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

Lu Zhaozhao had already noticed the commotion on Tong Huaqiong's side.

She knew that Ruoyu was definitely playing favorites again.

Lu Zhaozhao suppressed her anger and saw off the mistress of a wealthy family. Then she turned to Tong Huaqiong and her face darkened.

Lu Zhaozhao said to Tong Huaqiong, "Aunt Tong, please forgive my rudeness earlier."

Tong Huaqiong said, "You'll encounter waiters like this in any restaurant, who cater to different customers."

Lu Zhaozhao asked, "What would you do if you encountered a similar employee in your shop?"

Ruoyu was sold to the Lu family when she was a child and was one of Lu Zhaozhao's maids.

Lu Zhaozhao's feelings for her were naturally extraordinary.

Since Lu Zhaozhao took over the cosmetics shop, she has sent her maids to the shop for training.

Previously, the shop had only male employees, but Lu Zhaozhao pioneered the use of female employees.

Lu Zhaozhao hoped that the maids around her would not only have the option of being assigned to servants in the future.

Since the shop changed from serving only the young ladies and wives of wealthy families to serving all customers, Ruoyu has adhered to the principle of catering to different customers.

Situations like today happen almost every day.

Lu Zhaozhao had disciplined and punished her, and she would change her ways after each reprimand and punishment, but she would soon repeat the same mistakes.

Lu Zhaozhao hesitated to fire her because of their childhood friendship and had always been soft-hearted.

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and said, "If it were my employee, making a mistake once would be the responsibility of the manager and the owner, but if it happened repeatedly, she would definitely be fired. Besides, not all mistakes are the same. Being rude to customers and treating them differently based on their status is absolutely unacceptable."

Lu Zhaozhao gritted her teeth and said, "I know what to do, Aunt Tong."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that Lu Zhaozhao was not a person who dragged things out. The way this girl named Ruoyu was adept at judging people and treating them differently was obvious to be her daily routine. So why didn't Lu Zhaozhao fire her?

There can only be one reason: Ruoyu wasn't hired from outside; she must be an extraordinary maid.

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and said, "Zhaozhao, is Ruoyu your maid?"

Lu Zhaozhao nodded and said, "She grew up with me since childhood. She has always been competitive and ambitious, and I have told her many times but she still doesn't change."

No wonder this girl was unconvinced; she's convinced she has powerful connections!

Tong Huaqiong said, "Zhaozhao, you need to handle this matter carefully. You need to properly arrange for her to be transferred away from the shop, otherwise it could become a disaster."

For a maid as competitive and ambitious as her, being transferred away from the shop meant being removed from Lu Zhaozhao's inner circle.

How could she accept this?

She grew up by Lu Zhaozhao's side and knows all of Lu Zhaozhao's weaknesses. One careless move could lead to disaster.

Lu Zhaozhao nodded and smiled, "Aunt Tong, I understand what you mean. I will handle it properly. If necessary, I will ask Grandpa and my brother to step in."

Tong Huaqiong was relieved.

She didn't believe that the large Lu family couldn't properly accommodate a maid.

"Madam Chen, please take care." Ruoyu saw Madam Chen off, carrying two boxes of rouge and face powder.

Lu Zhaozhao raised her chin and lowered her voice to say to Tong Huaqiong, "Aunt Tong, that Madam Chen is Jin Fengxiang's wife."

Tong Huaqiong looked towards the door. Madam Chen had already boarded the carriage. Tong Huaqiong wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Madam Chen was also looking at her through the curtain.

"Ruoyu, there's nothing for you to do here. Go to the warehouse and take inventory of the batch of rose dew that came from Shengjing," Lu Zhaozhao said to Ruoyu.

Ruoyu knew Lu Zhaozhao was angry, so she stepped forward and said sweetly, "Miss, I didn't mean it. I'll apologize to that lady, okay? Please forgive me this time."

Lu Zhaozhao said with a stern face, "Go to the warehouse when I tell you to." Ruoyu bit her lip and left.

Watching her retreating figure, Lu Zhaozhao secretly resolved that Ruoyu could not be allowed to stay.

"Sister-in-law Wen, Ruoyu was very rude just now. It's my responsibility as the owner. I apologize to you." Lu Zhaozhao said as she came to Wen's side.

When Madam Wen saw that it was the eldest daughter of the Lu family who had come to apologize in person, she was flustered and at a loss for what to do.

Lu Zhaozhao continued, "Ruoxue, which rouge did Sister-in-law Wen choose?"

The girl in purple said, "This rose-colored rouge suits Sister-in-law Wen perfectly."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Master Wen is the pastry chef in my shop. As the owner, I can't let her suffer. Since she has taken a liking to this box of rose rouge, let's wrap it up for her. I also think that box of jasmine powder is nice, let's wrap that one up too."

Gu Taohua handed over the silver from the side.

Since Mother has spoken, they should definitely pay the bill.

Lu Zhaozhao stopped Gu Taohua and said, "Consider this my apology to Sister-in-law Wen."

Ms. Wen waved her hands repeatedly and said to Tong Huaqiong, "Master, I still have the money for the rouge. If you don't let me pay for it myself, then I won't take it."

After saying that, he resolutely took out a copper coin and handed it to Ruoxue.

Tong Huaqiong knew that Ms. Wen was a person with a strong sense of self-respect, so she did not continue the battle.

Anyway, Wen's pastries are good, and she's a down-to-earth and honest person, so Tong Huaqiong won't treat her badly.

She will earn a lot of money from Peach Blossom Desserts in the future.

Seeing this, Lu Zhaozhao made Ruoxue accept the money, but also packed an extra box of powder and a box of incense, insisting that Wen accept them.

After Ms. Wen left with her daughter, Lu Zhaozhao personally selected a bunch of cosmetics and skincare products for Tong Huaqiong, including rose rouge, jasmine powder, and magnolia balm, and then packed them in a box and gave them to Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong did not refuse!
"Aunt Tong, do you think there's anything in my shop that needs improvement?" Lu Zhaozhao asked sincerely before seeing Tong Huaqiong off.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Put a few luminous pearls on the shelf, and turn on the lights at night. You can try it on and see how much more beautiful you look when you try on clothes under the lights."

Lu Zhaozhao sincerely admired Tong Huaqiong; she could even think of such a detail!

“I just thought of something from your maidservant’s practice of treating people differently based on their status. Actually, it’s not just maidservants who do this; the young ladies and mistresses of wealthy families do it too. Why don’t you set up a VIP room inside, specifically for entertaining the young ladies and mistresses of wealthy families? However, if they want to go in and be served, there should be a threshold, such as having to spend a certain amount at once,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Lu Zhaozhao nodded to indicate that she understood.

Although the shop is doing very well now, it has indeed lost some of the ladies and young women from wealthy families since she made the changes.

These people really don't want to squeeze in with ordinary people to try on makeup.

She couldn't change their minds, yet she was unwilling to give up this customer segment.

Why didn't she think of providing differentiated services to customers?

Seeing that Lu Zhaozhao had taken it to heart, Tong Huaqiong continued, "I think you could also train your own makeup artists and recruit some skillful girls to do makeup for customers for free. Who doesn't like to look beautiful? That would definitely attract more people to your shop."

This method is good.

There wasn't a single cosmetics shop in the entire prefecture that had a makeup artist.

If she launches this service, the Lu family's cosmetics shop will become even more famous, and others will be unable to catch up.

As expected of Aunt Tong, she came up with several ideas after just one stroll around the shop.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Lu Zhaozhao swept up another batch of goods, stuffed them into a box, and gave it to Tong Huaqiong.

Lu Zhaozhao said gratefully, "Aunt Tong, you won't need to buy rouge and face powder anywhere else anymore. I'll send someone to Qinghe Bay to deliver them to you every time new stock arrives." (End of Chapter)