Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"What is it that Second Aunt came to see me about today?" Shen Chuning asked.

Madam Shen slapped her thigh and said, "Oh, if you hadn't asked, I would have forgotten the important matter. The old lady gave Jingwan a rouge shop, and now she wants you to choose one from the Shen family's shop."

Shen Chuning glanced at Shen Jingwan and raised her eyebrows. "Anything is fine?"

"Your grandmother said you can pick anything."

"What does Second Aunt want me to choose?" Shen Chuning asked.

"Logically speaking, a rice shop is the easiest to run. The first shop Second Aunt practiced on was a rice shop. The losses wouldn't be much. But you, you've been learning from me for so long. Second Aunt believes that you can manage any shop." Mrs. Shen said, patting Shen Chuning's hand.

Shen Chuning smiled shyly when she heard Second Madam Shen's praise for her. "How can I be as good as Second Auntie says? Can I choose Wanbaoxuan?"

Madam Shen thought for a moment and nodded. "Wanbaoxuan is good. You are also familiar with the owner Xu Fu. I heard that you asked Xu Fu to change the moon-white satin on the trays to black velvet. It turned out to be very effective. The sales of jewelry have increased a lot. You will be able to convince the public when you manage Wanbaoxuan in the future."

After Mrs. Shen Er finished speaking, she looked at Shen Jingwan thoughtfully, only to see that Shen Jingwan had almost torn the handkerchief in her hand.

"Speaking of which, this can be considered as Sister Wan helping me make money. By the way, the design drawings for this month have not been submitted yet. It's the end of the month, and you definitely can't come up with ten thousand taels of silver. I don't know if my grandmother will give me the money if I take the deed you signed to ask for it." Shen Chuning said to Shen Jingwan.

At this point, Shen Chuning seemed to suddenly remember something. She covered her mouth with her hand and made a surprised expression, "You just asked Second Aunt for twelve thousand taels of silver. You don't want to settle the debt with Wanbaoxuan, do you?"

Shen Jingwan's face flushed with shame and anger when her thoughts hit the nail on the head. What did she mean by asking her second aunt for twelve thousand taels of silver? She was clearly selling the method of cultivating pearls, so how could she use the word "ask"?

"Sister, you don't have to remind me. I've been busy learning the rules this month and haven't had time to draw, but I will hand over the design drawings to you before the end of the month." After Shen Jingwan finished speaking, she rushed out the door and ran away in a hurry, almost bumping into Cuiwei who was bringing in snacks.

Shen Chuning shook her head. "Still asking for such a high price as always."

Mrs. Shen Er became interested. She picked up a piece of dessert and asked while eating, "Did she also sell you things at a high price?"

Shen Chuning stood up and took out the two pictures from the box that Shen Jingwan had brought when she first met her at Wanbaoxuan. She handed them to Second Madam Shen and said, "Second Aunt, guess how much it is."

Mrs. Shen Er picked up the two pieces of paper, looked at them horizontally and vertically, and then held them up to the window and asked in confusion, "What are these?"

"Jewelry design drawings." Shen Chuning pointed them out to Madam Shen Er one by one. "This one is a hairpin, and this one is a pair of earrings."

Madam Shen Er burst into laughter. "If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have recognized them as hairpins and earrings. How could something like this be sold for money?"

"It can be sold for more than a hundred taels of silver per piece."

"You wouldn't spend two hundred taels of silver to buy two of these things, would you?" Mrs. Shen looked at Shen Chuning as if she were a fool, and as she spoke, she placed the two drawings neatly on the table.

"I'm not stupid. Second aunt, please take a look at these two again." Shen Chuning said as she took out two more pieces of paper.

These two are also jewelry drawings, a hairpin and a pair of earrings, which are obviously much more delicate and exquisite.

Mrs. Shen's eyes lit up, and she asked in surprise, "Where did this come from? It looks novel. If it were made into jewelry, I would definitely buy it."

Shen Chuning spread the four pieces of paper flat on the table, "Second aunt, take another look."

Madam Shen compared them carefully. "Same?"

Shen Chuning nodded and said, "Let Birui and the others follow these two pictures."

"Although it does look good, it's not worth one hundred taels of silver per piece." Mrs. Shen sighed.

Shen Chuning smiled and said, "Five taels of silver per month for ten pieces."

"Then you've got a great bargain."

"I originally wanted to offer 20 taels of silver for 10 pieces, but just like before, he said he would consider it, and in the end, when he was short of money, he still agreed to 5 taels of silver."

"Shen Jingwan is a bit indecisive and not cut out for business. But if it's so cheap, I can totally refuse to give you the painting. Now that you've moved into the Shen Mansion, are you still short of the five taels of silver every month?" asked Mrs. Shen II.

"The government signed the contract. If you break the contract, you must pay me ten thousand taels of silver."

Mrs. Shen nodded after hearing this, "The disciple is better than the master."

"Second aunt, do you really want to buy that pearl cultivation method whose authenticity is unknown?" Shen Chuning asked.

"Buy it, why not? You don't have to pay for it, and it doesn't say when to start raising it. I think Shen Jingwan is a little weird, maybe I can really raise it." Mrs. Shen said with a smile.

"Second aunt is just too idle. How about taking a look at these storybooks?" Shen Chuning said as she took out a stack of books and placed them in front of Mrs. Shen Er.

When Mrs. Shen Er saw the storybook, her eyes lit up.

Madam Shen flipped through the books one by one. "Written by Mr. Ze? The one who wrote about the general's divorced wife?"

Shen Chuning smiled and nodded.

Madam Shen's eyes lit up even more. "That copy of The General's Divorced Wife is so popular! I had my maid queue up outside Fu'an Bookstore at dawn to snatch a copy. How come you have so many? Do you know Mr. Ze?"

Shen Chuning reached out and touched her nose, "I kind of know him."

Madam Shen Er hurriedly asked, "Then can we find someone to copy or print the remaining books?"

After saying this, he shook his head again. "Mr. Ze's books are so popular, it's impossible to find someone to copy them, so we can only print them. Fu'an Bookstore is not large enough to print so many at once. Xiaojiu, can you introduce Mr. Ze to my second aunt?"

"Second aunt wants to do business in this storybook?" Shen Chuning asked.

"The Yun family's Moyun Bookstores are spread across various towns in Dayong. They have both strength and sales channels. Mr. Ze will definitely make more money by cooperating with the Yun family than with Fu'an Bookstore."

"For that book about the divorced wife of the general, Fu'an Bookstore took 40% of the profits. I wonder if Mo Yunjian..."

Before Shen Chuning could finish her words, she was interrupted by Second Lady Shen, "Xiaojiu, you are not Mr. Ze, are you?"

"How is that possible?" Shen Chuning retorted.

Madam Shen Er took the abacus from the maid and asked, "Is the 40% profit that Fu'an Bookstore takes net profit or gross profit?"

"It's the net profit after deducting all costs." Shen Chuning replied.

Madam Shen stopped and put all the abacus beads back in place. "Officially, Mo Yunjian will still take the 40% profit, but privately, Second Aunt has decided to give you 10% of the 40% profit."

Shen Chuning shook her head.

"Don't agree?" Mrs. Shen asked with a frown.