Their eyes met, and Jiang Fuying felt as if she was being drawn into a bottomless lake by him.
There seemed to be a little deer dashing around in her heart, desperately searching for an exit but finding none.
"Thank you..."
She had just managed to utter these words when she saw him wave his hand and change the subject.
"Miss Jiang, your idea of temporarily storing the glass mirrors in the neighboring shops is indeed feasible. But have you thought about how to cooperate with the surrounding shops?"
Jiang Fuying was taken aback by his question.
She really hadn't thought this through.
In her previous life, although she had rich experience as a mistress and achieved success in running shops, it was inseparable from a group of loyal and capable shopkeepers around her.
She believed in "trusting those you employ and not suspecting them", and established a good cooperation with the shopkeepers, which led to the prosperity of those shops.
But now...
She sighed softly, a hint of helplessness flashing across her eyes.
It had only been a short time since her rebirth. Even if she wanted to find back those shopkeepers according to the names in her memory, it would take a lot of time.
But she really couldn't afford to delay the matter of opening a shop for too long.
Lu Huaizhou took in all her changing expressions.
A faint sense of pity welled up in his heart: She had suffered from the troubles of the second and third branches of the family only after marrying him. In order to win honor for their branch, she had no choice but to open this shop.
Now that she was indecisive, he should help her.
Lu Huaizhou rolled his eyes a few times, and soon had an idea in mind: "I have some ideas and doubts. I wonder if Miss Jiang would like to listen?"
Her autumn - water eyes fixed steadily on him: "Please go ahead, Your Highness."
"When cooperating with others, all you need is sincerity. For example, sharing profits with the surrounding shops or promising to introduce customers to them are not particularly difficult. The real difficulty lies in finding the positioning of the shop to be opened."
Her autumn - water eyes were filled with doubts as she quietly listened to him continue.
"The positioning of the shop is actually easy to find. You just need to understand one principle." Lu Huaizhou nodded, motioning for her to look at the glass mirror in his palm: "The glass mirrors can come in various sizes, but there is one thing that is particularly important:
Small - sized glass mirrors can be sold anywhere. Even if you set up a stall on the roadside tomorrow, you can still sell them without any problem. So why do we need to open a special shop to sell them?"
Jiang Fuying unconsciously rubbed the carving on the glass mirror with her fingertips, looking a bit distracted.
He had a point.
Portable glass mirrors could be sold anywhere. If she opened a separate shop, wouldn't she just waste a lot of money on decoration?
But she...
Seeing her confusion and frustration, Lu Huaizhou comforted her: "Miss Jiang, you don't need to belittle yourself. Everyone has their own expertise. You just lack experience in opening a shop to sell glass mirrors."
He curled his lips and made a funny face, as if to cheer her up.
"Look, this is my area of expertise."
His funny face was extremely comical, neither human - like nor ghost - like. Jiang Fuying couldn't help but burst out laughing at just one glance.
"Pfft." She couldn't hold back her laughter.
Seeing that she finally relaxed, Lu Huaizhou began to explain again: "The shop must be opened, and the glass mirrors must be sold. But why doesn't Miss Jiang turn it into a special experience store?"
"Experience store?" Jiang Fuying slowly chewed on these words, but still felt puzzled.
She had never heard this term before.
"As the name suggests, an experience store is mainly for distinguished guests to experience in the private rooms of the shop. After the experience, Miss Jiang can learn from the rouge and powder shops and silk shops and give each customer the opportunity to customize a glass mirror."
Lu Huaizhou briefly described the principle of opening an experience store in modern society: "Ordinary customers can be entertained in the shop hall. Give them the opportunity to experience and sell them basic glass mirror products."
Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and Jiang Fuying suddenly understood.
According to the idea put forward by His Highness, in the future, the shop could target both the ladies of noble families and ordinary people.
In this way, everyone could buy a suitable glass mirror in the shop!
With his guidance, in an instant, many wonderful ideas popped up in her mind.
She nodded excitedly at him and said repeatedly: "Your Highness, I understand. Thank you so much today!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly ran back to her room with the glass mirror in her hand.
As she passed by him, Lu Huaizhou's eyes suddenly darkened.
Her fluttering dress happened to brush against his palm.
Whether it was a psychological effect or a real feeling, in any case, when he touched her soft dress, he also smelled a faint jasmine fragrance.
He took a deep breath: He really liked this faint fragrance.
...
After this day, both Jiang Fuying and Lu Huaizhou were extremely busy.
Jiang Fuying was busy designing how to sell basic and customized glass mirrors, while Lu Huaizhou studied glass mirrors of different sizes day and night.
Of course, Lu Huaizhou would always disappear for a while after lunch every day.
Jiang Fuying knew about this but didn't ask.
She thought that they should leave some free space for each other.
However, they had now reached a silent understanding: No matter how busy they were during the day, they would have dinner with Mrs. Lu. At bedtime, they would be in the same room, with her sleeping on the bed and him on the floor.
Time flew by in a blink of an eye, and Jiang Fuying was so busy that she completely forgot her own birthday.
As a result, early in the morning, as soon as she got up, she felt a burning gaze on her.
"Miss Jiang, Mother asked us to go for breakfast together."
Jiang Fuying was stunned for a moment.
Mrs. Lu was always kind - hearted and had long exempted them from morning and evening greetings. She rarely had breakfast with them. But today...
There was a hidden meaning in Lu Huaizhou's words: "Mother has something important to say today. Let's not keep Mother waiting."
"Oh, okay. I'll wash up and change clothes right away." All of Jiang Fuying's doubts disappeared, and she quickly replied.
After getting ready, she naturally took his arm and quickly walked towards the dining hall.
She was already quite skilled at acting as a loving couple in front of Mrs. Lu.
In the dining hall of the Zhennan Duke's Mansion.
Two figures were constantly peeping out from behind the screen.
These two figures were none other than Mrs. Lu and Lu Qingyu.
"Qingyu, why haven't Fuying and the others come yet? Did she guess the surprise we've prepared?"
"Maybe Brother and Sister - in - law were delayed by something. Mother, let's wait a little longer?"
Mrs. Lu looked embarrassed and hesitantly glanced at the big bowl on the tray.
She could wait, but if this bowl of longevity noodles waited any longer, the taste might deteriorate.
The longevity noodles were all about good luck. It was Fuying's birthday today. If...
"Mother, Mother! Brother and Sister - in - law are here. I saw them!" Lu Qingyu suddenly said.
Mrs. Lu quickly came back to her senses and hid herself behind the screen.
Looking at the empty dining hall, Jiang Fuying was completely confused.
"Didn't Mother say she was waiting for us and had something important to say? But where is Mother?"
"Cough, cough." Lu Huaizhou coughed softly.
A familiar voice came from behind the screen: "Fuying, of course we've been waiting for you, and we do have something important to say."
Jiang Fuying's eyes widened in surprise.
When having a meal in their own dining hall, why was Mrs. Lu hiding?
Soon, her confusion was cleared up.
She saw Mrs. Lu walking out from behind the screen, holding a big bowl in her hand and smiling kindly.
"Fuying, happy birthday."