Chapter 159: Watch Your Mouth
Once the price was settled with Broker Deng and the family was told to pack their bags—with the promise that they would return later in the day to pick them up—the father and daughter left the agency together. They decided to head over to Qiu Rongrong’s place to test their luck, leaving the ox-cart at the agency to be looked after for the time being.
As they walked down the street, Wen Yao teased Wen Xiuyi. “Professor Wen, you’ve adapted to your role remarkably fast.”
“Oh, stop poking fun at your dad. If I hadn’t seen how worried you looked, I wouldn’t have opened my mouth to haggle,” Wen Xiuyi sighed helplessly. Talk about bending one’s back for a measly five dou of rice.
“Huh?” Wen Yao blinked. “When did I frown?”
“Right when Broker Deng stated the price.”
Wen Yao: “…”
“Dad, is it possible that I wasn’t complaining about it being expensive? I was just lamenting how cheap human life is here.”
“…”
Wen Xiuyi wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die.
“Never mind, never mind. Saving five taels is saving five taels. So, do you actually have enough money?” Wen Xiuyi asked.
Wen Yao spread her hands. “Yeah, I do.”
Well then. Why bother looking for Qiu Rongrong? They might as well turn around, grab the people, and head back. Da Huang would still have to come back in the evening to pick up the boys anyway.
Just as Wen Xiuyi prepared to turn back, Wen Yao pulled him back. “Since we’re already here, and I haven’t seen Sister Qiu in ages anyway, let’s go check in on her first.”
Wen Xiuyi had no choice but to accompany her, escorting Wen Yao right up to the entrance of the Xie residence.
It was true that when a person gained power, everyone around them could see it clearly. Anyone capable of surviving to this point in a prestigious, wealthy household like the Xie family was bound to be a sharp, shrewd individual. The moment Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi arrived at the gates, the gatekeeper recognized her immediately.
“Miss Wen, have you come to see our mistress?” The gatekeeper hurried down the steps to welcome them.
Observing the gatekeeper’s attitude, Wen Yao knew Sister Qiu was living a very good life at home, which set her mind at ease. She nodded. “Yes. I must trouble you to announce us.”
The gatekeeper grinned broadly. “What’s there to announce? The mistress gave explicit orders that whenever Miss Wen comes, we are to bring you straight in without any announcement. Please wait just a moment, miss. I’ll fetch a maid to lead you inside, and I’ll inform the mistress along the way.”
With that, he bolted off.
Wen Yao sighed with feeling. “Dad, look at these ancient servants. They’re just like corporate employees—so incredibly observant and realistic.”
Wen Xiuyi remarked, “That’s called knowing which side your bread is buttered on. Alright, you go on in. I’m going to drop by your brother’s place.”
“Bye-bye, Dad.”
This earned her a playful jab to the forehead from Wen Xiuyi. “Watch your mouth.”
Shortly after Wen Xiuyi left, the gatekeeper came running back, with Qiaoyan following close behind.
“Miss Yaoyao, you’ve arrived! The mistress was just planning to send someone to invite you over in a couple of days.” Qiaoyan stepped forward and offered a deep, respectful bow.
“Is Sister Qiu busy right now? I hope I’m not disturbing her too much,” Wen Yao asked.
Qiaoyan replied, “No matter how busy the mistress is, she is never too busy when Miss Yaoyao arrives. Allow this servant to lead you inside.”
Wen Yao followed Qiaoyan into the Xie residence. They had only taken a few steps past the threshold when they ran straight into Xie Yushan, who was on his way out.
The moment Xie Yushan saw Wen Yao, he froze. His brow furrowed into a tight, hard knot, and the look he gave her was filled with undisguised disdain and aversion.
Ever since his wife had met this girl, she seemed to have transformed into a completely different person. Her entire mind was poured into doing business. She had even gone so far as to throw words in his face like, “You all eat my food, drink my wine, and use my things; even the servants’ monthly wages are paid with my silver.” Because of this, he constantly felt that even the servants in the estate no longer treated him with the same deference as before.
Wen Yao sensed Xie Yushan’s hostility, but she couldn’t care less.
“Master Xie, going out, I see.”
Xie Yushan completely ignored her. Instead, he turned a scowling gaze toward Qiaoyan. “Since when do guests entering the estate no longer need to be announced to me?”
Neither humble nor arrogant, Qiaoyan curtsied gracefully. “Replying to the master, Miss Yaoyao was personally invited by the mistress, so we did not wish to trouble the master. We pray the master will forgive us.”
Though the words were polite, her demeanor held not a single ounce of actual apology. It infuriated Xie Yushan so much he nearly choked. Just as he was about to erupt, Qiaoyan added, “Master, you must be getting late. The mistress mentioned that the County Magistrate invited you today, so you mustn’t be late.”
Xie Yushan choked the breath right back down. He gave a heavy, resentful snort, snapped his sleeves, and stormed away.
Wen Yao couldn’t hold back a laugh, and Qiaoyan chuckled along with her.
“I have made a fool of myself before the young miss.”
Wen Yao continued to follow her forward, remarking along the way, “Master Xie doesn’t look nearly as high and mighty as he did before.”
“High and mighty? He’s exactly the same as before. It’s just that once a person loses their internal confidence, they start to grow timid and hesitant in everything they do.” Thinking of the things the mistress had done recently, Qiaoyan felt an immense sense of satisfaction in her heart. Their mistress was finally no longer soft and weak, letting others trample over her. It should have been like this long ago.
The two talked and laughed as they made their way to Qiu Rongrong’s courtyard. Every servant they encountered along the path was exceptionally deferential. It appeared Sister Qiu’s management of the household was incredibly successful.
Upon arriving at the courtyard, Qiaoyan led Wen Yao straight into the study. There, they found Qiu Rongrong seated behind a desk, her fingers flying across an abacus as she meticulously combed through a ledger.
“You’ve finally come! If you had delayed any longer, I was ready to send someone to fetch you,” Qiu Rongrong said, pausing her abacus and making a notation before rubbing her shoulders.
Wen Yao pulled two sheets of recipes from her sleeve and handed them over. “Here. I’ve brought you a way to make more money.”
Qiu Rongrong took them, glanced at the contents, and handed them straight to Qiaoyan. “Deliver these to Chef Chen.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Qiaoyan took the papers and stepped out.
Qiu Rongrong slumped completely against the back of her chair, waving Wen Yao over. “Come, take a look at this.”
“What is it?” Wen Yao walked over, only to see Qiu Rongrong handing her a ledger with a highly mysterious air. “The ledger for the roast duck restaurant.”
Wen Yao raised an eyebrow and casually began flipping through it. The further she read, the more astonished she became.
“One tael of silver for a single roast duck? Five hundred wen for half a duck?” This pricing absolutely stunned Wen Yao. How long had it even been since they opened? Excluding the cost of capital, the net profit alone amounted to a whopping two thousand-plus taels of silver.
She knew business was good, but she hadn’t expected it to be this good. A roast duck costing one tael of silver—were people actually buying it?
Besides, the initial price they had agreed upon wasn’t this high at all.
“And there are still plenty of people who can’t even manage to snag one,” Qiu Rongrong smiled with immense pride. She took Wen Yao’s hand, her face lighting up with a charming smile. “My dear sister, you won’t blame me for changing the pricing, will you?”
The corner of Wen Yao’s mouth twitched. “Of course not.” Who would be foolish enough to complain about making too much money? She just hadn’t expected that it could actually sell for so much and that so many people would willingly pay for it.
Qiu Rongrong handed her another ledger. “Look at this one too.”
Wen Yao took it. Amazingly, it was the income statement for yet another roast duck restaurant. Although it had only been open for ten days, the profits recorded on it were more than double those of the shop in Yunwu Town.
She had truly hitched herself to a golden meal ticket, hadn’t she? Absolutely.
Except, when had they opened a branch? How come she didn’t know about it?
“This is…?” Wen Yao asked.
“Back when we were setting up our shop here, I sent a letter to my eldest brother, asking him to secure a storefront for me in the Jiangnan region as well. I promised to send the chefs over myself. It opened roughly around the same time as ours. There are plenty of wealthy people in Jiangnan, so business there is far better than it is here.”
Qiu Rongrong smiled. “My eldest brother even wanted to buy a stake in it later, but I refused.”
