RPAGF Chapter 108: High-Price Grocery Store
Chapter 108: High-Price Grocery Store
Baili Lane is neither a suburb nor a civilian area. Instead, it is a residential area that only the middle and upper classes can afford. It is very prosperous, with the cries of hawkers echoing in the streets.
Ji Yuntang found the house that Aunt Xu had purchased according to the address marked on the title deed.
The mansion in front of me is very large, with a typical three-way, multi-entry courtyard layout. The roof is made of red bricks and decorated with glazed tiles. The courtyard is neat, dignified and orderly, and there are two large stone lions at the door.
Pushing the door open, the courtyard is even more spacious. Although it is not as luxurious as the Night Prince's Palace, it is half the size of the Night Prince's Palace.
There was no one living in the house at that time, and it seemed that Aunt Xu did not dare to hire anyone to manage it. On the one hand, she would have to pay more wages, and on the other hand, she was afraid that the matter would be exposed.
Ji Yuntang took a look around and felt that the house was good in all aspects. It was a good deal to buy it for 15,000 taels of silver, so he decided to keep it.
As for what it will be used for, she hasn't decided yet.
However, this can be regarded as the first private property under Ji Yuntang.
After looking at the house, Ji Yuntang went to the craftsman shop on Baihu Street.
From the outside, this is a typical grocery store, selling children's toys, women's jewelry, clothes, pants, shoes, rice, sorghum wine, tea, coal... almost everything is here, and the items are many and varied.
The manager inside was an old man in his fifties, wearing coarse linen clothes. At the moment, he was sitting with a hunched back, sighing.
During the time Ji Yuntang was inside, he sighed more than twenty times.
"Hey~"
With another heavy sigh, Ji Yuntang frowned, walked up to the old man, and asked, "May I ask if this old man is Manager Wang of the Craftsmanship Shop?"
The sudden voice in his ear startled Manager Wang. He turned around and found a stunningly beautiful girl in white standing behind him.
Thinking that the other party was the first customer of the Craftsmanship Shop today, Manager Wang immediately greeted him warmly.
"It's me. Miss, what would you like to buy? We have everything in this grocery store. I can help you..."
Ji Yuntang interrupted him, "I'm not here to buy anything. I'm Princess Ye. I came here today to tell Steward Wang that Nanny Xu secretly misappropriated the money from the palace to buy a house and open a shop. Now she is doomed and there is no possibility of her turning around. This shop will belong to me from now on."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Yuntang took out the title deed of the Craftsman Shop and placed it in front of him.
The name of the operator above also changed from Xu Cui to Ji Yuntang.
Manager Wang was dumbfounded. He actually didn't know that the owner of this craftsmanship shop was actually the housekeeper of Prince Ye's mansion.
He only knew that the other person's surname was Xu, and that every time he came, he would wrap himself up tightly for fear of being seen.
And every time it was Nanny Xu who tried to contact him or asked someone to send him a letter, but he couldn't find her at all when he wanted to.
At first, Manager Wang thought that the other party was just the master of a wealthy family and it was inconvenient for him to let others recognize his identity.
Unexpectedly, the craftsman shop he had run for two years was stolen by the other party using the money embezzled from the Night King's Palace.
Are the servants in the palace so bold now?
Manager Wang was shocked and could not believe that he had actually worked for a servant for two years.
Suddenly he thought of something, his face changed, and he knelt on the ground and said, "I didn't know Princess Ye was here. Please forgive me. I wonder if you can let me see Madam Xu again?"
Seeing that he looked unhappy, Ji Yuntang asked in confusion, "Why did you meet her?"
"To reply to the princess, Madam Xu still owes me ten months' wages. I have elderly and children at home who are waiting for me to take money back for meals. I want to get the overdue wages back from her."
If it weren't for this, he would have quit his job long ago. Steward Wang didn't care what Nanny Xu did or what punishment she would receive. He only cared about his ten months' salary.
Ji Yuntang's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked in confusion: "She doesn't pay you, why do you still help her run the shop?"
"Your Highness Princess, you may not know that when recruiting workers, this Madam Xu personally promised to pay eight taels of silver a month. At that time, there were so many people scrambling to work in the craftsmanship shop, but she only hired one person to be the manager."
"My family was in urgent need of money, so I wanted to give it a try. I didn't expect that Aunt Xu would take a liking to me at first sight. Seeing that I was an honest person and my wife had died, she kept me and we signed an employment contract."
"At the beginning, the wages were paid on time, but gradually it became unreasonable. Whenever I asked her for my wages, she would make all kinds of excuses to shirk them, saying that I should wait a little longer and that she would pay me after a while. I believed her."
"But later I found out that this boss came to the shop less and less often. I haven't seen her for a long time. In the past month, she has not sent any news at all. She didn't even send me a message. I can't leave, so I can only guard this deserted shop every day."
Ji Yuntang pursed his lips. Isn’t this a typical empty promise?
She heard everything that Aunt Xu was thinking: working for nothing without pay.
"Manager Wang, how is the profit of the craftsmanship shop?"
Shopkeeper Wang said with a depressed face: "The profits of the Craftsmanship Shop have always been poor. The things here are sold at high prices. I have advised the owner time and time again to lower the prices. Small profits but quick turnover is the long-term strategy for doing business, but she simply does not listen. She thinks that she can make more money if the prices are high. As long as she sells one, she can earn the money of five other shops. This is a business that is sure to make money. There are always people willing to be suckers and buy it."
But the fact is, there are not so many suckers. With so many goods unsold, she can't even make the most basic profit. Isn't she the sucker?
Ji Yuntang found a chair and sat down, tapping the table top with his fingertips.
"Manager Wang, bring me the account book of the craftsmanship shop."
"Princess, please wait a moment. I will get the account book for you right away."
Ji Yuntang took the account book and flipped through it page by page. The more he read, the deeper his frown deepened.
A pound of tea costs five taels of silver, a pound of candied fruit costs three taels of silver, a pair of straw sandals costs two taels of silver, an oil-paper umbrella costs eight taels of silver...
This is not just expensive, it's simply astronomical.
Rich people would never choose this kind of place to buy, and poor people would probably just leave without even looking at the price.
Ji Yuntang was speechless. No wonder she had been sitting here for so long without seeing a single customer dare to come in.
Steward Wang added, "Princess, please forgive me for being blunt, but if this shop continues to operate like this, I'm afraid it will close in less than a month."