Chapter 41: Earning Eight Hundred Taels of Silver

Rong Residence was located in the eastern third alley of the county town, an area inhabited by wealthy families, so the courtyards were all quite large.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Rong Residence, Xu Nian was the first to step down from the carriage and handed over their visiting card to the gatekeeper. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, two elderly servant women emerged from the residence.

“You must be Madam Tian and Miss Xu. My lady has been eagerly expecting you these past few days. Allow us to escort you inside.”

Xu Nian smiled politely before assisting Madam Tian and Madam Wang out of the carriage.

“This must be the Old Madam? I wish you good health, Old Madam.”

It was the first time Madam Wang had encountered such a situation, and she felt a bit uneasy, unsure of what to say.

“No need for such formalities, Nanny. Please lead the way,” Xu Nian said, taking Madam Wang’s arm and walking ahead, with Madam Tian following closely behind.

“Grandmother, just act as you normally do. You are an elder—no one would dare to judge you.”

Hearing her granddaughter’s soft and reassuring words, Madam Wang felt much more at ease.

Following the elderly servant women through the corridor, they soon arrived at the front hall. One of the nannies turned to explain,

“This residence was part of my lady’s dowry. Only women reside here, and she is waiting for you in the front hall.”

It was Madam Wang’s first time seeing such a grand and lavish estate, but to avoid losing face, she restrained herself from looking around too much.

When the three of them entered, they indeed found Lady Rong waiting for them. After exchanging greetings, Xu Nian got straight to the point without any pretense.

“I heard from my mother that Lady Rong is interested in the lip balm formula?”

Lady Rong, too, did not underestimate Xu Nian and responded seriously, “That is correct. That day at the Fan Residence, I had already wanted to discuss this business with Miss Xu, but I simply never found the opportunity.”

Xu Nian understood that Lady Rong had certainly had opportunities that day, but she had not considered a child like her capable of handling such a transaction.

However, Xu Nian did not mind the shift in Lady Rong’s attitude. What she cared about was whether the formula could be exchanged for the estate she wanted.

“Today, my grandmother, mother, and I have come precisely to discuss this matter with you. Lady Rong is experienced in business, and I believe the formula will only reach its full potential in your capable hands.”

Hearing this, Lady Rong gained a deeper understanding of the young Miss Xu. She never spoke directly of business, yet every word was about business.

Still, business was business, and Lady Rong was no fool. She certainly wanted the formula, but if she could spend less silver on it, wouldn’t that be even better?

“Miss Xu flatters me. In truth, I am rather apprehensive. No one in Beijiang has ventured into the lip balm business before, so the outcome remains uncertain.”

Xu Nian smiled slightly and replied gently, “I may not have experience in business, but I do understand one principle: If only a few people can make money from something, then it will be a lucrative business. But if everyone can make money from it, then it will never be a truly profitable trade.

Moreover, all business relies on a gamble—on luck, on intelligence, and on courage.

I believe Lady Rong must have some level of confidence in this; otherwise, you would not have invited my mother out to discuss this matter.”

Lady Rong broke into a bright smile and turned to Madam Wang and Madam Tian. “Old Madam and Madam Tian are truly blessed to have raised such an intelligent and insightful young lady.”

At that moment, both Madam Wang and Madam Tian were internally shocked. Since when did their eldest girl understand business matters so well?

Lady Rong then turned to Xu Nian and asked, “I wonder if Miss Xu has come up with any other new products?”

Xu Nian smiled mysteriously. “Not at the moment, but who can say what the future holds?”

Lady Rong’s gaze flickered slightly before instructing her senior maid, Qiu Yue, to bring out a prepared box.

“Here are eight hundred taels of silver. If Miss Xu feels it is not enough, you may state your terms.”

Xu Nian was beyond satisfied. She hadn’t expected Lady Rong to be so generous—this sum was more than her father’s salary for ten years! Originally, she had thought selling it for two or three hundred taels would already be a good deal, considering that this was not a medicinal formula for curing diseases.

Madam Wang and Madam Tian remained outwardly composed, but internally, they were experiencing a storm of emotions. Eight hundred taels! They had never seen so much silver in their entire lives.

Xu Nian accepted the small box handed over by Qiu Yue and said happily, “Lady Rong is so generous; I shouldn’t be too petty either. Here is the written formula for the lip balm.

“Additionally, I have noticed that most people use eyebrow powder for drawing their brows, which is rather inconvenient. So I thought, wouldn’t it be much easier if it were made in the form of a pencil?

“If Lady Rong does not mind, I can write down my idea for you to try. What do you think?”

Lady Rong clapped her hands and said, “What’s there to mind? I have plenty of people here—I’ll have them try it out.”

Xu Nian took the pen and paper handed to her by Qiu Yue and wrote down the improved formula for the eyebrow pencil.

With the silver and goods exchanged, and since the Xu family did not have a particularly deep connection with Lady Rong, Xu Nian gave her mother a knowing look.

Understanding the cue, Tian Shi rose and bid farewell to Lady Rong.

As the Xu family members followed the elderly maid out of the corridor, Qiu Yue looked at them curiously and asked, “Madam, why did you change your mind?”

Just a few days ago, her mistress had planned to acquire the formula for three hundred taels, yet moments ago, she had suddenly instructed her to add an extra five hundred taels to the box.

Lady Rong held the formula for the eyebrow pencil in her hand but did not respond.

That little girl from the Xu family claimed that it was merely an idea, yet the paper contained every detailed step of the manufacturing process, along with precise measurements for each ingredient. This was clearly a complete formula.

Lady Rong carefully stored both formulas away before finally saying, “Didn’t you hear Miss Xu say that business is all about gambling? Well, your mistress here is placing a bet.”

Qiu Yue furrowed her brows, still not quite understanding, but Lady Rong did not explain further. Instead, she instructed, “We will depart for home tomorrow. If we delay any longer, things at the estate might take a turn for the worse.”

Qiu Yue quickly acknowledged the order and went out to make the travel arrangements.

—

After leaving Rong Residence and boarding the carriage, Wang Shi finally let out a gasp of astonishment. “Eldest granddaughter, did we really just get eight hundred taels?”

Xu Nian opened the box in her hands and placed it on Wang Shi’s lap.

Inside lay a stack of silver notes, some in denominations of one hundred taels and others in fifty taels.

This was only the second time they had ever seen silver notes. The first time had been when Luo Jin’an left them some upon his departure. However, they had never seen this many at once.

Seeing her grandmother and mother repeatedly flipping over the silver notes, Xu Nian couldn’t help but tease, “Grandmother, do you feel more at ease now?”

Wang Shi laughed heartily. “At ease! Nothing could make me feel more at ease than this!”

Xu Nian then turned to Tian Shi and said, “Mother, what do you think? Didn’t I say that our family would have enough money to buy an estate before the New Year? Well, here it is!”

Tian Shi looked at her daughter, who was practically beaming with pride, and laughed, “Yes, yes, I know you’re capable. Look at how pleased you are with yourself!”

The three of them laughed all the way home…

—

Meanwhile, back at the Xu residence, the rest of the family was anxiously awaiting their return.

“I wonder how things went for Mother and the others. Husband, why don’t you go meet them on the way?”

Zheng Shi paced back and forth at the entrance of the hall, feeling uneasy.

Although Xiao Wang Shi remained silent, her expression showed that she, too, was preoccupied with the matter.

Xu Fugui, however, remained still and instead looked toward his father, who was seated in the front hall.

The old man lifted his gaze slightly and said, “Just wait patiently. Whether it works out or not is not up to us. Look at you all, fidgeting like you’ve got only two taels of oil in your heads. If you can’t even stay calm now, how will you ever accomplish anything great in the future?”

The Xu sons and daughters-in-law: “…”