The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 9 Business is in a slump

"Aunt, I didn't expect that Mrs. Wang would really be so desperate." Shang Mingshu's voice was a little muffled.

This happened just as Cheng She expected. She set up the stage herself and performed for Madam He.

Mrs. He disliked her, and when she heard that someone was trying to commit suicide in a place like the orphanage, she would come and find out what was going on no matter what.

Is it just to gain fame and reputation, to build a superficial orphanage, and then abandon it and ignore it?
She wanted to show Mrs. He how meticulously their business's orphanage was managed, and to let Mrs. He know that their family's charitable deeds were put into practice.

Shang Jinliang always said that as long as one has a clear conscience, he would do good deeds only to accumulate good karma, and that one should not compare with others or publicize them.

Shang Mingshu disagreed. She believed that her good deeds should be made public. She put in so much effort and spent so much money, so why shouldn't she be praised?
With the help of Madam He, we can remove the troublesome thorn Shang Qian!
Shang Qian is a member of the Shang family. His father strongly supported Shang Mingshu's grandfather after he decided to go into business. He traveled around and lobbied to accumulate money for his grandfather, which led to the success of the Shang family. Later, his grandfather became richer and took better care of the clan members.

Shang Qian's father died early due to illness and did not wait for the blessing. Shang Qian used the favor to oppress Shang Mingshu's grandfather for his entire life and raised an unfilial son who was addicted to gambling. His grandfather and father compensated him with nearly ten thousand taels of silver.

Shang Qian also wanted to marry Shang Wenshu to her only son, but was rejected by Shang Jinliang. She then threw a tantrum among the relatives, causing chaos in the family. Later, Shang Qian's son was accidentally beaten to death after cheating in gambling. She blamed Shang Jinliang for not finding a good job for her son, which led to her son's tragic death.

She told everyone that Shang Jinliang was ungrateful. Shang Mingshu had long wanted to deal with this old hag, but Shang Jinliang refused despite repeated requests. However, Shang Qian became even worse and moved into the orphanage. Under the pretext of being a member of the Shang family, she took pleasure in bullying other elderly people, bossing people around, and even getting involved in the purchases for the orphanage.

Last month, she came to visit the orphanage, and Mrs. Wang came to her, pleading with her, saying that Shang Qianshi was trying to force her to marry an old widower from the same village. The old widower was hanging on by a thread. He had committed too many evil deeds in his youth, and his wife and children had committed suicide by jumping into the river, leaving no trace of their bodies. No matchmaker was willing to match him with someone else, and he was reluctant to spend money to buy someone else, so he wanted someone to be buried with him at the end of his life...

After hearing this, Shang Mingshu immediately had Shang Qianshi tied up and thrown out of the orphanage. Shang Qianshi then ran to the elders and cried. The elders went to Shang Jinliang to mediate, and finally Shang Jinliang told her that Shang Qianshi promised that she would never do such a thing again.

Shang Mingshu knew that it was difficult to change one's nature, so she told Wang Po to wait for her message and work together to deal with the old woman.

"I ordered someone to tell Mrs. Wang to pretend to be desperate. I told her to list all the evil deeds of the Shang Qian family in front of Madam Gong, and then my father could explain to the elders. I didn't think she would really want to die..."

Xiao Yu hugged Shang Mingshu tightly with heartache. "Ming'er, Wang Po was educated when she was young. She has lived to this age and knows that some things cannot be severely punished without the price of blood. Today, she made a fuss, which will only make the evildoers quiet for a few days. Shang Qianshi has always been like this. You have done Wang Po a favor. Whatever you ask her to do, she will make sure you get it."

"I know she risked her life for me." Shang Mingshu knew this and felt so upset. "Did she ever reach the point where she had to fight Shang Qianshi's life for hers?"

Shang Mingshu's voice gradually weakened until it became unclear. "I treated her no differently than anyone else. She was educated and sensible, so I let her be a small housekeeper. Why would she be so grateful..."

Gently stroking Shang Mingshu's head, she stroked her long, shiny, soft silk hair back and forth, sighing softly, "Mingya, it's just a piece of cake for you, but for Mrs. Wang, who has lived in misery for half her life, you are the one who appreciates her, recognizes her, and cares for her. She has long regarded you as someone she will be loyal to until death."

Shang Mingshu stared blankly ahead, her eyes somewhat hollow. "Aunt, is there really such loyalty in this world that one would even risk their life to uphold it?"

Shang Mingshu didn’t believe it before. In her opinion, everything has a price. The world is bustling with people because of profit.

She had always planned everything clearly, but she had never imagined that today's events would be so out of her control that she nearly killed an innocent person. She didn't understand why Mrs. Wang was so reckless towards her, but she knew she needed to think more carefully in the future.

"Of course there are. Humans are living beings, and they have emotions, which are hard to control and describe." Xiao Yu held Shang Mingshu's hand tightly. "Mingya, your aunt has always taught you to see people and things clearly, to distinguish them clearly, and not to know whether they are right or wrong. Your aunt hopes that you can understand some things and some people with your heart, and perhaps you will find someone worthy of your trust and reliance."

"Ah."

Shang Mingshu was carried home by the servants in the mansion. She also needed to stay in bed to rest. This incident was brought to the attention of Mrs. He, and a living life was almost forced to death. Shang Jinliang sent Shang Qianshi back to the village and was taken care of by the clan members.

The Shang clan members didn't know what to say.

People are like this. It has never bothered them in the past. They are happy to be good people and advise Shang Jinliang to be grateful and magnanimous.

Knowing that this would alarm the prefect's wife, she was afraid that Shang Jinliang would not handle the matter decisively enough, which would displease the prefect, affect the Shang family's business, reduce their dividends, and even make the children of their family unpopular.

"He Sui, let He Mu send someone to secretly keep an eye on Shang Qianshi." Shang Mingshu gave the order after hearing this.

She always felt that there was a poisonous snake in the dark eyeing their family, and that the Shang Qian family might be exploited by others. She couldn't be relied upon for big things, so it wouldn't be difficult to distract them or disgust them.

Shang Mingshu could only recuperate at home. When Shang Wenshu learned about this, she took time out every day to accompany her to relieve her boredom. Shang Zishu took the excuse of performing a ritual to go to Fuqiu Temple to chant scriptures and burn incense.

"This is the third time my elder sister has frowned today." Shang Mingshu, who was sitting on the chaise longue, put away her book and looked at Shang Wenshu, who was frowning. "Is the teahouse suffering losses?"

The merchant had his own tea shop and teahouse. Shang Wenshu moved the accounts to Shang Mingshu's yard to check.

"The profits of teahouses and tea shops are 20% less than last quarter." Shang Wenshu frowned and answered without hesitation, lowering her head to fiddle with the abacus and continue to calculate.

"Only the provincial capital's benefits decreased?" Shang Mingshu asked.

The merchants' tea houses and teahouses are spread all over Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, and they make considerable profits every season. Twenty percent is not a small amount.

"I haven't finished checking the accounts for Jiangsu and Zhejiang yet." Shang Wenshu closed one book and took out another. "Based on my current calculations, the revenue shouldn't have decreased by 20%, but it's still not as good as last quarter."

"Why?"

Shang Wenshu had been calculating the accounts for several days. The discrepancy was so obvious that she naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it. "I heard that the Shi family teamed up with Wang's Rice Shop to take a batch of old grain and set up a drama of buying tea and giving away grain."

(End of this chapter)