The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

Manager Cai shook his head. "Currently, there are really no people from other places coming to buy grain. People in other places may still have some grain at home, even if it's not enough, they can make do until next autumn."

Seeing that Manager Cai said this, Jingxue said, "Then let's leave it at that for now! These people aren't stupid; they'll just wear more clothes if they get cold. If you really can't bear to see them like this, then have Madam Zhang cook some thin porridge for them!"

"Oh dear, young lady! If that's the case, wouldn't that be the same as giving out porridge? It would probably attract all the beggars in the city!" Manager Cai said anxiously, his voice rising a little.

Jingxue smiled wryly, "That's true, I didn't think that much about it!"

"Then you should keep a close eye on things! It's getting colder every day, so make sure no one gets cold in front of our shop. If anyone faints, be sure to help them up immediately and give them a bowl of hot tea. If the situation is more serious, quickly find a doctor to take a look. In short, just act according to the situation! Also, remember to remind Madam Zhang to be careful as well."

"Yes! Miss!"

"By the way, I've already asked Manager Peng to order lunch at Mingyue Restaurant. Everyone can go over there for lunch later and discuss the next steps. Lixia and I need to go to the cloth shop first to check on the situation there, so you don't need to come with us."

"Okay, Miss, you can go ahead with your work!"

After leaving the grain shop, Li Xia looked at Jing Xue and noticed that she seemed a little off, as if she was lost in thought. So she asked with concern, "Miss, what's wrong? Is there a problem at the grain shop?"

Jingxue wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and frowned slightly. "Oh, it's nothing. I just thought that after Qin Jing's shop opened, there wouldn't be as many people here as there are now, but it seems that's not the case."

After hearing this, Li Xia sighed softly and comforted her, "Miss, this year's harvest is really not good. Many wealthy families want to stock up on more food for a rainy day. Even those poor families need to eat! Moreover, people are worried that food prices will rise, so they will come to buy rice no matter what."

"Sigh! Manager Cai just said he wanted to loosen the production limit. I'm wondering if we made a mistake by limiting the quantity in the first place?"

"How could that be? If there were no limit, our doorstep would be overwhelmed with customers. Besides, all those grain merchants would be rushing to stock up. Unless we raise the price, but in business, it's easy to lower prices. If we raise prices significantly, we'll probably become even more famous in the capital!"

"So, you'll leave it like this?"

"I think we should leave it at that! At worst, we'll just have to see how things go! Why don't you discuss it with Prince Qin?" Li Xia suggested tentatively.

To avoid suspicion, Qin Jing's grain shop opened by sourcing its goods from the warehouse where Jing Xue had previously stored grain for him. Ye Muchen's army was now using grain presented by Sun Ruping.

Jingxue paid him 5 wen per jin for grain. She didn't intend to make money off Qin Jing. As for whether Qin Jing donated grain to the army like Sun Ruping, or paid the fair price or made a profit, she didn't care.

Every official in the capital knows about the relationship between Ye Muchen and Qin Jing, and it's safe to assume that those working below wouldn't dare to fabricate anything or line their own pockets.

As for why she gave Qin Jing 5 coins per catty of grain, Jing Xue felt that she would need Qin Jing's help in the future. Most interactions between people are based on self-interest, so she deliberately gave him a benefit. How could Qin Jing, who was so shrewd, not understand this?

Even if Qin Jing's grain shop earns 10 taels of silver a day, it would still bring in 300 taels a month, and the two shops would bring in 600 taels.

Thinking back, his four shops only earned a little over 100 taels a month. Perhaps Qin Jing's shops were doing well, but they couldn't earn as much as 300 taels per shop. Besides, there were several hundred taels of silver in costs for the greenhouse, which Jingxue didn't intend to take. Qin Jing was aware of all this.

The main reason is that Jing Zhiyuan's matter has just subsided, and Jing Xue doesn't want to be too high-profile or cause trouble, so it's best to maintain the status quo.

Thinking of this, Jingxue said, "Let's leave it at that for now! There's no need to discuss it with Qin Jing."

"Oh!"

The two quickly arrived at Mingyue Tower. Manager Peng had already reserved a table, and Manager Qian was already waiting inside. Upon seeing Jingxue enter, he immediately came over to greet her and led the two upstairs.

At this time, there were already some guests downstairs.

"Manager Qian, how's business these days?" Jingxue asked with a smile, her voice not loud.

Manager Qian replied, "Thanks to Your Majesty, business has been booming these past few days! You see, although it's cold, the private rooms upstairs are still fully booked. Your Majesty, please dine in the owner's private room today!"

Jingxue nodded.

Once inside the private room, Jingxue took off her cloak and asked Manager Qian, "Manager Peng didn't order any dishes, did he?"

"No, what would Your Highness like to eat? This servant will go and order it right away!"

"You can decide what to do! Eight dishes will be enough for seven people, plus six plates of dumplings! What kind of fillings will you have for the dumplings today?"

"Your Majesty, today's dumplings include cabbage and pork, pork and scallion, and mutton and radish!"

"Oh! Then two plates of each, please!"

"Yes! Your Highness, please rest for a while, this servant will go and make the arrangements right away!" After saying that, Manager Qian went out.

A short while later, a waiter brought hot tea. The first to arrive were Manager Peng and Manager Wang from the cloth shop.

Manager Wang heard from Manager Peng that the boss had checked the accounts at the end of the month and brought the account books and bank drafts with him.

The moment Jingxue saw the two people enter, an idea came to her mind. If Manager Peng's sister was capable, she could replace Manager Wang. Back when Jingxue built the greenhouse, she also had the idea of ​​using it as a cover to take out the vegetables from the space and sell them. Therefore, she still needed to open a fruit and vegetable shop.

Actually, Jingxue initially considered replacing Manager Wu of the rouge shop, but since many things are interchangeable between the rouge shop and the beauty salon, and the Peng sisters manage the rouge shop and the beauty salon respectively, it would be better to just put her sister in the beauty salon!

As the old saying goes, "One should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others!"

Being in this unfamiliar ancient world, Jingxue has to be careful!

This is also why Jingxue is willing to use servants. She will not mistreat them; on the contrary, she will treat them kindly. Having a contract of indenture is also a kind of constraint on them. As long as they do not harm her and follow her wholeheartedly, she will let them go even if they want to leave in the future.

"Master, this is the cloth shop's income and account book for this month. Please take a look!" Manager Wang stepped forward and handed over two silver notes and an account book.

"Okay! Don't be shy, have a seat! I'll take a look first."

Manager Peng and Manager Wang sat down next to Lixia, and Lixia poured them tea.

Jingxue glanced at the records and found that the cloth shop's income was over 200 taels, which was much better than the previous few months, and there were no problems with the accounts.

Speaking of account books, the cloth shop's account books are a bit more complicated, because the cloth shop purchases its own goods, while the other shops all get their goods from Jingxue. So, apart from some living expenses, the rest are basically income.

Jingxue closed the ledger and put away the banknotes. "Manager Wang, I've been busy with the shops here lately and haven't paid much attention to the cloth shop's business. Thank you for your hard work!"

Manager Wang hurriedly stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Oh dear! Miss, I dare not accept your 'hard work'. It's all what I should do. When the shop is doing well, everyone is happy. Besides, you even raised our wages!"

Jingxue gestured for him to sit down. "We're all family, no need for all this bowing! Sit down!"

At this moment, the three managers, Cai, Wu, and He, also arrived.