NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 137
Mirrors are good things, but when Mrs. Lu thought about how Fourth Miss Lu had procured it, she felt uneasy. Fourth Miss Lu was likely to enter the Third Prince's Mansion as the favored concubine everyone was talking about.
Mrs. Lu hadn't told her maiden family about this. She knew that if she told the Lu family, given Madam Lu's profit-driven nature, she would want to curry favor. This was something Mrs. Lu didn't want to see.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Li Xin noticed Mrs. Lu wasn't speaking and turned to see her lost in thought.
Mrs. Lu snapped back to reality. "This full-length mirror reflects people too clearly," she said, touching the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
"I heard An'an say pearl powder is good for the skin. Let's buy some pearls," Mrs. Lu suggested. Since coming to the Capital City, she had been constantly busy and worried, rarely having time to relax. In recent days, her complexion had worsened considerably.
"You and your second sister can go buy some to use. I don't need any," Mrs. Lu said, not in the mood for skincare at the moment.
Seeing this, Li Xin didn't say anything more and went to find Li Xia to go buy pearls together. Li Xia was happy to accompany her, and the two went to Yongchang Street, entering a shop called "Pearl Pearl."
This shop specialized in pearls, and the Madam Shopkeeper asked the two what they intended to use the pearls for, recommending several options.
Li Xin and Li Xia selected quite a few, and the Madam Shopkeeper placed their selections in separate boxes.
Seeing that they had finished selecting, the Madam Shopkeeper said, "Young ladies, our shop offers a pearl grinding service. Would you like us to grind the pearls into powder here in the shop?"
Li Xin and Li Xia exchanged glances. "Yes," Li Xin agreed, worried that if they bought them whole, Mrs. Lu wouldn't be willing to use them.
"Very well, please sit in the rest area and enjoy some tea and snacks," the Madam Shopkeeper led them to sit down, bringing tea and snacks for them to taste. She took the pearl boxes to the back courtyard to arrange for someone to grind the pearls into powder. Qiu Chan curiously followed, wanting to see how the grinding was done.
Li Xia picked up a cup and took a sip of tea. "Sister, you should try this too. This peach blossom tea is quite nice."
Hearing this, Li Xin picked up her cup and tasted it. A faint peach blossom fragrance spread in her mouth. "This shopkeeper has quite the clever idea."
"Peach blossom tea, peach blossom tea set. If it were chrysanthemum tea, would it be paired with a chrysanthemum tea set?" Li Xia guessed, noticing the peach blossoms on the teapot and cups.
"The young lady is clever," Xiao Zhen, a shop assistant standing nearby, chimed in.
"The Madam Shopkeeper who came up with such a wonderful idea must be quite ingenious," Li Xin praised.
"Actually, it wasn't my mistress who came up with it. A few years ago, a female customer came in saying she was selling an idea," Xiao Zhen, being talkative, explained.
This piqued Li Xia's interest, and she beckoned Xiao Zhen to come sit down. "Tell us what happened. Can ideas really be sold?"
Seeing that the customers were interested, Xiao Zhen sat down in front of them and explained in detail. The shop used to be called "Zhenyan Fang" instead of "Pearl Pearl," and business had always been mediocre. Then one day, a young girl with her face covered walked into the shop. She immediately claimed she could increase the shop's profits threefold within a month.
At first, the Madam Shopkeeper naturally didn't believe her, thinking the girl was a swindler. She wanted to coax her out, but the girl firmly stated that if profits didn't triple within a month, she would make up the difference herself, and was willing to sign a contract as proof.
Seeing the girl's confidence, and considering the shop's poor business, the Madam Shopkeeper agreed. They signed a contract stipulating that if profits didn't triple in the next month, the girl would compensate the difference. If successful, she would be paid a creativity fee of 20% of the profits for the next three years.
The girl then shared her ideas. First was changing the name to "Pearl Pearl" and painting shell and pearl images on the signboard. Pearl images were also to be painted on the shop's interior walls.
Next was categorizing the pearls and implementing different promotional strategies. They would offer free grinding services, as well as stringing and drilling holes. They would hire models to wear pearl jewelry for display, among other measures. In the first month, the shop's profits quadrupled compared to before.
"That girl is really impressive," Li Xin couldn't help but praise her strong business acumen.
"Isn't she?" Xiao Zhen also greatly admired the girl.
"Who is this girl? Is it possible to meet her?" Li Xin very much wanted to meet her.
The girl came every six months to collect money and offer some suggestions for improvement. After the three-year term ended, she never came again. The Madam Shopkeeper tried to find out who she was, but to no avail.
As they were talking, a woman in red clothing with a beautiful face walked in. She came in without saying much, directly asking to buy a jar of pearls. Another shop assistant went to serve her, bringing her the pearls. The woman paid and left without even looking at them.
The speed of her purchase was truly surprising.
Li Xin watched the woman leave and turned to Li Xia, saying, "Xia, wasn't that the Gambling Saint?"
"What Gambling Saint?" Li Xia was still wondering if the mysterious girl might have been Fourth Miss Lu and hadn't paid much attention to the woman in red who had entered.
"The woman in red who just came in, she's the actress who plays the Gambling Saint in that musical," Li Xin hadn't expected her to dress so flamboyantly in daily life.
"Is that musical still running?" Li Xia wondered. The people had been arrested, hadn't the theater stopped?
"Now the theater puts on five shows a day. Two in the morning, two in the afternoon, and they've added one in the evening," Xiao Zhen interjected. She had seen the night show and found it incredibly exciting.
"Why are so many people watching it?" Li Xia didn't understand why so many people would gather to watch a performance that seemed pointless to her.
"Because the Righteous Hero has been arrested, and rumors say the Righteous Hero is actually the Gambling Saint. So everyone is very angry," Xiao Zhen explained, also seeming somewhat indignant.
The person had been arrested, yet people were going to watch the musical. Li Xia thought this plot logic made no sense.
Xiao Zhen was about to say more when she saw the Madam Shopkeeper coming out with the ground pearl powder. She quickly stood up and returned to her position. The Madam Shopkeeper glanced at her before placing three boxes of pearl powder on the table with a smile, asking the two to inspect them carefully.
Danmo stepped forward to check and confirmed there were no issues. She collected the three boxes of pearl powder. Li Xin and Li Xia left Yongchang Street with their entourage and returned to Qingyue Street. The doorman, with a joyful expression, informed them that Li Hui had returned.
Hearing this, the two went to the Wild Goose Pavilion, where they heard Mrs. Lu crying inside. They exchanged glances and decided not to enter yet. They returned to their respective quarters, planning to see Li Hui later.
Li Hui had returned and shared his thoughts with Mrs. Lu. In Liuzhou, he had declared in front of the Wang Family that he would observe a year of mourning for Wang Lan.
"You haven't married yet?" Mrs. Lu was clearly displeased upon hearing this. Her son had already been delayed for quite some time. Now he wanted to delay for another year, which meant Li Xin's marriage would have to be postponed as well.
"Mother, your son has been unfilial, causing you such worry," Li Hui knelt before Mrs. Lu. She looked at Li Hui, noticing the stubble on his chin from rushing back to the Capital City, which made him appear utterly haggard.
Mrs. Lu sighed, "Very well, we'll do as you wish. I'll speak to the Cao Family about postponing Xin'er's marriage for another year."
"Mother, there's no need to delay Xin'er's marriage on my account," Li Hui quickly interjected.