Page 170

Page 170

Su Liheng was stunned for a moment, and immediately said: "Where is it? You don't know how fragrant the workshop is. Fortunately, the smell is not greasy, otherwise I really can't stay in the workshop. I just came from the workshop and have been waiting here. The smell on my body has not dissipated yet."

Su Changan smiled and looked towards a rouge shop not far away.

Su Liheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately said with a smile: "He is definitely not happy, but he has to hold it in. Otherwise, what can he do?"

Su Changan nodded. That was right. He couldn’t just watch others open a business here and not open one too.

Su Liheng continued, "Sister, let's go and take a look. I think it's pretty good, and it's completely based on the drawing you gave me. And for the gift box, I also made a package like you said, it's in the shop."

Su Changan nodded. Looking at Su Liheng, he felt that this little money-grubber had lost some weight. He was about to tell him to take care of his health, but seeing Su Liheng's excited face, he knew that making money was the happiest thing for this little money-grubber, so he didn't say anything more.

Su Wan'er said, "Fourth brother stayed at home for a while during the Mid-Autumn Festival and then ran away again. Third aunt rarely scolded him, saying that Third uncle was not at home, and Fourth brother was not at home either. They were a family of noble character, but the father and son only cared about making money. If anyone knew about it, it would only bring bad reputation to the Su family."

Su Changan smiled and said something after hearing this.

Su Liheng frowned and looked at Su Wan'er: "Nonsense! What does my mother know? My father and I are the ones who do big things! How can our family eat if we don't make money! And what is the name of my father and I? Remember our Lord Jiulang once said to me, 'Those who are good at managing money keep what comes from them, and collect what is left over.'"

After saying that, Su Liheng looked at Su Changan a little unconfidently: "Sister, there is such a saying, right?"

Su Changan smiled and nodded: "Yes, yes."

Su Liheng suddenly became proud.

Su Wan'er rolled her eyes, but even though she was young, she knew the importance of money.

However, Su Changan looked at Su Liheng and asked, "Has Lord Li Jiulang met you again?"

Su Liheng shook his head: "Except for the last time I told me some conveniences for our shop, I haven't looked for it. But sister Xingyue came to Su's residence to look for Zhaoxin before, and dragged Zhaoxin to ask me about Yanzhi's thing."

"So I prepared some rouge and perfume and gave them to Sister Xingyue. But don't worry, big sister. Although I am not involved in the affairs of the court, I know a little bit about it. I know some taboos. What I just said was also taught to me by Lord Li when I first met him. I thought it made sense, so I wrote it down."

Su Changan nodded: "Some things are better for you to know, but we still have to do what we should do. After all, our family can't really escape that vortex. And I heard that Yang Guofu's sister is the owner of the largest rouge shop in the city, and she also has direct connections with many merchants traveling to the Western Regions."

Upon hearing this, Su Liheng said nothing and pulled Su Changan towards the shop.

After entering the shop, Su Changan saw some servants. These people naturally knew that Su Changan was coming, and hurriedly saluted.

Then he was sent to the back by Su Liheng, and Su Liheng directly closed the door of the shop.

Su Changan looked around and found that the decoration was exactly as he had described, and the store was also very large.

The high-end luxury goods shelves on the left and front, the enclosed exhibition stands, and the shelves in the affordable area are all well done.

And just as he had imagined, there were special areas for trying on makeup and activities, etc.

Overall, it is big and spacious enough.

After looking around, Su Changan looked at Su Liheng and said, "That's about it. But we need to do some soft furnishings. Remember what I said, don't make it too fancy. The activity area and exhibition stand should be decorated with the best promotional products of the season."

Su Liheng nodded: "Sister, don't worry, I have already thought about these things, and I will start looking for someone to get chrysanthemums and other things during the Double Ninth Festival in a while. But I won't tell you about this first, it's Yang Guofu, the old girl of the Taifu family, Yang Wangshu, that woman is always playing tricks, you still remember that I told you before that someone had sneaked into the manor to steal the formula."

Su Changan nodded.

Su Liheng continued, "I cleaned up the entire manor again, and sent some people who had entered the manor in the past two years away with some money, leaving only the elderly. Then I found some people from my father to guard the manor, so the formula can be assured."

"But that gang used the power of the government to arrest a group of people who were pushing the cart you taught me and delivering goods to people's homes. I made almost a hundred carts and placed them all over Luo'an City as you said, but that gang accused me of disturbing public order and arrested sixty or seventy of them, and then there were those people who were delivering goods to people's homes that I personally trained."

"Many of those people were bribed and started to cause trouble for me, doing bad things in the name of our Su family. I simply broke their legs and drove them out. But that group of people turned to Yang Wangshu, and I heard that they are now also doing this cart and door-to-door delivery service."

"And most importantly, sister, tell me, are you and the Queen Mother at odds, or is she angry because we used her to advertise?"

Su Changan frowned slightly and looked at Su Liheng: "What do you mean?"

Su Liheng said word by word: "Among the people who defected to Yang Wangshu, I put one of my people there. He told me all the things I just said in the letter. Then he also found out that Wang Maoqing is also a shareholder in Yang Wangshu's rouge shop. Wang Maoqing is the secretary of the Secretariat and the Queen Mother's man."

"It was this man who gave the order to arrest them. He should be afraid of our family, but he should be afraid of you. Oh, no, that's not it. You can't say that. He was afraid of our family and didn't kill us all. He left some behind, but the carts are not as effective as before."

"I thought, let's just leave it like this for now, and when our shop is open, I'll think of a way to deal with this matter."

Chapter 120 Remember, you are making money for your sister-in-law!

Su Changan looked serious: "How is our rouge order?"

Su Liheng heard this and immediately said, "You knew it before, but after launching the gift box concept, 7,000 sets of gift boxes have been ordered. If we count the other rouges separately, we basically cover more than half of the market. Some old customers of other rouge shops cannot move for the time being, but the others have basically all started to place orders with us."

"And you don't know, sister, just two days after the push cart was launched, not to mention the new ones, just because of your reputation, those old customers were tempted and started to place orders with me. At that time, there were over ten thousand orders in one day. The next day, there were fewer orders, but still several thousand. It was much more comfortable than just selling in the store! But then all the old customers of other stores suddenly withdrew. I thought it might be something that Yang Wangshu did, but my people never found out."

Su Changan frowned slightly, thought for a moment and then asked, "What do your father and grandfather say?"

Su Liheng shook his head: "I didn't dare to tell them about this, but I thought they knew about it, but they didn't come to me, so I didn't dare to tell them."

At this point, Su Liheng pursed his lips and said, "Sister, I thought you were busy with the cart-pushing matter, and our shop hasn't officially opened yet, so I didn't tell you yet, don't be angry."

Su Changan shook his head: "The business is too big. They will take action sooner or later after robbing other people's money. I have thought about all this, but I didn't know that the Queen Mother was also involved."

Su Liheng said immediately, "Not only that! The big business in the Western Regions [Yangji] is also owned by Yang Wangshu, and the Queen Mother also has a share there. And there is also a share in Yang Wangshu's silk shop. Anyway, I sent someone to inquire about it. The two parties seem to be fighting openly and secretly, but many of the Yang family's lucrative businesses have to share the money with the Queen Mother. Although they don't have the royal trademark, they have the palace as a background, which makes many things much more convenient. I think they should pay less taxes, but even if I know, I can't do anything about them."

Finished

Su Liheng looked at Su Changan with some trepidation, and did not dare to speak, but after thinking carefully, he still said: "Sister, listen to my thoughts?"

Su Changan looked at Su Liheng: "Tell me about it."

Su Liheng said, "I mean, why don't we just leave it at that? I calculated that the money we make now is actually much more than Yang Wangshu and the others, and our products are good."

"Compare prices from three different stores. Don't look at old customers or anything like that. Business is business, there's no such thing as sentimentality. Our products are much better than those of Yang Wangshu and his, and they're cheaper. They're the kind of foundation you mentioned that's affordable. In fact, they sell more than luxury goods. It's mainly because ordinary people and the girls on the red-light district think it's better than lead powder and it's harmless, so they rush to buy it and place more orders."

"So I thought, let's not argue with them. Pushing carts is really profitable. I felt like I was dreaming those two days, but I think we should put it aside for now, because we are just starting out, and we still have to take our time in doing business. We are moving too fast, it's unreal. Even my father gasped when he saw the orders I received during this period and the money I got after delivering the goods. Besides, we are more or less imperial merchants, and with you and the Su family here, I don't believe they dare to go any further."

Hearing this, Su Changan saw through what Su Liheng didn't dare to say, so he smiled and asked, "Are you worried that your business will be involved in the government?"

Su Liheng pursed his lips but still nodded: "Although I only want to do business, I am not as heartless as Zhao Xin. In the court, our family is on the side of His Majesty. Although I saw Zhao Xiaojia was crippled some time ago, the Queen Mother broke an arm, and Li Jiulang became very close to our family because of your relationship, Big Sister. But it's not that simple. If it were that simple, they would have been gone long ago. How dare they do anything to us?"

"Besides, what is your identity? People outside now know that this rouge shop business has a lot to do with you. How could they not know? But they still dare to do it. Are they really crazy for money? I don't think they are that crazy. Besides, I have asked people everywhere these two days to find out how much money the people involved in their business charge for doing things. Although there is no news for the time being, it should be a whole chain of interests."

"The most important thing is that your Red Mansions is selling like crazy. Although my father is worried, I don't believe that person. I still have to help look after him. The hot pot restaurant can't be delayed like this. I've seen that this thing is addictive. My friends now get together to drink some wine and eat hot pot when they have nothing to do. They also ask me when the hot pot will open every day. I think that when the hot pot opens, I will give the second sister, Wan'er, Zhaoxin, and my third sister four shares. Of course, you, the eldest sister, will still take the lion's share. So, should we slow down the matter of our Rouge Shop for a while? That is, just do these things at the moment and don't bother with other things."

Su Changan looked at Su Liheng and smiled.

Suddenly I thought of the reason why Su Zifeng didn't intervene in this matter. Was he thinking of taking the postgraduate entrance examination for Su Liheng?

Otherwise, this would be considered blatant bullying, and those people would not be able to ignore it.

But he didn't think much about it, just smiled and said: "If you quit, will those people quit? Forgot what you just said, those people started to think of ways to steal the formula, and they also started to do cart and door-to-door delivery services. Moreover, those people can be bribed, can you guarantee that he can't bribe the people in your village? How tempting is money? Do you need me to teach you?"

Su Liheng frowned and looked at Su Changan helplessly: "What should I do? In the past, I would have asked someone to smash their shop. They are the enemy of our family anyway. But now, aren't there too many things involved? I can't just do it like before."

"Besides, I also wanted to give them gifts to promote them. After all, although I am the boss of this rouge shop, everyone with a discerning eye knows that you are the real boss. With your status, if they accept this gift, they will be very happy, and they will be very depressed. But after thinking about it, I decided not to do it. Although this matter is indeed possible in the long run, if those people push for the formula or something, I will give it to them or not. If I don't give it, the gift will be wasted. If I give it, what will we do? And most importantly, it will be embarrassing for you, Big Sister. Giving gifts to those sons of bitches will not only be embarrassing for you, but also embarrassing for His Majesty, so I can't do it anymore."

When Su Liheng finished speaking, his face was twisted, he looked so worried and helpless.

Su Changan looked at Su Liheng like this, and said with a smile: "You know that there are too many things involved, and you know that it will embarrass me and your sister-in-law, but you still want to give in? What I just said was in vain, right?"

Su Liheng looked at Su Changan.

As for the title of sister-in-law, he could understand that it referred to the empress, after all, she was a woman.

But he didn’t quite understand what Su Changan meant.

Su Changan slapped Su Liheng on the head: "They can use government officials, but you can't? Have you forgotten who you are from? Forgot that your grandfather was the prime minister of the dynasty, and that your uncle was the minister of the imperial court? You have an active mind when it comes to business, so why can't you figure this out? If you can't figure this out, you should know that you make money for me, but whose money is my money? Why can't you figure this out?"

"Since they are like this, why can't you use them? What are you afraid of? Why should you be afraid? That Zhongshu Sheren named Wang Maoqing dared to ask the people of Jingzhao Prefecture to drive away our small stall carts. Why don't you think of asking Grandpa's friend General Meng Qin to use the imperial guards to get their carts."

"Why don't you dare to talk to your uncle who is the Minister of the Central Secretariat about this? The position of the Minister of the Central Secretariat is higher than that of the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Moreover, you are an imperial merchant. Imperial merchants are harassed by the Jingzhao Prefecture when doing business, and you can only feel aggrieved. Are you an ordinary imperial merchant who can be easily manipulated? Is your sister-in-law giving you this imperial merchant status just for show?"

"Master Li Jiulang has already taught you how to do business. You can naturally go to him if you have any problems. Why don't you go? When something like this happened, why didn't you tell me or your father the first time? Considering the overall situation means considering the interests of the whole and preventing them from being harmed. What is the overall situation? Can a rouge shop like ours be ruined? Whether it's your sister-in-law, grandfather, or my father, their overall situation is the entire Great Xia. Do you think that what happened between two people because of business matters can affect the entire Great Xia Dynasty?"

"If it was really that big, would your father give us this shop? Would your uncle use his own money to buy the shop next door? Would your sister-in-law give you the status of an imperial merchant? Why are you thinking about these things all day long? What they did to our Rouge Shop is embarrassing for me and your sister-in-law, and you are still thinking of giving in."

Su Liheng was a little stunned after hearing these words, and then asked carefully: "Then can we directly use our own connections?"

Su Changan nodded, "You can use it directly. For example, as I just said, when they also launch this cart and door-to-door delivery service, you can also use their methods to deal with them. They can go to Jingzhao Prefecture, and you can go directly to the Imperial Guards. Isn't General Meng Qin the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards again? Don't ask for money, just buy some good wine and food and go to their house. Don't waste time, just get straight to the point and talk about the matter. Tell them all the grievances you have suffered, and the old general will naturally know what to do."

"Then, regarding Wang Maoqing's matter, on what basis could he directly order Jingzhao Prefecture to do something? Was it the Queen Mother's order? And on what basis did the Queen Mother have? You may be concerned about the so-called overall situation, so you dare not tell anyone about it. But for something as unreasonable as this, you must tell it directly to my father, your uncle. He will definitely know what to do."

"As for stealing the formula and bribing the deliverymen, you have no choice but to go find your father, or Lord Li Jiulang. Those people are using the Su family's reputation to make trouble, but they are not targeting the Su family's reputation. You are an imperial merchant, and they are using the name of Daxia to do bad things. Can you break their legs? Find them all and send them to the Dali Temple. This is related to the face of the court. Jingzhao Prefecture will not care, but the Dali Temple must. When the time comes, those who deserve to go to jail will go to jail, and those who deserve to be beaten will be beaten. No one will escape. Killing the chicken to scare the monkey, that's what we do."

"There is also the matter of the rouge workshop. Someone should be found to raise the banner of the Royal Merchant. If anyone dares to steal or cause trouble, they will be considered as going against Daxia. Can they bear the blame? Your sister-in-law gave you the status of Royal Merchant so that you can do these things. But you don't even need to say anything and are even thinking about giving in. What do you think you are thinking?"

"Your sister-in-law has a bad temper. If she gets angry one day, I can't control her."

hear here

Su Liheng took a breath in surprise, swallowed his saliva subconsciously, and hesitated with some hesitation on his face, but he immediately made up his mind: "Okay! I know how to do it, but I don't really understand it. I need to ask my dad how to deal with these things."

Su Changan smiled and nodded: "If you take a step back in the government, you will never recover. The business world may not be as big as the government, but it's almost the same. Grandpa and the others must have known about these things, but they didn't say anything. They probably just wanted to see if you can do it. Because when the business reaches this stage, there are many people involved. It can't be a small matter like your study. You must not retreat when you shouldn't."

Su Liheng nodded, "I know, sister. I'll buy some good wine tonight. What? My father hid a few jars of wine that our grandmother brewed. I'll take one jar to General Meng, and then go to find Sister Xingyue. I've seen that Lord Li is sometimes difficult to talk to, and he has to go through Sister Xingyue. I'll go to my uncle and my father later. With what you said today, I know what to do in the future."

Su Changan warned: "But don't act recklessly just because I said so."

Su Liheng nodded again: "Don't worry, sister, I know what I'm doing."

Su Changan thought for a moment, looked around the store, frowned and looked at Su Liheng: "Business is about service, and it's more about attitude. I asked you to set up a place to test rouge over there, and asked you to find someone to help customers apply it, which is actually the reason. But I just thought of launching a service to help people put on makeup."

Su Liheng didn't understand.

Su Changan explained, "Does your sister Xingyue's makeup look good?"

Su Liheng nodded immediately.

Su Changan said, "There are many makeup looks like this, but the key is how to apply it. So you should find a group of women who are good at applying makeup. No matter what their identities are, they can be prostitutes, dancers, or singers. As long as they know how to apply makeup, it will be fine. Then they can help the customers who want to try it out by the side of the cart. We don't need to do anything. If the women look good, the business will come naturally."

"And the same goes for men. Many men also wear makeup, so we can't lose this customer base."

"And now that Red Mansions has become popular, have you ever thought of launching something related to it? Where's your business acumen? Do I need to tell you this?"

Su Liheng, who was a little surprised when he heard Su Changan talking about finding someone to do makeup for the customers, was a little confused when he heard this: "Ah?"

Su Changan said helplessly: "For example, there are Lin Daiyu makeup gift boxes, Xue Baochai makeup gift boxes and so on. There is also a Jia Baoyu gift box for men. You don't need me to teach you these things."

When Su Changan said this, Su Liheng took a breath and held it in for a long time: "Big sister, you are still taller!"

Su Changan looked at Su Liheng helplessly: "What else? Can't think of anything else?"

Su Liheng was stunned for a moment.

Su Changan was helpless again: "Sell some peripherals! The so-called peripherals are things related to the characters, such as a small statue of Daiyu, or you can find someone who is good at making clay figurines and make a Daiyu sister or something like that, as well as silk fans, clothes, etc. These are all things that can be used to do business, and there is no shortage of people buying them. As long as the Red Mansion is always there, there will definitely be people who like it and buy it. But you must remember that only we can do it, and we can also hang the imperial seal in this regard to prevent others from counterfeiting and pirating."

"And once these things are made, it will be easier to develop into other industries in the future."

Su Liheng took a breath again.