NFBE Chapter 41 Enough Manpower
Chapter 41 Enough Manpower
As a fan of Chen Ruotong, Zhou Qian is very competent. Whenever he has time, he will go to Zhenpin Pavilion and chat with Chen Ruotong. Now he is a loyal fan of Zhenpin Pavilion. It is not right if he does not buy something when he is always there, so he has bought three crystal soaps in total, which really hurts him! He chatted with Chen Sanhe to understand his situation, but Chen Sanhe laughed at him and always led him into trouble. He talked to Shen Bing, but Shen Bing was either wiping the floor or cleaning the antique shelf, so he could not get anything out of her. But when he saw that there were many customers coming and going in Zhenpin Pavilion and so many goods were sold every day, his eyes turned red. He wanted to change jobs, but he did not dare to confront Zhou Zhanggui. It was his father who begged Zhou Zhanggui, a distant relative, to keep him. He was afraid that Zhou Zhanggui would scold him as an ungrateful person, so Zhou Qian was very entangled. Chen Ruotong was very busy every day, so how could she have time to care about Zhou Qian's entanglement?
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Shopkeeper He sent someone to Zhenpin Pavilion to ask if there were any new products on the shelves: "Mr. Chen, my shopkeeper is asking if you have any new products recently? The shopkeeper also wants to import some glass products and porcelain, is that feasible!"
"You came just in time. We launched a new tooth powder yesterday. If you apply a little tooth powder when brushing your teeth, it will make your mouth clean and your breath fresh. It is very useful and very popular with customers. It is 5 taels per box. The other goods are the same as last time, and the tooth powder is also 50 boxes. Do you want to pick up the goods today, or wait for Shopkeeper He to pick them up in person?"
"My shopkeeper asked Mr. Chen to prepare the goods and come to pick them up tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
The goods have been selling very fast in recent days. I can sell two or three glass products every day, and porcelain and crystal soap can sell more than ten yuan a day. I can guarantee that there will be customers buying goods every day. Isn’t it busy? Chen Ruotong thinks that this kind of business is not tiring and is good. She also has time to prepare for the opening of a silver shop.
Qingyang Prefecture, Chenjiabao
Old Man Chen received two letters from Chen Sanhe, and learned about the current situation of Chen's house, the 500-acre farm, and the Zhenpin Pavilion. After reading the letters, he couldn't believe it. How could his eldest granddaughter be so powerful? The eldest granddaughter was the real landlord, with a house, a shop, and a farm. How could it be possible for the two brothers to support such a large industry? He was worried, so he held a meeting with the family.
Old man Chen was very serious: "It's already mid-May, and the drought is severe. We have to irrigate the fields every few days. The yield will definitely decrease. Our family can't waste this little land. Xiaotong's business is much bigger than ours. Let's talk about it. What do you think? Who can help Xiaotong?"
Old Lady Chen spoke up: "I think you, old man, should go to the big farm. You are very experienced in managing farmland. Zhenpin Pavilion is so profitable, it won't work without enough people. We should let the second son go to help look after it. Jianshu and the eldest son should not go for the time being. They should stay at home to irrigate the fifty mu of rice fields and go to help Xiaotong after the autumn harvest. What do you say, old man?"
Everyone agreed unanimously. In fact, the eldest brother, Chen Dahai, was itching to go there. His heart was already itching to fly to Pingyang Prefecture, but his grandmother wouldn't let him go. He decided to wait until after the autumn harvest!
Chen Jianshu was reluctant to go, but Zhang was a little anxious. She wanted to go to the city with her daughter to enjoy life. She wanted to see the Chen residence and the farm. In fact, Old Lady Chen wanted to go even more. She missed her granddaughter and wanted to help her. But the family couldn't do without a backbone. She had to stay in her hometown.
It was decided like this. At the end of May, Old Man Chen and the Second Old Man went to the county escort agency to hire a carriage. They used the same driver as last time and drove to Pingyang Prefecture with ease.
Meanwhile, Qi Lao Da and his team had entered Pingyang Prefecture and arrived at Zhenpin Pavilion with Bai Qiang's convoy. Chen Ruotong came out to take them back to Chen's house, wash and change clothes, and prepare uniform clothes for them. There were a total of fourteen boys and five girls, all dressed in new clothes, and all of them were energetic. Qi Lao Da was sixteen years old and was the eldest brother of these children. Everyone listened to him and he knew these children best. So Chen Ruotong asked him about the character of these children and what they were good at. Six of them had practiced some boxing and kicking kung fu in a harsh environment, so Chen Ruotong decided to send those six children to Bai Qiang to learn kung fu and guard the house in the future. The remaining eight boys, four smart ones who could read the eyes, were selected to go to Zhenpin Pavilion for training, including Qi Lao Da. The remaining three went to the farm to do some odd jobs, and the lame Lao Si and Zhao Bo were watching the house at Chen's house. It happened that Chen Ruotong had just bought a carriage, so Zhao Bo could teach Lao Si to drive the carriage.
Of the five girls, two stayed at Chen's house to clean and do odd jobs, and three went to Zhenpin Pavilion to work as waitresses.
This will free up Zhao Tiedan, allowing him to follow Qiao Zien and be his servant.
There must be a housekeeper, but among these people, only Qiao Bo is suitable to be a housekeeper, but Qiao Bo is not her servant, so what should she do? She can only let Qiao Bo teach Zhao Bo.
Now, Chen Ruotong had enough staff and the business was expanding. She suddenly felt that she had forgotten her original intention. What was her original intention? Her original intention was to do nothing and just lie down like a salted fish. She was getting further and further away from her original intention!
On this day, Shopkeeper He hired a local escort to personally purchase the goods. Shopkeeper He said kindly, "Brother Chen, the last batch of goods was shipped too quickly. It was sold out in four days after it was brought to the capital. It's still not enough to sell. Unfortunately, the quantity we ordered is limited, so I came to buy more. I heard that this time there is a new product, tooth powder. This thing is good. It sounds like a good deal."
Chen Ruotong took out a box of tooth powder and a pig-bristle toothbrush and asked He to brush his teeth with it. After brushing his teeth, He praised: "Brother Chen, the things here are really rare. I will also take 50 boxes of this tooth powder!"
So Chen Ruotong, Shen Bing, and Shen Xue counted the goods and packed them, while Chen Sanhe kept the accounts. After the discount, twenty pieces of glassware cost 12,000 taels, twenty pieces of porcelain cost 10,000 taels, fifty bars of crystal soap cost 250 taels, and fifty boxes of tooth powder cost 250 taels, a total of 22,500 taels. Shopkeeper He paid the banknotes on the spot, and Chen Ruotong put a stack of banknotes into her sleeve and threw it into the space. The speed of making money was like riding a rocket, and she herself couldn't believe it. Boss Qi and his younger brothers and sisters were shocked and thought: It was the right choice to come to seek refuge with the benefactor.
Since the business is good, the employees' wages are not low. For the time being, Chen Sanhe is given 10 taels of silver per month, Shen Bing and Shen Xue are given 1 tael of silver each, and Qi Lao Da and his men are given 500 wen for the time being when they just arrived. The servants working in Chen's house are given 600 wen each. Chen Ruotong said that in the future, when the staff is stable and on the right track, the monthly salary will increase, and everyone is very motivated. In terms of food, Chen Ruotong does not treat these people badly, and the farm regularly sends some eggs and chicken, duck and goose meat. Aunt Sun cooks at Zhenpin Pavilion, and every meal has white rice or white flour, eggs, meat and vegetables. Everyone eats well, and the work is not tiring. They are all very content and work hard.