The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 98
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Some things you can't avoid.

Qiu Yan stayed at the manor for two days before being taken back by people sent by Madam Qiu.

"Sister Chunyu, can't I stay a few more days?"

“You can stay as long as you want, but not now.” Chunyu understood her thoughts very well: “You’d better have an open and honest talk with Madam Qiu about this. She is your mother, the person who loves you the most, and she certainly hopes that you will marry a good man and live a happy life with your husband.”

"My mother thinks that my cousin Chen Hai is a good man."

But Qiuyan felt that he was only a good man in her mother's eyes, not the one she saw.

“Then just say it outright, because you’re the one who’s going to marry her,” Chunyu said. “You have to believe that all mothers only want their daughters to have a good life. If you really don’t agree, she certainly won’t force you.”

"I... I'll give it a try."

Hopefully, she can convince her mother.

If it really makes sense, she wouldn't need to hide.

Qiu Yan was eventually "escorted" back to the Qiu residence.

“Miss, Miss Qiu is a very sentimental person.” Mo Lan said with a smile, “It’s clear that Madam Qiu truly dotes on her.”

“Yes, a mother considers everything for her child.” Chunyu turned to look at the child Jianlan was holding and took the child from her arms. “I also just hope that my child will be pampered, loved, and cherished.”

The suffering I endured, my daughter will avoid; the blessings I never enjoyed, my daughter will experience.

"Our daughter is so well-behaved, she must be very lucky."

Gladiolus and Cymbidium goeringii spoke in unison.

Chunyu gave a wry smile.

Because she sent the entire Wu family to prison, she became "famous" in the capital, which to some extent seriously affected the marriage prospects of the Xiao family's children and the next generation.

“Miss, don’t worry. As long as we earn enough money and have a wealthy family background, it won’t be difficult for you to marry a good husband,” Mo Lan analyzed. “The fame-seeking types in the capital are not good enough for our young lady.”

The world is so big, surely there are some clever young men willing to marry you.

“Our little girl is still so young, and you’re already worried about her son-in-law, Miss,” Jianlan teased. “Mothers really do have a lot to worry about.”

“Of course.” Chunyu also realized that she was obsessed and couldn’t help but laugh: “I just need to work hard to lay a solid foundation for my Panpan. If she finds a good man, she can marry him. If she doesn’t have a mother, she won’t starve to death on her own.”

That makes sense!
The two girls nodded repeatedly.

The young lady did try to get married, but in the end, she lost.

It's better not to marry at all than to marry a bad one.

These days, a woman has nothing but a man who causes her distress.

"Miss, there are some items sent from Sichuan."

Uncle Zhang, the gatekeeper, came to report.

"Oh, was there a reward?"

"Yes, the deliveryman was very happy and said that if we have any more items or letters from home next time, he will deliver them as soon as possible."

"That's good."

The cosmetics and face powder sold extremely well at Qingcheng Pavilion, and Chunyu was no longer short of money, so she became very generous to her servants.

Especially for letters sent from the northern deserts of Sichuan, a larger reward will result in receiving them faster.

"Look what nice things Nuannuan brought me."

For Chunyu, who never leaves home, waiting for letters from her relatives in Sichuan is something she looks forward to every day.

They also hope that with the arrival of spring, they can create new items to fill the Qingcheng Pavilion.

One wooden box was opened, and inside was another small wooden box. Then, another small wooden box was opened, and inside were neatly arranged small wooden compartments. Each small compartment contained cotton, and inside the cotton were small ceramic bottles.

"what is this?"

The small ceramic bottle is quite exquisite; Chunyu thinks it must be very expensive.

As soon as you unscrew the cap, a fragrant aroma wafts out.

"smell good."

Mo Lan and Jian Lan asked in unison, "What is this?"

"This was sent by Nuannuan. Let me check the letter first."

In the letter, Chunnuan told Chunyu that it was perfume.

She refined it from various medicinal herbs, making a bottle of perfume with different scents, and had her put it in Qingcheng Pavilion to test the market. It was also a custom order, but it would take longer, with a batch produced every six months.

The price was outrageous in Chang You's eyes, reaching as high as one hundred taels of silver per bottle.

When Chunyu saw the price, she gasped. Seriously, only Nuannuan would dare to set such a price!
Of course, anything Nuannuan makes is definitely worth more than its price!
The osmanthus-scented perfume bottle I just opened still has its fragrance lingering in the air even though the cap has been closed for so long.

"Miss, this smells so good! It smells better than any other aromatherapy!"

"Made by Nuannuan."

Chunyu was very excited: it really was like her wish had come true; her second sister had never let her down.

Just by opening it, the fragrance had already won her over.

Not to mention the ladies and young women of high society.

A bottle of perfume costing a hundred taels of silver is excellent; it's a unique masterpiece from Qingcheng Pavilion.

"Miss, here is also a letter from home."

Jianlan suddenly noticed a thick letter from home at the bottom of the wooden box, and quickly picked it up and handed it to Chunyu.

When Chunyu opened it, she was utterly shocked: this was no family letter, but a detailed sales manual.

In this letter, Chunnuan categorized and labeled all the perfumes in the bottles, and then explained in detail how to explain the effects and usage of each perfume to the customers.

With this in hand, sales are no problem!
"Deliver these two bottles to Qingcheng Pavilion tomorrow. Remember, they are for pre-order only, not for sale. No matter how much more money you offer, we won't sell them. They are our prized possessions for now."

Other stores only have one signature item, but hers is different; it's a whole box with twelve different scents.

Chunyu perked up at the sight of all this. Nuannuan was her strong support. In her words, Qingcheng Pavilion was definitely the best cosmetics shop in the capital, and from then on, it became the favorite of noble ladies.

Moreover, it's something that others can't learn.

"Miss, what if Miss Qiu wants to buy it?"

Mo Lan recalled Qiu Yan's charming appearance and asked with a smile.

“No, Miss Qiu wouldn’t do anything to make things difficult for me,” Chunyu said. “She is a very kind girl.”

However, to Chunyu's surprise, her prophecy failed this time.

The new products from Qingcheng Pavilion have arrived, and the ladies of high society are flocking to them.

After smelling the perfume, everyone eagerly took out their money to make a reservation.

Most importantly, they can only be numbered sequentially, and only two bottles can be produced per month.

It gives you the illusion that even with money, you can't buy anything good.

"The things at Qingcheng Pavilion are good, but they're too expensive."

After Qiu Yan sat down and had a serious talk with her mother, Mrs. Qiu had no choice but to give up her fantasy of having her excellent nephew as her son-in-law, and she was even more worried about what kind of person her daughter should choose.

I felt that I had protected her too much in the past, and that she had never seen the evil in human nature.

So now we're letting her go out and wander around, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Today, Qiuyan went shopping with her maid Tao'er. When they arrived at Qingcheng Pavilion, they looked up at it twice.

I've heard the stuff here is really good, but it's also very expensive.

Qiu Yan wondered what kind of well-off lady or young lady would be so extravagant? Or perhaps, how insecure she must be to rely on rouge and powder to prop up her face?

"Miss, I heard that Qingcheng Pavilion has a new perfume that is several times more fragrant than incense, but it is also more expensive."

Tao'er is very well-informed; a qualified maid is naturally good at finding out information.

"One hundred taels of silver per bottle, only two bottles can be sold per month, and half of the deposit must be paid in advance to order. I heard that the order is already booked until next summer."

"One hundred taels of silver a bottle?" Qiu Yan chuckled. "What kind of water is so precious? Is it made of gold or silver?"

"Miss, it's perfume. They say it smells very, very good."

"That's all a lie. What thing can smell really good?"

Before he could finish speaking, a woman next to him burst out laughing.

Autumn Swallow... What's wrong? Is it funny or what?

"Miss, what are you laughing at?"

The man's maid asked, puzzled.

"I laugh at those who pretend to know what they don't, making fools of themselves. If it were me, I would just hide in a hole and never come out."

Hmm, that sounds a bit targeted, doesn't it?

Qiu Yan glanced sideways at her.

It made me laugh out loud.

"I thought it was someone important, but it turns out to be just a down-on-his-luck person."

Indeed, this young lady is from a poor family; she's a cousin who came to the Zhang family in the capital to beg for money.

Back when Chunnuan was engaged to Young Master Zhang, Qiuyan already knew this cousin Yulian, and always felt that there was something unclear between her and that Young Master Zhang.

This feeling is awful, but I don't dare tell Nuannuan.

After the Xiao family ran into trouble, the Zhang family quickly broke off the engagement, and then news came that the second young master of the Zhang family had arranged a marriage with his cousin, Yulian.

Is it because they're afraid that spring warmth will make them dependent on them, or what?
But after seeing this plump young lady today, Qiu Yan understood everything.

"Who are you calling a down-and-out?" Yu Lian was naturally unwilling to accept this and was about to argue with Qiu Yan.

"Anyone who agrees to my request is a loser." Qiu Yan wasn't afraid of her at all.

What is that?

She married Young Master Zhang three months ago. Judging by her belly, she's at least five or six months along. Tsk tsk, they've been having an affair, so she had no choice but to marry him.

You should know that Madam Zhang was determined to find a noble lady from the capital.

According to my mother, Madam Zhang was actually quite satisfied with Chunnuan and did not intend to break off the engagement. However, Old Madam Zhang gave the order that the engagement must be broken off so as not to jeopardize the future of the Second Young Master Zhang.

Madam Zhang also disliked this cousin, who was the old lady's grandniece. Her family had fallen on hard times, and she had grown up by Madam Zhang's side since childhood.

If Nuannuan and Zhang Ershao were childhood sweethearts, they wouldn't have ended up getting engaged. But now it seems that it's a good thing Nuannuan didn't marry Zhang Ershao. Having such a childhood sweetheart by your side would only cause you trouble sooner or later.

Clearly, this woman also knew her; she was Chunnuan's good friend, Qiuyan.

Therefore, a verbal clash is inevitable.

"you……"

I didn't know how to curse next, mainly because many noble ladies had already come over.

Making a scene in public is improper and undignified. If she dares to continue, her mother-in-law will definitely make her learn some manners.

So, he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

"Some people are even worse off than the poor. They can't even afford the finest cosmetics from the Qingcheng Pavilion."

Who says we can't afford it?

Not using it doesn't mean you can't afford it.

Qiu Yan originally didn't want to pay attention to her.

Then she said that perfume is expensive because poor people don't deserve to own it.

"Perfume, is it? It's just a hundred taels of silver. Here, give me a bottle."

Qiu Yan's fiery temper couldn't be tolerated, so she went straight up to the waiter and yelled.

"I'm sorry, miss, the perfumes at Qingcheng Pavilion need to be pre-ordered. Half of the deposit is required in advance. If you'd like, you can pay half the deposit here and get a number around the Dragon Boat Festival next May."

"What? Reservation? Then I need to reserve it. I'm telling you, right now, immediately, I want this perfume."

"I'm sorry, miss, this is our store's prized possession and is not for sale at the moment."

"What 'not for sale' and 'store's prized possession'? It's all just a trick to fool people."

Waiter... I'm really letting you off the hook since you know our boss. But could you please stop ripping off all pretenses? Being so blunt is seriously affecting business.

"Hurry up and sell me this bottle of perfume."

"Miss, we really can't sell this."

"You can't sell it. Call your manager out."

Granny Ma came out, and Qiu Yan was stunned when she saw her. This person looked so familiar, but she couldn't remember who she was for a moment.

"Miss, I heard you wish to see me. May I ask what brings you here?"

Granny Ma naturally recognized Qiu Yan, and her attitude was very amiable.

"Um, why can't you sell me that perfume?" Qiu Yan couldn't bring herself to be fierce in front of such an old man. She had been being unreasonable, and she just wanted to provoke Yu Lian because she was still angry.

“Miss, this is not for sale. If you want to buy perfume, you have to register and reserve it, and then queue up to pick it up.” Granny Ma said, “It’s not that Qingcheng Pavilion doesn’t sell it, it’s that it can’t be sold. This is the rule, and we can’t break it.”

"There's money to be made..."

“Miss, there is money to be made, but we also need to consider how to make it,” said Granny Ma. “If you buy this bottle, how will other customers know what kind of perfume they want to buy, or whether it is worth it? Without a reference point, we cannot do business in the future.”

"Miss, you are so kind and wonderful, you would never do anything to put me in a difficult position, right?"

Qiu Yan... Good heavens, this old nanny is quite the smooth talker. She can't even pretend to be a playboy anymore.

Yes, why are you making a fuss when you're facing an elderly person who praises your kindness and goodness?

"Then reserve a bottle for me."

Well, we can't force people to do things their way, so we'll buy one too.

"Thank you for your patronage, Miss. Someone, please complete the reservation for Miss."

"Yes." The waiter thought to himself that he still had to rely on Granny Ma; Granny Ma was worth two people.

They quickly processed the reservation.

When Qiu Yan came out of Qingcheng Pavilion, she suddenly regretted it immensely. What kind of perfume was worth a hundred taels of silver? What was wrong with her? Why did she have to show off in front of that poor woman? Compared to her, she was simply lowering her class.

"Miss, shall we return to the manor?"

"Peach asked."

"I'm not going back. I'm in a bad mood. I'm going to Sister Chunyu's manor."

"Yes, Miss." Tao'er instructed the coachman to drive the carriage to Chunyu's manor.

Everyone in the village welcomed the arrival of the swallows.

"Huh, what's that smell?"

(End of this chapter)