Chapter 104: Money Tree
Jiang Yihuan tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and lazily said, "Of course, it’s all about making perfumes for us and creating makeup items without any complaints."
Zhong Lanhua laughed loudly, "That kid may look ugly, but his skills are indeed good. Earlier, when you wanted to buy him for five taels of silver, I was reluctant. But now it seems my daughter had foresight. Look, it’s just the first day, and we’ve already sold 300 taels of silver."
"We did sell 300 taels of silver, but renting this place costs one hundred taels a year, buying Yang Quan cost us five taels, and the other twelve servants cost thirty taels. We also need capital for the goods. Although the rouge and powder were made by Yang Quan and his helpers, and the costs are low, other items are sourced from elsewhere. I roughly calculated, the cost of purchasing goods over the last few days has reached 300 taels, even if we sold thirty percent today, that’s still only one hundred taels of silver..."
Zhong Lanhua originally feared calculations, and counting all that silver had made her head hurt. Now, listening to Jiang Yihuan list the expenses over the past few days made her even more confused.
When Xiao Yanci entered the room, Zhong Lanhua looked at him as if he were a savior and shouted, "Xiao Ci, quickly come over and do the accounting."
Xiao Yanci disliked Zhong Lanhua, but his eyes softened when he looked at Jiang Yihuan.
He was at the academy today and didn’t have time to attend the opening of Fenghua Pavilion. Now it seems the mother and daughter did a pretty good job, managing it better than he had imagined.
He took an abacus and calculated quickly, saying, "After deducting costs and labor, we made roughly fifty taels of silver today."
"Only fifty taels?" Zhong Lanhua pointed at the pile of silver, "We sold 300 taels!"
"Clothing, socks, all these personal items, they all need to be sourced from other shops. You bought servants, don’t they need to eat three meals a day, and don’t they need attire? Even though they’re servants, a small amount of wages still needs to be paid. At three hundred cents per person, that’s over three taels for twelve people. Yang Quan, who manages all the makeup items, should be given at least two taels a month to keep him motivated. Also, with so many customers today, how many drank tea, broke things, or requested makeup trials? All these losses have to be considered."
"Enough, enough, don’t say anymore. I bought the servants; they’re my people. Do I still need to pay them? Do the big households give wages?"
"If it’s a death contract, the wages are smaller. If it’s a live contract, the wages are more. You can choose not to give any since you own them, and the purchase contract is in your hand, but generally, to motivate them to work harder, some wages should be given. Even a mule pulling a mill needs to be fed adequately."
"Mom, fifty taels is quite a lot. Think about it, if we were doing embroidery work by ourselves, how much would we need to stitch to earn fifty taels?" Jiang Yihuan comforted Zhong Lanhua, "It’s only the first day, there will be more to come."
"You’re right. Fifty taels a day, that would be over a thousand taels a month, which is quite a good income." Zhong Lanhua said proudly, "Most importantly, the shop opposite will soon be unable to continue. I looked today and saw they didn’t have a single business transaction. Let’s see how long they can last, haha..."
Xiao Yanci despised Zhong Lanhua’s petty attitude. If she wasn’t Jiang Yihuan’s mother, he wouldn’t even want to speak a word to her.
"What’s this Yang Quan’s background?" Xiao Yanci asked Jiang Yihuan.
"I heard his family used to run a rouge shop, and he grew up learning perfume and balm making with his family. Later, bandits ransacked their home, and he fled with his younger sister, who fell seriously ill during their escape. To get her treated, he sold himself into servitude. I never saw his sister; he said she didn’t survive and died of her illness," Jiang Yihuan said sympathetically, "It’s really very pitiful."
"I’m going to sleep, you two tidy up here." Zhong Lanhua, receiving a signal from Jiang Yihuan, pretended to yawn and left, giving Jiang Yihuan space.
As soon as Zhong Lanhua left, Jiang Yihuan looked gently at Xiao Yanci and placed a bag of silver coins in his hand, "Brother Xiao, this is the money to repay you."
"Why give it to me?" Xiao Yanci helplessly placed it back on the table. "Once my money is given to you, it belongs to you. The shop has just opened, and there are many places where you need to spend money. Use it for running the shop, you don’t need to give it to me."
"You contributed dozens of taels for us to open this shop! I calculated in my heart; if I repay your money and repay part of other friends’ money, if business continues to be good every day, in half a month we can clear everyone’s silver." Jiang Yihuan said sheepishly, "To be honest, I was quite bold, having little silver but borrowing money from everywhere to open this shop. It’s my first time running a shop, and I didn’t realize we needed to stockpile so much."
"This isn’t boldness; it’s strategy. Huan’er, even though you’re a weak girl, you have a brave and proactive heart. If you were a man, you’d surely make a remarkable achievement."
"Am I really as good as you say?" Jiang Yihuan shyly looked at him, "I’m so clumsy, I know nothing, I rely on you for everything."
"You’re not clumsy, you’ve merely encountered such a biased mother, who gives all the good things to your brother without ever thinking of you. By the way, Huan’er, earlier you mentioned finding an accountant. I think instead of letting someone else manage the finances, it’s best to keep it in your own hands. Even if you aren’t managing the accounts personally, you should understand them. I’m back every day now; let me teach you to read, to understand the ledgers, to examine them, so no one can hide anything from you."
"Wouldn’t that take up too much of your time?"
"Not at all. If I can’t find time for this, I might as well not pursue honors in exams; it would just prove that I’m slow and require so much time to study."
Jiang Yihuan nodded softly, "Okay."
"Then I’ll start teaching you to read now," Xiao Yanci said enthusiastically.
Jiang Yihuan: "..."
Who wants to learn to read? Who wants to look at ledgers?
She only enjoyed counting money!
This man is really interesting, not considering taking on the burdens, not thinking to handle those ledgers himself, but wanting to pass the troubles to her. Look at his expression, it seems like she should be grateful for his time teaching her.
With reluctance, Jiang Yihuan followed Xiao Yanci.
Just as they were out the door, they saw a young man with a red birthmark on his face walking from the opposite side. On seeing Jiang Yihuan, he bashfully covered the side with the red birthmark, turning the unmarked side towards her.
"Yang Quan, you finally came out. I looked for you a few times just now; the door was closed, so I didn’t want to disturb you. There’s egg custard on the stove, warmed for you; hurry and eat something!" Jiang Yihuan said gently, "Brother Xiao, let’s skip the lesson for today. I’ll make something for Yang Quan; he’s worked hard all day."