Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 487: A Mishap on the First Visit

At first, she also thought this little girl ought to be well-behaved, but later she realized she had been terribly mistaken, completely overturning this impression when she saw how much trouble the girl could cause, even more so than her two brothers.

In the beginning, the little girl would secretly wear her brother’s clothes, and day after day Huihui would take her to their family’s store to play; her brother also helped cover for her, never exposing her.

The little girl was plump and rosy-cheeked, looking like a jade child, and with her sweet little mouth, the business at the store with the little girl in charge indeed improved greatly.

However, somehow, things gradually got out of control. The children from families nearby the town, for some reason, were all lured over.

Even some children who were studying at private schools, hiding it from their families, were secretly coming out, a band of children who would gather outside the store every day, seemingly plotting something big.

During that period, the business at the store was extremely good, the clerks were frantically busy, unable to keep up, as the goods would sell out not long after they were stocked. The business had never been so good before.

At first, they did not take it seriously, thinking it was a chance occurrence, akin to the holiday rush, and that things would settle down afterward.

However, it didn’t take long before the adults from these families noticed something was amiss and started looking for answers.

Gathering in small groups to talk, they discovered their children had been behaving oddly of late, begging and pleading with the adults to buy things from one particular store; they were never at home, and those who lived near relatives had pestered them to make purchases as well.

As they talked, it suddenly became a serious matter. They thought there might be something wrong with the store, that it was luring and deceiving children.

Now things were stirring up; the adults grew agitated, and in their fury, they nearly smashed up the store.

That incident was very difficult to settle. The several adults ran around busily for a while, finally learning that the cause of everything was indeed this little girl!

This little girl, a veritable queen among the children, might look obedient and charming but was quite determined in her own mind, very capable of causing trouble. Despite her young age, she was full of mischievous schemes and had the audacity to attempt anything.

She still can’t fathom, how at such a young age, the little girl could have come up with the idea to have other children hawk their store’s merchandise, paying them a few coins for each sale, with extra rewards for the child who sold the most.

Children, always drawn to novelties and fun, with Silver to be earned and under the little girl’s strong leadership, participated with exceptional enthusiasm. The word spread, from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and the children in the vicinity would come running every day. Those who should have been studying gave it up, daily deceiving their parents to go out and wander aimlessly, hawking goods to passerby and even at their own and their relative’s houses.

Recalling that incident made Lin Yuejuan feel utterly exhausted. Her husband, completely oblivious, was bafflingly taken into the Yamen, unable to explain himself, and no one would listen, as a group of adults clamored for an explanation.

The situation had spiraled out of control, and when the sister-in-law found the little girl and learned that she was behind it all, she took the little girl herself to sort it out, allowing her to clean up her own mess.

The sister-in-law’s original intention was to let the little girl realize the magnitude of her mistake, to see the consequences, and only after the little girl recognized her wrongdoing did the sister-in-law plan to step in and tidy up the mess.

However, what no one anticipated was that the little girl indeed resolved the matter.

The little girl knew she had caused a problem and first went to find that group of children. No one knows how she persuaded them, but she somehow got the other children to voluntarily approach their parents to intercede.

Then she went to find the adults. The little girl was extremely adorable, and when she spoke sweetly and obediently, it was hard for anyone to resist. Many big sisters and daughters-in-law who had been to their store had received the little girl’s praises, therefore, the adults were persuaded and were all willing to listen to what the little girl had to say.

Next, the little girl began to explain clearly that due to the recent celebrations, everything in the store was on sale at a discount, cheaper than usual, as a way to thank the neighbors for their support in the past. The original prices would be restored afterwards.

Upon careful consideration, the adults realized that it was indeed true; they had been bought on their children’s urging only because of the discounts.

The little girl then explained that the children who came to work were given Silver, and she detailed how much each child had earned. It wasn’t a deception but rather the children being sensible and wanting to earn some money for their families and for their own spending—a sentiment to which all the kids nodded in agreement, which moved the adults.

After all these twists and turns, not only were they willing to release her husband, but they were also extremely grateful, admitting their mistake and eager to make it up to them. Plus, with the merchandise being discounted, they each bought quite a lot more from the store.

Their business boomed exceptionally well, maintaining a fantastic reputation all the way until they moved away.

It was only later that people understood the little girl had been prepared all along. Before doing all this, she had asked her husband to agree to lower the prices a little bit. Thinking it was just for fun, Daying had agreed at first but then forgot about it. Little did he know, Huihui had gone ahead and pulled off such a grand feat.

The incident began because of this little girl and also ended because of her. Despite the scares, it all turned out well in the end.

When her husband returned home, she was severely scolded by her sister-in-law. If Daying hadn’t intervened, out of his soft heart, she surely would have been beaten.

Thanks to the little girl’s actions, the store’s inventory had significantly lessened, and they sold the goods grudgingly at the prices she had set.

Later on, they all thought they would suffer a huge loss, especially considering the slim profit margins of a general goods store. Their prices were already fair, and any further discounts would surely lead to losses. As Huihui had acted recklessly, how could they withstand it? However, she had come to terms with it, thinking it was worth it as long as her husband was safe, even if it meant losing some money.

However, Brother Changhe and his wife firmly refused to accept the loss. They insisted on recovering the lost Silver—without compensation, they couldn’t be at peace.

With no choice left, they asked a clerk to do the accounting. Both Daying and Lin Yuejuan had made up their minds to downplay any losses to keep peace of mind.

Surprisingly, after the clerk crunched the numbers, accounting for the cost of goods and the children’s selling commissions, not only was there no loss, but there was actually a substantial surplus.

Daying recalculated it himself twice, confirming that there was indeed quite a bit of profit!

Upon questioning, Huihui didn’t dare to explain until she got her sister-in-law’s approval and then timidly revealed the whole story.

Only then did they realize how shrewdly the little girl had acted. She wasn’t blindly cutting prices to sell goods, but instead had instructed the children to peddle items with higher profits, slightly reducing prices on low-profit items just to make them more appealing. By strategically selling a couple of items at cost to drive sales of high-profit goods, they didn’t incur any losses, and instead, they made more Silver while also gaining a good reputation.

After that incident, her husband grew even fonder of the little girl, praising her intelligence to the skies every day.

Conversely, Lin Yuejuan’s feelings went in the opposite direction. Since then, a distaste for the little girl developed in her heart. The fear of her husband being taken away by the Government Official was just too profound. Her husband might have brushed it off, but the unease remained in her heart, always worrying that if Huihui failed to manage, would her husband have ended up in jail?