The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 76: First Meeting with Yuan Chun

The next day, the managers of the five shops came to the Prince's Mansion to pay their respects to their new owners.

Xia Chengzong received them.

Of these five shops, three were gifts from Emperor Yonglong, and two were gifts from Prince Zhongshun.

Of these five shops, two are grain stores, one is a silk shop, one is a cosmetics shop, and one is a restaurant.

The grain stores sourced their grain from the rent collected from their own farmland.

With self-production and sales, a stable source of supply, and a good location for the shop, the annual profit was over a thousand taels of silver.

Silk shops and cosmetic shops purchase goods from the Imperial Household Department at extremely low prices, and their profits are even higher than those of grain shops, with annual profits reaching two thousand taels.

Xia Chengzong then realized why the Imperial Household Department was not making money and was even losing money in business.

It turns out that it was hollowed out by internal termites.

However, now that he himself has become a parasite, Xia Chengzong no longer criticizes him.

The last restaurant, due to its advantageous location, had the highest profits, reaching three thousand taels of silver annually.

These five shops combined bring in nearly ten thousand taels of silver a year, which Xia Chengzong is quite satisfied with.

Xia Chengzong told them to go back to their business as usual, keep good accounts, and he would send someone to audit the accounts at the end of the year.

The five shopkeepers breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that the new owner had no intention of replacing them.

They made a grand declaration of their determination to Xia Chengzong and left in high spirits.

After meeting with the five shopkeepers, Xia Chengzong decided what kind of business to start.

He summoned Xia Bei and asked Xia Bei to prepare some things.

He went to the Prince Chungshun's residence again and found his fifth uncle, Prince Chungshun.

This business is something he couldn't have done on his own.

After all, he doesn't understand the market, has no distribution channels, and lacks manpower. It's completely unrealistic for him to open up sales channels in a short period of time.

On the other hand, Prince Zhongshun, the fifth uncle, has established channels, so there's no harm in using them.

Prince Zhongshun was very fond of his nephew, Xia Chengzong.

In addition, Xia Chengzong's suggestion last year that he buy charcoal noodles in advance allowed him to make a fortune.

Prince Chungshun still trusted Xia Chengzong very much. When he heard that Xia Chengzong wanted to do a profitable business together, Prince Chungshun agreed without hesitation.

Next, Xia Chengzong handed over most of the preparations to the Prince Zhongshun's residence.

Then, he stopped pursuing the deal and started paying attention to the Prince's Guard.

After all, making money in business is just a means to an end.

The guards are the key.

Now that he has moved into the Prince's mansion, he can go and select guards.

The guards were not stationed at the palace, but rather in the city or its suburbs.

Xia Chengzong's palace was in the capital, so his guards could not be stationed in the capital. Instead, they would be housed in a special thousand-household garrison set up in the suburbs outside the city.

This thousand-household garrison existed in dependence on the Prince's Palace.

It is now officially ready for use.

Xia Chengzong entered the palace to find Emperor Yonglong, intending to personally select soldiers.

After entering the palace, they learned that the emperor had gone to see the empress.

Xia Chengzong turned and headed towards Kunning Palace.

Before long, he arrived at Kunning Palace.

Just as he was about to go inside, he heard the voices of palace maids talking coming from the side hall.

The sounds were so faint that he wouldn't have been able to hear them clearly if he hadn't had exceptional hearing.

This, in turn, piqued his curiosity, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Clean this house thoroughly, then go weed the garden, and then wash my clothes when you come back."

"Sister, these aren't my chores. I have my own chores to do, so how can I worry about all this?"

Snapped!Snapped!

"You new little slut, you dare to disobey? You think you're so tough? If I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know what's what..."

Upon hearing this, Xia Chengzong realized that it was the palace maids in the Empress's quarters who were bullying the new maid.

Such things, though infuriating, are difficult to avoid no matter where they happen.

Xia Chengzong was too lazy to bother with such a trivial matter. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a palace maid inside say:

"You don't think that just because you're from the Jia family, people will be afraid of you. You think your Jia family is so great?"

Huh?

The Jia family?

Xia Chengzong suddenly thought of Jia Yuanchun, the eldest daughter of Jia Zheng, the second son of the Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Yuanchun was sent to the palace at a young age, later becoming a lady-in-waiting in the Kunning Palace, then a high-ranking official in the Fengzao Palace, and finally being granted the title of Virtuous Consort.

Now that the two old dukes of the Jia family have passed away, Jia She and Jia Jing, two officials under the Crown Prince, are either drinking and playing with their concubines at home, or running off to become Taoist priests.

Just when the Jia family's prestige was plummeting, they had no choice but to send their eldest daughter to the palace.

Unexpectedly, she was bullied by older palace maids as soon as she entered the palace.

Now that he had encountered her, Xia Chengzong wanted to see what Jia Yuanchun looked like.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but walk towards the side hall.

As I pushed open the door, the two maids inside looked up in surprise.

Xia Chengzong saw that the tall palace maid had an ordinary appearance, with high cheekbones and thin lips, and looked like a mean and mean person.

Another, shorter palace maid, about ten years old, had two bright red handprints on her cheeks.

Xia Chengzong saw that her forehead was as smooth as jade, her nose was delicate and her teeth were white, and her chin was like a lotus petal with dew.

At this moment, she looked at herself with fear and panic.

Xia Chengzong suddenly thought of two lines from the Book of Songs: "A lone white rabbit, running east and looking west."

At this moment, Dai Quan followed in and said in a deep voice, "How dare you! You don't even know how to greet the Prince. Who taught you this rule?"

"Guards, take them away and slap them! Teach them a lesson in manners!"

Xia Chengzong laughed and said, "Why bother, Eunuch Dai? It was my intrusion that startled them; it's understandable that they didn't react immediately."

"If Eunuch Dai punishes them, wouldn't that be my fault?"

At this moment, the two palace maids realized what was happening and hurriedly curtsied, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness."

Xia Chengzong said, "No need for formalities."

After the two had finished standing up, he looked at Yuan Chun and asked, "What's your name?"

Jia Yuanchun hurriedly replied, "This servant's name is Jia Yuanchun."

Xia Chengzong nodded and said, "Jia Yuanchun? That's a good name. You've just entered the palace and are unfamiliar with the place."

"If anyone bullies you in the future, just go to Eunuch Dai, and he will take care of it for you."

Upon hearing this, Dai Quan quickly smiled and said, "Of course. If anyone dares to bully you in the future, just come to our family, and we will definitely stand up for you."

Xia Chengzong waved to Jia Yuanchun, walked out of the side hall, and headed straight for the main hall.

Dai Quan glanced at Jia Yuanchun, then followed Xia Chengzong with a smile.

He secretly praised the Jia family girl for her good fortune, for she had caught the eye of this man.

This made her path much easier.

Dai Quan had a prior connection with the Jia family, and having received money from them, he promised to secretly take care of Jia Yuanchun.

Now that this gentleman has shown his favor, this matter is much easier to handle.