Chapter 587: Woman, Where’s the Wealth You Squandered? (IV)

“… This is what should we do…”

Observing that although these exorbitant “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” sets are being sold one set after another, yet the money amassed is pathetic, the accounts increasingly do not tally. The young manager almost cried. Who doesn’t know what the rich women are like?

The business association is half public and partially private, but to these wealthy ladies with affluent family support, they use it purely as their private asset. They are only required to offer some money or write an IOU slip. This is considered being respectful. If they aren’t shown respect, they will demand it.

Once the item has reached the hands of these women who squander their money, the young manager doesn’t even need to think to realise that it’s impossible to exchange these IOU slips for money. The young manager was frustrated beyond measure, so he reported the matter to the chief storekeeper.

The chief storekeeper was also burdened with many cases so he’s in a difficult position too.

His sister had purchased a few sets of “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” after taking a commercial bank loan. He had secretly warned his sister previously but she completely ignored his words. The chief storekeeper was helpless with regards to her. The rich noblewomen in the north borders are very spoiled; even once they get married, they are still highly esteemed in their family homes.

These women who squander their money don’t seem able to exercise self-control in spending their money. They are lightning-quick in taking advantage of their family’s possessions. The financial status in the business association is getting worse; it’s like a black hole that cannot be filled.

The young manager was on the verge of being worried sick; he pouted and whined. “These women readily gave Gu Xin their money. In the past, they never wrote IOU slips. Yet now, they just take the items for free one after another… such a disgraceful act…”

The chief storekeeper commented unhappily, “Gu Xin is a businessman from Dongqing. He does his business strictly based on bills being settled before delivery of the goods. Without payment, the goods will not be handed over. Unfortunately, the business association belongs to the families of these women. It is as if they are taking goods from their homes. When have you seen them paying for the items they bought?”

The young manager pulled back his neck then responded in shock, “But…this doesn’t solve the problem…”

If these “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” sets are completely divided amongst them, the merchants must fork out a huge sum of money. Unless the financial hole is accounted for, when the people above check the accounts, none can take the responsibility.

Helplessly, the chief storekeeper can only think of an unconvincing solution.

On the surface, they said they claim they’d sold out of “the coloured glass of the heavenly palace”, yet privately they sold them below the regular price to noble ladies who are lower in status. These women have a common characteristic; their family are not involved in businesses or their reputations aren’t high.

Even if he chooses to “sell them at a low price”, the price they set is more than one-fold higher than the cost at which they “purchased”.

There are numerous rich women in the north borderlines. In the past, the “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” sets were only sold to the first-class rich ladies. Others who wanted to purchase them had no chance. Yet now there were “contraband items” delivered to their houses. The cost was way lower than what they expected, so they immediately bought it.

With this ongoing illegal business, the merchants successfully sold off one batch of “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” sets and their wealth grew exceedingly.

If they’re successful in their sales when all the goods are sold from their warehouse, even if they were financially in debt now, they will be able to overcome it.

Unfortunately, ‘man proposes but the heavens disposes’. Coincidentally, when the scene was optimal for sales, a problem cropped up with the woman in his house.

This incident was sparked because of one banquet.

“The coloured glass of the heavenly palace” is a sign of nobility amongst the high-class women in the north borderlines. It represents the epitome of wealth and power. Whenever they left the house, they’d wear a set of accessories. When they discovered the business association also carried a few “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” sets, they couldn’t contain their excitement and would wear a different set daily.

It was no different at this banquet.

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The three tribes of the north borders segregate people into different classes. There are defined classes amongst people, and it is unforgivable for the lower-class people to overstep their boundaries.

Madam Wu Liba is undoubtedly the most outstanding of the rich and reputable ladies. As a great woman, she hates those pretentious ladies from the central plains the most and those seductive female slaves. No one imagined that she’ll disregard propriety and directly raise her hand to slap the delicate face of a certain noble’s beloved concubine.

This concubine was initially sitting in a remote corner exchanging conversation with others. Then Madam Wu Liba walked up and slapped her, she did not react in time.

Who allowed such a lowborn female slave to wear “the coloured glass of the heavenly palace”! With such a despised body, do you deserve to wear these?”

Madam Wu Liba removed all the hair accessories on that concubine’s head then threw them aggressively on the ground. The glass broke and scattered, the glass shards bounced onto those who stood close by and frightened them so that they moved away. Having heard Madam Wu Liba’s rantings, the group of noble ladies understood what had happened.

A female slave who rose to become a concubine dared to wear the same precious accessory, “the coloured glass of the heavenly palace”, as them?

The group of noble ladies were fuming in their hearts. Madam Wu Liba already went forth and started to whip that lady so the rest didn’t interfere.

That concubine was hit till she lost her senses. She was pressed to the ground by Madam Wu Liba who pulled her long hair. Her delicate face was forced on the floor and the friction caused it to bleed. She deeply regretted her actions in her heart; if she had known beforehand, she’d not have worn this set of exquisite accessories to show off.

Who knew that the women in the north borders are so unreasonable and hot-tempered that they dared to hit someone even at a banquet held by the Princess Royal.

The one who used physical force was Madam Wu Liba. Her family is powerful and her husband has unlimited power, so this matter was expectedly covered up as if it had never happened.

What became of the concubine who was beaten to a pulp? It was unfortunate that she was beaten for no reason. Even her husband kept silent.

Nonetheless, this matter didn’t end so simply. It was predicted that these rich ladies would not stop there. How could a lowly concubine, with a slave background, afford to accessorise herself with the expensive “coloured glass of the heavenly palace”?

The legitimate wife of that concubine’s husband was particularly distraught; when she returned home, she almost overturned the house. After investigating extensively, she discovered this “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” had been sold at almost half of the normal price. They were all sold by the business association. Immediately, these rich ladies raged.

As soon as their sales had increased, then immediately their road to fortune was obstructed again. The chief storekeeper of the business association was infuriated. They were helpless and could only look for another solution, so they prepared to sell this coloured glass of the heavenly palace illegally in Dongqing. Business at the north borders was in dire straits.

Except, the north border’s luck seemed to be perpetually non-existent. The business association had just secured a deal but the dealer who was supposed to sell the goods in Dongqing pulled out.

“Businesses are governed by rules, yet they’re going back on their word…”

The chief storekeeper held back his urge to vomit blood. Instead, he discussed the matter patiently with his business partner.

The other party smiled coldly, then said mockingly, “The business association in the north borders despises the local merchants for being petty and dishonest. They praise themselves for being upright and following the laws. Yet based on what I have observed, it doesn’t seem much. This so-called “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” is unprofitable and is composed of gravel. If I hadn’t received the news in time… after this business is agreed upon, my family and I would perhaps have been forced into a dead end.”

What? A cheap product manufactured from gravel?

The business deal was off, and as the chief storekeeper reflected, he felt something was amiss. Then he hurriedly sent men to investigate and the findings caused his eyes to turn blurry. In a split second, the blood to his brain slowed, he felt faint, then his mind shut down and he fell to the floor unconscious.

The so-called “coloured glass of the heavenly palace” was mere common glassware in Zhongzhao!

That Gu Xin deserves to die; he has deceived everyone!