Chapter 27: Longing for Each Other, Missing Each Other Bitterly

  Liu Junwen's hand had just stretched out, not yet touching Jiang Xuning's tender cheek, when it was blocked by a hand that appeared out of nowhere. Liu Junwen turned his head and shouted angrily: "Liu is here to discipline his wife, who dares to interfere?"

  At a glance, it was a smiling doll with a smile on its face, and I couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

  "Baby" didn't say a word, and with a loud punch, hit Liu Junhuan's eye. Liu Junhuan let out a loud cry and fell backwards. "Baby" didn't say another word, lifted her skirt, picked up her boots and started kicking him mercilessly...

  The jewelry store where the trouble occurred is a very high-end store in Nanshi, and each piece of jewelry is not cheap. Even the cheapest and most inconspicuous jade jewelry is worth half a year's food for an ordinary family, so it's usually very quiet.

  In the back room of the shop, the shopkeeper was accompanying the accountant to sort out the accounts, and two young masters in brocade robes were sitting beside him. One of them was Xie Muwen, Xie Douwei, and the other was named Gao Ying, also a guard of the Imperial Guard, who took turns fanning the Empress Wu at ordinary times. The two had always been a pair, so they were very close friends.

  Xie Muwen carefully looked at the ledger, Gao Ying called out her small characters, covering her mouth and laughing: "Little Man, at our age, we should either buy some cosmetics and jewelry, or buy some colorful clothes and embroidered skirts, dress up to be a beautiful flower. How can you be so young and yet such a big money enthusiast?"

  Xie Muwen smiled silently, today the two were not on duty, and they deliberately came to this jewelry store together. The two came to this store, but it was not to buy jewelry, because the facade of this store was opened by Xie Muwen, and Gao Ying was accompanying her friend to check the accounts.

  All these years, Xie Mowan has been frugal and thrifty, using her salary and rewards to invest in business. As a member of the emperor's personal guard, she enjoys many privileges, which have helped her business thrive. The initial capital has snowballed over the years, and now she owns several shops in Luoyang City.

  Although Gao Ying teased her for being a money lover, she actually admired and envied her. Everyone earned about the same amount of money, but their salaries and rewards were spent as soon as they were received, without saving a single penny. They even felt that their finances were tight, so how did she manage to build such a big business?

  "Gao Ying sighed lightly: "You, who are you working so hard for? When you get married in the future, all these properties will be given to your husband's family, and others will enjoy them. Look at how simple and plain you dress, don't you know how to make yourself look good? You're wasting this beautiful age of yours. With your status and looks, you'll definitely marry a great man in the future, why bother accumulating dowry so painstakingly?"

  Xie Muwen still smiled and didn't speak, she wasn't saving up for her dowry, it's just that this thought didn't need to be shared with Gao Ying, saying it once would only add more heartache and disappointment, what's the point of that.

  It wasn't long before the manager had sorted out the accounts and handed them over to the shopkeeper, who took the ledger with both hands and presented it to Xie Muwen, saying: "Master, this is the account from the beginning of the month until now, please take a look."

  Xie Mowan took the account, looked at the settled amount, and smiled: "Yan Gao Lou is indeed worthy of its name. I hired you as the shopkeeper, it seems I found the right person. It's only been half a month, and the profit is already so substantial."

  Yan Zhanggui smiled and said, "This is all thanks to the good fortune of our Eastern House. Our Zhu Yu Fang rarely has patrolling soldiers or officials coming to disturb us, and even the local rascals don't dare to cause trouble at our doorstep. Moreover, many of our pearls are purchased from Guangzhou Prefecture, with novel and elegant designs that are distinct from those brought from the Western Regions. That's why they're so well-liked by the women of the capital, which naturally attracts a lot of customers. It's not due to my own abilities."

  Xie Mowan smiled and flipped through the account book, saying: "With my identity, there's no one who dares to come to our door to make trouble. However, we can't force customers to come to us either. Boss Yan's management is indeed commendable, this achievement is not fake at all. You just need to put in more thought and I won't treat you unfairly!"

  Yan Gaolou hastily cupped his hands and said: "Then I, Yan, will thank the master first."

  When the two of them started discussing the details of the account, Gao Ying, although she was her close friend, didn't want to hear it and made an excuse to go to the backyard. Xie Muwen and Yan Gaolou went through the accounts from start to finish in the accounting room, and only then did they close the ledger. They asked: "Shopkeeper, have you heard any news about my brother's whereabouts from the apprentice who went to Guangzhou to buy jewelry?"

  Yan Gaolou bowed and said, "Every time I send someone to Guangzhou to purchase goods, I repeatedly instruct them to prioritize finding the eldest brother of the Dong family. They have searched every street and alley, and even asked the jewelers in Guangzhou to help find him, but so far there is no news."

  Xie Muwen's face suddenly turned gloomy, and Yan Gaolou couldn't help but sigh softly when he saw her expression. Yan Gaolou knew a thing or two about the master's affairs. As far as he knew, this master was originally a beggar from Guangzhou Prefecture, later taken in by a nobleman, and then entered the capital, where he was introduced to that nobleman's sister-in-law, Lady Xie, whom he called his adoptive mother, becoming one of the palace's female guards.

  It turns out that this Commander Xie had a deep affection for her elder brother. She had opened several shops in the eastern, western and southern markets, all of which were businesses set up for her brother. The several properties under her name were all engaged in operating goods imported from the Guangdong port, originally just to make it convenient for people to find her brother, but unexpectedly, it was a stroke of luck, because nowadays the main merchandise of the Tang Dynasty is purchased from the Western Regions, and the goods purchased from the south are rare, which makes her shops stand out.

  With her identity as Mei Hua Nei Wei Gu Yi Du Wei, her store did not buy goods from merchants coming from the south, but instead took a free ride on the official boats traveling between north and south to purchase goods herself. As a result, the procurement cost was extremely low. Moreover, the people she sent to Guangzhou to buy goods all undertook the mission of finding her brother's whereabouts without exception.

  Unfortunately, after all these years, the beggars in Guangzhou have been searched thoroughly, but his whereabouts are still unknown. The fellow who was responsible for finding him didn't know how to keep a secret at first and leaked some information, and some beggars of similar age even impersonated him, causing Xie Muwen to be disappointed many times.

  But those impostors, no matter how similar they looked and how eloquent they were, couldn't say what kind of jewelry her brother had given her or what he said when they parted ways. Later, the guy in charge of finding people also knew to keep his mouth shut, so there were fewer impersonators.

  In Yan Zhanggui's opinion, her brother was probably frozen to death long ago. The master of the house is infatuated and this guess he dare not speak, so naturally there is no way to persuade him.

  Xie Muren, however, did not think so, and although the hope was slim, fortunately, there was still hope.

  She fell silent for a moment, nodded, and said sorrowfully: "Thanks to the shopkeeper, people... still have to keep looking, must find..."

  The atmosphere in the room was somewhat depressed for a moment, and the housekeeper saw this situation, hurriedly gave a wink to the shopkeeper, saying: "Shopkeeper, the master rarely comes over, why don't we bring out that batch of fine jewelry and accessories we just brought from Guangzhou, and let the master pick a few pieces he likes."

  The shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief and repeatedly said: "Alright alright, sir. Let me get the jewelry I just purchased."

  In a moment, Yan Zhanggui brought back a large box and opened it. Inside, there were four layers of jewelry trays, which he placed on the table one by one. Xie Muyun didn't intend to wear any jewelry or apply makeup, but as she casually glanced over the several boxes of jewelry, she suddenly spotted a butterfly-shaped hairpin and her eyes lit up. "I want this one," she said.

  The shopkeeper took a look at the hairpin and couldn't help but shake his head: "Although I'm the owner of the Pearl Jade Shop, my eyesight is really not that good. The style of this hairpin is too flashy, only suitable for young girls who haven't yet reached adulthood to wear in their hair. Although the workmanship is exquisite, the materials used don't seem expensive either. Among this batch of purchased hairpins, it belongs to the lower grade."

  The shopkeeper expressed his meaning in a subtle way, but Xie Mowan shook her head, staring at the hairpin in her hand with soft eyes, and said softly: "It may not be the most expensive one, but it is the most beautiful one in my heart. I like this butterfly, I like this butterfly hairpin."

  At this time, a mournful cry came from the front shop, Xie Muwen was indulging in that unforgettable moment, suddenly interrupted by the crying voice, very displeased, and raised an eyebrow, secretly annoyed: "Who dares to make noise in my store?"

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