Xie Wan turned around and said: "You go talk to him first, feel out his depth, if he's just a boastful person, then don't bother with him."

  Luō Shēng also knows countless people, and this small matter is still without any pressure.

  He turned around and went downstairs, then ordered two small dishes at the opposite side of Chang Wu, sat down, and saw that the two of them started talking. Chang Wu even raised his cup with him. After about two or three quarters of an hour, Xie Wan had finished half a plate of almonds, and Luo Sheng came back.

  "It seems that Xiao is not just bragging, he is relatively familiar with the affairs on the dock and still knows the names and appearances of several key figures."

  Xie Wan ate two more almonds before saying, "For now, there's no other good solution, so let's just make contact with him first and go to the dock for a walk. If it doesn't work out, we can think of another way."

  Luo nodded and saw her off downstairs.

  The spring scenery outside the door was just right, she squinted and took a look at the street scene, then boarded the horse carriage.

  The old man Qian, who was setting up a stall at the entrance, ran over and asked hesitantly: "Miss, what do you want to find Chang Wu for?"

  Xie Wan saw the worry in his eyes and knew he was purely afraid of being taken advantage of, and didn't want him to know too much, so she smiled and said: "It's nothing, just asking about a personal matter. Uncle doesn't need to worry."

  Old Qian rubbed his lips together, wanting to say something, but in the end he loosened his hand that was resting on the cart shaft.

  Xie Wan smiled slightly and nodded at him, indicating for Luo Ju to drive the car.

  Just as the cart had turned a bend, the mule suddenly let out a loud bray and kicked up its front legs.

  Someone in front shouted: "Who is so blind? Didn't you see us coming?"

  Xie Wan didn't expect the carriage to be bumped, and she easily supported herself against the carriage wall, listening to these words. Then, with a rustling sound, she lifted up the carriage curtain.

  The mule cart had already turned onto Straight Street, while the horse across from it had obviously just made the turn. The horse's rear end was still facing the entrance to the alley. Sitting on the horse was a dandy young man with a greasy face, who was none other than Ning Dabai, who had been splattered with ink in Li Zihou Alley last year.

  Ning Da saw Luo Ju sitting in the front of the car. He felt familiar, and was thinking about who it was, when suddenly he saw a face revealed from behind the opened car curtain, calm as an autumn moon, with an air of natural dignity, and he was stunned on the spot.

  "What are you looking at? Can't our girl be looked at by you?"

  Ning Da suddenly came to his senses, opened his eyes wide and pointed at Xie Wan: "You you you, you're the third daughter of the Xie family! Last time it was you who cheated me out of a piece of jade!"

  Xie Wan sneered, "So it was Ning Lao Er showing off in front of my shop. I thought who was so blind! It seems the old saying is true, a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory for a day, and it can't spit out ivory for a lifetime!"

  Ning Da's face turned red with rage. He jumped off his horse and hurried to the front of the carriage, saying: "You little girl, don't be too arrogant! Ning Lao Er has no rule against hitting women!"

  Xie Wan jumped down from the horse carriage, her face sinking as she said: "You don't have a rule against hitting women, and I don't have a rule against hitting men!"

  A full bottle makes no noise, a half-full bottle sloshes around.

  The deeper one's foundation and the thicker one's family background, the more reserved they are; the less capable someone is, the louder they shout.

  Xie Wan didn't have any good feelings towards the Ning family at all.

  The people around gradually gathered, curiously inquiring about the situation. Those who had heard the news quietly informed others. Then, sounds of sudden realization rose from the crowd. It seemed that the Ning family's reputation in the city was too bad, and they had done too many things that angered both heaven and men, so people's anger naturally turned towards Ning Dabai.

  Xie Wan coldly stared at him, without saying much.

  But Luo Ju's tall and majestic figure standing behind her with his arms crossed somehow added to her intimidating aura.

  Although Luo Ju was also a scholar with no strength to bind a chicken, he was two heads taller than Xie Wan, staring at Ning Da Yi in a deadly manner. It can be seen that he is not an easy person to deal with either. That Xie Wan could control him at such a young age is already admirable.

  Ning Da Yi was put on a pedestal by himself. He couldn't go up or down, his face was as awkward as silk dyed with the wrong color.

  Xie Wan said: "Luo Ji is approaching ten. If he doesn't give way, poison his horse to death!"

  Xie Wan usually spoke with authority, and those around her would often nod in agreement. Luo Ju immediately nodded his head in approval and looked around to see if there were any shops selling poison nearby.

  Ning Daier also saw that she didn't seem to be afraid of him, and he was secretly panicked. He had never fought with her before, and now the Xie family had produced an official in the imperial court, Xie Rong, making the Ning family's gap with them even greater. If she really poisoned his horse, where could he go to reason with her? Even if he went home to complain, he would only be scolded by his father for being useless!

  "You, you dare!" He pointed at her with a stern and sinister expression, his feet taking two steps back.

  Xie Wan smiled coldly and waited for him to make enough space before getting on the car.

  Luo Yang cracked his whip and drove away in a flash. Ning Da'er's horse was startled and let out a loud whinny.

  The onlookers around dispersed in an instant.

  Ning Da angrily spat and mounted his horse with a gloomy face.

  People on the streets and alleys bowed their heads day by day, afraid of not having anything to talk about. The news that Ning Da'er had been tricked twice by Xie San Niang quickly spread, and after a few days, not only did everyone in Li Zi Hu Tong know, but even the Xie Mansion received wind of it.

  Xie Hong immediately went to the Wang's house after hearing about it from Chen Lu.

  Wang pondered for half a day, then coldly smiled and summoned Xie Hong to come forward, entrusting him with a few words.

  She had never suffered any defeat since she entered the Xie's house, managing the household, dealing with her stepson, and winning over her husband's heart. However, unexpectedly, within just two years, she repeatedly lost to Xie Wan. At first, it was because she wasn't on guard, but now that she knows her weaknesses, if she doesn't let her taste some bitterness, then she would be the mistress of this house!

  Not long after, Chen Lu went out alone. He came back and rushed straight into the Wang's house, and didn't come out until a long time later.

  Nature doesn't care what they are doing, anyway this Wang person is always so mysterious and unpredictable.

  Luo Xiang was already with Chang Wu at the Cangzhou dock, and Xie Wan was waiting for his news. The shop was short of capable people, and she didn't have much energy to deal with the affairs of the mansion. Moreover, business in Huangshi Town had been declining recently, and monthly sales not only failed to meet the initial target but also made it difficult to pay the monthly wages, so she couldn't ignore it anymore.

  "It's been investigated clearly, the reason is that those salesgirls have tasted the sweetness of selling at a price higher than the fixed price and making a profit, so they keep raising the price. A piece of Shu brocade tail cloth, when we sold it at the regular price in Lizihutong, was only worth two taels of silver per chi, but they actually quoted a price of two and a half taels. Of course, there are also people who have been cheated, but after being cheated once or twice, others naturally won't come again."

  Luoji handed over the account book in his hand for her to see.

  All the accounts were recorded at the fixed price given by Xie Wan, but the sales volume was declining.

  "It seems to me that if we continue like this, it will be very disadvantageous for us. Using leftover goods as genuine products to sell, in this way they would be satisfied, but our business reputation would be ruined."

  Luo Ju said with concern.

  Two years have passed and he can now see things from a long-term perspective. This is the biggest difference between him and his father, Luo Zheng.

  Luō Shēng is just too conservative.

  Xie Wan settled the account and said, "At first, we chose them as salesgirls just because they were temporarily needed. Since that's the case, you go find a few suitable people to replace them first. If those original salesgirls make trouble, don't be afraid. We had an agreement beforehand: if they can't meet the sales target, they'll be fired. If they're not satisfied, let the government office mediate and have them spit out the extra money they collected."

  Luo thought for a moment, then said: "We now have four velvet shops in the city, and only one place to sell goods in Huangshi Town, and we can't sell too much. In the future, if there are more shops, I'm afraid the pressure will be even greater."

  Xie Wan picked up the map on the table and took a look, saying: "Nanyuan County has a town called Yingkou, which also has a relatively large population. Let Shen Tian find time to go there and take a look, see if there are any suitable shops, if so, rent one."

  "Miss, don't you want to go and take a look yourself?" She didn't seem like the careless type in his impression.

  Xie Wan smiled and said: "No need, I've been there before."

  Yingkou Town is the ancestral home of the Qi family. After Qi Song passed away, Yu Shi took their whole family to live there. Xie Wan's impression of that place was even deeper than Huangshi Town.

  Luo Ju did not dare ask more and left immediately.

  At this point, Luo Ju and those people were gradually getting on track, and finding partners was no longer something she needed to ask about personally.

  She is now putting most of her mind on how to make her rice shop a success - making money is one of the reasons, apart from this, she also wants to use the rice shop as a springboard to enter the capital, although there is Zhao Zhen as her informant now, but after all it's too weak, she needs information sources in all aspects, and more in-depth sources.

  No information, it's like a blind man touching an elephant. Don't even mention overthrowing Xie Rong. Besides, even if not to deal with Xie Rong, making these preparations is also paving the way for Xie Zhen's future career - which industry doesn't need money nowadays? He will be just a minor official in the future, and having some family property will make people look up to him.

  Xie Lang's journey is going smoothly, and the status of the second house of Xie family in everyone's mind will rise with it.

  Xie Rong would not have been overlooked as the son of a widow's remarriage if he had not risen to prominence in his official career.

  Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered that because Luo Sheng had gone to Cangzhou, she had been staying in the shop every day recently and hadn't been to Sanfang for some time.

  I also don't know how Huang's relationship with Wang has been lately?

  Making money is important, but the big rear of Xie's house can't be neglected either. Since Wangshi sent Xie Hong to Li Zihu Street to spy on her and Li Ershun, she knew that Wangshi had already grasped 70-80% of the truth. Given Wangshi's temperament, it was impossible for him not to take action against her, and his current inaction was just waiting for an opportunity.

  Wang was her first enemy. If things didn't go well in the end, and she lost control of what was going on inside, it would be a loss.

  She strolled into the third room after a moment's thought, like sipping a cup of tea.