Chapter 311 Asking for advice
Manager Zhong's heart skipped a beat and he asked tentatively, "What about Ziming?"

Ye Jiayao smiled faintly and said, "Ziming is now working in the Third Young Master's mansion. He is still short of manpower. Let's talk about it later!"

Manager Zhong already understood what the Second Young Madam meant. It seemed that the Second Young Madam was very clear-headed! Although Ziming worked for the Third Young Master, because Ziming was the successor that the Madam favored, Ziming's contract was still in the mansion. Unlike the others, even the contract was handed over to the Third Young Master. The Second Young Madam only asked Lin Shu to go to the silk shop to learn a little, but did not ask Ziming to go. Why? Isn't it clear? This is a warning!

Since the Second Young Madam doesn't want to point it out, it means she is giving certain people a chance. It depends on whether they can understand the Second Young Madam's intentions.

"If anyone asks, just answer according to what I say." Ye Jiayao said. She likes smart subordinates who can understand everything at once, but she doesn't like people who are smart.

At dinner time, You saw that Zhou Xingjia looked normal, and there seemed to be no movement in the mansion. Jinxuan seemed to be in a good mood and even told her about the business situation of the dessert shop today. She couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Jinxuan really didn't find any problems?
No, I have to ask Manager Zhong later.

So, after dinner, You called Steward Zhong over. After hearing what Steward Zhong said, You smiled with satisfaction and asked, "Did Zhou Xingjia ask?"

"I asked, and I replied according to the Second Young Madam's instructions."

Yu's expression turned even uglier. After a moment's silence, she said, "Alright, if you don't seek death, you won't die. Let the Second Young Madam handle it herself!"

He waved his hand and asked Manager Zhong to leave.

Mother Sun also had a worried look on her face: "Zhou Xing's family is not so heartless. Has the yellow and white thing blinded her eyes?"

Youshi sighed, "You have all been with me for many years and have always been in important positions. I don't want to see anyone make a mistake and end up with a bad reputation, but the Second Young Madam has already reminded you and her methods have been gentle enough, considering the old lady's face. Who can I blame for my own carelessness? No one else made a mistake, only she did."

After a pause, he continued, "I was wondering why she hasn't made any moves since she took over. She is trying to test everyone! She is watching everyone's every move without making a sound. She knows who can be used, who can be reused, and who cannot be used. She is boiling frogs in warm water like this. Those who don't know the consequences will be in trouble."

"Yes! It's said that the Second Young Madam is not that simple and she knows everything very well." Grandma Sun deeply agreed. If you work under such a person and do it seriously, you don't have to worry about anything. If you are not serious and want to fool people, it is impossible.

Yu smiled bitterly and shook her head: "As long as she can keep calm, I don't care what means she uses."

She is also a person who cannot tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes. She will not blame you if you do not do things well due to your limited ability, but she will not tolerate you being too clever and trying to fool your master, no matter who you are.

At this moment, Ye Jiayao was invited by Qiao Mingxiu to have tea.

Qiao Mingxiu has been inspired by Ye Jiayao's dessert shop recently and wants to make a name for herself. After Ye Jiayao's guidance, the business of her embroidery workshop has improved significantly, but it is still not enough, so she specially invited Ye Jiayao to ask for advice on business.

"Sister-in-law, is there anything special about your membership system? I heard that there are gold and silver cards for members. Are they useful?"

Ye Jiayao knew what Qiao Mingxiu was planning, but since they were family, it was only right for her to give him some pointers, so she did not hide anything and patiently explained to her the benefits of the membership system.

"First of all, the membership system can stabilize the customer base and give people a mysterious and unattainable feeling. People are curious. The more mysterious something is, the more they want to explore it. Women are even more vain and like to compare. If she becomes a member, then I have to become one too. I can't fall behind, right?"

Qiao Mingxiu nodded repeatedly, that's what happened.

Ye Jiayao continued, "Plus, my dessert house is unique, so it's easy to create high-quality products. Even if others want to imitate it, they can only imitate the ugly woman, and it's impossible to achieve the effect of Ye's dessert house. Members are divided into gold cards and silver cards, which are symbols of status. Because among the 100 members, there are still high and low points, and they can't be generalized. So how can we stimulate those ordinary members to spend? Design a membership card upgrade system, and you can upgrade when you spend a certain amount of money."

Qiao Mingxiu was full of admiration, and said with sparkling eyes: "Second sister-in-law, where do you get all these wonderful ideas? If you do this, those ladies will spend money to their heart's content, and you just sit there and count the money."

Ye Jiayao sneered. In fact, these business concepts are not surprising in modern times. Rich people all have a sense of superiority. They are not short of money. As long as they think the money is worth spending, they don’t feel bad about it. Many high-end clubs have grasped this mentality of the rich.

However, such concepts were rare in ancient times. Of course, they did exist, but none of them were interpreted as thoroughly as Ye Jiayao's.

"We collect money, but we have to keep up with the service and constantly innovate. Otherwise, customers will just eat the same few dishes over and over again and get tired of them. Moreover, we have to organize a series of activities so that everyone can enjoy their meals and have fun. In fact, a business this big requires more than just selling snacks," said Ye Jiayao.

Qiao Mingxiu pondered: "Then can my embroidery workshop also use your method?" Ye Jiayao thought about it and said, "It can be used, but it's not quite the same."

Qiao Mingxiu was very curious: "Tell me quickly, what's the difference?"

Ye Jiayao took a sip of tea and said slowly, "First of all, you are not the only embroidery shop in Jinling City. There are many time-honored embroidery shops that are better than yours. It is difficult to monopolize. You have to do a good job of positioning. What kind of embroidery shop do you want to make? A high-end brand store or just to attract a stable number of customers?"

Qiao Mingxiu pondered it carefully and said, "High-end work is more difficult to do. Although I come from the Qiao family, the best embroidery family in Jiangnan, the embroiderers under my command cannot reach that level. In Jinling City, there are many embroidery and tailoring skills that are better than ours."

Ye Jiayao nodded. Qiao was still very self-aware.

"In fact, it is not difficult to be high-end. If your embroidery and tailoring skills are not good, you can find a breakthrough in other aspects, such as style and fabric. As long as the products are new and good, you will have no worries about lack of business. You can create a few high-end customizations every season as a gimmick. There is only one of each style, and you put your embroidery workshop label on it, stating that there is only one of this kind. Duplicates are all imitations. This requires high skills in embroidery and tailoring, but I think it should be no problem for my sister-in-law to do it herself."

Qiao Mingxiu was enlightened when he heard this: "You mean, use this to attract customers?"

"That's right. Once your products are recognized and your reputation is established, the rest will be easy. You can state that only gold card members are eligible for high-end customization, and ordinary members can enjoy a series of discounts and so on. The threshold for gold card membership must be high. It's not something you can join just by having some money, because real wealthy ladies will not be compared with those who have no status but only some money. There are not so many requirements for ordinary members." Ye Jiayao analyzed.

The more Qiao Mingxiu listened, the more he understood and the more feasible it seemed to him.

"Second brother's wife, I used to be a little unconvinced of you, thinking that you were just a good cook. This time I am really convinced by you. In the future, you have to teach me more." Qiao Mingxiu said sincerely.

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "We are all family, why should we be polite? I am only talking about it in theory, but you have to figure out how to do it yourself, sister-in-law!"

"I'm already very grateful that you can show me the way. Otherwise, I'd mess around on my own and I don't know what would happen. By the end of the year, I wouldn't even be able to pay the rent for the store, and I'd be laughed at to death."

Qiao Mingxiu was not being modest. If Ye Jiayao hadn't helped her last time, she would have considered closing the business.

After the instructions, Ye Jiayao was worried about Xia Chunyu, so she said goodbye. Chunyu didn't come back for dinner today, and Song Qi didn't come back to report where he was or when he would be back. In the past, Chunyu was afraid that she would worry, so he would ask Song Qi to report when he didn't come back.

This made her very worried.

I went back to my room and waited for a long time. It was almost past midnight before Xia Chunyu came back.

The night wind was chilly and he felt cold all over. Ye Jiayao hurriedly asked Xiangtao to make a cup of hot tea for him to drink a few sips to warm himself up.

"Why are you so late today?"

Xia Chunyu didn't hug her right away. He came back on horseback, and his face and hands were icy cold from the wind. He was afraid that he would freeze her, so he held the teacup to warm his hands and said with a smile, "I went to the West Camp, and Song Qi was also sent out by me to do some work. He won't be back tonight. Because I left in a hurry, I didn't have time to send you a message. Are you worried?"

"Why did you go to the West Camp for no reason? That place is not under your jurisdiction." Ye Jiayao was not only worried, but also very uneasy!
Xia Chunyu smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. Helian Xuan just sent me a letter and asked me to pass it on."

What kind of letter is it that made Chunyu send it so anxiously? It must be something very important.

But if Chunyu didn't say anything, she wouldn't ask any more questions. She just asked, "When will Helian Xuan come back?"

Xia Chunyu shook his head, his expression somewhat complicated: "Without the emperor's order, he can't come back."

"It's so strange. Everything over there is over, but the emperor doesn't let me come back. What does that mean?" Ye Jiayao became more and more uneasy. They had won the battle, and the emperor should have summoned him back to Nanjing to reward him for his merits. Why wouldn't the emperor let him come back?
"The emperor's will is hard to predict. Alas... don't worry about it. As long as the West Camp is under the control of Helian Xuan, you can rest assured." Xia Chunyu comforted her. There are some things that cannot be told to Yaoyao. Yaoyao is too smart and will think too much. She can't help much, so why make more people anxious and worried.

After hearing what he said, Ye Jiayao didn't dare to ask any more questions. She still believed in Chunyu's ability. If there was really something wrong, Chunyu would not fail to tell her.

(End of this chapter)