Chapter 769 - 771: What Big Talk
Chapter 769: Chapter 771: What Big Talk
Mrs. Liang He couldn’t stand the fact that Jin Qianqian, a woman her own age, outshined her in every possible way.
Just from the sea trade alone, the Gu family made more in a single year than families like hers could ever hope to amass. And that wasn’t even counting the lucrative profits from Tianfu Restaurant, the soap business, and their other ventures.
"My lord, Gu Wenheng is currently deeply favored by His Majesty. Will that affect you?"
"I am a man preparing for retirement," Liang Shi replied calmly. "What impact could it possibly have on me?"
"But my lord, Yi Province has undergone sweeping transformations this year. Couldn’t you advance just one more step?" In Mrs. Liang He’s eyes, Liang Shi was already a second-rank official. If he advanced further, she could be bestowed the title of First-Grade Imperial Decree Lady.
If it weren’t for the fact that this region was considered a backwater, a governor of his standing should have already been a Standard First Rank.
With that prestigious status, she and her son would live a lifetime of Ping’an within the Liang family, untouchable and secure.
"You make it sound so easy," Liang Shi said. Having spent years navigating officialdom, how could he not want to advance further?
However, he was getting older and was far removed from the official circles of the Upper Capital. No one was willing to place their bets on a man nearing the end of his career. Even if he barely managed to squeeze into the next rank, it would be of marginal value to others.
"Don’t you still have old friends in Shangjing? Why don’t you try? What if it works out?"
Liang Shi frowned. "These matters are not your concern. Just focus on managing the inner courtyard."
Mrs. Liang He was absolutely sick of hearing those words, but she didn’t dare argue. "My lord, what about those storefronts over in East City...?"
Rents for storefronts in that area were rising daily. Because the shops she had taken over recently were bleeding money, Liang Shi had already threatened to take them back.
Despite pleading and sweet-talking him for days, she had only managed to buy herself a few more months.
"Clear out your inventory as soon as possible. I’ll have someone lease the shops out." Liang Shi genuinely felt that his junior wife lacked any business acumen. Rather than watching her continue to hemorrhage money, it was better to rent out the properties; at least they would collect a steady income.
"But business doesn’t flourish overnight! It took so much effort just to make an impression on the customers. Now that business is finally picking up, leasing them out would be a massive loss."
"Why don’t you go ask around? Whose shops lose money month after month like yours do?
"All those people who showed up to support your grand opening—have you seen a single one of them return for a second visit?
"Is my dignity as a governor worth less than those peanuts you’re scraping together?"
Many of the customers had only made purchases out of respect for Liang Shi. Unfortunately, not only were the prices at her shops significantly higher than her competitors, but the quality and styles of her goods were severely lacking.
Although no one had complained to him directly, preferring to suffer the loss in silence, the fact that none of them ever went back was telling enough.
"I’m still in the trial-and-error phase! Besides, if you take the shops back now, where will I put my pride?" Back then, driven by a desire to prove herself, Mrs. Liang He had thrown a massive, bustling grand opening. All the official families and aristocratic families in Yongchang County had attended.
If she abruptly folded her business now, how could she ever show her face at social banquets again?
"Pride is earned, not given," Liang Shi said sternly. "Look at Mrs. Gu. See how methodical she is in everything she does? Every single one of her clerks is thoroughly trained before they ever set foot on the shop floor. And what about you? You just use your own trusted servants.
"It’s not that I look down on them, but look at how they handle things!
"The other day, I was walking out of Tianle Restaurant with some acquaintances. Remembering your shop was nearby, I decided to drop in. Who knew those blind fools would be sitting around acting like lords themselves? They didn’t even bother to greet a customer walking through the door! And you still expect to run a successful business like this?
"If you truly want to run those shops properly, go take a look at Mrs. Gu’s establishments. Now that is how you do business. Before a customer even crosses the threshold, someone is already there to welcome them. They are treated with the utmost attentiveness while the products are introduced. With service like that, even if you just wanted to browse, you’d still end up buying something before you left.
"Stocking the shelves and then washing your hands of the whole thing while letting your subordinates run wild... even if we had a mountain of wealth, it wouldn’t be enough to cover your losses.
"If you wash your hands of it now, I’ll let you keep the rent money from those shops for the next few years. At the very least, you can recoup the silver you’ve already invested."
If she wasn’t his own wife, Liang Shi wouldn’t have bothered explaining so much.
"Since you’re already willing to give me the rent from those shops, my lord, why not let me try a little longer?
"You said the staff is incompetent, so I’ll replace them. If that doesn’t work, I’ll buy new servants from outside." The very thought of being compared to Jin Qianqian made Mrs. Liang He feel suffocated with resentment.
However, she didn’t dare show any displeasure in front of Liang Shi. Forcing a cautious smile, she pleaded, "Let me try for one more year. If it still doesn’t work, I’ll forfeit the rent entirely and return the shops to you."
"...You really won’t give up until you hit a brick wall," Liang Shi sighed. "Fine. You only have so much dowry silver anyway. When you lose it all, don’t come crying to me."
Liang Shi gave up completely. With a stubborn personality like hers, she fell far short of Gu Wenheng’s wife.
"Your niece has been staying in our manor for quite some time now. You should just leave her marriage arrangements to her own parents!"
Liang Shi didn’t have any real issue with the girl from the He family. After all, the estate was massive; one more young girl didn’t make a difference.
It was just that the aunt and niece had been so incredibly picky for so long. They had investigated nearly every eligible bachelor in Yongchang County, yet they still hadn’t managed to select a suitable match.
He couldn’t fathom what on earth was going through their heads.
Given the He family’s status, even with the backing of a governor relative like himself, there were only a handful of families that were truly a suitable match.
"Sigh, I’ve been agonizing over this too. My brother entrusted Xiao Yu to me in the hopes that I could find her a good household. But brokering a mutual agreement has proven incredibly difficult. My lord, can you think of any suitable candidates?"
Previously, she had tried to set her niece up with Wu Kun.
Who would have known that Wu Kun was all flash and no substance? It had been over a year, and Tianle Restaurant was still teetering on the edge of collapse.
When she first brought her niece over, the man had played dumb and acted oblivious.
But the moment they started showing interest in other suitors, he suddenly clung to them again.
Mrs. Liang He hadn’t minded Wu Kun’s wishy-washy attitude too much, but her niece had rejected him outright.
After that, they evaluated many other families, but there was always some flaw or another, which ended up delaying her prime marriage age by another year.
"You always look down on everyone I suggest," Liang Shi noted. He had brought up several men before, but Mrs. Liang He had scoffed at all of them, so he hadn’t bothered suggesting anyone else.
Speaking of which, an idea suddenly came to him. "Now that I think about it, doesn’t Gu Wenheng still have a few unmarried nephews? If you think it’s a good match, I can go have a word with him."
"Those boys?" Mrs. Liang He said, her tone dripping with disdain. "Those are only Gu Wenheng’s nephews, not his biological sons. It’s a shame his two boys are still so young; otherwise, I might actually consider it."
Liang Shi clutched his chest in frustration. "Your ego is growing out of bounds. The Gu family boys might just be Gu Wenheng’s nephews, but He Xiaoyu is merely your niece."
If one really wanted to compare blood ties, the Gu nephews actually held a closer familial status.