Looking at the mess in the room, Yun Xi slumped into a chair. The spot on her head where she had rammed into Qi Rong still ached faintly.
However, what pained her more was her heart.
She had thought that after several encounters, Qi Rong had developed special feelings for her. He had even single - handedly rushed to the Lin Mansion to rescue her.
She wasn't heartless. Although she was too stubborn to express her gratitude, she was truly grateful in her heart. She knew that Qi Rong liked to tease her, but would never really harm her.
But today, she realized that all her assumptions were nothing but a joke.
"Miss, what shall we do?"
Yu Zhu, who had been almost scared out of her wits, finally came to her senses. Holding Yun Xi's shoulders, she said anxiously.
These antiques were extremely valuable. If it were an ordinary hooligan who had damaged them, they could have reported the matter to the yamen and demanded compensation.
But the culprit was none other than the King of Xian, who behaved recklessly even in front of the emperor. Who would dare to offend such a fearsome figure?
Yun Xi closed her eyes to calm the discomfort in her heart. When she opened them again, her eyes were clear.
"First, carry the shopkeeper to the backyard and find a doctor. The rest of you, clean up the shop. I'll have some questions for you later."
The group looked at each other, but knowing Yun Xi's identity, they didn't dare to hesitate.
"Yes, Miss."
Under Yun Xi's arrangement, everyone tidied up the remnants in the shop in an orderly manner, while Yu Zhu frowned all the time.
"Miss, are we just going to let this go?"
Yun Xi raised her eyebrows and looked at Yu Zhu.
"What else can we do?"
Before, when she said she would report the matter to the yamen, it was just a momentary outburst of anger.
Even though Liang Sheng, the magistrate of the capital, was an upright official who didn't fear power, Qi Rong was no ordinary person.
She wasn't afraid of his royal status, but rather the man himself!
Those who offended Qi Rong never ended up well. Why should she try to fight against him?
Thinking of this, Yun Xi sighed helplessly and propped her head with her hand.
"Compared to these antiques in the shop, I'm more worried about the other stores."
She had long known that taking over these stores wouldn't be easy. Moreover, she had little experience and few reliable people around her.
This was just one store, and such things had already happened. For the other stores, the situations might be even worse.
The top priority was for her to get a grasp of the actual situation of each store and cultivate her own staff.
And of course, the Jiang family wouldn't sit back and do nothing. If she wanted to replace the Jiang family's lackeys without causing losses to the stores, she must come up with a meticulous plan!
Yun Xi looked down at the store deed. Yu Zhu whispered in her ear.
"Miss, everyone has finished cleaning."
Yun Xi looked up, scanned the now clean but much emptier store, and then looked at the people who had lined up on their own, waiting for her questions.
She counted silently. There were four men and three women, a total of seven people. Considering the scale of the store, this number was quite sufficient.
"Is everyone here except the shopkeeper?"
Yun Xi asked, looking at a honest - looking man.
Seeing Yun Xi asking, the man blushed and quickly lowered his head to answer.
"Back to Miss, everyone is here."
Yun Xi nodded and said gently.
"Well, you must have been scared today."
Although the loss in the store was huge, she still needed to comfort the shop assistants. She then turned to Yu Zhu.
"Yu Zhu, give each of them five taels of silver."
It was said that a new official made three shows of power, but Yun Xi didn't want to bully others with her authority. Since everyone was just trying to make a living, silver was the most persuasive tool.
Unexpectedly, Yun Xi was so generous. The people who had been very reserved just now suddenly brightened up. They thanked her one by one and became more talkative.
No matter what Yun Xi asked, they would answer truthfully, which saved Yun Xi a lot of trouble.
During the conversation with the assistants, Yun Xi learned that the store's profits had been sluggish.
Since the beginning of the year, there had been three rounds of staff changes. And they had just arrived not long ago, but their wages had already been in arrears for two months.
Hearing this, Yun Xi frowned slightly.
This store sold antiques and jade wares, which were very valuable and not affordable for ordinary people. If they wanted customers to be willing to spend money, they definitely needed assistants who could read people's expressions and had excellent eloquence.
People without long - term experience would find it difficult to understand the customers' minds.
Others might not know about this, but the shopkeeper surely did. Even if he was in a hurry to hire people, he should at least carefully select the shop assistants and provide them with some training.
However, after asking around, she found that everyone had started working directly. And the shopkeeper never tried to attract customers, but only took care of the accounts!
"Among you, who has ever sold a product?"
Yun Xi's eyes swept across the group. Everyone lowered their heads, except one person who stammered.
"Back to Miss, I sold one item. But it was just a fan..."
This person had an honest face, was calm and reserved. He was the one Yun Xi had asked at first.
Looking at the man, who was neatly dressed, neither overbearing nor humble, but with a blushing face, Yun Xi couldn't help but smile.
"What's your name? Can you read and write?"
"Back to Miss, my name is Zhao Chunsheng. I've studied for a few years."
The man answered truthfully, but Yun Xi continued to ask.
"Then why didn't you try to obtain an official title and instead came to work as a shop assistant?"
From Zhao Chunsheng's appearance, she could tell that he was a scholar. But most scholars had a bad habit, which was false pride.
They believed that "all trades are inferior except reading", that merchants were vulgar and full of the stench of money, so they always tended to look down on merchants!
Yun Xi's question was deliberately a bit sharp. She thought Zhao Chunsheng might get angry, but instead, he straightened his chest and said seriously.
"After ten years of hard study, of course I wanted to obtain an official title. But I'm not cut out for it, so I gave up this year. I'm twenty - seven and the eldest son in my family. I have an old mother above and younger siblings below. So I must shoulder the responsibility and give them a better life."
Zhao Chunsheng's words were so sincere that Yun Xi couldn't help but feel admiration.
As a scholar, he could face the reality and put aside his pride. It showed that he was very responsible!
"Okay, I'll ask you another question. If I make you the shopkeeper of this store, how will you manage it?"
As soon as Yun Xi said this, Zhao Chunsheng was stunned for a moment. But soon, based on his observations and experiences in the past two months, he came up with a fairly detailed plan.
Although he lacked experience and there were still many imperfections in his plan, it was enough to impress Yun Xi.
After all, he had only been a shop assistant for two months and hadn't really grasped the essence of business.
Yun Xi immediately nodded and said with satisfaction.
"Good! From today on, you'll be the new shopkeeper of this store!"
Zhao Chunsheng's eyes showed surprise, but Yun Xi continued.
"However, I'll send someone to teach you the experience of being a shopkeeper. You'll be under assessment for the first three months. If you're not qualified, then someone else will take your place. Can you accept this?"
Yun Xi stared at Zhao Chunsheng. The latter nodded heavily and said confidently.
"Thank you, Miss, for giving me this opportunity! I, Zhao Chunsheng, will surely do my best!"