The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

A few days later, Gu Huaizhou's soap business finally took off.

Just as he expected, wealthy young ladies came in droves to buy the products.

After all, this kind of thing is very novel, and it's quite impressive whether you give it as a gift or use it yourself.

In just a few days, he made several hundred taels of silver.

Having tasted success, Gu Huaizhou was so excited that he didn't sleep a wink all night.

Xue Qingwan then encouraged him to expand the shop and take control of the entire market.

Gu Huaizhou hesitated: "Will this work? If we expand, we'll need more money and workers, and I'm afraid we won't be able to keep up with the turnover."

"Don't worry, cousin. With business so good, we'll definitely succeed." Xue Qingwan was full of confidence. With her business acumen, there was nothing she couldn't do.

"But there's simply not enough money." This was the biggest problem troubling Gu Huaizhou.

Xue Qingwan smiled slightly and said, "With business so good, people will be eager to deliver materials to us. As for the money, we can pay on credit first and then make up the difference when the money arrives. The workers' monthly wages are even easier to arrange; delaying them by half a month is no problem."

After careful consideration, Gu Huaizhou felt that Xue Qingwan's words made sense, so he followed her advice and further expanded the shop.

"But this matter still needs Song Wenjun's consent, since she currently controls the shop."

Xue Qingwan frowned: "She manages all the shops in the family. How can that be? My cousin is a man who does great things. These shops should be in your hands. Otherwise, every step we take will be restricted."

"But if we make her hand over the shop's seal now..."

“A shop can only have one manager, and my cousin probably doesn’t want to be restricted by others all the time,” Xue Qingwan said somewhat unhappily.

Spurred on by her words, Gu Huaizhou made up his mind: "Okay, I'll go back and talk to her right away."

Gu Huaizhou immediately went to Qiufeng Courtyard to ask Song Wenjun for the shop's seal.

When he arrived, Song Wenjun was looking at account books at the table by the window.

These are all the profits from the shop these days.

Gu Huaizhou frowned slightly as he thought of Xue Qingwan's words.

He works himself to the bone outside, while Song Wenjun only needs to look at the account books to reap the rewards without any effort. It's too good for her.

A woman confined to the inner quarters is just a woman confined to the inner quarters; how could she possibly understand business matters?

Gu Huaizhou lifted his robe and entered the room. His sudden arrival made Song Wenjun quickly close the account book.

Then she stood up and walked towards him: "Why have you returned at this time, Lord Marquis?"

Song Wenjun wore a faint smile, and no one could find fault with her.

Gu Huaizhou looked away guiltily, his face grim, and said, "I've been busy with the shop's business these past few days. You're at home taking care of the children and can't help me much. Give me the seal of the shop on West Street."

Song Wenjun's smile faltered for a moment, and she asked, "But what's wrong with how I've managed the shop?"

"No."

"Why did my husband take the seal? Do you know what that means?"

Gu Huaizhou frowned slightly: "Of course I know. Only with a seal can the silver in the shop be moved around flexibly. If the seal is in your hands, it's not very convenient for me to do things. I can't have you review every penny before I can collect it, can I?"

“That’s not what I meant.” Song Wenjun smiled faintly: “My husband knew that this shop on West Street was a dead shop at first. It was only after I married into the Marquis’s mansion that I gradually revitalized it and turned it into a rouge shop. My husband knows how much effort I put into it.”

A blush rose to Gu Huaizhou's face. He knew, of course, how Song Wenjun had managed to revitalize a shop.

And how to gradually increase its scale?

The shop's business was so good because Song Wenjun had poured her heart and soul into it.

To put it bluntly, it's all thanks to her good maintenance that she has repeat customers.

This is one of the reasons why soap sells well.

Gu Huaizhou reached out to take the seal, which Song Wenjun was definitely unwilling to do.

"So, what does Madam intend to do?"

“Since you want to do business, I won’t stop you. But this rouge shop on West Street is full of my regular customers. It has become a fixed business model over the years. If you want to do it, I can give you a shop on your own.”

Song Wenjun made it very clear that she would not give up this rouge shop.

Is it possible that someone else would just pick up all her hard work for nothing?

Gu Huaizhou also felt somewhat embarrassed, but in terms of location, this rouge shop on West Street was the best.

He didn't want to give it up so easily.

Song Wenjun saw through his thoughts and suggested, "How about this? There is a general store on Chang'an Street with a very good location. Why don't we give this general store to my husband?"

Gu Huaizhou's eyes lit up. The general store on Chang'an Street was indeed larger than the rouge shop, and its location was also good.

With soap selling so well, it should be able to sell well anywhere.

Gu Huaizhou immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, we'll do it your way. Give me the seal now so I can have someone prepare it."

“Alright, my husband, please wait a moment.” Song Wenjun got up to get the seal.

A short while later, she came out carrying a box and handed it to Gu Huaizhou.

Gu Huaizhou took them, and sure enough, they were the seal and ledger of the general store.

A smile spread across his face as he thought about making a big splash and never having to put up with Song Wenjun's attitude again.

After he left, Xiao Tao pouted in dissatisfaction and said, "How can he be so shameless? How dare he ask Madam for a prime shop? He's just enjoying the shade of someone else's tree. He's a freeloader and still so self-righteous. It's a good thing Madam didn't give it to him."

"Of course I won't give it to him." Song Wenjun smiled coldly and said, "He doesn't understand the way of business at all. In fact, he's not in business, but in interpersonal relationships. Gu Huaizhou only sees the immediate benefits, but that's because I'm protecting him behind the scenes. I usually invite those ladies and young ladies to tea and give them gifts. They remember my kindness and that's why they often patronize my rouge shop."

Xiao Tao said thoughtfully, "So that's why the soap sells so well. When those ladies and young women buy rouge, they also buy soap on the side, right?"

Song Wenjun smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

That's only one reason; another reason is that they're after the Song family's reputation.

The nobles and nobles were all bound together by shared interests.

The Song family has interests in various industries, and those ladies aren't stupid; they won't give you money for nothing.

To put it bluntly, it's all about mutual exploitation.

If Gu Huaizhou wants to make a lot of money, then she'll see how far he can go without this network of connections.

Gu Huaizhou acted quickly; after a few days of renovation, the general store was transformed into a cosmetics shop.

He wanted to imitate Song Wenjun's business model and also sell rouge.

To cater to the tastes of those wealthy young ladies, he also displayed rouge, face powder, pearl hair ornaments, and the like in his shop.

Even dresses are available.

This business model was proposed by Xue Qingwan.

They claimed it was a one-stop service and even proposed a membership card system.

By depositing 99 taels of silver in advance at the shop, one can become a lifetime member.

All items inside are discounted.