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

Following Xue Qingwan's suggestion, Gu Huaizhou also processed a lot of soap.

We've prepared a whole warehouse full, just waiting to make a big splash.

The suppliers were indeed willing to extend credit, which immediately relieved Gu Huaizhou's financial pressure.

Xue Qingwan said to Gu Huaizhou, "Our shop is positioned as a high-end establishment, so we need to make our customers feel at home. Therefore, the service must be excellent. The dim sum and tea must be top-notch. Fu Ji's dim sum is quite good, and for tea, Maojian tea is fine."

Gu Huaizhou felt cold sweat pouring down his forehead: "You want tea and Fu Ji's pastries too?"

Fu Kee's dim sum cost a few small pieces for one tael of silver, which was simply unaffordable for ordinary people.

On this day, a lot of money will be spent on tea and snacks alone.

Xue Qingwan disagreed with Gu Huaizhou's point of view: "My lord, think about it. We are the only ones in the whole city who have this kind of treatment. Aren't those young ladies just trying to show that they are different from others? If we provide good service, why would we be afraid that they won't pay?"

Gu Huaizhou was still a little worried: "What if they don't buy it?"

"Has Your Excellency forgotten how much revenue we made at that shop every day? Hundreds of taels of silver!" Xue Qingwan became more and more excited as she spoke. "Our shop is bigger and the service is better. Only a fool wouldn't come and buy from us."

Gu Huaizhou was finally persuaded. He gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, let's do it this way."

The two hit it off immediately, both wanting to make a lot of money.

On the day of the opening, Gu Huaizhou invited a lion dance troupe to add to the festivities, making it a truly lively occasion.

There were firecrackers going off and lion dances, and the crowd of people were watching.

To create buzz, Xue Qingwan addressed the onlookers, saying, "Thank you all for coming to support our new store opening. We have fruit, snacks, and tea available. You are all welcome to visit."

Someone peered in and asked, "Are the fruit and snacks free?"

"Today is the first day of business, everything is free, not a penny required," Xue Qingwan said loudly.

She was full of confidence, as long as she made a splash.

Losing a little silver on the first day is nothing.

Consider it payment for advertising.

The onlookers were all in an uproar when they heard this.

A whole bunch of them rushed in.

Xue Qingwan was quite happy at first, but gradually the smile on her face faded.

The customers were all poor people. They entered the store but didn't buy anything; they just took snacks and fruit.

They were eating in their mouths and stuffing food into their pockets at the same time.

Soon, the plates of snacks were gone.

Those dim sum dishes were all high-end dim sum from Fu Kee, costing one tael of silver per serving, and only contained a few small pieces.

These people ate and took things, which hurt Gu Huaizhou even more than if his heart had been ripped out.

Xue Qingwan also frowned; this situation was also unexpected for her.

How did that happen?

It's just a few snacks, how come you're eating and taking them?

Besides that, when the snacks ran out, those people actually started stuffing tea leaves into their pockets.

Some of those who didn't manage to get any snacks or fruit started fighting with those who did.

The scene was extremely chaotic.

A shop assistant, sweating profusely, came to Gu Huaizhou for instructions: "My lord, these people are outrageous! They've ruined our fine tea and snacks."

Gu Huaizhou clenched his fists tighter and tighter: "What about the soap? Has it been sold?"

"Not a single piece has been sold. Some young ladies who wanted to come in were scared away when they saw how messy it was," the shop assistant said anxiously.

Gu Huaizhou finally couldn't take it anymore and hurriedly gave the order: "Then what are we waiting for? Get all these people who are eating and drinking for free out of here."

If we don't get rid of them soon, the whole store might be demolished.

Xue Qingwan's face turned red, and she cursed, "Have these poor bastards never had enough to eat? They're even snatching a few snacks."

She was right; these people really had never had a full meal.

Ordinary families usually eat brown rice, and only eat white flour during the Lunar New Year.

Normally, everyone eats simple meals, and there isn't even a speck of oil in the stir-fried dishes.

Only wealthy families can afford to eat such lavish meals.

What seemed like an insignificant snack to her was a delicacy that these poor people could only dream of in their entire lives.

Xue Qingwan had never experienced poverty, so she naturally did not understand the hardships of ordinary people.

At the same time, she underestimated human nature, which is why she has created the current situation.

The shop assistants went to stop them: "No more taking it! No more taking it! Get out!"

Those people wouldn't listen to reason anymore; not only did they stay, they took even more.

Left with no other option, the shop assistants picked up brooms and tried to shoo them away: "Are you leaving or not? If you don't leave, we'll kill you."

"Ouch! Someone's being hit! Someone's being hit!"

"Shameless! You're hitting people in such a big shop. What kind of shop can you open if you don't have money? Bah!"

During the scuffle, someone fell to the ground.

Before I could even get up, I was crushed by the people behind me.

This resulted in many people being injured.

Today's draw not only failed to make any money, but actually resulted in a loss.

The shopkeeper took out his abacus and did some calculations. He then reported, "Today we lost eighteen servings of pastries, a tube of top-quality Maojian tea, and nine people were injured. A rough calculation shows that we lost one hundred and twelve taels of silver today."

"How can there be so many?" Xue Qingwan said with dissatisfaction.

The shopkeeper looked troubled: "One serving of pastry costs one tael, so that's eighteen taels. A tube of Maojian tea costs forty-eight taels. We'll pay for the medical expenses of the nine people, which is forty-six taels. That's a total of one hundred and twelve taels."

Xue Qingwan sat down, her face pale. She stammered, her expression blank, "How could this happen? How could this happen..."

Gu Huaizhou was also angry, but he believed that doing business involves both gains and losses.

Nothing.

Instead of blaming Xue Qingwan, he comforted her, saying, "It's alright, these are just accidents. We can change our business model and reopen."

"I'm sorry, cousin." Xue Qingwan felt extremely sad.

This was a huge blow to her.

She thought she could make her business thrive, but she didn't expect to be given a cold shower on the very first day.

Fortunately, Gu Huaizhou didn't blame her, otherwise she wouldn't know how to explain it to him.

Gu Huaizhou smiled encouragingly at her: "We've succeeded before, it's just that this time it was an accident, it's okay."

With Gu Huaizhou's encouragement, Xue Qingwan felt a little better.

At the same time, she felt even more favorably toward Gu Huaizhou.

He is a marquis, both responsible and capable.

How did it end up being so advantageous to Song Wenjun, that woman confined to the inner quarters?

A woman who only knows how to live by clinging to men will not go far in life.

Gu Huaizhou needs a woman like her who can lend him a helping hand.

A few days later, the story of the grocery store spread like wildfire.

There are many different opinions, and everyone has their own version of what to say.

Some say the big store bullies the small store, while others say it's just putting on a brave face.

Some even say that Gu Huaizhou, a dignified marquis, actually kept a mistress and had an ambiguous relationship with Xue Qingwan.

The mixed bag of people led to his being utterly worthless.

Not to mention the rich young ladies who went to buy his soap.

People would occasionally throw stones and rotten eggs at the entrance of the grocery store, and even beggars would spit at it.

"Pah! You all look down on the poor..."