At dusk, Nanny Fu and Nanny Mi returned.

Nanny Fu said, “Miss, the shopkeepers of those two shops on South Street have both agreed to Miss’s conditions and said they can complete the transfer tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll trouble both nannies to make another trip tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Mi Luo agreed.

After Nanny Fu agreed, she remained standing in place. Mi Luo knew she must have something to discuss privately with the miss, so she withdrew first.

Only then did Nanny Fu speak: “Miss, Nanny Mi is indeed skilled at business. Today when those two shopkeepers tried to negotiate terms, it was Nanny Mi who managed to settle everything.”

Qin Shuying nodded: “Mm.”

Mi Luo naturally had this capability. Those two shopkeepers were fence-sitters who, seeing their employer wanting to transfer ownership so quickly, would certainly try to extort money. Although Qin Shuying needed to sell quickly and didn’t mind the losses, she couldn’t let them think they could deceive her at will. Once Mi Luo went, she had ways to negotiate successfully.

“It’s just that, Miss, this old servant still doesn’t understand why you want to sell those shops. They were all left to you by the master. If Miss can’t manage them, the old madam and Second Master wouldn’t stand by and ignore it.”

Nanny Fu’s words were indeed correct. Qin Shuying said, “Nanny, those shops are now only losing money without profit and can no longer be operated. I will inform the old madam and uncle about this matter.”

Nanny Fu smiled. It was good that Miss could think this way.

“Miss, this old servant lacks vision and simply can’t bear to see the master’s life work wasted. Now that the main house has returned everything the master left behind—gold, silver, treasures, calligraphy, paintings, and antiques—Miss won’t be able to use it all in a lifetime. It’s better not to worry about such troublesome matters. Taking good care of your health is more important than anything else.”

Nanny Fu was quite open-minded and truly had her best interests at heart. Qin Shuying smiled and agreed, but inwardly she sneered repeatedly: Not worry about such troublesome matters? Her reason for selling these two shops was mainly because they were too scattered, those shopkeepers weren’t her people, and they were difficult to manage. She didn’t want to spend energy and time cultivating new trusted subordinates, so even if she took a loss selling them now, it didn’t matter.

She had more important things to do. Next, she would concentrate her efforts on attacking Lu Changxuan’s business, crushing his enterprises and cutting off his main economic source. She wanted to see what the Lu manor would eat and drink if, without the fine shops she had painstakingly accumulated, they only had his meager official salary? Without fine clothes and delicacies, without carriages and luxurious garments, how long could Old Madam Lu maintain her official lady’s airs? And her dear sister Qin Feifei—what would she rely on for her fine clothes and delicacies? And that high and mighty Imperial Concubine Lianpin—what would she use to manage those eternally insatiable desires in the deep palace?

Furthermore, she was isolated and weak. To deal with these people with only those around her would be far from sufficient. Therefore, she was already planning to gather a group of people to work for her.

“How are the arrangements for the milk brother and the Du family going?” The Du family was Mi Luo’s husband’s family.

“Everything is arranged properly. Miss, my shopkeeper is too honest. When the master was alive, he elevated him and made him a shopkeeper. With the master’s sincere invitation, he managed well enough. These past three years, without the master’s support, he couldn’t manage and completely disgraced Miss.”

Qin Shuying comfortingly patted Nanny Fu’s hand: “Nanny, Uncle Jin is sincere in his dealings—that’s exactly why I feel at ease!”

Just as Nanny Fu said, Shopkeeper Jin was particularly honest and extremely stubborn in his ways. If he weren’t such a person, it would have been impossible for Nanny Fu to stay by Qin Shuying’s side all these years, especially since she had a whole family to support.

Business required flexibility and adaptability, but honest people had their advantages too. With Shopkeeper Jin overseeing things, there was no fear of problems with quality or weight. As for earning more or less, Qin Shuying had other methods.

The remaining shopkeepers had colluded with Xu Shi plenty over the years. Without another word, Qin Shuying dismissed them all, holding their indenture contracts in her hands and sending them to work at the estates. As for how much they had embezzled, Qin Shuying didn’t pursue it further—she currently lacked the energy and time for such matters.

On the surface, she now only had four shops in her hands, all of which had been shut down. Shopkeeper Jin and Shopkeeper Du led the remaining dozen or so people who refused to leave in final clearing and bargain sales.

Nanny Fu’s two sons and Mi Luo’s eldest son were all arranged to work in the shops. Nanny Fu’s sons were thirteen and eleven respectively, while Mi Luo’s eldest son was nine. They already had some foundation, and now with free rein to learn, they would soon be able to handle things independently.

After three days, Shopkeeper Jin and Shopkeeper Du had completely cleaned out all the shops, selling all inferior goods at bargain prices, clearly showing that their owner was wealthy and decisive in her methods.

They then bought several shops around the Lu family’s shops and began posting notices to recruit personnel. Besides hiring assistant managers, they also recruited nearly fifty shop assistants. The final personnel roster was determined by the Mi Luo couple.

Everything proceeded like a fierce storm, vigorous and orderly at the same time.

Yanfei Pavilion

“Crash!”

Jin Huan was startled and didn’t dare look at Xu Shi’s face. She hurriedly crouched down to pick up the ceramic shards on the ground. Nanny Liu gave her a look, and Jin Huan, understanding the hint, didn’t dare even breathe heavily and quickly left.

“That wretch!” Xu Shi sat angrily at the table, her face full of ferocity, completely lacking her usual gracious magnanimity.

“Madam, please have some tea to calm your anger!” Nanny Liu poured a fresh cup of tea.

Xu Shi drank the tea in one gulp and sneered: “I thought that wretched girl would eventually come crying to beg me, but who knew she had already made plans! She even cost me Nanny Zhang! However, little wretch, don’t laugh too early!”

Nanny Liu carefully advised: “Madam, you have Imperial Concubine Lianpin, the eldest and second young masters, Second Miss and Sixth Miss. It’s not worth getting angry with a little girl.”

Nanny Liu was part of her dowry and had followed her for nearly thirty years. Nanny Liu was more restrained and level-headed than Nanny Zhang, so she often had Nanny Zhang handle public matters while Nanny Liu was actually her strategist. Nanny Liu had contributed to the Qin Yaoyao affair.

Nanny Liu smiled warmly: “Madam, Second Madam is ultimately of concubine birth. Once your confinement is lifted, the Qin manor will still be in your hands. No one can overturn the natural order.”

Nanny Liu whispered two sentences in Xu Shi’s ear, and Xu Shi’s face gradually showed a smile…

Fangfei Courtyard

“Miss, the weather is nice today. Why don’t you go out for a stroll?” Cai Yan, Qin Yunyun’s head maid, suggested.

“Are you saying I’m not wretched enough already?” Qin Yunyun scolded, her willow eyebrows furrowing, frightening Cai Yan into immediately kneeling: “This servant didn’t mean that. Please punish me, Miss.”

“If you didn’t mean that, why would I need to punish you? Are you trying to give me a reputation for mistreating servants? What are your intentions?!”

Qin Yunyun roared angrily and kicked out. Cai Yan instinctively dodged, but Qin Yunyun still kicked her knee. Cai Yan was in such pain that tears came to her eyes.

Qin Yunyun was stunned for a moment, knowing her behavior was inappropriate, but how could she apologize to a maid? Fortunately, her wet nurse Nanny Zhao said to Caiying: “Help Cai Yan go apply medicine. I’ll stay with Miss.”

After Caiying and Cai Yan left, Qin Yunyun collapsed on the table and began crying angrily.

Nanny Zhao consoled her: “Miss, you are Imperial Concubine Lianpin’s legitimate younger sister. No matter what, Seventh Miss cannot surpass you…”

After much consolation, Qin Yunyun finally stopped crying.