Chapter 17: The Abacus of Wish Fulfillment
"Is this the account book for the past seven months?" Hua Zheyu casually flipped through the several thick stacks of account books presented by the three shopkeepers who had been waiting at the Wanyuan Rice Shop, asking calmly.
From the two rooms on the first floor of the Wan Yuan rice store, it looks like a good location with a magnificent gate and about six or seven apprentices inside. Just as Qiner's older brother had investigated, this should be a thriving business. But according to the account book, they are losing money every month, and except for taxes, even the apprentices' wages are in arrears - is this possible?
"That's right. Due to poor business, the old rice was not sold out and after the plum rain season, it all became moldy rice that could not be sold, and was piled up in the warehouse. However, when the new rice season arrived, in order to keep the three rice shops operating, the lady ordered a large sum of money to be allocated from the house again to purchase new rice, and only then were the three rice shops barely able to maintain normal operations." Manager Zhong replied cautiously with his head bowed beside the table.
Hua Zhe Yu looked at the account books with a glance, scanning them randomly without intending to delve deeper, and casually threw them aside, saying lightly: "According to what you said, Clock Shopkeeper, in these two years, how much money did my mother invest in total to maintain the normal operation of the three rice shops?"
Zhong Zhanggui was also not afraid of death, and perhaps he was also taking advantage of the chaos to trick him. Without thinking, he replied: "Last year, the madam took out 50,000 taels of silver to buy rice, but it only managed to balance the expenses of the shop. This year, because there were slight losses last year, the madam had no choice but to take out another 50,000 taels of silver to buy new rice."
"Does this mean that in these two years, Madam has invested almost 100,000 taels of silver without getting a single tael back?"
"Yes."
Hua Zhe nodded in the rain, "How much moldy rice is there in the warehouse now? How much new rice?"
"Last night, after receiving the notice from Seventh Miss that she was coming to settle accounts, I went with Manager Qian and Manager Liu to the large warehouse on the other side of the river, where we took stock. There are approximately 5,000 dan of new rice left, and 20,000 dan of moldy rice."
Upon hearing this response, Zhao's attendant's eyes twitched slightly, clearly thinking that this answer was somewhat far-fetched.
Hua Zhe Yu was not wrong about his expression, nodded and said: "This season, it's almost time to finish storing the new rice, and the annual sales volume is also this month. 50,000 taels is not a small amount, there's no reason why the silver would be used up, and the warehouse only has 5,000 dan. Zhong Zhanggui, don't you think so?"
She slightly raised her eyelids, her gaze was clear and cold, under the weak appearance, there were a few hints of sharpness that couldn't be trifled with!
Zhong Zhanggui was shocked to hear what Zhao Guanshi said, thinking that this Seventh Miss was just a spoiled rich girl who didn't know anything and would be scared out of her wits by these words. He thought that even if she were cleverer, he could just put the account books in front of her and she would faint after flipping through them for a bit. But unexpectedly, she not only knew about the harvest season but also seemed to know how much grain should be stored in the warehouse each year, so how was he supposed to respond?
His eyes rolled around as he thought of a cunning excuse.
"Or are the three bosses just pretending to run such a large rice shop, only planning to sell 5,000 dan of rice in a year and then close down? Or do they plan to sell the new rice first and then sell moldy rice, causing someone to die and getting me, the owner of this rice shop, thrown into prison?" Hua Zhe pressed on, not waiting for him to speak, her words sharp and forceful.
As soon as these words came out, not only the three shopkeepers but also Manager Zhao changed their expressions. The lady said that handing over the shop to Seventh Miss was just a matter of one night, and in such a short time, Seventh Miss couldn't have asked anyone with business experience for advice or guidance, so how could she possibly understand the operating procedures of several rice shops? And how could she also express the lady's intentions?
This seemingly weak but actually sharp-eyed woman, how could she be the gentle and reserved Seventh Young Miss he knew?
Miss, you don't know that this year the Jiangnan region first suffered from drought and then flooding, resulting in a sharp reduction in rice production. The purchase price is several times higher than last year's, so 30,000 taels of silver can only buy 6-7,000 dan. As for the previous 20,000 taels of silver, it was all spent last year...
"Is that so?" Hua Zhe Yu suddenly waved her hand, and the expression on her face softened again. She picked up her tea cup and smiled: "Doing business always has its difficulties, people's calculations often don't match heaven's calculations, never mind, anyway I don't understand these things, you explaining to me is also useless. Actually, I came today just to take a look at the shop that the Empress Dowager gave to my sister, as for taking over the shop, it seems that this weak woman is not up to the task."
The few people present secretly let out a sigh of relief, their goal was to scare off Miss Seven, and it seemed that she had retreated in the face of difficulty, not disappointing Mrs. Fu's trust.
Hua Zhe Yu drank a mouthful of tea, took the fan in his hand and gently fanned himself, speaking softly as if chatting with old friends: "I wonder where the families of you several bosses are living now?"
As soon as he mentioned his family, Zhong Zhanggui couldn't help but glance at the other two shopkeepers with a hint of pride and said: "Thanks to Seventh Miss's blessing, my humble wife is now managing a small estate for Madame's family. My son, Zhong Sheng, is currently following Second Young Master, and recently I heard that Second Young Master has given up taking the imperial examination to join the Qingyiwei of the Imperial Guards. Due to my son's relationship, Second Young Master has already been favored by the commander of the Qingyiwei, Qi Baowei. In the future, my son will also follow Second Young Master into the Qingyiwei."
"The two young girls are both in the mansion, serving as maids in the young lady's quarters."
"The little wife and daughter were helping in the kitchen."
Qian and Liu might be less showy than Zhong, but they spoke in a more subdued tone. Hua Zhenyu suppressed her doubts and took another look around the shop before leaving with Peony early.
Because Zhao was watching all the way, Yu Ru had a lot of words stuck in her throat, and after returning to the mansion, Hua Yu also didn't return to the courtyard, but went straight into the Dacheng Garden.
Gu's family was laughing and chatting while eating iced watermelon with Hua Ruo Yun. When they saw Hua Zhe Yu coming in, the two of them quickly stopped smiling, and Zhou Mama gave Gu's family and Hua Ruo Yun a knowing glance before warmly inviting Hua Zhe Yu to sit down.
She handed a piece of iced watermelon to Hua Yu in the rain and asked, "Did you go to meet with the three bosses today? Was it smooth?"
Hua Ruo Yundao smiled and said, "I just heard that congratulations are in order, Seventh Sister can now take charge of the shop. In the future, when you arrive at Beiming, you will surely become a virtuous queen who is good at managing the household and finances."
Isn't this sarcasm?
Hua Zhe smiled, her expression unchanged: "Thank you, Third Sister, for your concern. Although I don't quite understand those business ways, from what the shopkeepers said, it seems like the shop is suffering a huge loss."
"It's indeed the case." Madam Gu said with a helpless expression: "If it were any other business that was losing money like this, Mother would have sold it off long ago. But those three shops were bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, and even if they're losing money, Mother can only secretly take silver from the public funds to make up for the losses. This is a secret hidden from the second and third branches."
She sighed again and said, "Now that you can take over the shop, the second and third rooms will inevitably have to come together to settle this account. The 100,000 taels of silver used to fill the gap are probably no longer hidden."
