There was a light green silk curtain hanging in the room, but the fine texture of the material was out of tune with the furnishings here. Pulling a curtain in a room like this was already an eyesore.
The gauze curtain was a little transparent, but the sunlight was reflected from outside, so Guo Shao couldn't see the scenery behind the curtain clearly from outside and could only see the outline of a figure; however, it should be clearer to see outside from inside the curtain because the light outside was good.
Guo Shao felt that this woman was very pretentious and too particular about her appearance.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the woman inside suddenly knelt down, bowed, and said quietly: "I came out today to apologize. General Guo, please listen to my explanation."
The voice was soft and clear. Guo Shao saw the shadow inside and hurriedly made a gesture to help: "No, Madam, why do you have to do this? It's just a business deal. I came to ask because my family is worried. Please get up quickly and tell me what's going on first."
The person inside thanked her and stood up. Guo Shao then sat down on the stool and prepared to listen to her.
At this time and in this scene, the afternoon sun shines in through the wooden windows, making the tabletop in the room glow with greasy light. As expected, this place is not very clean. The grease on the tabletop that has not been wiped clean is not sure if the last group of guests spilled some oil or soup on it. Guo Shao randomly chose this place. It is in the downtown area, so he naturally did not choose it. Now he realized that this building is large but does not look like a fancy place. The teapots and cups on the table have chips.
At that moment, Guo Shao's mood completely changed. He felt that the drawn curtain was not abrupt anymore. It turned out that the meaning of things in the world is actually determined by people's mood.
He thought that it was not easy for a widow to run a business, so it was understandable that she would not show up to meet a male customer. Besides, this place was dirty to begin with, and if the woman had mysophobia, she would probably not want to drink the water here, nor would she be willing to use it to entertain guests.
But some people are really more hypocritical, and she herself is that kind of person. If you don't know her well, you may feel uncomfortable with the sudden contact. Just like the woman I met today.
The woman's voice seemed to have a Wu accent, and she said softly and clearly: My name is Chen Jiali.
Guo Shao's mouth twitched slightly after hearing this, but he held back and didn't say anything. He felt that the name was really a bit vulgar, which was very different from her delicate image. He found that at this time, any woman with a decent background had a vulgar name; those women with nice and literary names mostly had no background. But he didn't know why.
Chen Jiali continued, "Our Shen Chen Li Weaving is a weaving business jointly run by the three families of Shen, Chen and Li. The three families have been intermarried for generations, and are actually a business group, not limited to weaving. I am from the Chen family, but now I am married and I am a woman of the Shen family. Some people also call me Shen Chen, so my surname is Chen but I run the Shen family's business, and I have no control over my mother's family's business."
General Guo must be wondering, since I am the head of the Shen family, why can't I control the people below me? There must be a reason for this.
My late husband had inherited the Shen family business. Five years ago, he married a daughter of the Li family and had a son. But later, Mrs. Li passed away, and he married a concubine. Previously, the two families wanted my late husband to marry into the Li family, but he insisted on marrying me. Later, my husband and I treated each other with respect and got along very well. Chen Jiali said this with a little shyness in her tone.
Now the four directions are divided, and each town has set up checkpoints to exploit people, so business is not easy to do. But all rare goods are profitable. We can make a profit by transporting silk fabrics and pearls from the Southern Tang Kingdom to Tokyo or even Youzhou. We can also make a small profit by purchasing precious furs, ginseng and other goods from the north from Youzhou and transporting them to Tokyo, Yangzhou and Jinling. Therefore, our company has shops and caravans in famous places all over the world. Last year, my husband went to Youzhou just to make more money.
At this time, Chen Jiali's voice gradually choked up, and her tone was very sad. Unexpectedly, the Khitan people only took a fancy to the beautiful concubines around her husband, and killed and robbed her husband, so her husband was killed. The Khitan government not only did not punish the murderer, but also shamelessly released the captives and asked us to pay money to forgive the living. Among them, two concubines were also from the Chen family, and their parents paid money to redeem them, but...
Her voice trembled, as if she had seen something extremely horrible. The people were back, but the two girls had been tortured beyond recognition. I have been in the world for more than 20 years, and I have never seen such cruelty; even those who committed heinous crimes and were sentenced to death were not treated like this. I don’t know what kind of humiliation and torture my husband suffered before he was killed.
After hearing this, Guo Shao couldn't help but sigh and expressed his sympathy.
After a long time, Chen Jiali came back to her senses and said: After my husband passed away, his legitimate son should have inherited the family business, but the child is only a few years old; there are only a few cousins in the Shen family. So the three families discussed and let me raise the child and manage the Shen family's business.
On the one hand, the Li family felt that the child was born to Li's wife, and they were unwilling to hand over the family business to the cousins of the Shen family, and they did not trust me very much. On the other hand, my mother's family, the Chen family, also felt that I was the legal wife of the head of the Shen family, and I should raise the child to inherit the family business. The cousins of the Shen family were also watching. Although I was the head of the family, I was in a dilemma on three sides.
Chen Jiali said sadly: If my late husband were still alive, I wouldn't have to go through such a hard time.
Guo Shao heard this and said: "So that's how it is. Too many people are involved in this business, and it's easy to get into trouble." So, it's not all Mrs. Chen's fault. It's understandable that there were some problems with our order.
Mrs. Chen said: I have long heard that General Guo is extremely brave and I admire him. Moreover, although Tokyo is prosperous, the powers of various government offices are unclear, and there are too many people who can threaten and bully us merchants. If we can make friends with someone like General Guo, wouldn't it be good for the business of the three families of Shen, Chen and Li? What does a little money mean to us
Guo Shao said: Thank you, Madam Chen, for trusting me. Your words are very sincere, without any superficial empty words.
Mrs. Chen said: General Guo is very famous. I have heard a lot about you. Naturally, I believe in your character. How can I lie to you
She added: At first, the Guo family sent someone to the shop to check out the goods, and I learned that the White Fairy was from General Guo's house. Later, she thought it was too expensive, so she went to other places. It's not that our prices are expensive, those goods are all shipped from the Southern Tang and Wuyue countries, and the costs are high at many checkpoints along the way; but the fabrics of Yunjin and other woven goods are indeed better than those of the Zhou Dynasty. Everyone can see the quality of things, and the good ones are naturally expensive.
Since there is such an opportunity to do business with Guo's family, how can I push customers to other places just to make money? I immediately sent someone to Guo's family to negotiate and agreed to a 50% discount. In this way, the price is cheaper than the market and the goods are better. Guo's family naturally has no reason to choose other places. Of course, we will lose a lot of money on this business, but I think it is worth it.
Unexpectedly, I was not in the East Market this morning. The cousins of the Shen family in the shop saw that it was a loss-making business. They did not know the situation well and suspected that I was seeking personal gain. They refused to deliver the goods. But I was the one who made the decision, so they did not immediately return the deposit and regret the deal. Instead, they pushed the trouble to me. We were fickle and rude in the first place. I did not care about being a widow and being gossiped about. I hurriedly sent someone to meet with the people in the Guo Mansion to apologize in person and deal with this matter.
Guo Shao listened to her detailed explanation, which was indeed reasonable. He thought that he had a broad mind and could not hold on to others just because they made a mistake. They were not enemies. He said generously: "The business will continue. It is natural that the goods are more expensive. Let's rewrite the contract according to your original price. Guo Shao took out the original copy from his arms, tore it up in front of him, and threw the torn paper on the table.
Mrs. Chen said hurriedly: "No, I can still handle this matter. I have shops in the West City and the Outer City. They were the dowry given to me by my parents when I married into the Shen family. I can make all the decisions on these businesses. Tomorrow I will send someone to transport the goods from my shop to the Guo Mansion and deliver the goods first. Since I trust General Guo, why should I write a contract?"
Guo Shao said: I am a general of the imperial army, how can I bully a woman like you? It is settled, the price will be fixed; if Madam Chen insists, I will not do this deal, anyway, I cannot take advantage of you.
Since General Guo has said so, then fine, I will do as you say. After Mrs. Chen finished speaking, she asked again, General Guo bought so many silk fabrics, is it to prepare a betrothal gift for the Wei Wang family
Guo Shao was surprised and asked: How do you know
Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "To be honest, our business is mainly with wealthy families. Although the goods are good, they are expensive. The Wei Wang family in Daming Prefecture also has business dealings with us. The women in the Wei Wang family like to order all kinds of things from us."
After she finished speaking, she called Aunt Sun forward and whispered a few words to her. Guo Shao didn't hear clearly, but because he was close, he heard fragments of words such as taking some jewelry.
Madam Chen instructed Aunt Sun and said: "If General Guo trusts me, he can decide how much money he wants to spend on the betrothal gifts, and then we can take care of it for you. It will definitely satisfy General Guo."
Guo Shao immediately found it interesting. He didn't understand those things. He wanted to ask Mrs. Gao that day but didn't have time. If someone could help him take care of it, wouldn't it be a relief
I immediately said, "That's fine. I'll go back and ask my family and then send someone to tell you."
Mrs. Chen smiled and said: That's it, as long as General Guo sends someone to tell us, I will deliver the things to your house first, and it won't be too late for the Guo family to pay then.
Guo Shao didn't hesitate about this matter, and slapped the table lightly: It's settled. Anyway, I know I won't default on my debt, so it's easier to do it this way.