The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 439 Dizzy from Being Overwhelmed by Money

After saying this, Ruan Yuhu got into the sedan chair and left without waiting for Gong Jianzhou's reply.

Gong Jianzhou was left standing there, dumbfounded and motionless.

"Master, the person has already left."

Chang Xiaowu, Gong Jianzhou's little follower, saw that his master was still standing there dumbfounded even after the sedan chair had left, so he spoke up to remind Gong Jianzhou.

"Oh."

Gong Jianzhou snapped out of his daze, looked down at the box in his hand, and quickly walked towards Liu's courtyard.

Although he didn't open the box, he could roughly guess what was inside.

Gong Jianzhou strode into the courtyard and immediately ordered, "Tell everyone in the courtyard to leave and close the gate."

Upon hearing what Gong Jianzhou said, Liu stood up abruptly in a panic.

As Gong Jianzhou entered the house, Liu immediately came to greet him and asked, "What happened?"

"It's alright, Second Aunt, don't worry."

Seeing Liu's anxious and frightened appearance, Gong Jianzhou quickly tried to comfort her.

Everyone in the room went out, and Gong Jianzhou helped Liu Shi to sit down in a chair.

After Liu calmed down, Gong Jianzhou handed the box in his hand to her.

Liu looked at the box in her hand with a puzzled expression and asked, "What's inside?"

Gong Jianzhou sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and after drinking it, said, "This is our family's mansion."

"Our family's big house?"

Liu looked down at the box in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then opened it.

When she saw the banknotes inside, she instantly understood what Gong Jianzhou meant when he said that this place contained their family's mansion.

Liu shakily took out the silver notes from the box. There were only three silver notes inside, but the amount was quite frightening.

One bill is worth 10,000 taels, and three bills would be exactly 30,000 taels.

This was the first time Liu had ever seen such a large amount of silver notes.

Although she had managed the household affairs when she was in the Duke of Tang's mansion, the mansion was no longer what it used to be.

The amount of silver that passed through her hands was at most a few thousand taels.

She had never seen such a large sum of money in a single banknote before.

"Jianzhou, can we accept this?"

Liu felt uneasy, after all, she had just received several shops in excellent locations, and now she had received another 30,000 taels of silver notes.

It's just taking in a little girl to stay at home for a while, is it really necessary to give her a shop and banknotes?

And the amount of silver notes they sent was so huge, was that going to scare her to death?

"Jianzhou, we'll accept the shop as you say, but we absolutely cannot accept these silver notes now."

"If we accept this banknote, your third aunt and I really won't be able to sleep at night."

"When you brought Anping back that day, you already said that Anping had a special identity and that a noble person had entrusted her to you to take care of her for a period of time."

"Even if that benefactor doesn't give us anything, we should still do our best to take good care of him, shouldn't we?"

"I'm really uneasy about things being like this. Go and return these silver notes to that important person, and tell him that we will definitely take good care of Anping."

“Anping is in our home. I swear on my life that nothing will ever happen to her.”

Liu put the silver notes back into the box and then handed the box back to Gong Jianzhou.

Gong Jianzhou placed the box he was holding on the table and said to Liu, "The shop's affairs have nothing to do with this matter."

"The shop was given to us by the Empress. She saw that our family was living in poverty, and now that I am working under the Second Young Master, she took pity on me and gave us the shop."

"As for these silver notes..."

Gong Jianzhou turned to look at the box on the table and said, "These silver notes can't be returned either."

“Even elders would not dare to refuse a gift, let alone this one.”

"Since she gave it to us, let's accept it."

"Don't worry, she won't threaten me or make me do anything I shouldn't just because she gave us these banknotes."

"Tomorrow, have Third Sister put the shop business on hold for now, and then look around in a slightly bustling area to see if there are any suitable houses."

"Once you've chosen it, feel free to buy it."

Gong Jianzhou looked up and around the room where he and Liu were sitting, and said, "We really should move to a bigger house."

After hearing what Gong Jianzhou said, Liu said nothing more. She silently reached out, picked up the box, and got up to put it away.

After a brief silence, Liu looked up at Gong Jianzhou and said, "Stay home and have dinner before you leave."

"it is good."

Gong Jianzhou hasn't eaten at home for a long time.

"Then you can rest in the study for a while, and I'll go to the kitchen to cook your favorite dishes."

Liu got up and went to the kitchen, while Gong Jianzhou went to the study.

When Hui Shi saw the shops that Shen Tianjiao had given her, her jaw nearly dropped.

These shops were much bigger than she had imagined, and she didn't need to think about what kind of business to start, because they were all in operation and doing incredibly well.

When the shopkeeper saw Hui, he hurriedly ran out to greet his new master.

"Madam Hui, you've arrived. Please come in and take a look. Is there anything here that's not quite right or that needs improvement?"

The shopkeeper had been in business for most of his life and was a very shrewd and tactful man. Moreover, his former master had instructed him to treat the Changyuan Earl's family with utmost respect. How could he possibly disobey such an order?

Hui Shi was thus unwittingly ushered into the shop, which sold cosmetics.

Judging from the bustling scene of people coming and going, it seems that half of the women in the capital have come here to buy rouge and face powder.

Before Hui Shi could recover from her shock, the shopkeeper had already instructed people to prepare tea and snacks and bring them up for her to enjoy.

"Madam Hui, please have some tea and snacks."

The shopkeeper stood aside and said to Madam Hui, "Madam Hui, please wait a moment. We will have the shop assistant bring the account books over for you to review."

"okay."

Despite appearing calm, Wyeth was actually in a state of panic in the face of this situation.

Although she had been clamoring to do business ever since she moved into the Marquis of Changyuan's mansion, it was just her idea; she had never actually done it and had no idea where to start.

At that time, although the Tang State Duke's Mansion had shops and other businesses, Hui Shi never personally operated or managed them.

The household stewards handled all these matters, and only during the Lunar New Year would they give Liu and Hui a general overview of the shop's operations.

Then, all Wyeth had to do next was to check the account books that the housekeeper had taken back, and then reconcile the accounts and enter them into the public account.

Later, because of the good-for-nothing Gong Chenghai and his spendthrift brothers, the family needed money for far too many things.

So the family's shops were gradually squandered and sold to others.

When the Duke of Tang's mansion was gone, almost all of the family's shops were also gone.

After moving to the Marquis of Changyuan's residence, although the Empress bestowed upon them several shops, none of those shops were as large as the one before them.

Moreover, those shops were all managed by an old servant they brought with them when they left the Duke of Tang's mansion; Madam Hui didn't participate at all.

If it weren't for the excessive household expenses and the desire to move to a larger house, Hui Shi would never have known that shops could grow to this scale.

Sipping her tea and observing the situation before her, Hui couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that doing business was not as simple as she had imagined.

She had to be like a child, starting from scratch and learning everything slowly.

Just as Hui Shi put down his teacup, the manager had someone bring over the account books.

The shopkeeper presented the account book to Madam Hui and said, "Madam Hui, this is the account book of our shop. It records all the income and expenses of this shop from the beginning of the Lunar New Year until now. Please take a look."

"I've already sent someone to fetch the account books from a few other shops, and they should be delivered soon."

The shops that Shen Tianjiao gave to Gong Jianzhou were not far apart and were basically connected, so the account books were delivered quickly.

Looking at the stack of account books piled up in front of her, which was as high as a small mountain, Hui swallowed nervously, not knowing what to do.

Seeing that Madam Hui was staring at the account books without saying a word, the shopkeeper stepped forward and said, "Madam Hui, our shop now sells rouge and face powder."

"Next to this cosmetics shop are a jewelry store, a fabric store, a snack shop, and another cosmetics shop, but the products sold there are different from those in our current shop."

"Would Madam Hui like to go and take a look now?"

Ms. Hui was already dizzy and disoriented, so she didn't have the energy to look at those shops. She was afraid that if she did, she would become even more dizzy.

"Shopkeeper, let's go to those shops another day."

"I came here today just to drop by."

"I'll take these ledgers back and take a look at them first. Once I've finished looking at them, I'll have someone send them back to the manager."

Although Hui was in a state of panic, she was still born into a prominent family and had been in the Tang State Duke's mansion for many years, so she could still maintain her composure in this situation.

"I came in a hurry this time. I will come with Uncle Changyuan another day."

This shop belongs to Gong Jianzhou; Gong Jianzhou is its true owner.

No matter what, Gong Jianzhou still had to come and see for himself where his shop was and what kind of business it was.

Now that Gong Jianzhou is the head of the family, he can no longer ignore family matters as he did before.

"Very well, then I will respectfully welcome Marquis Changyuan and Lady Hui."

The shopkeeper wore a polite smile, his attitude respectful but not obsequious, clearly indicating he was not from a humble rural background.

Ms. Hui stood up and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, Manager. But I still don't know how to address you. I can't keep calling you Manager forever."

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Madam Hui. I got so busy that my mind went blank and I forgot to introduce myself to you."

"My surname is Yin, my given name is Suqiu, and I am from the capital."

With an apologetic expression, Yin Suqiu introduced herself to Hui Shi.

He was inwardly annoyed, realizing that this would be his employer from now on, and how could he have been so careless as to forget to introduce himself?

"Oh, it's Manager Yin. We're family now."

"I still have some things to take care of at home today, so I'll head back now. I'll have someone come and invite Manager Yin over another day when Uncle Changyuan is free."

“Let’s all get together for a meal. There aren’t many people in our Changyuan Marquis’s mansion, and we don’t have that many rules.”

"I hope Manager Yin will not refuse or show any disdain when the time comes."

Hui Shi knew very well that although Yin Suqiu was just a shopkeeper, her real master was not simple.

They are not people that a small Changyuan Marquisate can afford to offend.

Even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner. In fact, Yin Suqiu's master is a noblewoman of the Changyuan Marquis's mansion, so Hui Shi naturally holds Yin Suqiu in high regard.

"Madam Hui is too kind. I would be more than happy to accept the invitation from the Marquis of Changyuan. How could I refuse, much less dare to find it offensive?"

Although Yin Suqiu was very respectful to Hui Shi, he did not lose his composure.

"That's very good. Manager Yin, you're busy now. I'll take my leave and not disturb you any longer."

Hui Shi got up and left, and Yin Suqiu followed behind her until he saw Hui Shi onto the carriage. Only then did he go back to his work.

Once inside the carriage, Hui lifted the curtain and looked outside. The shops that Yin Suqiu had mentioned were all located side by side.

Its scale and luxury are in no way inferior to the cosmetics shop we just visited.

After lowering the carriage curtain, Hui covered her wildly beating heart with her hand, unable to calm herself down for a long time.

It wasn't that she was ignorant; it was simply that she had never seen such a scene before.

The sheer size and luxury of these shops were astonishing. Not only had she never seen anything like them in the Duke of Tang's mansion, but even her wealthy maternal family might not have been able to afford such shops.

Hui suddenly felt as if he had been hit on the head with silver.

The feeling was dizzy and somewhat unreal, but it made her feel incredibly happy.

So this is what it feels like to be showered with money. I have to say, it feels really good.

Despite her noble birth, she never lacked money, whether at her maternal home or in the Duke of Tang's mansion.

But having plenty of money is completely different from being showered with money.