"Sister-in-law, as the old saying goes, don't hit someone in the face. You might as well scold me a few times, don't you think?" Lu Taobao looked at Shen Xiaoyan with a hint of flattery.
Shen Xiaoyan would only say this much here and then stop. After all, only the few of them were present. If Shen Xiaoyan let slip something later, he could guarantee that within half a day, he, Lu Taobao, would be notorious in Tongling Town.
The most likely scenario was that his father would come and, without regard for anything else, beat him soundly.
If he were driven out by his own father and his shame became public knowledge, then he and his father would have no face left to show.
"I naturally know what you're thinking. Do you think your sister-in-law is foolish?" Shen Xiaoyan glanced sideways at Lu Taobao and said coolly.
Seeing Lu Taobao's eyes darting around and his anxious scratching of his ears and cheeks, she guessed what he was thinking.
Indeed, Shen Xiaoyan was a little angry. How dare he question if she was that kind of person? He truly deserved a beating.
"In your heart, is your sister-in-law so careless about consequences?"
Zheng Wei suddenly interjected coolly, startling everyone.
"No, brother, sister-in-law, please don't misunderstand. I was just being foolish earlier. Just pretend I'm a fart and let it go."
Lu Taobao realized what was happening and quickly apologized.
He was truly confused. Although Shen Xiaoyan was joking with him, it was because only close family was present.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at Lu Taobao indifferently and said no more.
She wasn't petty and hadn't been truly angry, but she was naturally uncomfortable.
Now that Lu Taobao knew his mistake, Shen Xiaoyan was willing to let it go.
The group discussed the matters of the grand opening the next day. In the afternoon, Shen Xiaoyan met the makeup artists and sales assistants she had hired.
What set this shop apart from others was that all the staff were women.
Oh, that is to say, except for Lu Taobao, everyone else was a woman.
Shen Xiaoyan also assigned them their respective roles. Some were sales assistants, while those with better makeup skills were makeup artists.
These people had all been hired a month in advance. During this month, they underwent daily training, either in their speaking skills or their makeup techniques.
Within a month, they had basically learned everything they needed to.
However, no one is perfect, and everyone has different strengths, hence the division mentioned above.
Initially, Lu Taobao was very curious about Shen Xiaoyan's ideas of sales assistants and makeup artists. But after witnessing the results of the training, he was full of praise.
After everything was settled, Shen Xiaoyan and the others returned home.
The next morning, before dawn, Lu Taobao, Zheng Wei, and Sima Han had already woken up and set off for town.
After seeing the three men off, Shen Xiaoyan felt a sense of emotion. She hadn't expected to become a woman behind the scenes.
But there was nothing wrong with that. Wasn't it said that behind every successful man, there was a woman who contributed silently?
By evening, Zheng Wei and Sima Han returned, their faces showing signs of exhaustion.
"What's wrong?" Shen Xiaoyan asked Zheng Wei with concern.
"The business today was incredible, much better than you predicted. The place was packed, and we sold more than half of our stock!"
Zheng Wei drank a cup of water and sighed in relief.
Shen Xiaoyan was also very happy. Although she hadn't witnessed the bustling scene herself, she could imagine it from Zheng Wei and Sima Han's expressions.
There were quite a few staff in the shop. Even so, with Zheng Wei and Sima Han being so exhausted, one could imagine how chaotic the scene must have been.
However, while making money was good, Shen Xiaoyan felt distressed that Zheng Wei was so tired.
So, she instinctively stood behind Zheng Wei and began to rub his shoulders with practiced movements.
As Zheng Wei felt the tingling sensation on his shoulders, his fatigue immediately halved.
He swayed gently with Shen Xiaoyan's movements, even letting out a comfortable hum.
"Oh, why hasn't Lu Taobao returned?" Shen Xiaoyan suddenly realized Lu Taobao was missing and asked with some surprise.
"He's not coming back today. He has to stay at the shop to tally the accounts and supervise the restocking, preparing for tomorrow's battle," Zheng Wei replied lazily, without opening his eyes.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded, secretly admiring Lu Taobao. He truly came from a merchant family. When it came to business, he was fully committed.
Shen Xiaoyan sighed inwardly again. Having such a diligent and responsible boss was truly wonderful. She didn't have to worry about anything.
The next morning, Zheng Wei woke up early again and set off for town with Sima Han.
Although they trusted Lu Taobao's capabilities, there was no reason to leave him to handle everything alone.
While the three men were busy from dawn till dusk at the shop, Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin were much more leisurely at home.
When they had nothing to do, they would bask in the sun, entertain the children, or talk to Fan Yong about their latest ideas, allowing him to incorporate them into the new products currently under development.
Shen Xiaoyan felt a great sense of joy in being able to bring the cosmetics, makeup techniques, and sales strategies from her previous life to this world and see them flourish.
This at least proved that she had truly existed in her previous life and wouldn't feel that everything from her past two lives was merely a fleeting dream due to the passage of time.
It took the three men, Zheng Wei, Sima Han, and Lu Taobao, more than ten days to bring the new shop to a stable operational state.
Once it was running smoothly, Zheng Wei and Sima Han no longer needed to be there every day.
Even Lu Taobao only needed to visit every two to three days to check the accounts and sales figures.
A month later, Shen Xiaoyan saw the shop's profits.
The initial investment in research and development of cosmetics, purchasing the shop, renovation, making counters and furniture, and various other miscellaneous expenses totaled nearly 5,000 taels of silver.
Within a month, they had already made a profit of 1,000 taels, and the business was growing stronger. At this rate, they would recoup all their initial investment in less than five months.
Shen Xiaoyan was overjoyed as she looked at the piles of silver.
Even Yue Qingxin, who had always been indifferent to wealth, opened her eyes in surprise.
It was truly astonishing that selling blush and face powder could generate such a large profit in just one month.
Time had now entered late October. The weather was gradually turning cold. Although the first snow hadn't fallen yet, the past few days had been overcast and gloomy. It was estimated that the first snow would arrive soon.
Lu Taobao had previously expressed his desire to learn martial arts. While busy for the past two months, he still woke up early every morning.