Su Xiaoqi spent the entire morning in the Old Madam's courtyard. She had lunch with Du Yiyi and accompanied her until it was time for her afternoon nap. Only then did they go to Du Yiyi's courtyard in the Duke's mansion to talk.
Leaning on Su Xiaoqi's arm, Du Yiyi smiled and said, "As soon as I returned, I wanted to find Sister Xiaoqi. But my mother said Grandmother's arrow had been removed, and we were worried about her, so we rushed over. Fortunately, it was Sister Xiaoqi who treated Grandmother, and she's completely fine. You don't know, but watching her, she looks even younger than last time."
Du Yiyi led Su Xiaoqi into the Chun Gui Courtyard. It was clearly different from the Old Madam's Song Zhu Courtyard. As soon as they entered, there was a cluster of lush green shrubs. On either side, there were two delicately manicured flowerbeds, planted with many spring-blooming plants and trees. They were now a riot of color, with vibrant reds, purples, and blues, blooming profusely. Along one side of the courtyard wall, grapevines were planted, their new leaves now a vibrant, dew-kissed green. Below them, a swing set was tied, swaying gently in the breeze. The entire courtyard was full of life.
Du Yiyi pulled Su Xiaoqi onto the swing set. Soon, young maids brought tea and refreshments. Du Yiyi became serious, as she had important matters to discuss with Su Xiaoqi.
"Oh, writing letters is such a hassle, you have no idea…" Du Yiyi began with a long complaint before talking about the business of their two shops in Yizhou Prefecture. Chen Jinji was already booming in Mianzhou City, so it was even more popular in Yizhou Prefecture. Especially after the introduction of membership cards, some people spent a lot of money overnight just to upgrade. Consequently, one or two shops were no longer enough to meet their demand. She had taken the liberty of acquiring three more shops, opening one in the east, west, south, and north of the city. Just as Su Xiaoqi had suggested earlier, pastries that could be stored were made uniformly in the main shop's workshop and then delivered to each branch by specialized personnel. This ensured consistency in taste. As a result, they were making a fortune.
Speaking of this, Du Yiyi leaned closer to Su Xiaoqi and whispered, "Sister Xiaoqi, guess how much our shops earned while you were gone these past few months?"
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment and said, "Ten thousand taels?" After all, when they were in Mianzhou City, Du Yiyi had given her a dividend of five thousand taels. Now, two more months had passed, so it was naturally more.
"That's right, over ten thousand taels. It's not that we earned so much together, but each person received that much," Du Yiyi said, her face flushed with excitement, shaking Su Xiaoqi's shoulders vigorously. She longed to burst out laughing to release her surging emotions.
Su Xiaoqi was also extremely pleased. She had expected Chen Jinji to be profitable, but she hadn't anticipated it would be this lucrative. In just two months, the net profit was over forty thousand taels. The four partners each received over ten thousand taels, which was truly remarkable.
"And our grain store is also doing incredibly well," Du Yiyi said, holding up one finger.
"Your supermarket is also doing very well," Su Xiaoqi blinked and asked, "Another ten thousand taels?"
Du Yiyi nodded, but this was ten thousand taels for both of them combined, meaning each person received five thousand taels. But that was still incredibly impressive.
Su Xiaoqi smiled, "This is just the beginning; it will only get better." When she left, she had left enough grain in the warehouse and had people collect more from various places to support them until autumn. However, with her departure, the business would likely decline if she didn't return. Not to mention that a nationwide drought year was imminent, making business even more difficult. But for this shop to have earned so much money was already beyond Su Xiaoqi's expectations, so she was very content.
After discussing the shops in Yizhou Prefecture, Du Yiyi also briefly mentioned Mianzhou City. Since they would pass through Mianzhou City on their way back to the capital from Shu, she had taken the opportunity to visit. Chen Jinji's business was, as expected, doing exceptionally well. The supermarket's business was also extremely good. However, the "Tian Xia Liang Cang" (World's Granary) had been suppressed by the Su family again. They had intervened to ensure fairness, but their influence likely waned after they left.
After saying this, Du Yiyi suddenly leaned close to Su Xiaoqi's ear and whispered, "My father received an 'excellent' rating in his assessment this time and has been promoted to Left Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Works. If nothing unexpected happens, he shouldn't be leaving the capital again. I have two shops here, shall we do something?"
Su Xiaoqi already had plans in mind and blurted out without hesitation, "Then let's open a pastry shop and a supermarket." She had already made this plan in her heart when she received Du Yiyi's letter. That's why she hadn't agreed to open a pastry shop and supermarket with He Qiulei. In her heart, she had always wanted to cooperate with only Du Yiyi.
Du Yiyi's eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed. As far as she knew, these two types of shops were the most popular ones Su Xiaoqi had. Moreover, both of them believed that if these shops could be successful in the Bashu region, there was no reason why they shouldn't be popular in the capital.
"What about the grain store? Aren't we opening that?" Du Yiyi asked. She could tell that Su Xiaoqi was very willing to handle the grain store. Su Xiaoqi didn't hide anything from her and told her honestly that He Qiulei had approached her many times. Therefore, she had partnered with him for the grain store. Du Yiyi was relieved to hear this. She wasn't worried about Su Xiaoqi not cooperating with her; she was just afraid that Su Xiaoqi wouldn't be able to do what she loved. Knowing that she hadn't abandoned the grain store made her happy.
Having not seen each other for a long time, they had many things to talk about, chattering until the Hour of You (around 5-7 PM). The Old Madam and Madam Wen were considerate people. Knowing their deep sisterly affection, they didn't disturb them, only sending someone to bring them dinner and asking them to eat in the Chun Gui Courtyard instead of going out. They continued talking until the sun set and they finished their dinner.
Su Xiaoqi looked at the sky. If she didn't leave soon, it would be curfew. This was, after all, the Imperial City, with strict rules. She dared not delay and proposed to take her leave. Du Yiyi looked reluctant. In her life, she had met many people, but she had never encountered anyone like Su Xiaoqi, whom she liked so much and felt so connected to. She still had so much she wanted to tell her.
"I'll come again another day. Let's plan to look at shops then," Su Xiaoqi said, patting Du Yiyi's hand to comfort her. After all, although they had decided to start two businesses, they still needed to see if the shops were suitable. Du Yiyi bit her lip and agreed. Before the day was over, she was already looking forward to tomorrow.
Su Xiaoqi went to the Song Zhu Courtyard to bid farewell to the Old Madam. As she reached the second gate, she saw a tall and upright figure waiting at the entrance. He stood sideways, dressed in a moon-white robe with woven gold floral trim, a crescent jade pendant at his waist. His face was as beautiful as jade, and he had the bearing of a noble, making him exceptionally pleasing to the eye.
"Shen Yun… why are you here?" Su Xiaoqi asked, slightly surprised.
Shen Yun looked helpless and walked forward, taking her hand. "Wife, when we are outside, at least give me some face and call me husband." At home, Xiaoqi often called him by his given name. That was one thing, but it was different for a woman to call a man by his name outside. If others heard, they would surely gossip. He didn't want Xiaoqi to be slandered, so he had to correct her.
"Yes, husband." Su Xiaoqi looked up at his handsome face and the beautiful smile on his lips. She smiled and complied. Shen Yun felt instantly at ease, his eyes melting like ice and snow, filled with gentle warmth.
Upon returning home, she learned that Shen Yun hadn't eaten dinner because he was worried about her. Su Xiaoqi went to the kitchen to arrange for the cook to prepare food. When she returned, she saw Zhang Lei standing in front of Shen Yun, talking to him. As Su Xiaoqi approached, Zhang Lei stiffened slightly. He quickly composed himself, bowed to her, and withdrew.