Chapter 34: Great Shock
Qin Yuan’s dowry shops were not in very good locations, scattered in several corners of the West Market. The only one was near a stall, but it was very small and could not do any big business.

Gu Shiliu was thinking about mentioning this to the Marquis when he got back.

After looking at these shops, Qin Yuan was very satisfied.

Compared with the previous life, it is much better.

The shopkeepers in the shop were all old men appointed by Cui. They were respectful to her but lacked loyalty.

Qin Yuan didn’t care.

After listening to their general talk, Qin Yuan asked for the account books for many years to look through.

If Qin Wan got these shops, the old nanny who came with her as a dowry would naturally help to manage them, and she would not have to go out in person to look after the shops and face these shop owners.

But Qin Yuan only has two maids who grew up with her.

Cuiming and Hongye had not experienced much and looked very young, so she was the only one who did it all by herself.

After looking through the account book, Qin Yuan had an idea in his mind.

She asked Gu Shiliu, “Is Meixiangzhai nearby?”

Gu Shiliu was stunned. “Madam, do you want to eat his cakes?”

Qin Yuan nodded.

Gu Shiliu said, “It’s not far. Their lotus cake, mung bean cake, and cloud cake are all pretty good. I haven’t been there for a while. I wonder if they have any new products.”

Qin Yuan said, “Why don’t you run some errands for me and buy a few popular items? You don’t need anything else, but the lotus cake is a must. It would be even better if you knew what the old lady liked.”

Gu Shiliu immediately agreed happily.

He had already thought about what to say when he got back to make the Marquis happy.

The Marquis grew up in a wealthy family and joined the army when he was young. He didn’t care about money at all and was generous and domineering.

Gu Shiliu would not miss such a good opportunity.

As soon as Gu Shiliu left, Qin Yuan threw down the account books in his hand and said to the shopkeepers with a cold face: “You should redo these account books and hand them over to the Marquis’ Mansion in three days. If I find any flaws again, you don’t have to manage these shops anymore and go back to the Qin family to work.”

Looking at their flickering eyes and suspicious expressions, Qin Yuan knew that they did not believe that she had seen through the tricks in the account books and just thought she was bluffing and trying to trick them.

“Here, here, in these places, there are discrepancies between the general ledger and the sub-ledgers. Over time, I don’t know how much money has leaked out. The account books can’t even be balanced. How can I trust you? Do you think the accountant of the Marquis’s Mansion can’t find out?”

Qin Yuan’s move shocked them greatly.

There are not many women who can do abacus, and even fewer who can do mental arithmetic. Qin Yuan was able to see the problem with the account book just by taking a glance, which was truly surprising.

If they move out of the Marquis’ Mansion again, they will be even less willing to act rashly.

The leader, Shopkeeper Wu, stood up tremblingly, picked up the account book with shaking hands, and his goatee trembled non-stop. He said in a hoarse voice: “We will have someone redo the account book right away, but we can’t check all the account books for so many years at once. Madam Hou, please give us a few more days.”

The other shopkeepers all responded with a smile, saying, “The account books for recent years are not a big problem, but the old ones are difficult to do. In fact, the details of this year’s income and expenditure are recorded. The clerk was not careful when doing the accounting, and it is possible that he made a few mistakes when transcribing. Generally, when closing the annual accounts, they will be carefully checked, otherwise Madam Qin would not let us manage the shop all the time.”

Qin Yuan drank some tea before slowly saying, “In that case, you should sort out this year’s account books carefully first. You have already handed over the previous accounts to the Qin Mansion’s account office, and I will not pursue it anymore. But in the future, you must be extremely careful and not make any mistakes again.” Shopkeeper Wu quickly took the lead and promised, “Madam, don’t worry, we will do so. We were also in a hurry because you wanted it, so we handed it in without a careful count. There will be no such thing in the future.”

Qin Yuan shocked them for a while, then asked: “How much money can each shop mobilize now?”

Several shopkeepers discussed among themselves for a while before they revealed the numbers one by one.

All together, it was only five hundred taels of silver.

Qin Yuan knew that they were worried that she would withdraw the money and affect the business of the shop, so they would definitely hide something. However, she did not expect that the amount was far from what she imagined.

Five hundred taels of silver could only buy about ten kilograms of pepper.

Seeing her frown, Shopkeeper Wu asked, “Madam, what’s the urgent need for you to withdraw the money?”

Qin Yuan did not hide it from him: “I intend to stock up some pepper.”

Shopkeeper Wu said hurriedly, “That thing is so precious. If Madam wants to sell it after receiving it, it will be difficult to sell. Ordinary people will not be willing to use it.”

Shopkeeper Lin asked, “Madam, have you heard any news?”

The other shopkeepers also reacted and realized that since Qin Yuan had married into the Marquis’s Mansion, she might have received some news, which was why she acted like this.

Facing the expectant eyes of the crowd, Qin Yuan said casually: “Not really. I had a dream a few days ago. I dreamed that the price of pepper in the capital had risen sharply and it was not available anywhere. Many wealthy families did not even have pepper to use for sacrifices and meat. They complained continuously and were worried that their ancestors would blame them.”

Shopkeeper Lin was a little disappointed. He smiled and said, “How can this dream be so accurate? Madam, you don’t know that pepper used to be expensive when it came from the Western Regions. In the past two years, the pepper sold by merchants from the Western Regions has been decreasing.”

“It was a rare commodity to begin with, and it’s even rarer now. Nowadays, barbecue restaurants have begun to look for other spices to replace it, otherwise I’m afraid that few customers can afford it. However, some people have found out that there are many places in Xifan Country where they passed by on their long journeys to the sea that produce pepper, and they are raising funds to ship pepper back to sell, so it’s really hard to predict whether this thing will rise or fall.”

Shopkeeper Wu also said, “You have to be careful. Madam bought too much and can’t use it all. If you keep it, you’re afraid that the market will change and the value will depreciate. Ordinary people won’t be willing to eat this. Only rich families will use it.”

Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, “My dream was very real. You might as well help me find out where I can buy pepper. It would be best if I buy it in large quantities. If I buy it in small quantities, the quality will vary and it will be difficult to negotiate the price.”

Shopkeeper Wu had no choice but to agree.

They saw disapproval in each other’s eyes.

Qin Yuan saw this and said, “I won’t transfer these five hundred taels of silver. It will be more convenient for you to circulate and purchase goods. But the account book must be revised. If problems are found in the store during random inspections in the future, don’t blame me for sending you to Jingzhao Yinfu with a letter from the Marquis’ Mansion.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and said they didn’t dare.

Manager Lin suddenly said, “I heard that a Persian merchant in the West Market has a sick mother and is about to pack up his stall and rush home. I’ll go and ask him if he has any pepper left.”

Qin Yuan nodded and said, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Gu Shiliu had already bought some pastries, packed them in several packages of different sizes and hung them on his arm. He asked in surprise, “Madam, do you want to buy pepper?”

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(End of this chapter)