After Qi Jiao said this, You Xiong was stunned, while Granny Chen showed a smile of expectation.
"I think you're a kind - hearted lady. Take You Xiong and Sanyue home with you today. If they're lazy or shirk their duties, you can come to me."
Granny Chen did this business, of course, to make money, but she kept her word. Those she had trained basically had no major problems.
Granny Chen quickly calculated the bill. It would cost twenty taels in total to take the two girls away.
Sanyue was more expensive than You Xiong.
She had cost ten taels when she was first bought.
Granny Chen did feel a bit of pity for them, and the price she gave Qi Jiao was fair.
Qi Jiao estimated it would be around this amount and motioned for Ye Pa to pay.
During these days when Pei Xia was away, Ye Pa was in charge of the shopping.
Ye Pa thought Jiao Niang was too kind - hearted. She had bought two maids in one go today.
What if she met eight or ten of them? They were all poor souls. Could she buy them all?
But Ye Pa just had this passing thought. He knew that the shop was in great need of manpower now.
Jiao Niang's action was reasonable.
So he quickly took out his money bag and paid.
When Sanyue learned that Qi Jiao had bought her too, she was stunned at first, then laughed and cried. She was about to kowtow to Qi Jiao. "Lady, don't think I'm clumsy. I'm actually very hard - working and not afraid of hardships."
Qi Jiao burst out laughing and took out a handkerchief and gave it to Sanyue. "Alright. I don't mind. It's getting late. Come home with me now."
Granny Chen's daughter simply packed their two small bundles.
Actually, the two small bundles were very meager. Since the girls had sold themselves, what valuables could they have?
When Granny Chen wasn't looking, her daughter stuffed two sets of her old clothes into the bundles.
After handing over their household registrations and indentures, Qi Jiao took You Xiong and Sanyue home.
When they got back to Pomegranate Alley, Qi Jiao's first thing to do was to change You Xiong's name.
Qi Jiao asked Shuangshuang to simply prepare dinner. After everyone ate, Qi Jiao asked You Xiong, "I want to change your name. Do you agree?"
You Xiong put down the bowls and chopsticks reluctantly, her eyes shining. "Of course I agree. Lady, please give me a new name. I don't want to be called this name anymore."
Qi Jiao thought for a while. She glanced at the corner of the screen in the room embroidered with a butterfly and immediately got an idea. She smiled and said, "From now on, I'll call you Yindie. I hope you'll be as free and bright as a butterfly."
"Yindie... It sounds so nice!"
You Xiong, now Yindie, was overjoyed.
"I have a new name! Thank you, Lady!"
Qi Jiao did this because You Xiong's original name was like a shackle and a torture. She wanted Yindie to be herself from now on.
Seeing Yindie so happy after getting a new name, Sanyue asked Qi Jiao in a low voice, "Lady, do I... need to change my name too?"
Qi Jiao smiled and reached out to touch her hair.
"No need. Your original name is very good."
Sanyue's surname was Chun, Chun Sanyue.
March was a time of boundless spring beauty.
Just by the name, one could tell that she was a lively girl. Her parents must have given her this name with full of love.
Her situation was different from You Xiong's, so Qi Jiao wouldn't change her name without permission.
Hearing Qi Jiao say this, Sanyue quietly let out a sigh of relief.
The Lady was so kind.
She smiled at Qi Jiao, her eyes curving like crescent moons.
Everyone in Pomegranate Alley welcomed Yindie and Sanyue.
Qi Jiao knew everyone's characters well. Without her special instructions, Yindie and Sanyue would soon integrate into the new environment.
Yindie had some basic cooking skills and was also very diligent. Qi Jiao planned to keep her in Jiao Niang's Restaurant to help in the kitchen and do odd jobs like Shuangshuang.
She could also teach Yindie how to make floral dew.
As for Sanyue, although she didn't have any special skills, Qi Jiao liked her lively and smart personality and her sweet mouth.
As for abilities, they could be cultivated gradually.
So Qi Jiao sent her to the new shop to help Mrs. Lin.
Sanyue would sleep in the shop with Mrs. Lin at night.
Since the layout of the small courtyard in Pomegranate Alley was already fixed, Qi Jiao simply let Yindie also live there. She would only come to work during the day, just a few steps away.
The three of them could keep each other company.
*
With all the staff in place and a batch of goods produced, Qi Jiao chose an auspicious day and quietly opened the new shop.
The new shop was named Zhuoxiang Pavilion.
For the time being, it sold floral dew, flower tea, and perfume paste.
As the weather got hot and humid, fewer women in Lingle County used facial creams and hand creams.
So Qi Jiao didn't produce a large quantity at one time. She just wanted to test the waters.
Zhuoxiang Pavilion mainly served female customers. The shop also provided tea and snacks.
Thanks to its location on Qing'an Avenue, although there was no big publicity when Zhuoxiang Pavilion opened, there were quite a lot of customers.
Qi Jiao had thought about the price issue.
A bottle of floral dew was not easy to make. It was the essence of many flowers concentrated.
It took ten catties of flower petals to produce one catty of flower juice.
There were also many steps such as steaming, soaking, and sedimentation, and repeated scenting, which was extremely labor - intensive.
So of course, the price couldn't be too low.
But Qi Jiao didn't plan to only do business with the rich and powerful. She also launched a series of alternative products.
For example, a small bottle of rose floral dew cost half a tael of silver, that was six hundred wen.
Ordinary families who couldn't afford it for the time being could buy the pomelo flower floral dew in the shop. Although its fragrance was not as rich and long - lasting as the rose floral dew, it was also very fragrant and refreshing.
All the floral dews were divided into high, medium, and low price ranges to ensure that they could cover all levels of consumers.
Half a month after the opening, Mrs. Lin and Sanyue worked very hard, but because there were few types of products in the shop, the overall profit was just so - so.
Qi Jiao was very anxious, but she knew that she had to take things one step at a time.
One day, Teng Chun came to deliver flowers and told Qi Jiao that the rose planting was very successful and the roses were estimated to be in bloom next month.
Qi Jiao was overjoyed and began to prepare for the production of new products.
——
The Dragon Boat Festival falls in midsummer, and the days are long and clear.
Time flew by like rolling beads, and soon it was the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
The old ladies selling zongzi in the street had already started shouting. Every household had tiger - shaped mugwort decorations hanging on their doorways. There were also many peddlers selling peaches, willows, sunflowers, and cattail leaves. Everywhere showed the signs of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Ye Pa and Ge Fan took realgar and carefully sprinkled it around the house to drive away the five poisonous creatures.
Mrs. Hua and Mrs. Lin pasted Dragon Boat Festival talismans on the shop doors.
Ye Yun, under Sanyue's guidance, replaced the old flowers in the vases with sunflowers, pomegranate flowers, and gardenia flowers.
A dozen vases decorated the pavilions, beautiful and fragrant.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, doing business was important, but spending time with family was also very important.
Qi Jiao decided to only do business for half a day and let everyone go home to celebrate the festival after noon.
She had taken Shuangshuang, Huier, and Yindie to make zongzi last night.
With their joint efforts, they managed to make three large steamers of zongzi.
There were sweet and salty ones.
The sweet zongzi were filled with red bean paste, and the salty ones had salted egg yolks and marinated meat.
These days, after Shuangshuang and Yindie tasted Qi Jiao's cooking, they wished they could pray to the gods that heaven had given them such a kind lady.
They were both touched and satisfied. Each of them took a corner of a zongzi and ate with tears in their eyes. They even competed with each other, arguing about whether the sweet or salty zongzi were better...
Hearing the laughter and banter around her, Qi Jiao didn't find it noisy. She smiled contentedly and put the last batch of zongzi into the steamer.
Early in the morning when the shop opened, the freshly made zongzi were quickly snapped up by enthusiastic customers.
After keeping enough for her own family and setting aside those for sale, Qi Jiao also sent zongzi and roast duck gift boxes to the Guo, Shu, and Zhang families.
These families had either shown kindness to her or had business dealings with her. It was necessary to maintain good relationships.
As for whether the families she sent gifts to would eat them or not, Qi Jiao didn't care. As long as she showed her courtesy and goodwill, that was enough.
Of course, there was also the Zhu family in the town.
The Zhu family was now a stable business partner of Jiao Niang. Their market was mainly in the surrounding villages and towns, which didn't conflict with Jiao Niang's Restaurant business.
Every month, Mrs. Zhu would purchase goods from Qi Jiao, and the sales were quite good.
Mrs. Zhu's daughter - in - law, Xiang Wen, was from a family that also did grocery business. Through her introduction, the Xiang family now also purchased goods from Qi Jiao.
Everyone could make money, and Qi Jiao was very willing to nurture this kind of cooperative relationship.