webnovelfull Chapter 581 Xie Jue's Storyline: Jiang Family Shop
Chapter 581 Xie Jue's Storyline: Jiang Family Shop
He turned and sat back in his chair. "The rise in cloth prices is just a temporary fluctuation."
"Now is the time to stock up on more fabric. When prices rise, we'll have stock on hand. Who knows whether we'll make a profit or a loss then?"
"Besides, selling at low prices is just a temporary measure. Once the customer base stabilizes, we will naturally gradually return to the original price."
"Once people are in, profits are easier to talk about."
The shopkeeper bowed his head in agreement, not daring to say more, but inwardly he couldn't help but sigh.
This young master is indeed an amateur.
I can read accounts now, but business acumen isn't something you can learn just by memorizing a few arithmetic books.
These people learned from the shops from a young age, carefully calculating and comparing prices, honing their eye for quality and experience.
Do you think you can see through the market after only studying for a few days?
He could only think these words in his heart, but on the surface he still replied respectfully, "Your subordinate understands. I will contact the cloth shop tomorrow to order another batch of new materials."
Prince's Mansion, Tinghe Pavilion.
"Young Master, Jiang Huaiyu has made another move. Xiuyufang placed a large order today, bringing in ten truckloads of new materials from three cloth shops in the southwest, all of them high-grade silk fabrics."
"So hasty?" Xie Jue sneered. "Keep raising the price."
Changqing was taken aback. "We still need to carry it?"
"Raise the price discreetly, not too obviously, just three or five points more expensive than before. Have someone secretly keep an eye on the fabric source and add layers as needed."
"He's in the midst of his excitement right now, and he's eager to grab customers and expand, so he doesn't really care about money."
Xie Jue chuckled softly, her tone brimming with certainty, "He will definitely buy it."
In the following days, the entire Xiuyu Workshop mobilized, and large quantities of fabric were delivered to the warehouse. The manager arranged for people to move and count the fabric every day, keeping them extremely busy.
On the afternoon of the fifth day, the accountant strode into the inner room, holding a price list that had just been delivered.
When Jiang Huaiyu saw him come in, she casually asked, "What's up? Did the fabric arrive?"
The accountant whispered, "We've arrived, but several cloth shops have raised their prices at the same time, by three to five coins per bolt."
"The price has gone up?" Jiang Huaiyu took the price list and glanced at it. Sure enough, the numbers were much higher than before.
He sneered and casually tossed the form onto the table.
"It's only gone up a little, what's the big deal?"
He looked up at the shopkeeper beside him and said, "Keep buying, buy as much as you need. There are a lot of customers right now, running out of stock would be a big no-no."
The shopkeeper wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't dare to speak, only bowing his head and replying, "Yes."
Jiang Huaiyu was somewhat disdainful.
Prices may go up, but as long as business is booming and you can make a profit, that's a skill in itself.
A month later.
The accountant knelt on the ground, covered in cold sweat, his voice trembling, "Young master, there's not a single penny left in the accounts, not even enough to pay the workers' wages for this month."
Jiang Huaiyu felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.
"How is that possible? Aren't there still goods on the way?"
"That batch of goods..." The shopkeeper lowered his head, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, "is stuck on the waterway. I heard that the upstream docks have temporarily closed their ports, supposedly to rectify trade documents. Our batch of cloth will not be able to move for at least another ten days."
"Ten days?" Jiang Huaiyu turned her head sharply, her eyes filled with horror. "What about the customer? We've already taken the deposit, and they want the goods, but we have nothing to deliver. What are we going to do?"
No one answered.
He was so angry that he staggered two steps, then overturned the teacup on the table, shattering it into pieces on the floor.
"Close the shop," the shopkeeper said in a low voice. "We have no choice but to close. If customers block the door demanding payment, we won't have any chance to fight back."
Although Xiuyufang has a large daily output, most of it is sold under a low-price strategy. Since the price of fabric quietly rose, costs have skyrocketed, while profits have been squeezed to almost zero.
What was initially thought to be a short-term fluctuation turned into a surge in prices, with other shops on the market ceasing operations and adopting a wait-and-see approach. Only Xiuyufang continued its frantic buying spree, as if it were carrying the last torch for others.
The goods were purchased, but they never arrived at the warehouse.
Lost the wife and broke down again.
Jiang Huaiyu then realized that what she thought was an opportunity to turn the tide had unknowingly exhausted all of Xiuyufang's last reserves.
He sat down abruptly, falling into silence, his vision going black.
Now, not only is the business closing down, but it also owes a large amount of money to silk shops and dyeing shops in the market. The debt, including interest and principal, is a huge hole.
Jiang Huaiyu stared intently at the account books, his eyes filled with disbelief.
His first shop, which he personally managed, was reduced to nothing but an empty shell within just one month.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a familiar voice.
"I heard that Young Master Jiang is a little short of money lately, so I came to check on him."
Xie Jue strode in, his gaze sweeping over the messy ledgers on the floor before settling back on Jiang Huaiyu, his eyes calm to the point of gentleness.
Jiang Huaiyu turned around abruptly, "It was you! You deliberately framed me!"
"I'm just doing business. Young Master Jiang can't keep up with the market, so how can you blame others?"
"You—" Jiang Huaiyu's face twisted in pain, wishing she could pounce on him on the spot.
Xie Jue bent down and picked up a page of the ledger, flipping through it casually. "Your shop may have terrible accounts, but if someone takes it over and reorganizes it, it still has its merits."
“I can take over.”
"If you agree to one thing, you will annul the engagement."
"You're dreaming!" Jiang Huaiyu's chest heaved violently with anger.
Xie Jue's gaze was calm. "This is the only way you can stop the losses right now."
After he finished speaking, he patted the ledger in his hand, put it back on the table, and smiled slightly, "Think it over carefully, I'm not in a hurry."
"I don't know how..." Jiang Huaiyu hadn't finished speaking when hurried footsteps suddenly came from the study doorway.
A servant from the Jiang household rushed in, his face filled with panic. "Young Master, something terrible has happened! Madam... Madam has fallen ill! The household wants you to return immediately!"
"What?! How did you get sick?!"
Ignoring the ledgers scattered on the table, he strode outside, shouting, "Prepare the carriage, quick!"
The carriage sped along.
"Why did my mother suddenly faint?" Jiang Huaiyu asked in a low voice.
The servant answered tremblingly, "It's because of the Embroidery Workshop."
"This morning, the accountant from the manor returned the account books. When the lady learned that the shop was in debt and heard that someone had come to collect the debt, she fainted on the spot."
Jiang Huaiyu's face immediately turned horribly ugly, and her heart felt heavy and cold inch by inch.
Embroidery Workshop.
Xie Jue glanced indifferently at everyone in the room. "You've all seen it, Xiuyufang is finished."
"The Jiang family's business is already in decline. As for Jiang Huaiyu..." Xie Jue sneered, "He's even less suited for business."
The expressions of the old men in the hall shifted slightly, but they remained silent.
Xie Jue continued, "You are all people who make a living with your own hands, and no one wants to die on the same road."
"If you want to find a way out for yourself and your family, you can come to me."
No one responded after he finished speaking.
Xie Jue didn't need them to express their opinions immediately; he simply turned and left.
After he left, everyone in the room looked at each other with complicated expressions.