Shopkeeper Cao was the head shopkeeper, Qingfeng was the second shopkeeper, and Ga Mei helped sell fruits, while also learning accounting from Qingfeng.
It was Bai Sheng's specific arrangement for Ga Mei to follow Qingfeng. The stage was set for Ga Mei, and it all depended on her ability to win over Qingfeng.
After the matters were discussed, Shopkeeper Cao, much like Butler Wu before him, couldn't resist a soul-searching interrogation of Lu Ye about why he wore a mask.
Lu Ye answered with a straight face, repeating his original words. The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
The only difference was that Shopkeeper Cao was clearly not as seasoned and steady as Butler Wu. He burst into laughter, and the two, one big and one small, also laughed uncontrollably.
Seeing the three laughing, Qingfeng stepped forward and removed Lu Ye's mask. The laughter of the three ceased abruptly upon seeing Lu Ye's handsome face.
Good heavens, they had been shallow and ignorant. It turned out that there really was a man in this world more handsome than their own Prince Yu. (Of course, they would never admit this in front of Prince Yu.)
The passionate Shopkeeper Cao and the big and small men immediately praised Lu Ye's face with murmurs of admiration.
Ah Xiao directly declared that if he were a woman, he would marry no one but Lu Ye.
Lu Ye glanced at him, thinking, thankfully he wasn't a woman. To grow up looking like this and living in this world required great courage.
Seeing the astonished gazes of Shopkeeper Cao and the big and small men, Lu Hua felt they should make another trip to the grain shop. It would be best to let his elder brother show his face, lest Wu, Duan, and Chang mistakenly think his elder brother was a simpleton with a faulty brain.
Who would dare to boast so openly about their own good looks?
However, his elder brother didn't seem to care how others saw him. He couldn't find even a trace of embarrassment or awkwardness on him.
Lu Hua then forcefully suppressed the thought of wanting to vouch for his elder brother's appearance.
After inspecting the two shops, Lu Ye went to the street and found a carpenter to customize a "Lu Residence" nameplate.
From now on, the grain and fruit shops would pick up goods from Yuhua Lane, and having a nameplate would make it seem more respectable.
In the evening, while everyone was asleep, Lu Ye took Mini Heng into the warehouse again and filled the remaining space.
Due to the significant increase in space and the short growth cycle of crops, it was possible to supply both the capital and the county's grain shops simultaneously without any pressure.
Moreover, the variety of grains was richer, and the taste was much better than ordinary grains.
The next day, before dawn, Butler Wu and Chang and Duan arrived with a large two-horse carriage to transport the grain. Upon seeing the fully stocked warehouse, they were overjoyed.
Currently, most areas of the Great Xia Kingdom were suffering from drought, leading to reduced grain production. The price of grain in the capital had skyrocketed, and most importantly, the supply had significantly decreased, making it difficult to procure goods.
They hadn't expected that Young Master Lu, who seemed a bit too confident, would be able to procure so much grain!
Butler Wu opened a few sacks and was even more shocked to see the grains inside. Wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, and sesame seeds were all plump and much larger than ordinary grains.
No wonder Young Master Lu had set the grain prices so high. Good quality goods were indeed worth a good price.
When the shop renovation cost several thousand taels of silver, Butler Wu had worried about a slow return on investment. But seeing the grain now, he was completely reassured; the investment in the shops was well worth it!
If Young Master Lu's supply chain remained unbroken, their master would make a fortune this time.
Watching Butler Wu and his men move the grain, everyone except Lu Hua, Wang Dafa, and even Uncle Ding felt they had slept too soundly. They, the grain merchants, had delivered grain, and they hadn't noticed a thing.
Uncle Ding, as the gatekeeper, felt deeply guilty.
Lu Ye smiled and said, "My grain merchant friend has his own delivery team. They are all tall and strong men. Their basic principle for delivery is to cause minimal disruption to the buyer. And with the current grain shortage, they can only choose to deliver at night, to avoid attracting envious glances from others. From now on, the people in the residence only need to sleep and don't need to worry about grain deliveries."
After speaking, Lu Ye glanced at Lu Hua. If Lu Ye were to return to Hongshu Po in the future and need to release goods, it would only be possible with the help of Xiao Hua and Heng Heng.
Everyone felt that this grain merchant was incredibly considerate. Since the master had said so, they wouldn't dwell on it any further.
Thus, they all came forward to help move and load the grain onto the carts. Even Jin, Mu, Shui, and Tu were very perceptive. After finishing their meal, they worked with great vigor.
Butler Wu and his men also drove the carriages right up to the warehouse inside the residence. Moreover, the carriages had covers, so outsiders couldn't tell what was inside.
In times of grain scarcity, extreme caution was necessary.
After several trips back and forth, the grain shop's warehouse was finally filled. As the opening was tomorrow, Lu Ye took everyone to help at the grain store.
The pre-opening publicity was very important. To attract more people, Butler Wu bought a lot of firecrackers and also hired a lion dance troupe and a drum and gong team.
As for Bai Sheng, not only did they send people to distribute flyers door-to-door the day before the opening, but on the opening day, they also cooked some food and placed it in different ceramic urns for customers to taste on the spot. Only by tasting would they know that the grains from their space had a much better taste than ordinary grains.
Additionally, all new stores received a 20% discount, and the first fifty customers to buy grain would receive five catties of grain for free.
Lu Ye naturally followed suit with everything.
Besides creating buzz to attract customers, security also needed to be strengthened.
There were many large grain merchants in the capital. If they snatched business from others, it would surely arouse the envy of their peers, especially the Jiang family. They had already clashed with them once in the county town, and in the capital, they would naturally not stand by and watch their customers disappear.
Therefore, Bai Sheng sought cooperation with Prince Yu. With Prince Yu's umbrella of protection, those people should also think twice before making a move.
Furthermore, the grain shops in the capital followed a high-quality, high-price route, earning money from the wealthy. The Jiang family's grain quality could not compare, so they had no right to complain.
Lu Ye brought two disciples from the Ye Sheng Sect, who remained hidden, observing suspicious individuals. Butler Wu, being a seasoned veteran, had mobilized over twenty guards to maintain order.
The fruit shop did not have such a grand setup. After all, fruits were perishable and seasonal. Even in the capital, the fruit business could not be very large. Most of the fruits sold in ordinary shops were common fruits with long shelf lives, so the competition was not as intense as in the grain shops.
"Sweet Orchard" had immense advantages such as storage and preservation, a rich variety of rare and unusual fruits, and excellent quality. Upon opening, it would undoubtedly become the leading fruit shop in the capital.
When Bai Sheng decided to cooperate with Prince Yu, he had informed him of the method for storing fruits by building an ice cellar. Shopkeeper Cao had executed Prince Yu's orders perfectly, and the ice cellar was built flawlessly.
On the opening day, Shopkeeper Cao and the big and small men woke up early, preparing to drive to Yuhua Lane to transport fruits. However, as they passed through the front hall of the shops, they discovered that baskets and baskets of various fruits were already placed in the store.
Lu Ye left a note saying that the fruit merchants had come to deliver goods in the middle of the night and that he had opened the shop alone, so he hadn't alerted the three of them.
Shopkeeper Cao was deeply touched. He hadn't expected that Young Master Lu, besides being handsome, was also so thoughtful. Cooperating with him made their master feel very at ease.
The bamboo boxes used to pack the fruits were exquisitely woven and had a large capacity. The three couldn't wait to open the bamboo lids. They saw fruits of all colors, and they were very fresh. Dewdrops still glistened on the fruits, making anyone who saw them unable to resist tasting them.
Many of the fruits were ones that even Shopkeeper Cao had never seen before. Fortunately, the names, characteristics, and selling prices of the fruits were marked on the boxes, otherwise, they would have been completely clueless and unable to answer customers' questions.
Ah, Young Master Lu was truly beautiful, considerate, and reliable. They were very pleased to have such a partner.