Chapter 24
Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir
Chapter: 024 out of 513 – Delivering herself (1)
Ji Man happily agreed that she was quite lucky. Now, she would be able to save part of her money.
“I thought about Madam’s proposal. Since you’re willing to work together with me, let’s draw up a contract.” Miss Shui looked at her and said in a deadly earnest voice, “Since Madam wants to be a behind-the-scenes boss, I’ll help you sell your item for a monthly salary. It really doesn’t seem fair to use your store for free and also get a share of the profit.”
Ji Man smiled and said, “It’s hard to find a trustworthy person. It’s fine if you want to be my shopkeeper. Then, we can straightforwardly split the profits. Forty and sixty percent of the profit will go to you and me, respectively, from selling the cosmetics, including the sale of my item. The monthly salary won’t be needed. What do you think?”
Would anyone put as much effort and thought into managing another person’s shop as she did for her own shop? Ji Man would rather earn less money and secure this shopkeeper, who looked very competent.
Miss Shui hesitated for a long time before she sighed and said, “Madam, you’re very frank and accommodating. You’re also my benefactor that saved me from a bad situation. Since you’ve already spoken to this point, then I won’t keep refusing. After the store is finished being sorted out and opens for business, I’ll definitely do my best to manage the business.”
Ji Man smiled as she nodded.
They went the store’s second floor and she gave her the banknotes that were worth three hundred silver taels to her and a large box of cold cream.
“This is the item that I want to sell. It’s called cold cream. Once the store is ready, leave this container in the most conspicuous and best spot in the store. But, don’t sell it. Only allow the customers to sample it.”
Miss Shui looked at the box in puzzlement. When she opened the box, the faint fragrance of osmanthus flowers lingered at the tip of her nose. It was a lovely light yellow cream.
“What’s this? Rouge?”
Ji Man shook her head, “No. This is a skincare product. It can make your skin fair and smooth. When women use rouge too much, it’ll make their skin worse. Using this skincare product, their skin will become better.”
Miss Shui’s eyes brightened. “I haven’t seen this type of item being sold before.”
Ji Man faintly smiled. Then, she handed over a small box. “This box is for you to use. If people see its positive effect on you, it’ll be easier to convince them to buy it when you sell it later.”
“Thank you Madam.” Miss Shui accepted the cold cream. She was still slightly puzzled, “Is it really that magical?”
“You’ll be able to see it for yourself after trying it.” Ji Man said, “No matter who tries to buy the cold cream, don’t sell it to anyone. Only allow them to sample it. Just tell them that the supply is limited and they need to pre-order if they want to buy it. The large box is ten silver taels. The small box is five silver taels. There will only be a total of one hundred boxes for sale every month. Once the supply runs out, there won’t be anymore until the next month.”
Miss Shui gaped. “Why is it so expensive?”
It was already considered expensive to sell normal rogue for one silver tael. She actually wanted to sell this item for ten silver taels? Would they really be able to sell it for that price?
“Believe me, they’ll think it’s worth every tael once they try it. If you have any familiar customers from rich families, you can scoop some up with a seashell so they can take it home to use.” Ji Man looked like a business shark as she said, “Once they see how good the cold cream is, they’ll naturally come back to buy it.”
Miss Shui murmured assent. Although she still felt that these prices were unreasonable, she could only comply with her boss’s order.
The two of them wrote out their agreement. Miss Shui was a straightforward person. The contract clearly said that if she ever exposed Ji Man as the storeowner, she would have to compensate her with five hundred silver taels. Moreover, she would also have to immediately return the store to her.”
Ji Man naturally didn’t treat her unfairly either. Forty percent of the profits would be more than enough for her have a rich life.
On the way out, Ji Man asked Miss Shui’s address in the passing. She said that she would introduce her to a doctor that would come over to check her father’s illness.
After this pleasantly cooperative meeting, Ji Man held the remaining two large boxes of cold cream as she swiftly called for a carriage to return home.
This time, Ji Man was waiting outside the residence’s entrance to return with Liu Mama after ditching her again. This way, she wouldn’t be scolded for returning without Ji Man. Although Liu Mama found the situation strange, she didn’t say anything. It was fine as long as she wasn’t punished.
—
Marquis Moyu had been busy with going back and forth to the palace during the past two days for an unknown reason. But, since he wasn’t home much, the residence was a lot less tense during this period. None of other women left their courtyards to aimlessly walk around. They were all staying in their rooms to figure out ways to make themselves appear more attractive.
—
Wen Wan increasingly felt that Nie Sangyu had reformed. She now appeared more or less as a gentle and warm-hearted person. The struggles that she had anticipated that she would have to face after coming here never happened. In addition, Nie Sangyu had also given her the super effective treasure item, cold cream. Wen Wan no longer used any other cosmetic. Therefore, the favorable impression she had towards Nie Sangyu was creeping upwards towards the sky.
Ji Man also knew that Wen Wan had relaxed her vigilance. But, when Wen Wan told her that she had arranged for her to serve Marquis Moyu tonight, Ji Man was still very shocked.
To be willing to push her own man towards another woman, this woman was truly generous. The female lead was truly a self-inflicting Holy Mother that was asking to be killed.*
—
After hearing this news, Mu Shuiqing was furious. She had been frequently visiting Wen Wan’s courtyard. She couldn’t believe that Wen Wan would give the chance of sleeping with the marquis to Nie Sangyu. It was so rare for the marquis to let madam arrange for him to sleep with someone else.
First, Honored Concubine Xue had received his favor. Then, he had repeatedly favored Wen Wan. Now, she wanted the marquis to favor that vicious woman, who had only recently left the confinement courtyard. Then, when would it finally be her turn?
After she had torn her handkerchief into pieces, Mu Shuiqing angrily went to Qi Siling’s courtyard.
—
Marquis Moyu was sitting at the table and his expression looked somewhat ugly. “You want me to go to Nie Sangyu’s room?”
Wen Wan lowered her eyes. She was sitting in front of her dressing table. She quietly said, “Old Madame will be coming back in two days. You’ll have to go to her room sooner or later, so you might as well let me act as a sensible, worthy wife.”
* T/N: I tried to keep phrasing as close to the original Chinese sentence as possible and still be grammatically correct. But, I’m not sure if that made the meaning less clear. In that line, Ji Man is thinking that she really wants to kill Wen Wan for her “generosity.”