Chapter 10 : Livelihood (2)

Yuxi asked a lot questions to Qiu Shi and she patiently answered each one of them with a funny smile on her face. Qiu Shi found it was interesting to meet a four year old child who would talk seriously about business with her.

Yuxi asked Qiu Shi all the questions that she could think of.

Qiu Shi said with a smile, “Don’t worry about the location. I’ll have someone help you to inquire about it now. There should be news soon.” If it was difficult to find a good location at the east or west streets, it should be much easier to find one in the south.

Yuxi was somewhat embarrassed and said, “I will have to trouble Eldest Aunt over this matter.” She knew it was wrong to find Qiu Shi whenever she had something, but she could not find anyone else to trust in the mansion, except for her. At present, she could only rely on her. When she finally had the ability, she would surely repay her back.

Qiu Shi only smiled and pat her head as she said, “You silly child, why are you being polite to your aunt? Like you, I’ll also have something talk with my aunt later on. ”

After Yuxi left, Mama Li said, “I didn’t expect that Fourth Miss, who had be away from home for more than two months, would have this drastic change of attitude.” In the past, Fourth Miss would only know how cry and hide, but now, she knew how to solve her own problem. She seemed like a different person.

Qiu Shi was very happy with the changes she saw in Yuxi. She used to be concerned with her just because she owed Ning Shi for saving her son’s life. But, now, she really did liked that child. When she saw Yuxi being able to think so carefully for the people around her, it showed that she had a truly big heart and a smart mind.

Mama Li said with a smile, “Speaking of which, Fourth Miss is still a bit immature. After asking so many questions, she forgot to ask Madam the cost of opening a store.”

Qiu Shi smiled and said, “Did you forget how old Yuxi is? It’s good for her to think a lot about so many things. I was also responsible for this great disaster to befall on her. Tell Xiangyang to go to Shangyuan Street and see if there is a suitable shop for rent.” Xiangyang was Mama Li’s only son and he helped Qiu Shi in managing her silk shop.

Mama Li heard this and thought of something. She immediately said, “Madam, Fourth Miss is only a four years old kid. Concubine Rong would do anything to harm that child. What else has she dare not do? We still have to watch out for that child safety.”

Qiu Shi nodded her head in agreement.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Yuxi already knew the cost of doing business. The reason why she didn’t ask her aunt this question was, she didn’t plan to borrow any money from her. With more than a lifetime of experience, she learned that she could only solve her own problems with her own abilities. She suddenly asked Mama Fang, “Mama, can you show me the jewelries that Mother had left behind?” All estates, shops and houses under Ning Shi’s name had all been pawned away. Only a few pieces of gold and silver jewelries were left to Yuxi by her mother, all of which she wore on herself. The jewelries were also sold at that time, but only serve as collateral, or else it could not had be left behind.

Mama Fang reluctantly said, “Miss, these jewelries were left to you as your dowry and can’t be sold.”

Yuxi helplessly said, “I may not know when horse month of Monkey year is, but I clearly know what was I talking about. Moreover, when we finally making money, by then, we could buy even much better jewelries. Mother would surely be very happy beyond the grave.” Jewelry was renewed every year. The jewelries she had were long out of date. To her, it was better to buy new ones than to spend money to make them prettier again.

Mama Fang couldn’t beat Yuxi when it came to being eloquent, so, she reluctantly took out the jewelry box.

Seeing Yuxi staring intently at one of the gold hairpin, which inlaid with emerald and ruby gemstones, Mama Fang explained to her, “This is the gift that the Old Madam gave Madam when she first entered the house.” The jewelry that the Old Madam sent out was never cheap but also exquisite.

When Yuxi finished looking at the jewelries in the box, she remembered that a new person will enter her courtyard in the future. She saw in her previous life the same gold and silver jewelries inside the box had been taken by someone. As for who would do it, it was self-evident that it must be the new Mama who would later manage the Rose Courtyard. It was also because of this matter, Yuxi had decided to take care of these things herself in the future.

Mama Fang did not know what Yuxi was thinking about. She thought that when Yuxi saw those things, she would be reminded of all the people who had passed away in her life. Her heart became soft at that moment. “Miss, as long as you are well, Madam will surely be happy in the next world. But don’t work too much. You are a girl. Slowly do one at a time.”

Without even thinking much about what Mama Fang had said, Yuxi immediately selected several heavy gold ornaments from the box, to be brought to the pawnshop. She said, “These items should be enough to open a shop.”

Mama Fang looked horrified and said, “Miss, we would only open a small shop. Where do we need to use so many things? It would be enough just by pawning that gold necklace.”

Yuxi shook her head and said, “It’s also convenient to have plenty of money, Mama” After pausing for a bit, she added, “Mama, you can rest assured. I won’t pawn any more of these.” This was the first and the last time.

That evening, Hongshan met with Yuxi and reported to her, “Miss, when the Lord Duke returned home, he knew about Concubine Rong being banned and went straight to her room.”

Yuxi had been busy with Mama Fang’s affairs that she somewhat forgotten that Hongshan was now working in her courtyard. She, as her master was really muddle-headed, “Sister Hongshan, you have been wronged by following me here.” Hongshan’s paternal grandmother was the Old Madam’s confidant and maid. Although she had passed away, the Old Madam still thought of her. Hongshan’s father was the third steward of the residence and her mother was the stewardess of the inner court. With this kind of background made it hard to order Hongshan around. Yuxi knew this because Hongshan would not come serve her even when she called. All the servants of the Duke Han’s official residence knew she was unloved by the Old Madam and her own father. That was why, not all of her courtyard maids were from the main house. Aside from Mama Fang, who was dowry maid of Ning Shi, others were either bought from outside or picked up from hamlets.

Hongshan chuckled and said, “What was Miss saying? It is my blessing to serve Miss.” Girl, it was most important to start doing your job well, she reminded herself.

It was supposed to be a happy event to have a capable pretty maid with a good background, but Yuxi couldn’t understand the meaning of the Old Madam. Her grandmother had been cold to her all her life, and now, with this sudden change of attitude made her become anxious. Yuxi casted aside those confused thought and asked, “Did Grandmother lift Concubine Rong ban?”

Hongshan shook her head and said, ” No.”

Yuxi was not disappointed that she had not been punished severely. If Concubine Rong didn’t have saved some good plans in her past life, her Eldest Aunt would not have been in a slump after more than a decade fighting with Concubine Rong.

The Old Madam’s hands and feets were very fast. Yuxi had thought that she could take care of Mama Fang at least for another three or five days before she would be assigned with a new Mama. She didn’t expect that a Mama surname Shen came the next afternoon.

Old woman Shen was tall and thin, with a long face and a decent smile on her face. Although the other party was very respectful to her, Yuxi still didn’t like her. The reason was simple. No one ever likes another person to monitor oneself.

The handover was completed in the morning. Just when Yuxi wanted to go and plead with the Old Madam to let Mama Fang stay a few days longer, Qiu Shi informed her that she had found her the right shop.

Yuxi was somewhat surprised and said, “That was quick.” All the people living in the south were civilians. It was not difficult for a noble family to find a small shop there, but to be done this fast?

Qiu Shi said with a smile, “It was also a coincidence. Just south of Shangyuan Street, there is a small rental shop that meets your requirements. If you think that shop is good, go sign a contract tomorrow. ”

Yuxi considered it for a moment and said, “Mama Fang’s workmanship is good, but she doesn’t know anything about the outside world. So, there are still many things that she would worry about in the future.”

Qiu Shi thought that Yuxi was quite thoughtful. She smiled and nodded, “What ever difficulty she would face in the future, she could go and find Xiangyang. He would be ready to help her anytime.”

After done talking about the shop, Yuxi asked again, “Aunt, do you know what Mama Shen did before she came to my courtyard?”

Qiu Shi was familiar with the Old Madam’s side of the story and said, “From what I heard, Old woman Shen was also one of the Old Madam’s maid. Somehow, she did a mistake which I didn’t know of and was send to a hamlet by the Old Madam.” Yuxi nodded her head.

“Aunt, I want to check the shop and bring along Mama Fang tomorrow. What do Aunt think?”

Qiu Shi saw that Yuxi was so keen on this matter. “Yes, I’ll let you go tomorrow.” Qiu Shi happily promised her. It was because Yuxi was only four years old this year, but she had never been protected by anyone and never see the world outside.

Mama Shen knew that Yuxi was going to Shangyuan Street to look at a shop the next day and said, “Miss, you are a girl from a noble family. You shouldn’t be bothered by these trivial things.”

Yuxi said kindly, “This baozi shop is related to Mama Fang future livelihood. I must see it by myself before I can be at ease.”

Mama Shen saw that Yuxi had made up her mind and asked, “Does the Old Madam knew about this?”

Yuxi shook her head and said, “I didn’t tell my Grandmother, but I already asked my aunt and she already agreed.” The Old Madam had been indifferent to her affairs, so she didn’t want to tell the Old Madam her plan.

Mama Shen’s heart thumped and she immediately said, “Miss, I’ll go with you tomorrow.” She could see that Yuxi was a girl with great ideas despite her young age, so she didn’t want to go against her. Otherwise Yuxi would reject her, and the Old Madam’s mean of letting her come to Yuxi courtyard would no longer could be used.

Yuxi shook her head and said, “Wait for next time.” This time not only they were going to see the shop, but also to pawn some jewelries, which she couldn’t let Mama Shen knew about.

The next day, Yuxi went to the pawnshop first, and pawned several gold ornaments for 62 silvers and changed them to silver note. She felt some of them, and became little bit more confident.

In Shangyuan Street, Xiangyang led her into a shop. The shop was very small, even less than half of Yuxi’s room, but there was a yard behind the shop. There were two main rooms and two sundry rooms in the yard, as well as a kitchen.

Mama Fang was very happy to see the yard, “Miss, we will sell steamed buns at the front and make steamed buns in the kitchen. The rooms can be occupied. It’s very convenient. It’s very considerate of the steward. ”

Xiangyang said with a smile, “You’re flattering me, Mama Fang.”

When Yuxi got out of the carriage just now, she saw a lot of people on the street. The business of baozi shop here should not be bad. “How much does this shop rent a year?”

Xiangyang said, “Including this yard, it’s 320 a year.” Mainly because the yard was also included. For the price of both areas, it was not that expensive.

Yuxi thought it was a good deal, as she said, “Steward, do you think it would be better for us to sign a contract with duration of several years? Also, what should we pay attention to when signing the contract? ”

Xiangyang didn’t underestimate Yuxi just because she was young, so he told her in detail what they should be paid attention to when signing a contract, and then said, “The contract should be signed with duration of a year first.” He didn’t know how good Mama Fang’s skill was, so it was better to sign a contract with a short time at first. If you didn’t do well, you would loose less, if you did well, renewed your contract. With the backing of a noble residence, the owner of the shop did not dare to make another offer to another person.

After discussing with Mama Fang, Yuxi finally agreed and said, “Let’s settle the contract now!”

After signing the contract, Yuxi was ready to pay for it but Xiangyang stopped her and said with a smile, “Fourth Miss, Madam said, after signing the contract, let people of the residence to settle the bill.”

Yuxi insisted on paying by herself and shook her head. “This is the shop I opened for Mama Fang. How could I let my Aunt pay for it?”

Xiangyang thought that Yuxi was quite an interesting person. If people did not take advantage of her, Fourth Miss would not take advantage of that person either. This was quite rare, but Yuxi’s behavior made him looked up at her.

After everything was completed, Yuxi sincerely said to Mama Fang, “In the future, if Mama has any question to ask or want to learn more on how to manage the shop, just find Steward Xiangyang and he will help you.”

Xiangyang generously responded, “Don’t worry, Miss. Madam has told me to take good care of this baozi shop in the future.” With him watching and protecting the shop, Mama Fang would not be harassed in Shangyuan Street.