Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2766 Madam Shi 6.0
Shen Cha, Jin Miaomiao, and Xiao Fengqi exchanged a glance, and the three of them shook their heads at Chu Han at the same time.

"What does shaking your head mean?" Seeing their expressions, Chu Han smiled. "Don't understand?"

“Hmm!” Shen Cha nodded. “In my impression, jewelry is actually the easiest thing to imitate. As long as a certain brand releases a style that is very popular, especially among the young ladies and wives of wealthy families, it will become a trend, and all the jewelry shops will imitate it. Overnight, the whole street will be full of this style.”

“Xiao Cha is right. And while those imitations aren’t exactly cheap and high-quality, they’re at least not that expensive, so everyone can afford them.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “It’s actually quite difficult for a jewelry shop to become famous, isn’t it?”

“Hmm!” Shen Cha thought for a moment, “Although my master’s family has never done this kind of business, their silk, fabric and ready-made clothing are actually similar to jewelry making. They all sell uniqueness. In this respect, jewelry is probably the most difficult.”

“That’s true.” Chu Han nodded to Shen Cha, indicating his agreement with her statement. “The Jingwang Mansion had similar businesses before. The shopkeeper in charge of managing the shops always complained to my brother because as soon as new styles were introduced, there would be imitations. Most people don’t care about the materials or workmanship; they are more interested in novelty.”

“Imitations are inexpensive and affordable. Sometimes you can try something new without spending a lot of money, which is very tempting for a lot of people.” Shen Cha nodded. “So, I don’t quite understand how a jewelry shop could establish Madam Shi’s position in the Shi family. Unless she can come up with a lot of novel designs and ensure that the Shi family’s new products can be supplied continuously for a period of time, and each new product is eye-catching and sought after, something that imitations can never catch up with. Otherwise, she needs other things to help her establish her position.”

“You’re right. Her position was not achieved overnight. There was a gap of about three years between the first and second shops of Huayuji. In other words, it took her a full three years to establish the jewelry shop in Jiangnan and gain a certain reputation.”

“Three years.” Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin and looked at Shen Cha. “That’s not a short time.”

“Hmm!” Shen Cha thought for a moment, “If it took three years, that’s pretty normal. Once her first shop has a reputation, the next few shops will be much easier to open because people will think that the owner is a talented and knowledgeable person, and they will have enough trust in her. They will be willing to try her new shops, and even if she makes a mistake, they will be willing to give her a chance to make a mistake.”

"That's right. Her second shop was a cosmetics store, and all the goods were sold out as soon as they were put on the shelves, which forced her to temporarily close the shop after only two days."

"Was all the stock sold out?" Seeing Chu Han nod, Jin Miaomiao sighed. "She probably didn't expect that either."

“However, rouge and face powder are very difficult to imitate; they all have unique formulas. You’ve taken the right step.” Shen Cha nodded slightly. “What’s next?”

"What happened next was even more unexpected. She opened several shops, taking a down-to-earth approach, which means..."

"Imitating themselves?" Shen Cha raised an eyebrow. "So, the victims of those missing teenagers actually all went missing from these shops?"

“Of course. No matter how ruthless they are, they wouldn't target officials or merchants. They naturally choose powerless commoners.” Chu Han nodded. “Most of them are orphans with no relatives. If they disappear, no one will notice or search for them. But this disappearance case was handled by Madam Shi after she became the head of the Shi family. By then, the Flower Language Chronicle was already very well-known.” “But where did these kidnapped boys and girls go? Even if they were abducting people, they should have somewhere to go, right?”

"It's been sold." Chu Han sighed softly and said, "The place where it was sold is quite far away; you can't even find it if you want to."

"Far? How far?"

“The Western Regions,” Shen Cha sneered. “You all think their trade is legitimate, but behind that, there are some dirty tricks. The Tibetan envoy mentioned this to us before. They caught some suspicious merchants, thinking they had ill intentions, but it turned out they were human traffickers. This kind of thing is against the law there, so they tortured them severely before they said their boss was from a powerful clan in the Great Xia, but nobody knows which clan, because there are several layers of connections involved. They were just one link in the chain of trade.”

"Yes, the Shi family admitted this after they were arrested because of the 'Civet Cat Plan.' In fact, the 'Civet Cat Plan' evolved from Madam Shi's original business. Madam Shi kidnapped young men and women from Jiangnan and took them to the Western Regions. They might encounter some people and events there, and perhaps become prominent figures there. The 'Civet Cat Plan' is exactly the opposite."

"But why keep it from the Duke and the others?" Jin Miaomiao asked, puzzled. "Why can't they know this?"

“Because Madam Shi had some connections with my grandparents and maternal grandparents—not necessarily deep, but at least they hadn’t been enemies,” Shen Cha sighed softly. “So…”

"So that's it."

"Madam Shi appears kind and approachable on the surface, but she is actually extremely ruthless. Everything she does is for her own purpose. Once she finds that someone she associates with cannot achieve her goals or is unwilling to cooperate with her, she will abandon that person without hesitation and move on to the next target. Many families in the capital have been her targets, not just ours, but almost none have fallen into her trap, so..." Shen Cha spread her hands, "After her failed attempt to enter the capital, she never tried again."

"Is that so?" Seeing Chu Han nod, Jin Miaomiao curled her lips in disgust and said, "I thought he was so amazing, but he's nothing special."

"That's all?" Chu Han raised an eyebrow and said, "Then how about I tell you something you all don't know?"

"What?" Jin Miaomiao's eyes lit up, and she stared intently at Chu Han. "Is there anything else we don't know?"

"Before seeking cooperation with the Empress Dowager, our Mudfish Prince's target for cooperation was Madam Shi!"