Crossing the Unknown Country

Chapter 478 The Qin Family Accepts the Challenge

Steward Wang waved his hands and said, "Brother, the eldest young master asked us to avoid suspicion because the Ninth Prince is involved. If he finds out, we will lose our heads. Let's not do it. Our lives are more important. Without lives, what's the point of asking for money?"

It must be said that Housekeeper Wang has broadened her horizons by following Young Master Wang, and knows that she should leave a way out when doing bad things. Unlike her eldest brother, who is a reckless man, her parents were almost fooled.

The family of four finally reached a consensus that this thing could be done, but it must not be done by them.

The Qin family they were talking about was a distant relative of Prime Minister Wei's family. Because their daughter married Prime Minister Wei's grandson, a son of a concubine, it was equivalent to marrying into the Wei family.

They also relied on the Wei family to gain a foothold in the capital, and after decades of business, they also had a lot of property. Their children and grandchildren also got official positions in the capital, although they were not high, but they were also paid by the emperor.

Of course, they couldn't just rely on their salary to support their family. That little money was not enough to deal with the social interactions in the capital. So they opened a shop selling stationery. Originally, they opened a shop next to a college. The business was booming and they made a lot of money. Together with other shops, the family lived a comfortable life.

It was not because of the opening of Moxiang Pavilion that their business slowed down a lot. Most of the students who could enter the academy came from well-off families. Since these students went to Moxiang Pavilion to buy pens, ink, paper and inkstones, most of them went there.

The business of their own shop was greatly affected. Originally, they imported goods from other shops, so naturally they could not catch up with the self-production and sales of Moxiang Pavilion. Since the opening of Moxiang Pavilion, all the shops selling stationery in Beijing, big and small, have been affected.

Originally, everyone's goods were the same, and it didn't matter where they were bought. Everyone could just buy from the nearest store. Who would have thought that after the Moxiang Pavilion opened, the goods it launched were expensive and of good quality, which was exactly what some wealthy children in the capital wanted. What they lacked was not money, but different good things.

Only when one is rich can one show his or her status, and they never think that a little money is nothing. In addition, the things are very useful and beautifully decorated, and the box alone is enough to make people want to buy the box and return the pearl.

Many young ladies bought the exquisite boxes. Although they rarely used pens, inkstones, and paper, they would still use them. The boxes were also very pretty when they took them home to store things.

Many shops followed their lead, but the quality of their pens, ink, paper and inkstones could not compare with others, so they could only sell to individual customers.

There is no way. This is like the dishes of Fumanlou. Many restaurants no longer compete with them. Anyway, the remaining customers will always go to other restaurants.

The Qin family is discussing whether to change to other business. Since the sales of pens, ink, paper and inkstone are not good, they should be able to do something else.

Just that day, housekeeper Wang strolled over to their store and sighed sympathetically, "Shopkeeper Qin, your business isn't doing well either! Our store is similar to yours. Sigh! We are unlucky to have met such a rival."

Shopkeeper Qin was a servant of the Qin family and took on the same surname as his master. He also sighed, "That's right. Such a good shop is not making money. My wife is very angry and is planning to change to another business."

Steward Wang said, "I heard that the girl in that family is very capable. She contributed a lot to their business. We are so unwilling to lose our business to her! How can a girl be seen in public? I don't know what this family is thinking. Are they not afraid of being cheated? If I had a daughter, I would definitely spoil her. What if she was kidnapped? This family is too conceited."

Shopkeeper Qin echoed, "That's right. What business can a little girl do? Look at the girl from the Song family. She always shows up in public, so she can't be found. It's not good for her to stay at home. I wonder what her parents think."

The two of them complained to each other and discussed the affairs of Moxiang Pavilion. Finally, they sighed in sympathy and said goodbye to each other, and Manager Qin saw them out of the store.

The next day, when she went back to the mansion to report the store's affairs, she mentioned the matter that Wang and the other steward had discussed. How could Madam Qin be so clean when she could manage both the household expenses and the external business?

Mrs. Qin thought for a moment, then she gently called Shopkeeper Qin to her side and whispered a few words to him. Shopkeeper Qin took her orders and went down.