Chapter 194: A Group of Loyal Servants

Xiao He hurriedly pulled out the few account books she had organized and placed them on the table; as she flipped them open with both hands, the pages rustled with a crisp sound.

"Young Lady, I know you don't have the patience to look through these, but I've organized a few; please take a look, the business at our shops is doing incredibly well."

A faint smile played on the corners of Jun Zijin's mouth as she took the account books and flipped them open with her slender fingers.

Rows upon rows of dense figures came into view.

Good heavens, the clothing at the garment shop was being pre-ordered in bulk! The deposits alone exceeded the annual salaries of some court officials.

The pre-order record column was packed with the names of merchant firms and wealthy families from various regions, followed by astonishingly large order quantities.

Xiao He had actually turned a single shop into a full-scale wholesale department!

She raised her eyebrows slightly, her eyes filled with surprise and admiration:

"How did you manage this?"

Xiao He puffed out her chest and said proudly:

"It’s all thanks to the design drafts you gave me earlier; the styles are so novel and unique that I thought such good things shouldn't just be sold to walk-in customers. I went to negotiate with several large merchants and introduced a group-buying discount. I didn't expect them to order so much all at once, and before I knew it, I had turned the shop into what it is now!"

Jun Zijin nodded, gently patted Xiao He on the shoulder, her eyes full of approval:

"You girl, you really have a future! I only gave you some design drafts; I never expected you to manage the shop so well—it’s far more outstanding than I imagined!"

To be honest, aside from sending over design drafts from time to time, she really hadn't worried much, having almost entirely entrusted the management to this girl.

This girl truly had a natural talent for business.

Mama Dong added with a smile from the side:

"Tong'an Hall is not doing badly either. With you as our living signboard, Young Lady, and the year-end season approaching, everyone is looking to stock up on nourishing medicinal herbs. Our herbs are of high quality, and we have many regular customers. Plus, the medicinal pills we process are truly in short supply. Especially our exclusively developed health pills—they were snatched up the moment they hit the shelves. The business in the shop is so good we can barely keep up."

Xiao He added excitedly from the side:

"That's right, that's right! Many regular customers say they can't even look at other shops' herbs anymore; they only recognize ours!"

Mama Dong continued:

"And then there is our Linglong Pavilion. The new jewelry designs you created were also snatched up as soon as they were displayed. Especially the few bottles of skincare products you brought over yesterday—several noble ladies, upon hearing they were products you use yourself, actually started scrambling for them; they almost came to blows."

This was within her expectations; world-famous brands from the future were naturally rare in this era.

Those few bottles of skincare products had been brought out from her Phoenix Ring space.

Through her research these past few days, she discovered that the Phoenix Ring space had a self-replenishing function; as long as something was inside, once it was taken out, it would automatically replenish itself the next day.

There were a few unopened sets of skincare products in her dormitory, and she had just brought them out like that.

Because it had only been a few days, the quantity couldn't be very large; after setting aside the few sets she intended to give as gifts, the number placed in Linglong Pavilion for sale was only a few bottles.

As Mama Dong spoke, she opened the other two account books, showing that the income figures were all in the red, with orders and cash flow densely recorded.

"Young Lady, all six of our shops are profitable. In the past half-year, we have earned a total of 138,000 taels."

Xiao He was so happy her eyes narrowed into slits.

"That much?"

Jun Zijin’s eyes lit up, somewhat startled; the annual salary of Xiang Junzheng was only 10,000 taels.

Looking at these account books, Jun Zijin felt deeply moved. She had hardly worried about anything in the past six months; it was entirely due to the efforts of Mama Dong, Xiao He, and everyone else that the business of these shops was so prosperous.

Although the profits from these few months weren't even a fraction of the hospital's expenses, judging by this situation, the prospects were promising. In the future, she could put more effort into fast-moving consumer goods.

"This old servant took the liberty of taking out 10,000 taels as working capital for the shops; I plan to expand the workshop a bit. I also took out 3,000 taels to give red envelopes to the workers in our shops and workshops. There are 125,000 taels remaining. Young Lady doesn't blame me, do you?"

Jun Zijin chuckled, her eyes full of gratitude and appreciation.

"No blame, no blame at all; it was the right thing to do. It is fortunate that you all handle the business matters, so I can free up time to do other things with peace of mind."

Mama Dong bowed slightly and said with a smile:

"It is all due to your wise leadership, Young Lady; those of us below are merely doing our duty."

Jun Zijin shook her head gently and said earnestly:

"Mama, please don't say that. Without everyone working together, how could we have such good days? Besides, ever since I lost... in my heart, Mama has long been family."

"It is a pity that the Lady passed away too early and could not see your current grace, Young Lady..."

Hearing her mention Fang Mengru, Mama Dong immediately shed tears.

Han Xiao, who hadn't been able to get a word in, quickly changed the subject:

"Young Lady, we have already begun preparations for the department store you mentioned; we can open it next year."

Speaking of the department store, Mama Dong also perked up, listening as Han Xiao spoke with great enthusiasm.

"Young Lady, once our department store opens, it will surely be the busiest and most unique place in Jingcheng. Your mind is just different from ours; you can even come up with ideas like this."

Jun Zijin smiled faintly:

"For this department store to remain prosperous for a long time, we must continue to innovate. Mama Dong and Xiao He are already very tired managing three shops each. Han Xiao has been learning for some time now, so she will manage the department store in the future."

Han Xiao looked pleasantly surprised and quickly bowed:

"Thank you for your trust, Young Lady; Han Xiao will definitely do her best."

Jun Zijin nodded, her gaze gentle:

"You are steady and prudent, so I naturally trust you. However, a department store is different from other shops; the variety of goods is complex and customer needs are diverse, so you must be prepared to handle all kinds of situations."

Han Xiao was full of confidence:

"Rest assured, Young Lady; Han Xiao will definitely study market demand carefully and introduce novel goods. Plus, with you providing fresh items from time to time, this department store will surely flourish."

Jun Zijin smiled and said:

"It is fortunate that I have you all to manage things for me; the hospital requires my presence, and I fear I won't have the energy to worry about business matters in the future."

Having said that, she brought out a box and opened it to reveal that it was full of red envelopes. She pulled out three red envelopes and handed them to Mama Dong, Han Xiao, and Xiao He respectively.

"These contain 500 taels in banknotes each; they are for you."

The three of them knelt down with a thud and said in unison:

"Young Lady, you have already given us our share of the profits; we cannot accept these red envelopes."

"Take them. It’s the New Year; go and buy yourselves some things you like. You two girls also don't need to save money; when you get married in the future, I will certainly provide you with generous dowries and see you married off in style."

[Babies, remember to add to your bookshelf and request updates!]

[These two chapters are a bit plain as a transition; the excitement will come right after.]