She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 118 - 117 Can We Talk About It?

Chapter 118: Chapter 117 Can We Talk About It?

Hongzhi looked at the ink stick Ye Xinyan handed over and was startled. Was she asking him to grind ink for Liu Qing? Hongzhi had only ever ground ink for the Sixth Master and it seemed he had never served anyone else in this regard.

Hongzhi was just stunned for a moment but soon thought that it indeed wouldn’t be fitting for Miss Ye of the Ye Family to attend to the ink for the manager. He quickly took it over and started grinding with water in the ink stone.

When Ye Xinyan pushed the paper and brushes forward, Liu Qing gave her another look, admitting that his handwriting was not fit for others to see, and speaking frankly about it. The woman’s behavior and manner were actually quite generous. However, he still doubted whether such a village woman had the ability to manage affairs.

Ye Xinyan said, "Let’s first establish the initial operation of the cattle farm. The little woman thought it over simply yesterday and will now tell Manager Liu, who should record it. If you think something is inappropriate, we can discuss and amend it."

Being a manager and drafting regulations wasn’t a simple matter, and Liu Qing didn’t believe Ye Xinyan could come up with a plan that was worth looking at. He was even less inclined to quibble with a country woman. As such, he didn’t express any objections to what Ye Xinyan said, took up the brush, and got ready to write a draft void of any real substance. Once he transcribed the woman’s instructions, he could point out the unsuitable parts later, and that would make things easier. It was just a bit more effort and ink used, but it would save a lot of talking, which Liu Qing thought was worth it.

Next, Ye Xinyan detailed the content she had thought over yesterday.

Liu Qing, who had planned to go through the motions, grew more astonished as he wrote and glanced up at the young woman several times, then focused his mind and wrote with greater care.

What sort of village woman under twenty was this? Even an experienced manager in charge of livestock would have thought of and achieved no more than this.

Strength was the incontrovertible truth; one dictating and one writing, they smoothly laid down the regulations. Then they corrected some logical issues and language inconsistencies, and by the time the first batch of customers visited the snack shop, they had actually drafted the preliminary affairs for the cattle farm.

Ye Xinyan let out a slow breath, finding such work truly brain-consuming. It took a toll on her brain cells to ensure this manager wouldn’t underestimate her.

Ye Xinyan said tactfully, "It’s getting late, and the small shop still has business to do. Manager Liu is also eager to report back to Sixth Master Rong, so we won’t keep you. Please take this draft document to the Sixth Master and Lord Jiang to review. If they don’t have any major objections, we will proceed accordingly. If the two masters have other ideas, we can discuss them further. As for the terms of employment and salary for hiring the little woman..."

Ye Xinyan pulled out a document from underneath a stack of papers and said, "I wrote this yesterday. The handwriting might be ugly, but it clarifies everything that needs to be clear. It states that the owners, that is, your Sixth Master and Lord Jiang, entrust the operation of the cattle farm entirely to the little woman. If the little woman makes no major mistakes, the owners should try not to interfere with the day-to-day affairs of the cattle farm. The little woman also has a responsibility to manage it well and bring profit to the owners. For monitoring the cattle farm’s finances, both can appoint one accountant or appoint one each. This document also outlines the management fees that the two masters need to pay me."

This... left Liu Qing speechless.

What kind of manager was so presumptuous as to decide on the management of the cattle farm themselves and even dare to suggest that the owners should not intervene? Even the amount of her salary was determined by herself... Aren’t the terms of employment for a manager dictated by the employer? Especially for an employer like His Highness Prince Yu, serving His Highness is an utmost honor, yet Lady Qi dares to set conditions? It seemed that Lady Qi didn’t have this awareness at all, and did not intend to listen to His Highness’s arrangements; she had already decided for herself.

Liu Qing took the document with complex emotions. No wonder Lady Qi wanted to write the documents on the dining table of this tavern; it turned out that she only planned to let him write about the cattle farm’s establishment and had already thought it through and prepared it in advance.

As for the employment contract, she never intended to discuss it with anyone and had already written everything in advance.

Ye Xinyan understood Liu Qing’s feelings, but as far she was concerned, although she hadn’t worked in animal husbandry before, she considered herself to be a rather mature manager. It was normal for an experienced manager to mention their salary and conditions upon applying for a job.

As for whether the boss approves... they could discuss it further.

Ye Xinyan sent Liu Qing off and her snack shop began to draw in customers. Due to the shortage of milk, many delicacies that required milk could not be made freely, so to alleviate the customers’ complaints, she had to come up with various creative desserts.

Ye Xinyan, along with Qi Younian and Nanny Jin, tended to the shop while planning the next steps she needed to take.

In this era, although pastry shops that made delicately crafted desserts weren’t exactly a dime a dozen, they certainly weren’t scarce. Ye Xinyan’s small food store did not hold an advantage in the traditional pastries department, so the issue of the milk supply urgently needed resolution.

Regardless of Jinrong’s attitude towards the cattle ranch and whether he recognized the contracts and compensation she had written, the breeding of dairy cows had to be moved up on the agenda.

Before this, Ye Xinyan had already planned the matter of raising dairy cows.

Going from door to door to inquire who had cows was clearly not practical, so entrusting a mediator to find out who had cows and dairy cows was the proper approach.

In this era, intermediaries—the brokers—mostly dealt with real estate and land transactions and occasionally served as go-betweens for large commodity trades. Commissioning them to deal in livestock was truly rare. Especially since Ye Xinyan’s requirements were special, only purchasing milk-producing or pregnant cows, patrons like her were even rarer.

Fortunately, the job of a broker was to gather various kinds of information. They always had more connections than others, and the amount of information they had was not something people like Ye Xinyan could compare with.

It’s better to deal with someone you know, and Steward Yang—who leased the small food store to her—was fairly reliable. A few days ago, Ye Xinyan had already entrusted the matter of purchasing cows to Steward Yang.

Now that Jinrong had decided to establish a cattle ranch, proper livestock keepers were needed.

Ye Xinyan and Qi Younian, of course, could not raise the cattle themselves. It seemed that they would continue to rely on Steward Yang to help find people who had experience in livestock management. If suitable candidates were found, both parties could discuss terms and sign employment contracts ahead of time. After purchasing the cows, the keepers could start work immediately.

Then there was the matter of the cowshed and cattle pen. The scale of starting a cattle ranch compared to just raising a few dairy cows at home was naturally different. Without Jinrong’s silver being in place, it wouldn’t be wise to rashly commence construction of the cowshed.

However, they did have some construction materials on hand that were intended for building a new family home. If Jinrong decided to pursue the cattle ranch, then as soon as the location was confirmed, construction could begin right away. The rest of the materials could be prepared or purchased gradually afterward, ensuring that there would be no delays or waste of time.

If negotiations with Jinrong fell through, then those materials would be used to build the new house, new courtyard, and their own cowshed. In this case, the scale of cattle rearing would be much smaller, but it would also be less trouble and more manageable.

Another significant issue was the staffing of the small food store.

With both Qi Younian and Ye Xinyan busy with their respective endeavors, Nanny Jin’s place urgently needed the recruitment of waiters as well as general and kitchen helpers. However, Nanny Jin seemed to have her own ideas about who to bring into the store.

Ye Xinyan planned for the small food store’s business to expand in the future, which would necessitate Nanny Jin focusing her energy on managing the business and personnel. Making hiring decisions herself was also a necessary skill for a manager. Ye Xinyan believed that Nanny Jin, who came from a large estate and had served the previous master, the one who had endured the whims of a difficult former master, could certainly handle the management of the small food store.

If Nanny Jin could successfully manage the small food store and the dairy products related to the milk, it would be like carving out a new path for herself.

All these matters considered, the first step was to hire staff for the store. Only once their home base was settled could Qi Younian and she free themselves to focus on their own affairs with peace of mind.

Ye Xinyan thought that she would go back today and discuss the details with Grandfather and Nanny Jin to finalize everything as soon as possible. Ideally, they should get things settled before the busy farming season.

......