Brother Ninth fell into deep thought.
After a while, Brother Jiu thought of the key point: "I understand...the more people gather together, the more choices they have, the more willing the guests are to go. If you get tired of this one, go to that one... The same goes for silk and satin shops, no. Maybe every store has the same inventory, but this store doesn’t have all the items. If you buy it next door, you don’t have to go to the next door..."
"Perhaps this is the shopkeeper's first time in charge..."
Because it was the manpower provided by his maternal family, Brother Jiu was partial, so he still said something helpful.
Shu Shu didn't say anything, stood up, went into the room, and came out holding a large jewelry box.
The jewelry box was opened and divided into two layers.
Shu Shu picked up an ordinary style of filigree gold flowers and handed it to Brother Jiu: "I have been to Qianjinfang several times before and have seen the jewelry on the cabinet... Look at this, it is similar to the inventory of Qianjinfang before. What’s the difference…”
Brother Jiu recognized Shu Shu's ability in his heart, but he didn't argue anymore. He took the filigree flower and looked at it carefully. He hesitated and said, "This one is more exquisite? It doesn't use much gold, so the selling price shouldn't be too high." High! The earlier ones from Qianjinfang were not exquisite in style? Were they too heavy in weight?"
Shu Shu nodded and said: "When I was cleaning up Qianjinfang in April, I also listened to what I said to shopkeeper Hou... When selling things, you need to find the right buyer... Shang Jian, an older generation of the Eight Banners, is like me. People of Enie's generation usually wear their hair in a bun, and don't wear jewelry on their hair. They usually press jewelry boxes or give gifts... Those who are a little rich have their own craftsmen at home, or directly seek craftsmen from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. , do not buy gold and silverware outside... Even if the family is of upper or middle class, they are preparing betrothal gifts or dowries for their children... But the younger generation has their own preferences and fashions. Nowadays, the Eight Banners are Chinese-language, and ladies also wear makeup. , there are a lot of jewelry items... They all follow the Jiangnan trend, filigree is popular there, and the best-selling style in Beijing later is filigree... Diancui is popular there, and within March, Diancui also started to be sold in Beijing. There are so many...Things like Qianjinfang are actually quite solid in gold and silver, and some are inlaid with precious gems...But middle-class people can't afford them, and people who can afford them look down on them. Besides keeping them, who else should they sell them to? "
Although the ninth elder brother secretly criticized his wife for being "always reasonable", he himself was not someone who could not listen to the truth.
He thought back to the jewelry on the cabinets of Qianjinfang and thought about their selling prices. It was not just that people who could go shopping could not afford them, and the rich and powerful would not come to look at them.
Brother Jiu couldn't help but feel annoyed, his eyes brightened, and he asked: "What else? If you want this alone, you won't even give me a casual job... Just have someone keep an eye on you in the teahouse, it's not a big deal. Errand..."
"There are also personnel matters..."
More than two months have passed since the incident, and Shu Shu still remembers the scene that day.
"The quality of the business of a silver house is very important. The appearance of the jewelry is important, and the craftsmen are of course the most important... Otherwise, how can we ensure that the appearance of the jewelry does not leak out if we use outside craftsmen? The key is that the personnel are bloated. The small silver house has about forty people, including logistics guards and cooks. Just a dozen... You must know that although Shun'an Silver House is an old brand and has better business, it does not support anyone, and it even has less than 20 craftsmen... Let's not talk about anything else, let's talk about the cook. Do you need to raise two of them? If you have a cook, do you need to buy food? One street is full of shops, large and small food shops, like Shun'an Bank House. They take care of a meal at noon and outsource it for more than ten days. Man, how many taels of silver do you need every month... In my Qianjinfang, only the cooks, buyers, etc. can earn more than ten taels of silver per month..."
Brother Jiu's face drooped as he listened.
It's not that he was angry with Shu Shu, he realized that he was being taken advantage of by the "big family".
Although he is interested in economic business, to put it bluntly, he is just "talking on paper", and Qianjinfang is still the first example.
And because he was in the palace, it was inconvenient to come in and out, so he left everything to the shopkeeper.
Fortunately, he looked at his grandfather's face and took pity on those two-room slaves.
Now that I think about it, the whole family is not stuffed into a bank to get monthly money!
The shopkeeper's wife is in charge of logistics and purchasing. The eldest son is a nurse, and the eldest daughter-in-law is a stove cook. Even the younger son, who is still a virgin, also has the title of clerk and gets a monthly salary!
The accounting office was a little restrained, and no family members were accommodated, but they also brought a son with them to serve as a deputy.
"Okay, I'm sorry that it's not easy for them to drag their family to Beijing. They are rich, and I'm afraid they might laugh at me behind their backs for being the ones who were taken advantage of..."
Although Brother Ninth had suffered losses before, the losses were at the hands of Shu Shu and he was responsible for them.
Now this is something I never expected.
He couldn't help but sneer: "Loyal servant? I used to think of myself as a loyal servant. No wonder I can't see a single shop. I'm afraid all my thoughts are on fooling the master and eating his flesh..."
Instead of comforting her, Shu Shu thought of Grandma Liu.
Aunt Liu took advantage of her to get married and disposed of most of Brother Nine's private treasury...
I was afraid that the accounts would be difficult to clean up, so I used this to cover it up.
It is not difficult to guess that few people will not be tempted when faced with real money.
Without supervision, problems are more likely to occur.
It's just that there is no proof and no evidence. The other party is a nanny and a nanny. An old man of more than ten years, Shu Shu can't say anything in vain.
Anyway, according to the rules, everything that Brother Ninth received when he was young, from birth gifts to 100-day and first-year gifts, must be kept in a book.
Rewards have been given one after another over the years, and there will be no exception.
There is a gap between the general ledger and the current ledger.
Aunt Liu thought that those who had given the gift had gone away and those who had been rewarded had received their rewards, so she wiped away the traces of the deficit. She thought too simply.
You know, in later generations, there is a crime of "unknown origin of huge amounts of property." There is no need to track down the evidence that Grandma Liu carried away the dirty things. Just check her family's current property situation and she can be nailed.
Not to mention, as long as it has been done, there will be traces.
There are about eighty people on duty for this elder brother. It is not difficult to find personal identification.
As Brother Jiu said before, there are no secrets in this palace.
Shu Shu was shooting arrows during the period before arriving at Shenchu. When it got dark, all the well-informed masters in the palace heard about it.
*
Qianqing Palace, Xinuang Pavilion.
Kangxi had already negotiated with the Ministers of the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Punishment about the matter of knocking the oxen. It was not a major grievance involving life and death, but the case was handled unfairly by the Yamen below.
Zhang Wen'an, the Eighth Guards Transport Ding of Rencheng, Henan, and others reported that the relocation of the grain transportation place in Henan was still a mess left by the previous governor Li Huizu, who changed the transportation place from Xiaotan Town, Damingfu, which has convenient transportation. When we arrived at Shuici Town in Weihui Prefecture, the distance and difficulty of transporting grain increased.
Because of this delay, not to mention the homework for the school brothers, even the dinner was delayed, and the meal was not handed over until Youzheng.
When the dining table was moved away and Kangxi showed signs of fatigue, Liang Jiugong talked about the matter in the second house in a joking manner. However, he never thought that it was Shu Shu's own idea. He thought directly of Brother Jiu and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, Brother, there has been a lot of news in the past two days..."
Kangxi was indeed interested: "Oh? What news? It must be Lao Jiu's side. What's going on again?"
"No wonder I heard that 'a wise son is better than his father'. Your Majesty, you really said that... It's not from Master Jiu. I heard that Master Jiu took Jiu Fujin to Gyeongbokgung Palace yesterday afternoon and borrowed a complete set of "New Book of Tang Dynasty" ...It seems that in addition to foreign language, Master Jiu plans to teach Jiufu Jin history... That's not all. Today, there is news that the second institute has set up an archery target..."
Liang Jiugong said, he couldn't help but laugh.
The newlywed couples in other families are almost stuck together.
These two little masters are good, one is working hard to be a teacher, and the other is cooperating and learning, just like playing with children.
Kangxi listened, with a smile on his face, but he hummed softly: "This old nine knows how to be strong now, so why should he do it earlier? He has been fooling around with his homework in the study room all these years. He has grown a brain in vain and is no longer doing serious homework. Try your best...if you have a wife, you know how to save face..."
*
When the news reached Ningshou Palace, the Queen Mother smiled.
She was an upright person and couldn't tell that the slaves were roundabout in their complaints. Instead, she happily said to the two concubines: "This girl looks so delicate. I didn't expect to love her... I'll look back and buy it." If we get married, these two little sisters-in-law will definitely be naughty together..."
The two concubines grew up on the grassland and also grew up on horses, so they were able to ride horses and shoot arrows.
It sounded like he was remembering her, but he had a better impression of Shu Shu.
*
In Yikun Palace.
Yifei's place was relatively peaceful, but when it was time to hold the lamp, the news also reached Xianglan's ears.
Xianglan frowned and looked towards the back hall, with a frosty look on her face.
Entering the second room, Concubine Yi had already let her hair down, and a little palace maid was combing her hair.
Seeing that Xianglan's expression was not good, Concubine Yi sent the little palace maid down and asked: "Tell me, what's wrong with her? She has to do this several times a year, but there is no new trick... "
Xianglan whispered: "I just found out today that Aunt Bai received a reward from the back hall a few days ago..."
Aunt Bai was the one who listened to Aunt Zhao's words and spread gossip in Yikun Palace, and was sent back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by Concubine Yi.
Concubine Yi took a long breath, not surprised, but still worried: "It seems that I am still too tolerant. She has been making constant moves in these years. I have hindered the emperor. I am afraid that the emperor will think that I am mean, so I have not dealt with her. Let her kick her nose into her face..."
"It's not just about Aunt Bai. Just now, a little palace maid came to the slave and sold it. She said it was a target set up by the Second Jiufujin. The people around her said that the other end was not good and put maggots between the master and Jiufujin. .”
Xianglan also showed disgust: "This slave looks at me with evil thoughts. Master should be more careful in the future..."
Yi Fei sneered: "Good times are over, so let her know what grace is... Send the "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra" over and say that Yinzhen's life sacrifice is coming soon. She, the biological mother, should not come out and copy it carefully. Sutra, pray for my brother..."
