Xiao Yi nodded slightly.
"Well, now that we've seen your shop, how about we go take a look at your father's?"
Upon hearing this, Duoduo immediately became interested.
"Okay! Father, is the shop far?"
"It's on East Street."
Going from west to east meant crossing the entire capital city.
Duoduo opened her mouth wide.
"That's so far!"
"Because that shop will only get customers if it's opened there," Xiao Yi explained to Duoduo.
Duoduo remembered Xiao Yi once mentioning that his shop sold jade.
"Father, what made you suddenly think of doing this?"
"This must require a lot of capital, right?"
Duoduo thought about the shop she and Aunt Xu had; even for such a tiny place, they had already invested a thousand taels.
And that was after scrimping and saving as much as possible.
Duoduo had heard Xu Jinxin say that the rent for a shop on East Street alone was several times that of the West Market.
Plus, buying jade required a massive amount of silver.
Xiao Yi's eyes flickered as he looked at Duoduo.
"Yes, your father has poured all his savings into it."
Duoduo's eyes went round.
Her father was actually working this hard? Shouldn't she also go all out?
Didn't she just receive fifty thousand taels in silver notes?
Later, she would discuss it with Aunt Xu and see if they should expand.
Right, she also had the gold and silver rewarded by her imperial grandfather. She could absolutely make her shop even bigger!
This way, she would have a chance to beat her father!
Even though she already had the jade pendant in hand, Duoduo didn't want to lose.
Duoduo decided that when Aunt Xu returned that evening, they would have a proper discussion to figure out a strategy.
Li Jin's eyes also widened.
The Prince was actually lying through his teeth!
The shop belonged to the Prince himself, and the staff working there were his own people.
Even the stones, Li Jin knew, had been fished out of the river by the Prince.
Aside from transportation costs, the Prince hadn't spent a single tael of silver!
The Prince was tricking the Princess again!
Li Jin turned his head, wanting to warn Duoduo, but he saw that she seemed to be deep in thought.
Xiao Yi shot Li Jin a faint glance. Feeling guilty, Li Jin averted his gaze and pretended to admire the scenery outside the window.
"Father, we are just having a competition, there's no need for you to risk your entire fortune, is there?"
Duoduo blinked her big eyes at Xiao Yi.
A smile curled on Xiao Yi's lips.
"It can't be helped, the Prince of Pingyang's estate is too poor."
"Other princesses casually hand out tens of thousands of taels in silver notes as meeting gifts."
"Your father reflected on this all night and felt he hasn't done enough."
Li Jin rested his hand against his forehead and turned his head away.
He had no choice; he was worried he wouldn't be able to hold back his laughter.
If he hadn't been helping Xiao Yi with things recently, he would never have guessed even if he were beaten to death that Xiao Yi was hiding so much behind the scenes!
This man was absolutely playing the pig to eat the tiger!
A completely black-hearted schemer disguised as a sweet sesame dumpling!
However, Duoduo strongly agreed with Xiao Yi's words.
"Father, you're right! The Prince of Pingyang's estate is indeed too poor."
"Father, how about we buy some more servants? There are far too few people in the estate," Duoduo suggested.
The estate in the capital wasn't large, and the servants attending to it were even fewer.
Two gatekeepers, two cooks in the kitchen, and two or three older women doing odd jobs.
Plus the butler, a few errand boys, and some older women doing heavy labor.
The entire household had only about twenty people.
Counting the servants the Prince of Pingyang and his entourage had brought along, masters and servants together didn't even total fifty people.
Even the servants of ordinary prominent families outnumbered the people in the Prince of Pingyang's estate.
Xiao Yi spread his hands.
"Buying people requires silver, and there is no silver left in the accounts."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin couldn't help but tremble all over.
The Prince of Pingyang's expenses were high, and they were indeed failing to make ends meet.
However, it hadn't reached the point where they couldn't afford servants.
Li Jin remembered that just a few days ago, the properties under the Prince of Pingyang's name had just sent over hundreds of thousands of taels.
Duoduo cast a strange look at Li Jin beside her, though she could only see his back.
Duoduo looked at her father and saw that he was looking right at her.
Duoduo thought for a moment, "How about this, Father, I'll pay the silver to buy the servants this time."
Xiao Yi revealed a satisfied smile.
"Alright! Since you're providing the silver, I'll leave the matter of buying servants to you."
"Huh?" Duoduo looked troubled.
"What? You can't handle such a simple task?" Xiao Yi kept a straight face, appearing somewhat disappointed.
"I can! Nanny Li taught me!" Duoduo answered resolutely.
"Then it's settled. Your father will wait for you to deliver a satisfactory result."
Xiao Yi smiled in satisfaction.
Beside them, Li Jin was lost in thought.
He realized that although the Prince of Pingyang dug traps for the Princess time and time again, seemingly scheming against her,
In reality, every time, he was giving the Princess an opportunity to learn more things.
Whether it was the previous three-year agreement or this shop competition.
They were all chances the Prince of Pingyang gave Duoduo to get involved in affairs.
Under the Prince of Pingyang's seemingly cruel trials, the Princess was becoming increasingly steady.
The current Duoduo was already a completely different person from the Duoduo he had first met.
Duoduo had been completely reborn!
Finally, the carriage stopped in front of a shop.
Xiao Yi got off the carriage, and Duoduo hopped down after him.
Duoduo saw that next to the shop were several antique stores.
At some of the entrances, stones were casually tossed aside.
Duoduo curiously observed East Street.
It was her first time here.
Yun Xiao pushed Xiao Yi's wheelchair into the shop.
The shopkeeper and the staff hurriedly came over to bow.
Xiao Yi waved his hand, gesturing for them to go about their business.
Duoduo walked into the shop and saw a tall curio shelf to the left of the entrance.
Displayed on the shelf were various jade stones that had a layer of their skin peeled off, revealing different colors beneath.
On the other side was a counter.
Inside the counter, various jade materials and finished jade ornaments were displayed.
Xiao Yi and Li Jin walked further into the room, and Duoduo quickly followed.
At the back of the shop was a staircase.
Next to the stairs was a room.
Li Jin pushed Xiao Yi into the room.
On the floor of the room, some stones were randomly placed.
Duoduo was a bit curious.
"Father, why are there stones placed at the other entrances?"
"Are those stones unwanted?"
"They aren't unwanted; on the contrary, they are for sale," Xiao Yi explained.
"For sale? Aren't they afraid of them being stolen?" Duoduo looked puzzled.
"Princess, some of those stones are just ordinary stones to begin with," Li Jin explained to Duoduo.
"Ordinary stones can be sold for money too?" Duoduo was extremely surprised.
"Ordinary stones placed elsewhere would be worthless."
"But on this East Street, they can be sold for sky-high prices."
"Because inside some of these stones, jade is hidden."
"And no one knows which stone holds a surprise."
"If someone gets lucky, they might just spend a little money and buy top-quality jade!" Li Jin said enthusiastically.
Xiao Yi looked thoughtfully at Duoduo.
"Do you want to go take a look?"
