Chapter 67 - You Are Out Of Your Mind

Jiang Ying Yue watched silently as she accompanied Gu Chen who was taking a tour through the store. The amazed look on his face made her feel a little bit satisfied, or probably more than she wanted to admit.

Though her store looked nothing when compared to the big stores from the noble families, she still had made sure to give it a better and calm environment by decorating it with several bonsais and vases that held fresh flowers.

The best part was the sitting area that she had created on the left side on the ground floor. Around five wooden tables were placed there with seats properly arranged around them. While on the right side were the reception and billing areas.

In the backyard, there was a storeroom and another empty room that Jiang Ying Yue had renovated into a kitchen so that they could prepare refreshments to serve to their customers. 

The first floor was also divided into two wings. The right-wing was the clothes section while the left-wing was the cosmetic section. The second floor held three big rooms but at the moment, the entire second floor was empty. 

"When are we going to open the store?" Gu Chen asked as he finished the tour and took a seat around one of the tables. 

"It's still early and very few people are present in the market. I'm thinking about opening the shop around ten o'clock. It will give me enough time to prepare." Jiang Ying Yue replied as she poured tea into two cups before handing one of them to the Young Master.

"You still need time to prepare? How can you be so stupid? Today is the opening day of the store and you still have things left to prepare!" Gu Chen suddenly started acting like he could not stand her foolishness. He seemed both surprised and unhappy.

"Do you want me to kick you out? If not then just sit here and keep your mouth close." Jiang Ying Yue threatened him as she gave him a hard cold glare, making the young master gulp in fear. He knew that she would literally kick him out if he refused to follow her order. Such a heartless woman! 

Seeing that the young man appeared to be quite obedient at the moment, Jiang Ying Yue decided to start with her work. She ordered all the servants of Young Master to line up in the hall while she asked Li Wu and Li Qi to bring out the clothes that she had prepared.

"I need two servants to keep the store neat and clean all the time. Three of you will be assigned to the clothes section while two will accompany me in the cosmetic section. Two will make arrangements for the tea and snacks that will be served to the customers if such a situation arrived, otherwise, the two of them will help the others." 

Jiang Ying Yue explained before she started pointing out to those servants of Young Master, Gu Chen, who had picked her interest in the past few days. 

"You are out of your mind. This is such a small shop and you need so many people to manage it. There's no need for so many servants. Just choose any two of them and it will be enough for the time being." Gu Chen hurriedly spoke when he noticed that the girl had taken away nearly half of his loyal servants.

As soon as the servants, whom Ying Yue had just selected out, heard their Young Master's words, they immediately returned to stand with the rest of the servants of Gu Chen.

Jiang Ying Yue felt a sudden urge to get rid of the so-called first young master from the General manor. The man proved to be more of a nuisance instead of being helpful to her.

"Each servant will receive ten silver taels as their salary on the last day of the month including another ten taels as the bonus." She announced in a deep but calm tone and watched as all the nine servants she had chosen, step out and stand in front of her as if they were waiting for her next command.

She turned to look at Gu Chen as she gave him a mocking wink. Though the young master did not appear to be happy by the sudden change in the situation, he remained silent. 

She opened the bundle of the clothes that Li Qi and Li Wu had taken out as per her orders and handed them over to the newly appointed servants of her store. "Go and get changed in these clothes. After you are done, meet me in the left-wing on the upper floor. Be quick." She ordered them and watched as all nine of them hurried away to get changed.

"You should also leave with the rest of your people. Don't let anyone notice you here. Since today is the opening day of the store, I'm sure your friends will send their men to take a look." She reminded Gu Chen who nodded his head slightly before he stood up from his seat and headed towards the backyard with his guard and the rest of the servants.

"My lady, don't you think that ten taels are too much to pay when the store hasn't even started selling? After all, you have selected nine servants and it will cost you a hundred and eighty silvers this month alone." Li Wu worriedly spoke out as soon as Gu Chen left.

"Do you think that your lady won't even be able to earn two hundred taels a month?" Jiang Ying Yue asked in a playful tone as she turned to look at her maid.

"My lady... you know that it's not what I meant." Li Wu mumbled as she made a pouting face which made Jiang Ying Yue chuckle. 

"What I worry about is neither the salary of the servants nor the cost of ingredients that I'll be using to create cosmetics. They are the simplest thing for me to handle. I'm more worried about the clothes department. Unlike cosmetics, I don't know how to create fabrics. It will cost us a lot to buy good quality silk and other expensive fabrics. I will need more skilled people to manage the clothes section." She finally explained the real problems that had started to bother her. 

"Though all these sound like big hurdles, we know that our lady will find her way through them. Ever since you encountered those bandits in the forest that fateful night, you have changed into a strong and intelligent person. No matter how hard a situation is, you sure know how to find your way out of it. We both trust you." Li Qi really believed in her lady and that could be easily seen in her eyes which were sparkling with genuine trust and respect towards Ying Yue.

Feeling touched by their words, Jiang Ying Yue smiled at the two girls as she nodded her head in agreement. Since the two of them believed that she could find a way to solve these issues, then she would do her best to find that solution.

"Alright, let's go and get ready for the day. It's a big day today and there's a lot that we have to prepare." She reminded the girls who excitedly nodded their heads and followed behind her as she made her way to the upper floor.

- - - 

Out of the nine servants that Jiang Ying Yue had picked to work in the store, three of them were men while the others were females. The oldest among them was in her late thirties but the others were either in their late twenties or early thirties. The youngest of them was a girl of twenty-three years old.

The females were dressed in white dresses with a light pink colored outer robe made of a single layer of chiffon which was clearly see-through. On the other hand, the men were dressed in medium blue-colored outercoats and black pants. 

Jiang Ying Yue first helped the three men to style their hair in simple ponytails with a blue ribbon wrapped around them. She shaped their eyebrows and applied moisturizing cream on their faces before making them wash their hands properly before she made sure that their nails were properly cut and shaped. 

She repeated the same process with the girls. She styled their hair in high ponytails with pink ribbon wrapped around them. She shaped their eyebrows but instead of just applying the moisturizing cream on their faces, she applied the faintest touch of makeup to make them glow up.

After she was done with their makeup, Jiang Ying Yue spent almost forty minutes shaping the nails of the ladies and painting them in light colors. The first batch of nail polish that she had managed to create was way better than she imagined. 

As Jiang Ying Yue observed the group of servants who looked nothing like the servants of the Young Master Gu, she felt a smile of satisfaction blooming on her lips.

"Alright. Give me ten minutes to get ready and then we will hold the opening ceremony of the store. Go and get the things prepared."