Greetings, Ninth Uncle

Ch. 41 - Making Money

Early in the morning, the bird chirping crisply, the low-ranked servant girl in charge of sweeping had just sprinkled water on the ground, and the walkways had also been cleaned. When Cheng Yujin walked under the roofed corridor, she breathed in the refreshing air unique to the morning. Her figure, walking slowly in her plain white dress, was also part of this beautiful scenery.

People in the Chenming Courtyard were already familiar with Cheng Yujin. When they saw her from afar, they came to greet her. Cheng Yujin smiled and nodded back. Liu Yi, who had just returned from outside, saw her, and immediately stopped to give her a bow: "Eldest Miss."

"Steward Liu." Cheng Yujin replied. She knew Liu Yi's real identity and was eighty percent sure that he was a eunuch from the palace. Since he was now following Cheng Yuanjing using a domestic servant identity, calling him 'steward' was appropriate.

Liu Yi hurriedly declined: "Eldest Miss is scaring this servant. How is this servant worthy..."

"Steward is too polite." Cheng Yujin smiled. "Steward Liu is Ninth Uncle's most trusted serving person. You often run outside under Ninth Uncle's order, and can be considered his right-hand man. If you are not worthy to be called steward, then who is?"

Although Liu Yi looked very humble, he was delighted. What made him proud was not the amount of power in his hand, nor the achievements he had made, but how much the crown prince used his service. Cheng Yujin's words were precisely on the line of Liu Yi's mind.

When Cheng Yujin looked at Liu Yi's expression, she knew that she got it right. She made a gesture at Du Ruo, who brought out a food box. Cheng Yujin said, "Ninth Uncle has taken care of this little girl so much, and steward Liu has also helped me a lot. I have nothing to pay back, so I can only prepare a few pastries for Steward Liu. I hope you won't dislike it."

Liu Yi waved his hand: "Of course not. Running errands for eldest Miss is a blessing for this servant. How can I still accept eldest Miss' things?"

"Steward Liu, please accept. This is just a bit of sincerity from our Miss." Du Ruo put the food box in the hands of a servant boy behind Liu Yi. Liu Yi's refusal was just a matter of courtesy, so after seeing Cheng Yujin's insistence, he accepted after showing a bit more reluctance: "Then, this servant thanks eldest Miss."

"Steward is too polite." Cheng Yujin smiled back.

There were principles in accepting bribes and receiving favors. Since Liu Yi accepted Cheng Yujin's food, he spoke to her a lot more attentively. Liu Yi asked: "Miss comes to Chenming Courtyard this early in the morning. Are you going to find Ninth Master for something?"

"It's not a big deal." Cheng Yujin paused, then said casually: "However, I indeed have some message to deliver outside. Hope Steward Liu can help me pass it."

"So it's this." Hearing Cheng Yujin's words, Liu Yi waved his hand and said: "Miss can come to this servant anytime. Just write your message on the paper, and this servant will help you send it out as soon as possible."

Cheng Yujin smiled more sincerely: "I will trouble Steward Liu."

Today, Cheng Yujin had come prepared. She went out early, and hurriedly asked Liu Yi's help before he left. She also brought out the drawings with her. Cheng Yujin sat inside the tea room and took out a stack of papers.

"These are the clothes patterns I draw, and I will trouble Steward Liu to bring it to Yunyi Shop. The profit from selling fabrics is limited, but if the fabrics are made into ready to wear clothes, the same pieces of fabric can produce several times higher profit. Furthermore, fabrics are flat. Just stacking them into piles looks bland. If there are ready-made clothes next to it, it will look much better. Customers will also be more interested in buying the fabric if they see how good it is after being made into clothes. If customers aren't going to make the clothes themselves, Yunyi Shop can also help them cut the fabrics and sew it into a garment. By selling the fabrics and accepting clothes-making orders, the materials come from our own, and the workers are also ours, which is more profitable than selling fabrics as it is."