Transmigrated Female Official

The two strolled side by side down the street, their first question being—what kind of shop should they open?

Yancheng, being right under the emperor's nose, has everything one could need. If they're going to do something, they need to be innovative. Chu Qingluo's expertise lies in clothing, so opening a ready-to-wear clothing store that she designs and makes her own clothes seems perfect. However, given the gender imbalance in Yancheng, opening a women's clothing store… wouldn't business be a bit difficult? And frankly, she doesn't have a strong interest in men's clothing…

Unfortunately, the cotton seeds in the Chu family's backyard were uncooperative; after so many seeds, only a dozen or so seedlings sprouted, and it was uncertain whether they would even bear fruit. If cotton could be cultivated many times over, there would be no need for so much worry now; just making cotton pillows would make them rich. Chu Qingluo had even thought of names for the pillows, choosing between 'Forget-Worries Pillow' and 'Auspicious Pillow'.

"Sigh..." With many thoughts swirling in her mind but unable to make a decision, Chu Qingluo couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.

Gongsun Yu, seeing her constantly shaking her head, couldn't bear it any longer and asked her what was wrong. She then recounted all her concerns and struggles...

Gongsun Yu, upon hearing this, held a different view: "Yancheng is the capital of Ji State, and there are already many more women gathered here than in other places. Moreover, the dresses you sell are unique, so there's no need to worry about them not selling. Besides, you can't be so limited; making custom-made men's clothing wouldn't be a bad idea, would it?"

"..." Chu Qingluo thought about it and realized it made sense. Haute couture emphasizes design and quality, and it's expensive. Since it doesn't prioritize quantity, she could enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle.

"Okay, it's settled then." Every design student dreams of having their own brand, but she never imagined her brand would be opening in such a distant ancient time...

After making their decision, the two, who had been aimlessly wandering, reached an agreement, and their morale soared. They decided to immediately look for a suitable shop in the city center.

This was the busiest area of ​​Yancheng, so finding an empty shop was definitely out of the question. But Chu Qingluo had an idea. She remembered that Ziyan had once taken her to the largest fabric store in the area, and that store was doing extremely well. The smaller fabric stores around it might not be doing so well, so she decided to try her luck at one of the smaller stores…

They were quite lucky; there were indeed two small cloth shops nearby, but they were deserted. Occasionally, one or two people would be seen going in or out, but they were always empty-handed.

The two chose a store that was relatively clean and tidy and went inside. A fat man in his thirties greeted them and asked, "What kind of fabrics would you like to pick out?"

"Shopkeeper, are you the owner?" Chu Qingluo asked politely.

"It's down."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Chu Qingluo strolled around the shop twice, noticing that it was a two-room shop, quite spacious and bright. She then smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, I need to discuss something with you."

So she wasn't there to buy cloth after all. The shopkeeper couldn't hide his disappointment, and his expression darkened considerably... "Please speak, young lady."

"How much gold would it cost to buy this shop?"

This straightforward opening left the shopkeeper stunned for a moment before he finally came to his senses: "You mean... you want all the goods in here?"

"If you can afford it, then buy it; if you can't afford it, then don't buy it all." Chu Qinglu chuckled. Since she was going to make a clothing store, having readily available fabrics was of course the best option.

When someone suddenly wanted to buy the shop, the shopkeeper was thinking of asking for an exorbitant price, but after hearing her ambiguous tone, he was a little unsure of her intentions and had no choice but to conservatively ask for a price of one thousand gold.

Chu Qinglu silently exclaimed in her heart! She only had a pitiful one hundred gold coins. Even if she pawned all the jewelry bestowed upon her by the Empress, she probably still wouldn't have enough. But on the surface, she maintained a calm demeanor and continued to negotiate with the shopkeeper: "How about this, I'll pay you one hundred gold coins first, and then give you another one thousand gold coins in two months? What do you think?"

"Two months?! If you run away, where am I supposed to collect the debt?" The shopkeeper, of course, couldn't agree, looking like he was dreaming.

"I can write you an IOU, using the house as collateral. That house is worth at least five thousand gold!"

"...A house?" The shopkeeper suddenly seemed intrigued and asked, "Where is the house?"

Just as Chu Qingluo was about to press her advantage, Gongsun Yu stopped her first: "How about this, we'll give you five hundred gold coins first, and then another thousand gold coins three months later. But we'll only write an IOU, no collateral. A total of fifteen hundred gold coins to buy your entire shop."

"Holy crap!!" Chu Qingluo's eyes widened. Gongsun Yu's extravagant manner was clearly a recipe for disaster for his wife and master!

She was about to object when the shopkeeper clapped his hands and exclaimed, "It's settled then! Pay five hundred gold coins first, and then write an IOU for one thousand gold coins." Originally, the shop was only worth about six hundred gold coins, and the asking price of one thousand gold coins was just to prevent haggling. Unexpectedly, it was sold for a total price of one thousand five hundred gold coins... This deal was really quite a bargain, and the shopkeeper was very happy.

Without a word, Gongsun Yu pulled Chu Qingluo to get the silver notes.

"Are you crazy?!" Even the rich don't do this, Chu Qingluo couldn't help but sigh.

"I'm perfectly normal. But you, you actually want to mortgage the mansion bestowed by the emperor?"

"Who said I was going to mortgage the house in the east of the city?!"

"..." Gongsun Yu stared at her small face in disbelief, and it took him a long time to calm down: "You're going to mortgage the Chu family's house?!"

Chu Qingluo looked up at the sky as if she had been exposed, and murmured softly, "It's just a mortgage, not a sale..."

"..." Speechless, Gongsun Yu was utterly speechless. Who could have imagined that she would be so bold as to dare to make a move on Madam Chu?

Seeing his awkward expression, Chu Qingluo quickly explained, "I will definitely make up for the money the shopkeeper asked for within two months. I will absolutely not let the Chu family be taken over by others. Don't you believe me?"

Gongsun Yu frowned: "But this is too risky for you."

"In case... in case we fail, we'll move the whole family to the mansion in the east of the city. But that's the worst-case scenario. You have to have faith in me now."

He shook his head helplessly: "Be careful, Madam Chu might skin you alive. To avoid the risk, you'd better do as I say."

"Extravagant!" Chu Qinglu criticized him sincerely, then asked, "Where are we going to find five hundred gold coins?"

Gongsun Yu looked at her amusedly: "Take it."

"If you could lend it, why would you pay a total of 1,500 gold to let the shopkeeper take such a big advantage?" So much gold, it hurts to think about it!

"If we don't offer more incentives, do you think the shopkeeper would agree to give you the shop so readily? Besides, three months is a good amount of time."

Chu Qinglu pouted in disagreement, but since he had already said it, she could only feel sorry for him silently...

This young master is indeed a young master. Gongsun Yu took Chu Qingluo directly to the pawnshop run by Gongsun Ruyi and borrowed a silver note worth five hundred gold coins by sheer shamelessness.

Chu Qinglu stared at him with a mischievous smile, deliberately teasing him: "Tell me, what would Lord Gongsun do if we didn't return these five hundred gold coins?"

Gongsun Yu's lips curled into a wicked smile, and he said slowly, "Once we have a child, let alone this five hundred gold coins, I reckon Mother will add another five hundred gold coins as a congratulatory gift."

Chu Qingluo: "..."

Teasing!! This is absolutely blatant teasing! Gongsun Yu is indeed a wolf!

Seeing that she had suddenly become well-behaved, Gongsun Yu secretly chuckled to himself. Who told her to tease him first?

I originally thought buying the shop would take at least a few days of running around and twists and turns, but I didn't expect it to go so smoothly... It's true that problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all.

The two handed the silver notes to the cloth shop manager, and Chu Qingluo reluctantly wrote him an IOU for one thousand gold coins, which she then signed and sealed.

The shopkeeper happily tucked the counted silver notes into his pocket, handed over the shop deed, and the matter was settled. After a thorough inventory and handover, he also gave the keys to Chu Qingluo. Finally, humming a little tune, he left with the silver notes and IOU, reminding her as he went that it was a three-month deadline…