Chapter 90

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Xiao Yuruo looked a little dazed, only speaking after a long silence, "Whether it's Young Master Tao or any other Young Master Li or Young Master Zhang, as long as they are beneficial to my Xiao family, I can sacrifice everything. And besides, what's so bad about Young Master Tao? He's far better than you, a bad person who bullies people everywhere—"

"Cough, cough," Lin Wanrong hastily feigned a cough to interrupt her. Xiao Yuruo's face turned slightly red; she had just remembered what he had done to her that day, which was quite embarrassing. She nearly let it slip out in her distraction. If her mother found out, she would have died of shame long ago.

But this Xiao Yuruo was, after all, a strong woman who had weathered storms. Her expression changed quickly, and she said doubtfully, "Actually, I have some suspicions. Even if Tao Dongcheng is interested in me, there's no need for him to make it so obvious. There must be something strange going on." This was a rather astute statement, which made Lin Wanrong sigh in relief, thinking that her involvement in business was not in vain.

From her words, it was clear that she had no particular fondness for Young Master Tao. As she said, she belonged to the Xiao family, and would do anything beneficial for the family, even if it meant sacrificing herself.

Lin Wanrong felt a bit sorry for this young lady, thinking that this girl had some spirit. It was a pity that her temperament was somewhat lacking. Otherwise, she would have been worth befriending. But he couldn't really blame her for having a poor impression of him. After all, he had taken advantage of her verbally during their first encounter and got caught visiting brothels with Young Master Guo, which naturally left a bad impression.

"In fact, there are two possibilities for such a joint venture," Lin Wanrong began to calmly analyze. "The first one, of course, sounds nice. It's called 'making money together.' It's great to have such a selfless attitude, and I believe that's how Young Master Tao has been promoting it to you, Eldest Miss. But for him to be so generous, giving forty percent of the shares to the Xiao family, even if he wanted to win over you, Eldest Miss, wouldn't he be afraid of idle talk from others? Moreover, what if the Xiao family took this forty percent of shares, and you, Miss Xiao, stood him up?"

"Stood him up? What does that mean?" The two women of the Xiao family asked in confusion.

Lin Wanrong smacked his forehead in regret. Damn, he had to play the glorious role of a public teacher again. After finally explaining this "foreign term," Eldest Miss Xiao blushed and said, "What's with standing someone up? Your words sound so unpleasant." However, Lin Wanrong's words did make her think. Being experienced, she thought for a while then shook her head firmly, "Tao Dongcheng is not of such a mind. Tell me about the other possibility."

Lin Wanrong nodded approvingly, "The other possibility is that the alliance is just a façade, and in reality, it's a game of merger."

"Merger?" Eldest Miss Xiao frowned, and Lady Xiao also sighed.

"We have also considered this possibility," Eldest Miss Xiao said seriously, "In fact, my mother and I have always been worried about this problem. But we can't find the crux of the matter. He gave so many shares, even if we do nothing, we will have forty percent of the profits every year."

Lin Wanrong didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he asked, "Miss, how do the three of your families allocate resources among each other? In simpler terms, how do you divide the work?"

Eldest Miss Xiao found it a bit strange. This servant seemed to know quite a lot. She answered honestly, "After the alliance, my Xiao family is responsible for the cloth and silk spinning workshops, and the He family is in charge of transportation."

Lin Wanrong chuckled coldly, "Does the Tao family take care of the sales, then?"

"How did you know?" Xiao Yuruo wondered. "After we collectively supply and transport, it is managed by the Tao family. Then we share the profits according to our shares."

Lin Wanrong shook his head with a bitter smile, "Oh, my dear Eldest Miss, you are being played and you don't even realize it. I'm afraid they've tricked you into selling yourself, and you're still counting your money."

Xiao Yuruo snapped, "What do you mean by that?"

Lin Wanrong didn't take her anger seriously and asked with a smile, "Eldest Miss, what do you think is the most important thing in doing business?"

"Honesty in operation," Xiao Yuruo answered without hesitation.

Damn, her answer was indeed accurate, but it was all nonsense.

"Eldest Miss, what I'm asking is, what is the most important aspect or department in doing business?" Lin Wanrong gently guided her. This era didn't have many theories on sales, and although Eldest Miss Xiao had been operating for many years, she had always been learning through trial and error. Lin Wanrong had to play the role of a teacher again.

Xiao Yuruo seemed to have realized something, her face turned pale. She looked at Lin Wanrong and said, "You mean... operations?" Eldest Miss Xiao was indeed quite capable. At this time, there was no such thing as marketing theory, all shops were in a spontaneous sales mode, let alone marketing. Sales were always an overlooked aspect, so for Eldest Miss Xiao, without Lin Wanrong's deep theoretical knowledge, to come to this conclusion was quite remarkable.

"Correct," Lin Wanrong said loudly, "It's operations, or what we often call sales. Eldest Miss, you might not yet understand the power of marketing. To exaggerate a bit, as long as there's a good sales team, even a pile of shit in a latrine, after packaging, I can sell it." Lin Wanrong chuckled.

"Vulgar." Xiao Yuruo looked at him with a red face, and snorted from her delicate nose. The bit of goodwill that had accumulated from his analysis disappeared quickly. Lady Xiao, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, also blushed.

Damn, swearing in front of a beauty, this feeling was really amazing. Looking at the embarrassed mother and daughter, Lin Wanrong felt a secret pleasure.

"To give the right to operate to the Tao family? That's like giving them your life. Tao Dongcheng may have a large business scale and rapid expansion, but it's hard for him to establish a complete marketing network in a short period of time. How can he match up to the Xiao family's years of hard work? Once the Tao family has the right to operate, they can legitimately use the Xiao family's resources to expand their strength, even replace it. Once the alliance is canceled and the Xiao family's marketing network has been wasted, what will you compete with the Tao family with? My dear Eldest Miss, this strategy of alliance, to put it bluntly, is like cutting off your limbs and crippling your own abilities, leaving you to be swallowed up."

After analyzing for quite a while, it was the final statement that was the crux. Lin Wanrong took a few deep breaths, thinking, damn, telling ten stories to that little girl wasn't this exhausting.

"Chunlan, Chunlan, get me a pot of tea quickly." Lin Wanrong casually sat down and commanded the maid outside, not regarding himself as an outsider at all.

Eldest Miss's face turned pale, and Lady Xiao's face also didn't look good. If Lin San's analysis was correct, the Tao family's alliance plan clearly harbored ill intentions, which was frightening.

"Could it be that the Tao family really wants to swallow us up?" Eldest Miss Xiao murmured to herself. She had no particular fondness for Young Master Tao, but she didn't dislike him either. Both of them were in business, and they had met numerous times, but she had never imagined that he harbored such malicious intentions.

"Of course, all of these are just my speculations. Eldest Miss and Madam shouldn't worry about it. Maybe Young Master Tao genuinely admires Eldest Miss and has the Xiao family's best interests at heart." Having said everything, Lin Wanrong was playing coy, pretending to be modest.

Eldest Miss Xiao's face showed a hint of determination. She huffed, "No matter what his intentions are, we must be on guard." She furrowed her brows and worriedly said, "But Tao Dongcheng's father, Tao Yu, is a silk manufacturer in Suzhou. We can't offend him lightly."

Lady Xiao was also frowning deeply. Among the three, only Lin Wanrong was relaxed. The saying goes, 'It doesn't concern me, so I don't worry.' Besides, the mother and daughter hadn't asked for his opinion, so it was wise for him to keep his mouth shut.

Xiao Yuruo glanced at this laid-back servant, thinking, this scoundrel does have some insight. The Tao family's tricks had deceived even her, but they hadn't escaped his eyes.

Remembering what Xiao Yushuang had said to Lin Wanrong before she left, Xiao Yuruo asked, "Lin San, what's your opinion on this matter?" Although her impression of Lin San wasn't good, this matter was crucial to the Xiao family's future, and she didn't want her personal feelings to affect the family's interests.

Lin Wanrong chuckled, "Eldest Miss, I'm just a servant in the Xiao family. It's not my place to speak in this council."

Eldest Miss Xiao glared at him fiercely. This bad servant, he had become so cheeky. Seeing that he was unwilling to answer her, Eldest Miss Xiao's temper flared up again. She snorted and gritted her teeth, "Since you don't want to say, I won't force you. What you said today has done a great service to the Xiao family. Considering your merits and faults, I won't pursue the matter of you trespassing in the council anymore. You can leave now."

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, gave a bow, and gracefully turned to leave. Eldest Miss Xiao huffed and said to Lady Xiao, "Mother, I think this Lin San does have some tricks up his sleeve. He doesn't want to talk to me, but what should we do?"

Lady Xiao pondered for a while and said, "I've heard from the servants that this Lin San indeed has some talent and knowledge. From what he said just now, it seems that he has done business before and has quite a bit of experience, and he already has a strategy for this alliance matter. If he can help our Xiao family, perhaps there is a way out."

Eldest Miss Xiao gritted her teeth and said, "This scoundrel, he loves to cause trouble. If it weren't for the fact that what he said today made some sense, I definitely wouldn't have let him off." S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Lady Xiao stared at her face and asked, "Yuruo, did he do something to upset you?"

"No, no," Eldest Miss's face turned red, and she hurriedly said, "How dare he upset me? Mother, you don't need to worry."

Lady Xiao sighed, "You've been working so hard, tirelessly maintaining the Xiao family, I don't know when there will be an end to this. Yuruo, you've truly suffered."

Eldest Miss Xiao felt a lump in her throat. Thinking about how she, a woman, was hustling and bustling outside every day, one could imagine the heartache she felt. She looked at her mother determinedly, a firm light shining in her eyes, "Mother, don't worry. I won't let the Xiao family fall on my watch."

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