The servants of the Zhang family courteously invited Qi Jiao to the flower hall and served her tea.
Qi Jiao thanked them with a smile and sat down quietly to wait.
The servant thought Qi Jiao was strikingly beautiful and behaved gracefully. Seeing her bowing her head to drink tea with a calm and serene look, not looking around restlessly, couldn't help but secretly praise her in heart.
The owner of Jiaoniang Restaurant truly had an air of elegance.
Before long, Zhang Yi came over in a hurry from the pavilion.
Qi Jiao quickly stood up and nodded slightly at Zhang Yi. "How have you been, Master Zhang?"
Zhang Yi smiled and invited her to sit.
His eyes fell on the brightly - colored gift box on the table.
Qi Jiao raised her hand and said with a smile, "This is the new floral water I've made. The fragrance and texture are quite good. I've specially brought it for the ladies in your mansion. Please accept it."
So it wasn't food for him.
There was a hint of disappointment in Zhang Yi's heart, but he was still very happy. He said to Qi Jiao, "I have several wives and concubines at home, as well as a naughty little daughter. I'm sure they'll like the floral water you sent."
With a glance, he gave an order. "Take them all to the madam's room and tell her it's from the owner of Jiaoniang Restaurant. Let the madam decide."
The young servant beside him responded and took away the gift box with a bow.
Now that the gift was presented, it was easier to start the conversation.
Zhang Yi waited leisurely for Qi Jiao to speak.
Qi Jiao said unhurriedly, "I plan to open a shop selling floral water and essential oils, and also selling scented soaps, rouge and other items. I've come here boldly this time to talk to you about renting a shop."
Zhang Yi let out an "oh" and said amiably, "I see. You could have just said so directly. There's no need to bring gifts."
Qi Jiao smiled. "I need to show that my products are good so that I can have the confidence to rent your shop in the prime location."
Zhang Yi twirled the Kangle ball in his hand. "You're being too modest. Your business in Pomegranate Lane is booming. I'm sure your new floral water shop will do well. Fortunately, my shop on Qing'an Avenue hasn't been rented out yet."
He said slowly, "Many people have come to look at it before, but I thought they weren't to my liking, so I declined. I didn't expect this shop would end up being rented to you in the end."
Qi Jiao said with a smile, "I'm just lucky."
They reached an agreement and signed the lease agreement on the same day.
Zhang Yi thought that he had received quite a few gifts from Qi Jiao. Feeling a bit indebted, he didn't want to charge too high a rent. So he only asked for seventy taels of silver a year.
Qi Jiao pressed her fingerprint, paid the deposit, and left satisfied.
*
When she returned to Pomegranate Lane, she didn't waste a single moment. She asked Ye Pa to send the rent to the Zhang family.
Qi Jiao had set a rule that accounts should be submitted every ten days.
After the shop closed that day, Third Sister Hua handed the ledger and silver to Qi Jiao.
Qi Jiao lit the candles in the room and sorted out the current income.
Jiaoniang Restaurant had been open for more than two months. After deducting the cost and labor, the monthly revenue was over eighty taels.
As for Qi Jiao's private jobs, she had only cooked a birthday banquet for the Shu family and prepared feasts for a few other wealthy families in the county. The number of jobs was few.
Why didn't she take on more? Simply because Qi Jiao was too busy.
But these few private jobs had earned Qi Jiao more than a hundred taels of silver.
Just the last time she went to the Shu family, besides the thirty - tael wage from the eldest madam, Mrs. Fu, there was also a twenty - tael reward from the old madam of the Shu family and a ten - tael gift from the second young lady of the Shu family.
Since it wasn't safe to keep so much silver in the house, Qi Jiao took it directly to the bank to deposit. She wouldn't touch this money unless it was something really important.
As for the income from the restaurant, half of it had been used as the rent for the new shop and was already spent.
There was still more than seventy taels left, which would be used as the working capital for the restaurant to buy food ingredients for the next ten days.
The lamp burned dimly. Qi Jiao took out a small jar from the dressing table. There were copper coins and pieces of silver in it, adding up to nearly twenty taels. This was the money she had earned from selling floral water recently.
Qi Jiao planned to use this money for the decoration of the new shop and the hiring of employees.
The staff in the restaurant was just right, and no one could be transferred.
Everyone had their own duties and was extremely busy every day.
Especially Pei Xia. He was like a brick, being used wherever he was needed.
Pei Xia used to go out to sea every day.
Now he went fishing in Yinwan Bay on his days off. All the seafood he caught was sent to the restaurant, and he basically had no source of income.
Qi Jiao didn't hesitate to pay Pei Xia a wage.
Even for a married couple, accounts should be clear.
She couldn't ignore his efforts and labor just because of their relationship.
Of course, on the surface, Pei Xia's wage was the same as that of the other employees in the restaurant.
In the whole restaurant, only Third Sister Hua's wage was half a tael higher than the others. Because she had seniority and was in charge of the accounts, she had the greatest responsibility and worked very hard.
The others all got five taels. Pei Xia was the same.
Privately, Qi Jiao often gave Pei Xia extra money. Although Pei Xia finally spent this money on Qi Jiao or bought things for the family.
Qi Jiao thought this was great.
At least Pei Xia didn't have to go out to sea every day. Fishermen all knew how high the risk of going out to sea was.
Pei Baoyan was a living example.
Of course, it couldn't be compared to being busy in the shop.
Qi Jiao hoped that he could stay with her safely. If Pei Xia wanted to go out to sea, she wouldn't stop him.
She wanted to work hard to earn money and buy Pei Xia a big and sturdy treasure ship.
Qi Jiao didn't tell anyone about her ambition.
She could see clearly that before Huier and Shuangshuang had fully learned their skills, the income of Jiaoniang Restaurant would be limited to what it had been during these days since its opening.
Although there were many employees, good chefs were hard to find.
Cultivating talents took a lot of time.
So Qi Jiao had to start her side business as soon as possible.
In the following days, Qi Jiao, Ye Pa, Huier and the others were busy with the restaurant business during the day and went to the new shop on Qing'an Avenue to clean and decorate it at night.
Fortunately, the original style of the shop was spacious, and there was no need for major renovations.
Qi Jiao ordered a new set of cabinets, replaced the door curtains and window papers, and added many unique ornaments.
It took two days to get the new shop ready, and the old style of the original shop was completely gone.
Regarding the recruitment of employees.
Qi Jiao put up notices on one hand and asked Steward Guo, who had a wide network of connections, and his wife for help on the other hand.
Qi Jiao prepared generous gifts this time.
Firstly, to thank Steward Guo for recommending Third Sister Hua and her daughter, as well as Ge Fan.
Secondly, to build a good relationship so that it would be easier to ask for favors in the future. Hiring through a matchmaker would also cost an introduction fee.
Steward Guo and his wife were overjoyed to receive the gifts and handled the matter properly and beautifully.
In just one day, Qi Jiao had found a female shopkeeper.
The female shopkeeper was Mrs. Lin, a native of Lingle County and a fellow - townsman of Steward Guo.
Mrs. Lin was in her late twenties. Her eyes were gentle, but her life had been extremely rough.
She was originally the daughter of a gentry family, but she was the only child in the family without any brothers or sisters.
Her parents found a poor man to be a son - in - law living in the wife's family.
They thought that after the son - in - law got the Lin family's property, he would live a good life with Mrs. Lin.
Unexpectedly, after her parents died, the true nature of the son - in - law was revealed.
He bribed the Lin family's relatives and the local headman, divided up the Lin family's property, took two concubines, and divorced Mrs. Lin on the grounds that she had no children.
Such blatant behavior of taking over a family with no male heir almost made Mrs. Lin faint with anger.
In a fit of rage, she sued the son - in - law to the government. But unexpectedly, the official at that time took the son - in - law's side. In the end, the son - in - law was only ordered to pay compensation, and the matters of his seizing the Lin family's property and divorcing his wife were just glossed over.
No one could help Mrs. Lin.
In despair, Mrs. Lin fell seriously ill.
Finally, she had to pack up her valuables and leave her home secretly at night.
She already knew the son - in - law's black heart. If she didn't leave, she was afraid that she would die an unknown death.
...
Mrs. Lin left like this.
She had to survive.
Since then, Mrs. Lin put aside her status as a gentry's daughter and integrated into the market.
Wherever there was a job for female workers, she would go to work.
This had been going on for seven or eight years...
The steward's wife pitied Mrs. Lin's tragic life and had introduced many jobs to her.
But because Mrs. Lin was a decent woman and didn't sell herself, she could only take short - term jobs.
Even short - term jobs were extremely hard to find.
In this era, there were very few opportunities for women to earn money outside.
Now that Jiaoniang's new shop was recruiting.
The steward's wife immediately thought of her.
Jiaoniang was a kind - hearted person and would surely not treat Mrs. Lin badly.
Moreover, Mrs. Lin had been to a private school, could read and write, and had experienced the vicissitudes of life. She was excellent in dealing with people.
She would surely be qualified for the position of the female shopkeeper.