"Sister, you are too amazing, you can even save gold bars! Thank you for your sponsorship, sister. I will also strive to save a lot of gold bars."
Du Lanxing was overjoyed.
She originally only wanted to rent a small shop and start selling the cheapest goods, then slowly move towards high-end shops.
The main reason, of course, was the lack of funds.
If she wanted to open a shop, her family probably wouldn't support her financially, expecting her to fund it herself. But with her own savings accumulated over the years, she couldn't afford a large establishment.
Du Lanxing couldn't help but regret her past frivolous spending, wishing she had saved more.
She hadn't expected her sister to be so supportive.
"It's good that you have aspirations. Don't worry too much about me. I don't lack money, so don't rush to give it back to me."
Du Lanyue comforted her sister.
She was afraid that her sister might do something rash for quick money.
In fact, besides the two boxes of gold bars, after she took over the cargo terminal, Gu Qingcheng directly gave her a ten percent stake, allowing her to collect money every quarter.
Gu Qingcheng's intention was that this way, Du Lanyue would focus on her work, and she would not mistreat anyone who worked diligently for her.
Actually, Gu Qingcheng just wanted to compensate Du Lanyue.
The wealth she obtained from Huo Yu's basement was certainly more than just one box of gold bars.
But it couldn't be revealed openly, mainly because her storage cabinet could not be exposed at the time.
Now, by giving her shares, Du Lanyue could continuously receive dividends, which was a good way to legitimize the wealth and a decent option.
With sufficient funds, Du Lanxing excitedly told her father about her plan to open a shop.
With Du Lanyue having succeeded first, Du Lanxing's endeavor seemed to proceed smoothly. Du Laoda hesitated for a moment, then asked if she could endure hardship.
Du Lanxing, of course, said yes.
Du Laoda enumerated the hardships of running a shop, such as sourcing goods herself, working long hours, the possibility of being cheated, and encountering difficult customers.
Du Lanxing stated that she had no problem and could handle them.
Seeing her full of ambition, Du Laoda thought it would be good for her to experience the harsh realities of the world. Since her eldest daughter, Du Lanyue, started working and experienced his hardships and the difficulty of supporting the family, she respected him even more.
This respect was from the bottom of her heart, and Du Laoda quite enjoyed this feeling.
"I'm prepared. Actually, no matter how hard it gets for me, it's not as hard as my sister. Her work at the terminal is much more difficult than running a shop."
Hearing this, Du Laoda knew he couldn't stop Du Lanxing and readily agreed.
Under Du Lanxing's meticulous management, her shop soon took off.
Because she loved jewelry, and now with her sister's generous support, she ultimately chose to open a jewelry store.
As soon as the store opened, with its novel jewelry designs and fresh marketing strategies like membership recharge discounts, it quickly gained immense popularity and became the most well-known jewelry store on Cha Liao Island.
"Young Master Gu, I want to treat you to a meal. You must come this time!"
A month after opening her shop, Du Lanxing was ecstatic when she reviewed the accounts.
The shop now had 200 members, and with each member recharging 30 taels of silver, the shop had 6,000 taels of cash remaining.
This allowed her to have more ample funds to purchase more beautiful jewelry, achieving financial self-sufficiency.
The idea of registering members and recharging was suggested by Gu Qingcheng.
After becoming members, customers' loyalty significantly increased. With money deposited here, why would they spend it at other jewelry stores? Moreover, the jewelry designs here were the latest!
Gu Qingcheng, of course, would accept Du Lanxing's invitation.
Currently, on Cha Liao Island, Du Laoda was the overt leader with Gu Qingcheng's support, while in the shadows, Gu Qingcheng was the economic powerhouse.
Therefore, Gu Qingcheng held even more sway than Du Laoda.
The entire business community on Cha Liao Island knew that to develop here, besides pleasing Du Laoda, pleasing Gu Qingcheng was even more crucial.
For ordinary small merchants, being invited to a meal by Gu Qingcheng was an extraordinarily honored occasion.
It was unlike Du Lanxing, whom Gu Qingcheng readily agreed to see.
Du Lanxing arranged the banquet at Cha Liao Island's largest restaurant, ordered the restaurant's signature dishes, and invited her elder brother and sister to accompany them.
Gu Qingcheng arrived with pleasure.
Du Lanxing was overjoyed and proactively proposed toasts.
However, these drinks were low-alcohol fruit wines, equivalent to modern-day beer. Du Lanxing wasn't unaccustomed to drinking, and Gu Qingcheng didn't deliberately pressure her. She got carried away, drank over a dozen cups in high spirits, and ended up getting drunk.
Initially, no one noticed she was drunk, but soon after, listening to her speak, everyone realized her tone had changed.
"Young Master Gu, my sister really likes you. Do you know why my sister got engaged and then broke it off?"
While everyone else was heartily eating, Du Lanxing suddenly whispered into Gu Qingcheng's ear.
"What?" Gu Qingcheng, whose other ear was hearing Du Lancheng playing dice, didn't hear Du Lanxing clearly. Moreover, she was ticklish, and with Du Lanxing's warm breath on her ear, she couldn't help but pull back.
"Haha, did you really not hear, or are you pretending not to hear? I said, my sister likes you, likes you immensely.
But you don't seem to like her, do you? That's why she got engaged to Young Master Wang.
However, she regretted it later because she felt that you are so outstanding that no one could compare to you. She simply didn't fancy Young Master Wang, let alone have physical intimacy with him, so she broke off the engagement."
Du Lanxing, drunk, blurted out the words she had held in her heart.
Gu Qingcheng was completely bewildered.
What was going on?
She still owed Du Lanyue a debt of gratitude.
She couldn't help but look at Du Lanyue.
Du Lanyue was toasting Mi Guo and didn't look at them. She had stood up to drink with Mi Guo at his seat, so she should not have heard Du Lanxing's words, right?
Gu Qingcheng then realized Du Lanxing was drunk.
This was too embarrassing.
Words spoken by a drunk person couldn't be taken seriously.
These must all be Du Lanxing's own imaginings.
Perhaps seeing them often appearing as a pair, and mistaking her for a man, led to these thoughts.
And Du Lanyue knew her true identity, didn't she?
"Lanxing is drunk. Brother Lan Cheng, you should take her home."
Gu Qingcheng said to Du Lan Cheng.
"Alright, I'll have a maid come up to escort her back. The carriage is also waiting downstairs. This silly girl, she's too happy. It's her first time earning money herself."
Du Lan Cheng, also flushed from drinking, said with a grin to Gu Qingcheng.
"Okay."
Gu Qingcheng then looked at Du Lanyue. Her expression was the same as before, without any particular change.
This reassured Gu Qingcheng.
Sister Lanyue probably didn't have the feelings Lanxing mentioned, or else she would be in big trouble.
After all, Gu Qingcheng only disguised herself for convenience and never intended to deceive anyone. What Du Lanxing said should just be her speculation.