Tianliangyuan

Chapter 46 We're short-staffed!

Xu Lin was investigating Sun Yuanshan's matter that day, but Xu Zhaozhao just laughed it off when she found out.

Whether she knew the truth or not was irrelevant, because Xu Zhaozhao knew that Xu Lin would not go against the Marquis's mansion for Sun Qian's sake. After all, Sun Huaizhi was still hoping to make a name for himself in the court.

Without the support of the Marquis's mansion, could Sun Qingyang have succeeded on his own?

Then I guess I'll see the end of my life.

The old lady of the Marquis's mansion finally began to recover her health slowly after the birthday celebration of the old lady Sun.

As long as the old lady stops causing her trouble, she wouldn't mind letting the old lady live to be a hundred years old.

"Master, both of our shops are now open. As you instructed, we cater specifically to noble ladies or daughters and wives of wealthy merchants. Currently, neither shop has any stock available; all items are pre-orders."

Xu Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow: "So fast? That shouldn't be the case! Are all those face creams and perfumes sold out too?"

"To be honest, Master, if it were just the women in the capital buying, our stockpiled goods could last for another month or so. But those foreign merchants in the West Market must have caught wind of this trend. The day before yesterday, they came to the shop and talked to the manager, buying in large quantities, saying they wanted to take them to Silla, Goryeo, Tibet and other places."

"Ha, these people have sharp eyes. But both shops clearly state that they do not serve male customers. How did that foreign merchant manage to speak with the two female shopkeepers?"

“Reporting to my master, this merchant from the Hu Kingdom is quite capable. He couldn’t find the two female managers, but he did find out about me, so it was I who negotiated the deal with him.”

"Yes, that's good. The manager of the workshop should also be established. In the future, let him negotiate with the Hu merchants on such matters. The price can naturally be a little cheaper than what we sell in our own shops, but it can't be too cheap. We can't let the Hu merchants take our goods and then offset our own market."

"Yes, little one understands."

“Zhu Zi, although you are my subordinate, you are not allowed to participate in this beauty makeup. From now on, have Madam Wei and Madam Zhang come here twice a month to report to me. As for some matters that the two of them cannot handle in person, the workshop manager will take care of them. You will help the manager for a month first, and then let him handle it himself.”

"Yes, I will make the arrangements properly."

"Master, I've come today about some money-related matters concerning a few shops. What do you think?"

Xu Zhaozhao thought about it carefully. These shops, if not making a fortune every day, would be close to it.

Moreover, ordinary people are generally not allowed to use gold and silver nowadays. The Great Xing Dynasty has strict control over gold and silver. Only officials and aristocratic families can use gold and silver. If an ordinary person were to flaunt a silver ingot outside, they might even face imprisonment.

Gold and silver were usually used for large transactions, so copper coins were the ones that actually circulated among the general public.

"Once they have daily income, as long as it exceeds ten strings of cash, they should go to the money exchange shop to exchange it for flying coins. At the end of the month, you can take people to exchange it for copper coins or gold and silver and bring it back to the mansion."

"Yes, little one understands."

"But this amount of silver might be quite large, and wages also need to be paid. Try to exchange as much silver as possible for copper coins. Do you have a private residence outside?"

Zhu Zi knelt down with a thud: "I dare not! My parents are gone, and I only have one younger sister to depend on. She is now working in the manor, and I would never dare to have any other thoughts."

Xu Zhaozhao did not expect him to have such a big reaction.

"Get up, it's not a big deal. Since you don't have a private residence, from now on when you go to the money exchange shop, take the Marquis's carriage and bring a few guards with you, just in case something happens."

"Yes, sir, I will definitely bring the money back safely."

Xu Zhaozhao glanced at him again. Although this pillar was clever, he was still young. "How old is your sister?"

"Reporting to Master, my younger sister is ten years old this year, and she is currently doing odd jobs in the kitchen."

"Well, you're still young. If the work there isn't too hard, you should do it well first. You can learn a skill and have more confidence in the future."

"That's what the lady said."

After Zhu Zi left, Ding Xiang approached him with a serious expression: "Miss, although Zhu Zi is clever, he is still lacking in interpersonal skills. I heard that he had a dispute with the manager of the workshop. The manager is a servant born into the family and has been favored by the madam. Although Zhu Zi works for you, he doesn't have a title, so he is still a bit lacking."

Xu Zhaozhao understood what Dingxiang meant.

With more businesses under one's control, there will always be a few who, relying on their seniority, refuse to be managed.

However, the manager of the workshop doesn't seem like that kind of person. It's most likely that Zhu Zi has been too high-profile lately and has become too proud of himself.

"We need to find a capable person to keep him in check."

Dingxiang nodded; that was what she thought too.

However, Xu Zhaozhao was also in a bit of a dilemma.

There are very few people available, especially those in charge who are out in the field, which makes things even more difficult.

If they were bought from outside, we wouldn't dare entrust them with anything too important. But everyone in the Marquis's mansion has always had their own duties, and there aren't that many idle people!

Helpless, Xu Zhaozhao had no choice but to seek help from her mother again.

Wang Ruolan was somewhat surprised to learn that she was short of staff: "Didn't you already get the accountants from before? I heard that you even hired two female accountants for your beauty makeup. Female accountants are hard to find, you're quite capable."

“Mother, please stop making fun of me. I’m at least learning to manage the business now. But Zhuzi is the only one running around outside, and he really can’t take care of everything. Besides, Zhuzi is too young. It’s alright within our household, but outsiders might not give him any face.”

Wang Ruolan put down her teacup: "I really don't have any readily available manpower here. However, your father mentioned an old subordinate to me yesterday. If you think he's useful, then I'll assign him to your side."

Xu Zhaozhao blinked: "Old subordinate?"

Wang Ruolan smiled and said, "I suppose so. We fought together on the battlefield before, but he was injured and his family suffered some misfortune. A few years ago, he brought his whole family to seek refuge with the Marquis's mansion. Your father originally wanted to give him some money so that he could buy land and property outside and live a good life. But he refused and insisted on signing a contract of servitude with the Marquis's mansion."

Xu Zhaozhao nodded. This was how a former comrade-in-arms could suddenly become a master and servant.

However, the psychological gap is not that big, and they may even feel that their status has been improved.

After all, ordinary people who go to war are usually just common soldiers, while her father is a general. How many ranks are there between them!

Therefore, it is probably impossible for them to truly be brothers.

But at least there's some semblance of friendship between us.

"Is the person Mother is talking about disabled, or has he encountered some trouble? Otherwise, why would he have alarmed Father?"