Too high to reach

Chapter 192 Business Continues
The next morning, Mo Yi went out after breakfast.

Although she had arranged to meet her father at Qizhenlou, she still went back to her parents' home first.

The men in the house were all away, and Wang Shi wasn't there either; it felt rather deserted.

Upon hearing of her arrival, Mo Yuan exclaimed, "Your Highness! Why are you back?!" She looked her up and down, saying, "You truly are a princess; you stand out from the crowd. You look so beautiful now!"

"Huh? Didn't you agree to meet your second uncle at Qizhenlou?"

She knew that too?! This guy is still asking around for information?
Mo Yi asked helplessly, "Is Uncle Three home?"

Mo Yuan pouted, "She said she went out with friends to take care of something important, she's not here!"

Mo Yi listened and thought, "No, I have to talk to my uncle and keep an eye on my third uncle... he's not very reliable."

"Where is Third Aunt?"

"What is it, Your Highness?" Mo Yuan asked curiously.

"I want to... take Yunniang out to run some errands."

Mo Yuan's face turned cold. "Why do you keep looking for her?"

"I can ask you for help, are you going?"

Mo Yuan immediately smiled again, "What is it... I'll go, I'll go!"

“The embroiderers I hired have done a lot of work. Someone needs to check if the work is good. At the end of the year, I need to settle accounts with the embroiderers. If I pay them without checking, I can’t get a refund. If the work is not good, not only will I lose money if they can’t be sold in the future, but it will also affect my reputation! If you check, I can pay you.”

"Tch... Now that you're a princess, you don't do these chores anymore. Just because I'm the princess's older sister doesn't mean I have to!? You think I can earn this little bit of money? Humph, you underestimate me..."

"Then I want to take Yunniang with me. You'd better figure out a way. Otherwise, you can forget about going to the Prince's Mansion during the New Year!"

"Mo Yi!" Mo Yuan stamped her foot.

"You're not going to call me Your Highness anymore? Are you going to accept that?"

"I'm so angry... I'm going to call her... I want to go too! Otherwise I'll tell my mother... that my mother took the money you gave Yunniang."

Mo Yi was so angry she couldn't help but yell, "Hurry up!"

Not long after, the beautifully dressed Mo Yuan and the neatly dressed Yun Niang came out, accompanied by a maid.

"Your Majesty! Qiao'er can work by my side and watch over me."

"Let's go. There's a lot to do, we need to hurry."

The group got into the luxury car, feeling incredibly happy...

"My goodness, there are even flowers carved on this wood!" Yunniang touched it lovingly, while Qiao'er sat upright, not daring to move.

Mo Yuan, however, acted as if this was her car, glancing sideways at Mo Yi, "Instead of staying home as a queen, you're out here doing small business in this freezing weather... really! Have you ever seen a princess do this kind of thing? You could just have your second uncle send a few of his men to do it! How much silver can a small shop earn?"

"Miss Mo is so wealthy and generous, she probably doesn't care about these things, right?!"

"Tch!" Mo Yuan curled her lip. "By the way, I was thinking of getting two purses from you today! I've visited a couple of households these past few days, and some people even gave me gifts. I was thinking I should return the favor..."

Should we return the gift to Zhang Debao?

"Hmph!" Mo Yuan rolled her eyes.

"You have a lot of rouge and face powder, right? Can't I just give you one?" Mo Yi knew that Mo Yuan had kept all the ones Zhang Debao had given her.

"That face powder costs over twenty taels of silver a box!" Mo Yuan couldn't bear to part with it.

"Then do you know how much silver is in my purse?"

"How much... ah?" She remembered the prices at the embroidery shop she'd visited last time. Her eyes immediately lit up... "Oh, Your Majesty..."

Mo Ruhai had already arrived at the shop and was talking to Manager Zhao at the entrance, waiting for Mo Yi.

Manager Zhao sighed constantly. He hadn't expected Mo Yi to get married so soon. He had originally planned to shift the blame to her so he could be free. But the Prince had rushed to welcome her in. Becoming a Princess meant so much more to do. And then there was the matter of having children…

Alas, it's pitiful that I just saw a glimmer of hope, and it's gone again. The car stopped, and the group got out. Mo Ruhai's face lit up with a smile as soon as he saw his daughter, "Yi Yi!"

"Daddy!"

"Where is the prince?"

"The prince has gone to Cangzhou."

“I knew it. When the prince is at home, your priority is to take care of him. We can handle these chores.”

Upon entering the store, Song Jiafu was dressed in a blue silk-cotton round-necked robe, with a jade pendant at his waist, black satin shoes with white soles, his hair slicked back, and his face rosy and glowing...

A perfect image of a shopkeeper...

"Your Majesty!" he quickly bowed.

"Yi Yi, isn't Jia Fu pretty good?!" Mo Ruhai looked at Song Jia Fu's serious expression and found it amusing: This silly boy has really changed a lot.

"Quite good!"

Mo Yuan didn't want to talk about serious matters with them, so she stayed downstairs and asked the shop assistant to bring her some novel things to look at.

Such a beautiful girl, and she's the elder sister of the Princess! The guys were fawning over her like they were on steroids.

Another group of people went upstairs.

"Yiyi, I know you have a lot to do at home. Your father and Jiafu will take over the accounts here."

"Great! Father, what about the work the Ji sisters did?"

"In this warehouse..."

The warehouse specially set up for Moe was filled with large shelves, each topped with a large bundle, a box, and goods covered with cloth. Everything was very neatly arranged.

"Father, I called Aunt Yun here so she could check on the work done by the Ji sisters. If everything is alright, we need to settle accounts with them before the New Year."

Turning to Aunt Yun, he said, "These are the ones I asked you to inspect, the ones in the storeroom. The ones tied with red strings over there, I've already checked those. The ones in this box are the ones I found to have some flaws. Look..."

Mo Yi pointed out each of the flaws she had identified, saying, "These are the ones that need to be pointed out. There might be other flaws as well. If you don't like any of them, just point them out, and we'll discuss them later."

Yunniang took a look and nodded, "I understand. You need to go through all these things, right?"

"Yes, once the inspection is complete, tie the bundle together with a red ribbon. Don't mix it up."

"Yes. You go and speak with Lord Mo. I'll take care of Qiao'er and we'll do it!"

Mo Ruhai and Song Jiafu have already laid out the accounts.

Mo Yi took a look and saw that it had been redone according to the standards of Qizhenlou. Song Jiafu had been very busy lately. During the day, he had to learn from Manager Zhao and entertain guests. When old customers went to the other shop, he also had to go and entertain them. When he got home at night, he would work on these accounts. It could be said that he was making rapid progress.

"Second brother has been working very hard lately, Your Majesty, please don't worry!"

Mo Yi finished reviewing the accounts and found that this year was indeed much better than last year, with profits increasing two or three times.

Mo Ruhai told Mo Yi the amount of cash he had: "The silver and banknotes are at home. It's not safe to bring them out. You can take them when we get home later."

"Father, you can keep the money." Although her father said he would give her this piece of silver, how could she really take it?
"Do not……"

“Listen to your daughter, business is so good, we really need to get some supplies. After the New Year, write to your friends there. As for the silver notes, when the Prince comes back, I'll ask him if he has any connections to exchange them. If we're buying supplies, we can't be too stingy, otherwise, with the shipping costs, it won't be worth it. Also, we need to settle accounts with the Ji family, and deal with the New Year's bonuses for Li Qi and Song Jiafu, all of which you'll have to handle personally.”

"Understood. Leave these to Father!"

"Besides, it's almost the end of the year... and the family knows about our small business. We need to think about our uncle and mother, as well as our older brothers..."

Mo Ruhai nodded: "Of course, how much you give is up to you."

Looking at the accounts in front of her, and the small shop downstairs that hasn't opened yet... what's wrong with the princess running a small business?
Even a princess needs to make a living! How can she rely solely on her monthly allowance if she doesn't earn money?
I thought two hundred taels was a lot, but according to the rules of the manor, it's not even enough to live on!

Sigh... It seems there's some truth to the saying that a man should consider a woman's dowry when choosing a wife!
I wonder how Mo Wen handled things...

(End of this chapter)