Are the accounts not usually settled at the end of the month?” Mu Yunyao asked in surprise as she took the ledger. Since it had earlier been agreed that she and Yue Wang would divide the profits four-sixths, the accounts were normally only balanced at month’s end. Seeing Steward Qin bring the account book to her now, she could not help but wonder.
“Miss, just look—these past thirteen days alone, Jinxiu Garden has netted fifteen thousand taels of silver!”
Mu Yunyao took the account book and turned through it. She was not especially surprised.
Those who could afford to appreciate tea were, by and large, people of some means. For that reason, she had never been soft in setting prices. The most expensive lotus tea dew was sold at three taels per pot. After all, even men like Governor Zhang had drunk it and praised it without ceasing; naturally, it could not be priced as common tea.
For ordinary folk, three taels of silver could sustain a family of three for half a year. But to wealthy households, it was scarcely worth a thought—no more than the sort of coin one might toss away as a casual tip.
Thus, every guest entering Jinxiu Garden spent at least four or five taels each day. How much silver it would bring in over the course of a month had always been within her estimates, so after reading the ledger, she remained calm.
Seeing how little the numbers moved her, Steward Qin did not know how to react. He had expected her to be startled, yet she was even steadier than he was, which left him with the distinct feeling that he was the one who had never seen the world.
“Showing Miss the account book was only incidental. In truth, I wished to discuss something with Miss. Would it be possible for us to settle the accounts every half-month instead? Wang Ye resides rather far away, and when the silver accumulates too much, it becomes inconvenient to send.”
“That is fine. So long as the accounts are clear, it makes no difference how they are settled.”
Mu Yunyao kept her expression unchanged, but many thoughts flashed through her mind.
Steward Qin would not have said such a thing without reason. If silver were inconvenient to transport, it could simply be exchanged for banknotes. There was nothing truly inconvenient about that. The only real possibility was that Yue Wang lacked money—and lacked it badly.
“I have just thought of another matter I wish to discuss with Steward Qin.”
“Please speak, Miss.”
“Each day, when we roast and process the tea, quite a lot of broken leaves are sifted out. Those leaves are of little use if kept, and selling them would not bring in much silver. So I thought of setting up tea stalls along certain official roads and at the docks. Anyone could pay one copper coin and drink tea as much as they pleased. It would make things convenient for travelers and bring us some good reputation besides.”
Steward Qin nodded. “Miss truly has a kind heart.”
“It is only a small matter within our means. Why would we not do it? Though we must also be careful. There are already tea sellers at many of the docks. Even if we are doing a good deed, we cannot disrupt other people’s livelihood.”
“I understand. I will have people pay special attention to that.”
If they were to do well, they should do so as properly as possible and avoid stirring resentment in others.
Steward Qin moved quickly. In only two days, tea stalls had been set up in many places: a single pot, a tin of tea, a stack of black porcelain bowls, a few tables, and benches. The arrangement was simple, yet it won Mu Yunyao and Bu Xian Lou a flood of praise.
Unexpectedly, the tea stalls at the docks also brought many merchants to Bu Xian Lou. After witnessing the tea-brewing skill there, those merchants began seeking out Steward Qin one after another to discuss purchasing tea leaves directly from them.
Naturally, Steward Qin had no reason to refuse. In only a short while, nearly twenty thousand taels’ worth of tea leaves had been sold.
Another letter from Yue Wang reached Mu Yunyao’s hands. This one was even briefer than the last, containing only two words:
Rest easy.
Looking at the two characters, sharp as blades upon the page, Mu Yunyao could not help thinking that Yue Wang truly valued each word like gold. She had sent him twenty thousand taels in banknotes, only to receive two words in return. Yet at the same time, she could not help recalling her earlier suspicions.
Could it be that Yue Wang truly lacked silver?
By the time she first met Yue Wang in her previous life, she had already become a concubine in Jin Wang’s household. At that time, the Emperor’s health had been failing, and the princes of the court were all fighting one another until their eyes had gone red. By the time Yue Wang returned to the capital, the Emperor had already become too ill to attend court and had even ordered Yue Wang to command the Imperial Guards in defense of the palace.
Jin Wang and the others had been deeply wary of Yue Wang. Before that, however, his circumstances did indeed seem poor. In court, he had almost no presence to speak of. When Jin Wang mentioned him, it was always with disdain and mockery.
It seemed she ought to find some way of learning more about Yue Wang. In any case, she already knew that in three years, he would rise magnificently. If his present situation was truly difficult, there was no harm in offering him some support now. Perhaps it might even bring her an unexpected return.
Steward Qin received Old Cheng’s reply and was so delighted he could scarcely contain himself. He turned to Yu Yi, who stood at one side.
“You are saying that after receiving Miss Mu’s letter, Master spoke outright of protecting his own people?”
Would that not mean that Master, too, had feelings for Miss Mu?
Yu Yi could not help but carefully reconsider his own words. “I heard from Yu Heng that Master’s meaning was that he wished to protect what belonged to him. I imagine he was referring to Ni Yun Fang?”
“Objects are dead; people are alive. How could objects be more important than people? Master’s meaning is surely that we must protect Miss Mu well!”
Steward Qin shot Yu Yi a sidelong glance. This man, just like Yu Heng, was hopelessly rigid of mind.
Yu Yi studied Steward Qin’s expression and decided that perhaps it was wiser not to argue. He immediately changed the subject in an awkwardly abrupt way.
“Steward Qin, I see that business at Jinxiu Garden seems extraordinarily good.”
“It is all thanks to Miss Mu. From the very first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was no ordinary person. Where would you find someone so full of spirit and grace?” The moment the topic turned to Mu Yunyao, Steward Qin’s face lit with a smile, and he praised her without pause. “You have not had the good fortune to drink tea brewed by Miss Mu herself. Wei Yi and Yun Chun are still far from it. At the time—”
Yu Yi found himself at a loss. In the past, whenever he met Steward Qin, the man did nothing but ask after Master’s circumstances. But now he did nothing but praise someone else. If not for knowing that Steward Qin’s loyalty to Master was beyond question, Yu Yi might have suspected him of having already been bought over.
I wish I had half of Mu Yunyao's skills in business even in this modern era.
ReplyDeleteGood point!
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