Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

Chapter 131 Assessment

Ye Liu immediately agreed. Fearing that her master would not be satisfied with the gifts she bought, and not trusting anyone else to go, she personally took Xiao Si, the errand boy, to go out and buy the gifts.

When she returned, Yu Wanran had already bathed and changed, and was strolling around the backyard looking at the flowers after dinner. Qiu Cui rarely had the opportunity to be close to her mistress, so she followed closely behind.

Yu Wanran seemed to have a specific purpose in asking about bookkeeping and housekeeping, and Qiu Cui answered them very well. This made Yu Wanran nod repeatedly.

Zhong Yeliu's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly went over and called out, "Master!"

Then he explained that the gifts for tomorrow had been prepared.

Qiu Cui obediently retreated behind the two of them.

Yu Wanran smiled and took Zhong Yeliu's hand: "It's such a small matter, why did you go in person!"

However, she was glad that Zhong Yeliu had taken her instructions to heart. Pulling Zhong Yeliu along, she turned to Qiu Cui and said, "Come with me to the flower hall; I have something important to tell you."

The two exchanged a furtive glance, unsure of what their master was about to say, and their hearts pounded with unease.

Back in the flower hall, Yu Wanran told the two not to stand on ceremony and to sit down on either side of her, getting straight to the point.

"Ye Liu, I plan to open the shop I bought in the county town as a shop specializing in Chengni inkstones. In addition to retail sales, I can also give other merchants a discount for bulk sales."

Zhong Yeliu's beautiful eyes suddenly shone with unparalleled brilliance!

She was so intelligent that she immediately guessed her identity and position, and that she might be able to advance further and expand her career.

Sure enough, Yu Wanran continued, "Ye Liu, I know you used to help manage the family's shops. Can you take good care of this shop if I hand it over to you?"

Zhong Yeliu immediately stood up, curtsied, and said, "Master, I will do my best to take good care of it!"

This was her chance to prove her abilities, and she had no intention of wasting her prime years in the inner quarters!

The more capable she was in the past, the more her family members feared her. But her master, recognizing her talent, rescued her from that predicament, and she believed that her master would be happy to see her display her abilities!

Yu Wanran was satisfied with the other party's reply.

Although Zhong Yeliu has not yet reached the level of her previous life, with proper nurturing, she will surely become a valuable asset to him again sooner or later.

Entrusting a shop to him is merely a small test of his abilities.

She asked Qiu Cui to bring two Chengni inkstones, one large and one small, and then placed the one Lin Fang had given her next on top of them for Zhong Yeliu to see.

"For now, we'll sell these two boxes of substandard Chengni inkstones at the shop in the county town. Once the workshop produces the new ones, we'll ship some back. Consider this place a branch of Chengya Inkstone Shop!"

Zhong Yeliu understood.

"Should we still use the four characters 'Chengni Yanzhuang' for our shop sign?"

Yu Wanran nodded with a smile.

“Ye Liu, Qiu Cui, come and take a look—these inkstones, which look like stones or mud, originally cost only thirty or forty coins. If you were to handle them, how would you plan to sell them? What would the price be?”

Qiu Cui, standing to the side, never expected that she too would be participating in her master's assessment. This meant that her master wanted to promote her! Instantly, she trembled slightly with excitement.

She rushed forward.

Not daring to touch the Chengni inkstone with his hands, he stretched his head and bent over to examine it carefully from all angles.

"Say whatever you want, it's fine!"

Yu Wanran encouraged her with gentle eyes.

Qiu Cui was ambitious, literate, and, after observing her for a while, found her character to be acceptable. She was in need of capable people and naturally wanted to give her a chance. Whether Qiu Cui could seize this opportunity depended on her own efforts.

“Master, although this inkstone is inexpensive, it looks rather simple and plain.”

Qiu Cui straightened up, glanced cautiously at Yu Wanran, then stole a look at Zhong Yeliu before boldly saying, "Most rich people wouldn't even look at her; she can only be sold to students from poor families."

"As for the price..."

She was unsure of her thoughts when she said, "Could it sell for around 100 coins?"

In reality, she thought she'd be lucky to sell it for fifty coins. Other shops sold inkstones for ten coins or so, and those were at least just lumps of stone. What made this yellow mud better than the others?

She felt that her master had probably misjudged the product and bought inferior goods, but she dared not say it aloud.

Yu Wanran didn't comment on her opinion, but greeted Zhong Yeliu with a smile.

"Ye Liu, what do you think?"

Zhong Yeliu reached out and gently picked up a piece of Chengni inkstone: "Master, may I use it and take a look?"

You can't tell the quality of an inkstone just by looking at its appearance.

Yu Wanran said, "Go ahead and try."

Zhong Yeliu returned to her room and retrieved paper, brush, and ink stick. She lightly tapped the inkstone with her fingers, producing a clear and melodious sound. She then poured a little clean water into the inkstone, ground the ink with the ink stick, and wrote a few characters on it.

After a while, he told Yu Wanran his opinion.

"Master, don't be fooled by the fact that this inkstone is different from others and is made of Chengni clay. Its ability to release and store ink is no less than that of other famous inkstones! The reason it is so cheap is probably because its appearance is really plain and unattractive, thus it has been overlooked?"

"Makes sense!"

Yu Wanran felt that the other person had the same idea as her. She and Ye Liu weren't the only ones with foresight! Wasn't the mastermind behind the bandits who ravaged the villagers of the three villages trying to seize the land where Chengni inkstones could be produced?

Encouraged by his master's approval, Zhong Yeliu further shared his insights: "The inkstones on the market, including the three famous inkstones of Duan, She, and Tao, are all stone inkstones. This is the first time I've ever seen a clay inkstone like this?"

"Since the original color of this clay inkstone is not very attractive, why can't we try to control the temperature difference during firing? I've heard that this is how pottery is made; different firing temperatures in the kiln will result in subtle differences in the finished porcelain."

"Since both are made of clay, making inkstones must be similar to making pottery. As long as you can fire inkstones of different colors, wouldn't they be quite valuable?"

"Ye Liu, you're absolutely right!"

Yu Wanran couldn't help but slap the table, praising it with great joy.

"When I saw Grandpa Lin take out this black Chengni inkstone that he had treasured, I wondered, why are the other two boxes of Chengni inkstones yellowish-brown, but his is the only one that is black?"

"Isn't this because the clay they find varies, and the firing time is different? As long as they carve exquisite patterns on the mold, the resulting clay inkstone will definitely be worth a hundred times more!"

Beside her, Qiu Cui looked enviously at Zhong Yeliu, whose eyes crinkled into crescents. She lacked Zhong Yeliu's broad knowledge and couldn't possibly have imagined so much.

"So, Ye Liu, do you think these two boxes of Chengni inkstones can be sold in the county town?"

Yu Wanran suppressed her excitement and steered the conversation back to the beginning.

"can!"

Zhong Yeliu said without hesitation, "Although this Chengni inkstone is not beautiful in appearance, its quality far surpasses that of ordinary stone inkstones on the market. Just like Sister Qiucui said, those poor students will like it."

"As for the price, a price of five hundred cash to one tael of silver would be appropriate."

Yu Wanran agreed.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly high price; Huangshan County is relatively affluent and has the purchasing power. Moreover, at the retail level, after long-distance transportation and the deductions of customs duties and taxes, the price certainly can't be the same as the price at the place of origin.

The reason she decided to set up a workshop to produce Chengni inkstones herself was that she didn't want to be taken advantage of by several middlemen when purchasing goods.

Zhong Yeliu has business acumen; let her do it freely, and she will surely be able to stand on her own in the future.