Lady Li kept an eye on Li Qingrou, and was well aware of her situation. Only Li Qingrou was blinded by love, while Master Li, a man, was careless and didn't understand the inside story.
Since the wedding date was set, Mother Liu began to prepare betrothal gifts. Knowing that the Liu family was poor, Li Qingrou even secretly slipped several hundred taels of silver to Liu Yixuan. These silver taels were nothing in the eyes of wealthy families, but in the impoverished small mountain village, they were unimaginable.
With money, things were easier. Mother Liu renovated the house, bought new furniture, new cotton quilts...
The Liu family members walked with a spring in their step. With money in their pockets, they felt at ease, and the family was unusually harmonious.
The Liu family acted cautiously, secretly observing Wu Caiwei's expression. Wu Caiwei knew why they were acting this way. However, the original owner no longer had feelings for Liu Yixuan, only hatred. Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief as they watched Wu Caiwei calmly discuss the Liu family's happy occasion with the villagers.
Wu Caiwei had been very busy lately, working with Qiushuang and Dongzhi to make cosmetics. After coming to ancient times, she found that the variety of women's cosmetics was limited and their effects were poor.
Women were all fond of beauty. She had tinkered with cosmetics before. According to Qiushuang and Dongzhi, they were secret guards from the Prince of Qin's mansion. Because they were women, they had fewer missions. When the Prince of Qin's mansion trained them, they were also trained in cosmetic skills and had some exclusive secret recipes, which benefited Wu Caiwei greatly. Some secret recipes were not meant to be passed down. They had made a series of modifications to these recipes, making them even better than the original ones, and they were sure to cause a sensation once they were released.
Why did she make cosmetics? Firstly, Wu Caiwei had research experience in this area. Secondly, the Li family owned a cosmetics shop, and it was said that many cosmetics shops in the prefecture city sourced their goods from here. If the Li family ran out of money, then how could Miss Li still flaunt her power?
After making a series of preparations, she, along with Qiushuang and Dongzhi, went to the prefecture city. First, they used a post from the Prince of Qin's mansion to pay a visit to the prefect.
Upon meeting the prefect, she expressed her desire to open a cosmetics shop in the prefecture city. The prefect immediately pledged that she could seek help from his wife for any matters.
After all, there was a distinction between men and women, so the prefect left shortly after. Madam Prefect then warmly welcomed them and prepared a sumptuous lunch.
After the meal, Madam Prefect sent the household manager along with Wu Caiwei to look for a shop. The household manager was usually in charge of managing the properties of the prefecture, and he knew very well which shops were for sale or rent. The prefect's household manager was someone everyone vied to curry favor with, and he made things convenient for them. Soon, Wu Caiwei and her group had chosen a shop. After all, it was the prefecture city. A decent shop cost five thousand taels. The Liu family only had the thousand taels that Prince Qin had given them back then. Since the money was insufficient, Wu Caiwei decided to rent a shop first. The annual rent was three hundred taels. Although the rent was not cheap, the location was excellent, the shop was spacious, and it had a backyard where they could live. They were very satisfied with it.
They immediately paid the silver and signed the agreement. The household manager then went to the yamen to make arrangements, ensuring that everyone would know from then on that this shop was protected by the prefect, and no one would dare to bully them.
Shortly after, Madam Prefect sent several servants to assist Wu Caiwei.
With more people, the shop was quickly cleaned to perfection. Wu Caiwei also took people to buy some furniture and daily necessities, so they could move in immediately.
The Liu couple doted on their daughter. Although they found it a little unbelievable that their daughter would go into business, they thought that this money was an unexpected windfall, obtained by their daughter saving someone, so she could spend it as she pleased. Therefore, they gave it all to her when she left.
To be honest, this was Wu Caiwei's first time doing business. She didn't know what the outcome would be, but everyone had a first time. If you didn't try, how would you know if you were suitable?
The days passed in a flurry of activity, and in the blink of an eye, the shop was ready to open.
This time, she did not bring her parents to the business, as Wu Caiwei was unsure if the business would succeed.
On the opening day, the drums and gongs were loud, and the firecrackers crackled incessantly. Madam Prefect personally attended to show her support. Initially, she did not have high expectations for this shop, but because the Prince of Qin's mansion had put in a good word and her husband had instructed her to help as much as possible, she decided to come and boost Wu Caiwei's popularity.
However, as soon as she entered the shop, she was surprised by its elegant decor. The young girls in the shop wore uniform attire, which was very distinctive. Whether they bought anything or not, they were all polite and explained the various cosmetics to customers, even allowing them to try the products.
The crucial point was that the results after trying the products showed a significant difference in the same person. How could women not be attracted to beauty? Few who entered left empty-handed. All product prices were clearly displayed, allowing customers to quickly choose suitable items based on their economic capacity.
Someone recognized Madam Prefect, and many wives of merchants and minor officials heard the news and rushed to the shop, wanting to meet Madam Prefect and build connections. Many of them were not short of money and were generous in their spending, buying something or other. Regardless of their motives, the opening day was a resounding success, and Wu Caiwei made a fortune.
After closing the shop that day, looking at the piles of banknotes and silver, both of them could hardly believe it. They counted and found that the amount was over ten thousand taels. No wonder merchants have always been the wealthiest people since ancient times. However, they also knew that after the initial excitement wore off, business would slow down.
Regardless, with the income from today, they could afford to buy the shop. As long as they operated normally from now on, even if they couldn't make this much money, the business wouldn't be too bad, as the cost had been recovered, and anything earned from now on would be pure profit.
They expected business to slow down, but to their surprise, the second day sold even more than the first. The reason was that many people had come to buy on the first day out of respect for Madam Prefect. However, after trying the products, they all praised their effectiveness, leading to even more customers the next day.
Overwhelmed by the workload, Wu Caiwei quickly hired a few more people to help with production, while she and Dongzhi managed the key processes.
With enough money earned, of course, they wanted to bring Liu's father and mother over. Wu Caiwei could clearly feel that the original owner had complex feelings for Qingshan Village. It was where she grew up, and it was also the beginning of her nightmare, a place she was unwilling to mention.
Liu's father never dreamed that they could leave this place and live in a bigger city. He thought he would spend his old age in Qingshan Village. Now that he was old, his daughter had become successful and had actually started a business.
Wu Caiwei thought it would be difficult to persuade them, but when she told Liu's father that they were making a fortune every day, he immediately told Mother Liu to pack their belongings and move to the city with their daughter.
In Liu's father's words, he was incapable and could not reclaim what belonged to the Liu family, but his daughter was capable. He wanted to follow his daughter and see what final fate awaited Hu Jiayuan. He wanted to see if he regretted his ingratitude and would spit out everything he had swallowed from the Liu family.
Wu Caiwei could understand. After all, Liu's father and Mother Liu had no choice but to take refuge here back then. This was not their hometown. If they had a choice, who wouldn't want to return home in glory?
That night, Dongzhi mysteriously told her some news: "Fortunately, you didn't marry into the Liu family. You haven't seen how chaotic their family is nowadays."
"Oh?" Wu Caiwei raised her eyebrows with interest. She suddenly remembered that Liu Yixuan and Li Qingrou were already married, and she had been too busy recently to remember this matter.