stingy landlady

Chapter 179 An unexpected surprise

The shop has long wooden benches that Guizhi had specially made, and she thoughtfully covered them with a layer of cloth. There are cotton cushions inside, so you won't feel cold sitting on them even in winter.

It's similar to a modern sofa. It's a place for guests to sit, drink tea, and chat, and there's a fitting room inside. Guizhi placed some small pieces of candy on the coffee table, and also specially boiled some water and placed it on the coffee table as well.

In front of the guests, he scalded each cup with hot water. Only then did he offer water and candy to the women sitting there waiting to try on clothes.

Madam Qu was very helpful and accommodating, taking the initiative to try on a set of pajamas. Guizhi seized the opportunity to take a new set of underwear into the fitting room and hand it to Madam Qu's maid.

"Mrs. Qu, these are new underwear. Please have the lady next to you help you put them on. Then try on the nightgown and see if it fits."

Mrs. Qu readily agreed:

"Alright! Bai Shao, bring it in!"

When Mrs. Qu emerged in her new pajamas, she immediately gave off a refreshing feeling. The ladies sitting on the long bench were curiously enjoying the comfort of the sofa.

When they saw Madam Qu come out, they all stood up and surrounded her!

Some of the bolder ones, who were on good terms with Madam Qu, even went so far as to touch the fabric.

"Ladies and misses! You can also try on the styles you like yourself. Only by wearing them can you truly feel their effect!"

Gui Hong spared no effort in inviting the ladies to the fitting room to try on clothes! Only by trying them on could they hope to buy something they liked.

The ladies nodded first and went to choose their styles. The young women were also secretly looking for patterns they liked.

When the first group of customers left with their purchases, Gui Hong jumped and danced with joy, clutching a cassia branch! The business had finally opened!

To Guizhi's surprise, women spread the word quickly and passionately. Soon, many women came to buy underwear, pajamas, and sleepwear. Some girls even secretly bought menstrual pads.

Gui Hong's shop no longer needs to be taken care of; Manager Qu has found Gui Zhi.

"Guizhi! My wife raves about your shop!"

Guizhi hurriedly expressed her gratitude:

"Many thanks to Mrs. Qu for coming! She even brought so many ladies and young ladies with her! Thank you, Uncle Qu, for speaking well of me to Mrs. Qu! Thank you!"

"Guizhi! Let's do another business deal! Where did you buy that long bench? My wife said it's very comfortable to sit on and wants to buy one for home!"

Guizhi had a sudden inspiration.

"Uncle Qu! We call this long bench a sofa! You can sit on it, or lie down when you're alone, whatever makes you comfortable."

We have a woodworking workshop that can make these sofas and chairs. Uncle Xu Hong is in charge of these. I'll have him come over tomorrow; Uncle Qu can talk to him!

Shopkeeper Qu smiled as he looked at Guizhi:

"This must be a new idea that came up with by your little brain! Not bad! Send someone over tomorrow, not only me to place an order, but several other ladies have also been asking my wife about it!"

Guizhi generously said:

"Uncle Qu! If you order a few more sofas and chairs for me, I'll give you one for free!"

"No! I don't need you to give them away for free! Uncle Qu wants to order a few more of your sofas and chairs! We have quite a few rooms in our house! If you give them all away for free, you can't afford it!"

"If you come up with a couple more recipes for me, your Uncle Qu's restaurant will be booming, and Uncle Qu will even make you money off the recipes! Hahaha!"

Selling sofas was a real surprise! Guizhi loves making money! She's envious of people coming to Changping Village to buy timber, either to resell or to make finished products for their own workshops!

I never imagined that by helping the shop attract customers, I could actually combine the woodworking workshop and the handicraft workshop to sell sofas!

Upon returning to Changping Village, Guizhi immediately sought out Xu Hong.

Xu Hong was watching the craftsmen process timber according to orders in the woodworking workshop.

"Uncle Xu Hong! I had someone put cotton cushions on the long benches in our shop last time. They're very comfortable to sit on, so we'll call them sofas from now on!"

Uncle Qu, the owner of Xiangmanlou, is about to place an order, and I hear many people are also inquiring about sofas. We need to speed things up; we need to hire people who specialize in making sofas.

Once you've finished making the long bench here, the workshop will come over to take the measurements and make the cotton padding to cover the chair! If we can standardize the size, we won't need to measure every single chair!

Uncle Xu Hong, go talk to Uncle Qu about the price tomorrow and place the order! This price... Uncle Xu Hong! This is a high-end product, sold to wealthy people! And since it's a new product, of course the price can't be cheap!

"Uncle Xu Hong, we've wrapped it up so well that no one can tell how it was made! The cheaper ones probably cost a few dozen taels, while the better fabrics and wood cost a few hundred taels. No problem."

Xu Hong knew what was going on.

"Uncle Xu Hong, go and find a bigger shop, the kind that specializes in selling sofas! Make a lot of samples to put there, and you can also make a few large wardrobes and kang zithers."

I've heard that when a girl from a wealthy family gets married, her family gives her furniture as a dowry! Our furniture would be perfect!

Oh! When a business grows big, it naturally needs someone to back it up! Otherwise, if our little ventures fall into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, we'll have nowhere to turn for help!

Uncle Xu Hong! Inform the Prince about this, and tell him how the sofa was made. Also, ask him to be our backer. Hehe! The Prince is definitely a powerful backer!

The prince's side has a wider path than ours, and he earns more money. Let them decide how to distribute the profits to us!

Xu Hong tentatively asked,

"Miss! Should we pass on a message to Young Master Lin?"

Guizhi asked curiously:

"Lin, the Crown Prince? Who is he? What message does he want?"

Xu Hong looked at Guizhi but couldn't remember.

"If you didn't remember, then forget it! Miss, I'll have someone make a sofa right away!"

"Oh! You mean Lin Xiaoyun! What happened to him? Is he having a hard time? If he was having a hard time, he probably would have run back long ago! That means he can handle it!"

Every child has their rebellious moments, right? Do good deeds without expecting anything in return! Uncle Xu Hong, please don't mess with him! I almost hope he's forgotten all about us!

It was only with great difficulty that we managed to get him out of his daze and return home, and then we contacted him again. And then, by sheer luck, he came running here!

Uncle Xu Hong, we're all so busy, do you really have time to help the Prince take care of his child? No! Don't go looking for trouble!

It's better to avoid trouble! There's no benefit to it! It's a thankless task! Let's stay as far away from it as possible!

Xu Hong chuckled to himself:

"Yes, Miss! I'll do whatever you say! It's nothing, I'll find a carpenter to make sofas, wardrobes and the like."

We need a separate room, away from the plank processing area! So that the people coming and going with the planks can't see it!