The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 304 Teaching the Maid a Lesson
Therefore, when Tong Huaqiong stepped into the rouge shop, it was crowded with young women and wives from the prefectural city.

Lu Zhaozhao and her maid personally greeted everyone.

It was quite a while before Lu Zhaozhao noticed Tong Huaqiong and the others.

"Aunt Tong, you've arrived." Lu Zhaozhao greeted her with a smile.

"You go ahead with your work, I'll just take a look around," Tong Huaqiong said.

"Aunt Tong, I won't stand on ceremony with you. There have been so many people these past few days. Please feel free to look around. Oh, by the way, that shelf over there has rose rouge and rose powder from Shengjing. They're unique in our city. Aunt Tong, see if there's anything you like and I'll give it to you later." Lu Zhaozhao pointed to the shelf next to her and then went to attend to other customers.

As soon as Tong Huaqiong heard that they were good things from Shengjing, she went over to look at and smell them one by one.

As expected, the rouge and face powder from Shengjing were different; they smelled pleasant and not at all pungent.

There was a row of small bottles on the shelf, labeled "for trial use".

Tong Huaqiong was delighted. "Lu Zhaozhao is quite something; she's learned the tricks of making peach blossom desserts."

Which woman can resist the allure of cosmetics? Once you apply rouge and smell its fragrance in the shop, who can resist buying it?

Tong Huaqiong thought that if lanterns or luminous pearls were placed on the shelf to create lighting, the trial effect would be doubled.

She would remind Lu Zhaozhao to use this method later.

Anyway, the Lu family has no shortage of luminous pearls.

"Mother, this rouge is so pretty."

A simply dressed young woman carefully took a layer of rouge from the sample box and applied it to her face. Then she looked in the mirror and her daughter, who was standing next to her, clapped her hands happily.

"It's very expensive." The young woman looked embarrassed, picked up the rouge box, shook her head, and put it down again.

Previously, the Lu family's shop only served noblewomen from the prefectural city, but now anyone can enter the shop. This simple young woman couldn't resist coming in after passing by several times.

She thought she might as well give it a try and not buy it.

But once she applied it to her face, she couldn't move.

This rouge has a faint fragrance, completely different from the cheap-smelling one she usually uses.

With the rouge applied to her face, the grime and grime from a day's work disappeared.

In the mirror, I still look so young, with my fair complexion and rosy cheeks!
She held the box, hesitating, unsure whether to buy it.

"Oh my, isn't this Master Wen?" Chen Sufeng patted the young woman's arm excitedly.

When Wen saw Chen Sufeng put down the rouge box, she happily called out, "Sister Sufeng!"

Then, seeing Tong Huaqiong not far away, he greeted her respectfully, "Boss."

Ms. Wen is the only female pastry chef at Taohua Dessert Shop in Fucheng.

She wore a mask and head covering the whole time in the shop, so Tong Huaqiong didn't recognize that the woman next to her trying on rouge was Wen Shi.

"Is this your daughter?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Ms. Wen nodded and said, "I brought my daughter here to stroll around after work."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Your daughter is right, this rouge suits you very well."

Ms. Wen smiled shyly and said softly, "I just came to try it out. This box of rouge costs a hundred coins, which can buy several kilograms of rice."

Tong Huaqiong knew about Wen's family situation. Her husband was sick and needed medicine all year round, and she also had to support her parents-in-law. The whole family depended on her to earn money by working.

A box of rouge costing 100 coins was indeed very expensive for her. "If you think it's too expensive, don't come in."

Tong Huaqiong was thinking of an excuse to send Wen a box when she heard someone muttering.

Tong Huaqiong turned around and saw two glamorous girls standing together, one of whom, a girl in red, was complaining to the girl in purple.

Rather than complaining to the girl in purple, the girl in red was deliberately mocking Wen.

"I said, why do you have to offer free trials? So many people who like to take advantage of others come in, try them out, and don't buy anything. It's a waste."

"It was so much better before when we only entertained the young ladies and wives of wealthy families. Now we have to deal with these people who can't afford it every day, and even if we talk until our lips are sore, they still won't buy anything."

The girl in red kept complaining.

"Stop complaining. Miss already said we should treat every customer with enthusiasm," the girl in purple said.

Tong Huaqiong understood that these two girls were "saleswomen" at the rouge shop.

Tong Huaqiong, the girl in red who watched customers order their food, was a common sight in later generations.

During her undergraduate years, she and her classmates went to the mall and timidly tried on lipsticks in front of the big brand counters. Some of the sales assistants would make sarcastic remarks when they saw their student-like appearance.

When Ms. Wen heard the girl in red's sarcastic words, she blushed with shame.

She shouldn't have come in!

Tong Huaqiong approached the girl in red and asked, "Are you a shop assistant here?"

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong was well-dressed, the girl in red smiled broadly and said, "Yes, what would you like? I'll introduce it to you."

Tong Huaqiong remained unmoved by the red-clad girl's smile and said, "As a shop assistant, what kind of shop's rule is it to gossip about customers behind their backs?"

"Since your shop doesn't have any rules about who can and can't enter, then anyone who enters is a customer. Since your shop has samples, then any customer who enters can try them. Who says that everyone who enters has to buy, or that after trying them they have to buy? According to your logic, buying after entering and buying after trying them is forced selling."

Tong Huaqiong criticized the girl in red without holding back.

Of course, she kept her voice down and tried to keep it to herself, knowing she couldn't ruin Lu Zhaozhao's business because of this.

However, if they were her employees, she would have fired them long ago.

At Peach Blossom Dessert Shop, even her own daughter-in-law, Liu Yue'e, dares not say anything bad about the customers.

The girl in red bit her lip as Tong Huaqiong scolded her, her face full of resentment.

Seeing this, the girl in purple stepped forward and said, "Madam, you are right to reprimand us. We did not do a good job. On behalf of Ruoyu, I apologize to you and this sister-in-law."

This shop assistant is quite well-behaved.

Then, she stepped forward and smiled at Ms. Wen, saying, "Sister-in-law, your skin is fair, and I think this rose rouge suits you better. Come, let me help you try it on."

As she spoke, she opened the rose box.

"This box is very cost-effective, and many young ladies and older women like it. It costs fifty coins a box. Actually, it's no worse in quality than the rose rouge you just tried. The rose rouge is expensive because the box is carved. We buy rouge to use, not to admire the box, don't you think?"

Tong Huaqiong nodded. If this girl in purple wasn't Lu Zhaozhao's assistant, she would have poached her.

Upon hearing that the rose rouge cost fifty coins, Wen's expression relaxed.

"Madam Chen, you've arrived? Our shop just received a batch of rouge and face powder from Shengjing today. Please let me try on your makeup." The girl in red called out sweetly, attracting Tong Huaqiong's attention.

A graceful and elegant lady walked in, surrounded by maids and servants.

The girl in red smiled sweetly and took the noblewoman's arm.