Chapter 129 Clearing up Bad Ways and Customs
Seeing that Qin Yunuan kept emotionless, Manager Qian thought that she didn’t believe him. He continued with more confidence, “Third Young Madam, please believe me. There are letters that Grand Young Madam wrote to me in private at my house. Third Young Madam, if you allow me to stay, I will give them to you. From now on, I will be your man, doing whatever you want.”
“I don’t want anyone who is useless,” Qin Yunuan said coldly, “Pack your things and leave the draper as soon as possible. Oh, you’d better hurry. If my sister-in-law knows that you’ve told me her secret, the daughter of a concubine in Prince Gaoyang’s Mansion as she is, she is totally able to punish a powerless common person like you.”
“Third Young Madam, I…,” Manager Qian prepared to catch Qin Yunuan’s dress impertinently, but he was stopped by Leng Shuang, who leaned her body.
Qin Yunuan glanced at Manager Qian coldly across Leng Shuang and left determinedly. Outside, the three managers brought by Qin Yunuan had already found out the account books of the draper and put it on the counter. Some shop assistants who had some prestige were still arguing with the three managers.
“How can you take the account books out of our shop? Who do you think you are? Old man, beating you will make my hands dirty.”
One is a fat manager with big shoulders and round waist, one is a manager of ferocious features with a scar, so the other one, the oldest manager of the three, became the target which those stupid shop assistants took turns to attack.
However, the old manager was not flustered at all. He touched his grizzled goatee. Seeing Qin Yunuan come out, he moved away with great respect, so that she could stand at the front.
“I’ll answer your question just now,” Qin Yunuan told the shop assistant who kicked up a fuss in the rudest manner, “You just asked who the old manager was. In the past, this Manager Yu played second fiddle at the subbranch on Que’er Street of our Golden Butterfly Embroidery House. Now he is the grand manager of your draper. Do you understand?”
The change came so quickly that the shop assistants looked at each other in speechless surprise. Will the manager of the draper be changed so soon?
Finding everyone stunned, Ting Xue took a step forward and raised her voice, “Third Young Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion is asking you a question. No matter you understand or not, answer her.”
The words “Third Young Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion” reminded everyone present that the one who had the right to rule in the three shops was no longer the manager they knew, but Qin Yunuan, the one right in front of them. Although she was young, she had a strong mental aura.
The old manager nodded and said politely, “I hope that all of you will cooperate with me in the future.”
It meant that he would take office right away.
“OK… OK…,” some people had already compromised.
However, there were still a few stubborn people.
“I won’t accept it! Why did you change the manager as soon as you arrived here? Third Young Madam, although you take charge of everything, you should not disrupt the morale! I, Wang San, don’t care about my workplace. I won’t stay here to suffer wrong.” Finishing his words, the thin, sharp-eyed shop assistant looked back, calling several people whom he was on good terms with, “Brothers! If we work hard, we won’t worry about no meals to have. I know other places to make money. Follow me, and you won’t worry about raising your wives and kids.”
At that time, the situation became more chaotic. Some cried that they would follow Wang San. Others were hesitating, waiting to see the new boss, Qin Yunuan’s attitude.
Qin Yunuan was not anxious at all. She even called the scarred manager and fat manager, “See? They want to leave. You two hurry to open the front door wide. I want to see how much money those laborers who signed long-term contracts had to buy their freedom.”
When she finished her words, the atmosphere cooled down. Seeing that, the leader, Wang San, took courage to cry out, “Brothers! The boss in the good workplace I know was really kind. He promises that if I can take you with me, he will pay the money to buy our freedom. See? How can we miss a great chance like that?”
The atmosphere arose again. When the trend was almost completely led by Wang San, Qin Yunuan, standing in the very back of the house, spoke suddenly. Although her voice was not as powerful as the one of Wang San, she remained calm and clear, so her voice was easy to hear in the crowd.
“This man must be talking about boss Yuan’s grocery store. Well, I’ve heard that his shop has already lost many clients because it has an illegal relationship with the nanny responsible for purchasing in the mansion of Grand Commandant. It can hardly maintain its business now. How can it take in so many people like you?” As Qin Yunuan was saying, she walked to the front of the crowd. The sun outside was about to set. The golden afterglow poured on Qin Yunuan’s shoulder as if she had been glided with gold.
“For those who stay, there will be one copper coin adding to your wages every month. Your yearly holiday will prolong for three days. What’s more, you will have shared revenue according to customers’ reward and performance. How much you will get each month depends on your own ability. For those who leave, you have to pay the penal sum for your freedom contracts and long-term labor contracts. If you are late, I can prosecute you to the government. I won’t be bothered to do it, but I wonder whether you will insist to the end.”
Just as she finished her words, someone raised hands and shouted, “I will stay.”
“Liu Jiu! You!” Wang San, who cried that he would leave at the beginning, became anxious suddenly.
“Brother Wang, we’ve already got used to the work in the draper. Now that my wage is raised and I have more time to accompany my wife and children, I’d rather stay here.”
Following him, there were more and more people showing their attitude.
“I will stay, too!”
“Me, too!”
“Of course, I will stay! Why not?”
At first, Wang San took eight people to leave in total. Now everyone except him decided to stay in the draper, leaving him standing at the gate alone and looking isolated.
Qin Yunuan smiled at Wang San, “This ‘Brother Wang’, what about you?”
To tell the truth, Wang San thought that Qin Yunuan’s offer was quite attractive from the bottom of his heart. Raising the wage, prolonging the holiday, and adding shared revenue, how good it was! But…
“I don’t care,” teeth gritted, and face flushed, Wang San groaned. He had already accepted money from other people. Although he failed to persuade those people to leave the draper, he could not keep staying in it.
“All right,” Qin Yunuan didn’t flurry but smiled. She told the old manager and the shop assistants who would like to stay, “You need to remember now that Wang San no longer belongs to our draper, you will block him outside the gate. The draper needs loyal shop assistants, not a jackal that lurks inside but put its claws and heart outside. Are you clear now?”
Seeing that those shop assistants nodded submissively, Qin Yunuan turned her body in satisfaction. She smiled at Wang San, who was stunned at the gate, “Well, Brother Wang, you can go now. Once you leave, you shall never return under any circumstances.”
Wang San trembled again, gritted his teeth, and went out of the draper angrily.
Looking back at those shop assistants who were still hesitating, Qin Yunuan suddenly smiled warmly and softened her voice, “Do you have other things to say?”
They all shook their heads.
“If you don’t have other things to say, do what you should do now. The new manager will tell you about other changes in detail. You only need to remember that when you are working for me, you will get a reward as long as you are loyal and hard-working.”
Solving the problem in the draper, Qin Yunuan met no obstacle in the jewelry store and the rice store left. They might have already heard the news that Manager Qian in the draper was forced to leave. Qin Yunuan didn’t come there, but she sent the scarred manager and the fat manager to keep the order and showing the business condition recorded by the three managers in the tea house. As a result, she got all the account books and materials easily. Of course, it couldn’t be done without Leng Shuang watching beside.
Qin Yunuan only needed to enjoy the iced mung bean and lily soup in the carriage.
“Third Young Madam, it’s all over,” near evening, Maner and Ting Xue had already put the real account books of the three shops in the big box at the back of the carriage by themselves.
“Good,” Qin Yunuan straightened her body. She lifted the curtain and looked at the three shops with new signboards and the three new managers sent by her at the gates. She believed them deeply. Otherwise, she wouldn’t give them such important work to do.
And why did she begin from the draper? Firstly, she knew that the draper was the most profitable among the three, as well as the one with the most hidden profit. Secondly, since Manager Qian dared to lead the managers of the other two shops to cheat like that, there must be someone offering help behind him. So she never thought about the possibility of making Manager Qian stay. As for the other two managers, she allowed them to continue to help in the shops only for their rich experience.
It’s time for her to return to the mansion. Leng Shuang was protecting Qin Yunuan closely in the carriage, while Maner and Ting Xue followed at the two sides of it.
“What a pity,” Leng Shuang, who rarely had something to say, spoke suddenly. Then she turned to look at Qin Yunuan with lots of emotion, “Third Young Madam, those batches of material you asked me to split were all in the worth of a city. Some of them weren’t available even in the palace. As Manager Qian had given them to you, why didn’t you accept them?”
“It was because he said that they were not available in the palace that I couldn’t accept them,” Qin Yunuan smiled, “‘Common fame is seldom to blame.’ If I wear a dress made of the material that is better than the one the empress has, it is equal to giving me a death sentence.”
Leng Shuang lifted her lips with relief and appreciation, “I’ve already heard from General Leng that Third Young Madam is a woman with a special view and great wisdom. I used to doubt it, but today I believe it.” After that, she lifted the curtain casually and whispered, “Is the girl named Maner, the one that my brother likes?”