Chapter 403: 410: Satisfied and Relieved

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Whether they were genuinely interested or just giving Su Wenyue face, Su Wenyue’s event turned out quite well. All the noblewomen expressed intentions of visiting the Heavenly Pavilion. Having opened this topic, even if it was just for appearances, they would surely make a trip. Su Wenyue was confident that once they visited, they would certainly return, and she would be able to gain a reputation and open up the market even more.

Chen Li was also busy mingling with the noblewomen, trying to make connections. If others didn’t know her, it wouldn’t matter, but after the previous scene, everyone was aware of Chen Li’s status as a merchant’s daughter. The disdain on their faces was unmistakable, especially since Chen Li had offended Su Wenyue, who was not only Han Yu’s wife but also highly valued by the Yin Family. The guests who were invited by the Yin family had more or less connections with them, and few were willing to associate with Chen Li.

Chen Li regretted her impulsive actions. If it weren’t for her miscalculation, thinking she could leverage Su Wenyue’s connections, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a situation. The noblewomen, who already considered themselves above others, would surely look down on her even more. But what’s done was done, and regret was pointless. Since the noblewomen were unwilling to deal with her, Chen Li simply took another route, focusing her efforts on the servant girls and female servants who accompanied the noblewomen.

Chen Li was very persuasive when she spoke, and coupled with her willingness to spend, she gave away many gifts. She actually managed to win over several servant girls and female servants from the noblewomen’s entourage, feeling quite proud of herself. So what if Su Wenyue was unwilling to help? Chen Li still achieved what she wanted. Although she failed to connect with the noblewomen and enter the upper-class circles, winning over those respectable little girls and female servants was not bad either.

The servants invited by their masters to the banquet were mostly trusted and relied upon. As long as Chen Li found an opportunity for them to speak well of her department store in front of their masters, they would surely come back to patronize her business. Moreover, these servants who were favored by their masters also lived comfortably and had a certain spending power, which meant additional customers for her.

Chen Li’s goals were different from Su Wenyue’s. While Su Wenyue only intended to do business with the upper-class, Chen Li’s ambitions were bigger, hoping to monopolize the market and attract everyone’s business to her. She believed in both small and large profits, and there was no reason to forsake any. Especially since her previous company’s business model catered to the commoners with the philosophy of thin margins but high volume, making Chen Li pay more attention to the masses.

Su Wenyue was on guard against Chen Li, and so were her people, keeping an early eye on Chen Li’s every move at the banquet. They were particularly worried when they saw many servants being bribed by Chen Li.

“Madam, what should we do? This Chen Li is really too cunning, impossible to guard against. Seeing that she couldn’t climb up to those madams and madams, she turned her attention to their servant girls and female servants. Those servant girls and female servants are really shallow, selling themselves for such small benefits. It’s infuriating!”

“Hmm, I know.” Su Wenyue saw her own servant girl so worried and anxious, yet she was calm and composed, without a hint of concern, making her servant girl even more frustrated.

“Madam, Chen Li has wooed everyone over. She’s going to take away our family’s business, and you’re not even a bit worried!” Shu Yu stamped her foot, her face showing an expression of frustration. Madam had invested so much heart in the store, how could she become unconcerned at this crucial moment?

“Shu Yu, I’ve been saying you’ve made good progress recently. You’re steady and unruffled in your work. Why are you so unsettled now? This is such a trivial matter, and yet you’ve lost your sense of proportion,” Su Wenyue glanced at Shu Yu as she spoke.

“Madam, isn’t it because I’m worried about you? You’ve put a lot of effort into this store. Especially that flighty Chen Li, who wouldn’t know in the mansion that she once had designs on the Master? Maybe she hasn’t given up yet. You can’t let her take advantage!”

Although the servant girl was a bit rash and lacked the demeanor of a great general, her loyalty was commendable, which was what Su Wenyue valued most. “Rest assured, who is your madam? I will certainly not let Chen Li take any advantage. Keep your heart at ease within your stomach.”

Hearing Su Wenyue say this, Shu Yu’s eyes lit up. She knew that madam had put so much effort into the store, so how could she remain indifferent? It turned out that madam had already thought of a solution, otherwise, she wouldn’t be so calm and collected, not worried at all.

“Madam, do you already have a method to deal with that woman?” Shu Yu asked curiously. It was also because Su Wenyue was not too harsh on the servants that Shu Yu dared to ask. Normally, Shu Yu was not one to overstep her bounds. As a loyal servant, it was natural for her to dislike any woman who coveted her madam’s position.

Su Wenyue simply smiled without saying a word. It wasn’t that she had a strategy in mind, but rather, there was no need to stoop to Chen Li’s level. Earlier, Su Wenyue had been worried that Chen Li might have some tricky moves up her sleeve, but after today’s events, with Chen Li cutting off her own path, she was no longer a threat, at least not in the matter of the store.

Shu Yu was just a servant girl. Even if she was intelligent, her vision was ultimately too narrow to see through the underlying principles. Chen Li’s actions today in winning over those servant girls and female servants seemed like a clever diversion, finding another way to achieve her goals. But in truth, it was the most foolish thing to do.

Especially since Chen Li was giving away items from her store to those servant girls and female servants, hoping that if they enjoyed using them, they would recommend them to their masters. This approach was even more misguided. Think of those noblewomen who lived in luxury with every aspect of their lives exquisite. How could they ever use something that their servants had used? Even if the product was good, it wouldn’t be appropriate. To use what the servants used would be a degradation of their status.

After all, Chen Li was just a merchant’s daughter. Although she had a talent for business, her vision was hardly higher than that of a servant girl; otherwise, she wouldn’t have committed such a foolish act and still be so self-satisfied, even fantasizing about her store’s opening day and the bustling business, unaware that she had already cut herself off from the upper-class nobility.

With that said, Chen Li’s easy co-opting of those female servants and maids was also a result of Su Wenyue’s laissez-faire attitude. Otherwise, it couldn’t have been so effortlessly accomplished.

That evening, when Su Wenyue returned home and talked to Han Yu about the day’s events, Han Yu immediately saw the inappropriateness of the situation. Seeing his daughter-in-law analyzing the situation so logically, he felt very satisfied and reassured.

Everything was ready for the opening day, which soon arrived. Not only did Su Wenyue go, but Han Yu also personally came to support his daughter-in-law. The auspicious time had been carefully selected, and as the moment arrived, they set off the firecrackers.