The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 305: Offering Suggestions

Lu Zhaozhao had long been aware of the commotion on Tong Huaqiong’s side.

She knew that it must be Ruo Yu judging people by their appearances again.

Lu Zhaozhao, holding back her anger, sent off the matron of a prominent family and then turned to Tong Huaqiong with a solemn face.

Lu Zhaozhao said to Tong Huaqiong, "Aunt Tong, I’m sorry you had to witness that just now."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Every shop has clerks who judge people by their appearances."

Lu Zhaozhao asked, "If a clerk in your shop behaved like that, how would you handle it?"

Ruo Yu was sold to the Lu Family at a young age and was one of Lu Zhaozhao’s maids.

Lu Zhaozhao naturally had a special bond with her.

Since Lu Zhaozhao took over the cosmetics shop, she had her maids come to the shop to train.

The shop used to have only male clerks, but Lu Zhaozhao introduced female clerks.

Lu Zhaozhao hoped that her maids would have more options in the future than just being assigned to serve male servants.

Since the shop shifted from serving only the ladies and wives of prominent families to serving any customer, Ruo Yu maintained the habit of judging people by their appearances.

Situations like today happened almost every day.

Lu Zhaozhao had reprimanded her and fined her; each time she would change, but soon she would return to her old ways.

Due to their deep bond from growing up together, Lu Zhaozhao was hesitant about whether to dismiss her. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and said, "If it were my employee, one mistake is the responsibility of both the shopkeeper and the owner, but if they repeatedly err, they must be dismissed. Moreover, the nature of the mistake matters. Being disrespectful to customers and judging people by appearance cannot be tolerated."

Lu Zhaozhao gritted her teeth and said, "I understand what to do now, Aunt Tong."

Tong Huaqiong thought that Lu Zhaozhao was not someone who would procrastinate. The expertise with which this girl Ruo Yu judged people by appearances was evidently her routine, so why hadn’t Lu Zhaozhao dismissed her?

There could be only one reason: Ruo Yu was not hired from outside; she must be an extraordinarily valued maid.

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and said, "Zhaozhao, Ruo Yu is your family maid, right?"

Lu Zhaozhao nodded and said, "We’ve grown up together since childhood, and she’s always been competitive and stubborn. I’ve told her many times, but she doesn’t change."

No wonder this girl is stubborn; she must believe she has a strong backing!

Tong Huaqiong said, "Zhaozhao, you must handle this matter with care. If you remove her from the shop, make sure to settle her properly, or she could become a threat."

For a competitive maid like her, being removed from the shop would mean being excluded from Lu Zhaozhao’s inner circle.

Would she be willing to let that happen?

She’d grown up with Lu Zhaozhao and knew all her weaknesses; one misstep could lead to disaster.

Lu Zhaozhao nodded and smiled, "Aunt Tong, I understand what you mean. I’ll handle it properly. If necessary, I’ll have my grandfather and brother step in."

Tong Huaqiong felt reassured.

In the vast Lu Family, she believed a solution could be found for a maid.

"Mrs. Chen, take care." Ruo Yu handed two boxes of cosmetics to Mrs. Chen and sent her off.

Lu Zhaozhao raised her chin, lowered her voice, and said to Tong Huaqiong, "Aunt Tong, that Mrs. Chen is the wife of Jin Fengxiang."

Tong Huaqiong glanced toward the door; Mrs. Chen had already boarded the carriage. She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she felt Mrs. Chen lifted the curtain to look at her.

"Ruo Yu, you’re not needed here anymore; go to the storeroom and inventory the rose water from Shengjing." Lu Zhaozhao said to Ruo Yu.

Ruo Yu knew Lu Zhaozhao was upset, so she stepped forward coquettishly and said, "Miss, I didn’t mean to, can I apologize to that lady? Please forgive me this time."

Lu Zhaozhao sternly replied, "Go to the storeroom as I told you."

Ruo Yu bit her lip and left.

Watching her back, Lu Zhaozhao resolved that Ruo Yu could no longer stay.

"Madam Wen, I’m truly sorry for Ruo Yu’s offense; as the owner, it’s my responsibility. I apologize to you," Lu Zhaozhao said as she approached Mrs. Wen.

Seeing that the eldest miss of the Lu Family had personally come to apologize, Mrs. Wen felt flustered and at a loss.

Lu Zhaozhao continued, "Ruo Xue, which rouge did Madam Wen fancy?"

Miss Zi Yi said, "This rose rouge is suitable for Madam Wen."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Master Wen is the pastry chef at my shop. As the owner here, I cannot let her suffer any grievances. Since she likes this box of rose rouge, then wrap it up for her. Also, I think that box of jasmine powder is nice, so wrap one up, too."

Gu Taohua, standing nearby, handed over the silver.

Since her mother had spoken, it was clear they were paying for it.

Lu Zhaozhao stopped Gu Taohua and said, "Consider it a gift from me to apologize to Madam Wen."

Mrs. Wen repeatedly waved her hand and said to Tong Huaqiong, "Owner, I can afford the rouge. If you don’t let me pay for it myself, I won’t accept it."

After speaking, she resolutely took out a copper coin and handed it to Ruo Xue.

Tong Huaqiong knew Mrs. Wen had strong self-esteem, so she didn’t insist further.

Indeed, Mrs. Wen’s pastries were excellent, and she was diligent and straightforward; Tong Huaqiong wouldn’t treat her poorly.

In the future, she would earn enough money for many cosmetics at Taohua Dessert.

Seeing this, Lu Zhaozhao told Ruo Xue to accept the money and packed an extra box of powder and a sachet, insisting Mrs. Wen accept them.

After Mrs. Wen left with her daughter, Lu Zhaozhao personally selected a bunch of cosmetics and skincare products for Tong Huaqiong, including rose rouge, jasmine powder, and magnolia balm, then packed them in a box and gave them to Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong did not decline!

"Aunt Tong, do you think there are any areas in my shop that need improvement?" Lu Zhaozhao sincerely asked before sending Tong Huaqiong off.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Place a few Luminous Pearls on the shelves and brighten the lamps at night. You could consider letting customers try on makeup under the lights; it might look even better."

Lu Zhaozhao genuinely admired Tong Huaqiong, impressed that she could think of such details!

"From your maid judging people by appearances just now, I thought of something. Judging people by appearances is not exclusive to maids; even the ladies and wives of prominent families do it. Why not set up a VIP lounge to specifically serve the ladies and wives of those families? However, they should meet a certain threshold, like spending a specific amount, to enjoy the service," Tong Huaqiong said.

Lu Zhaozhao nodded, indicating she understood.

Though the shop’s business was thriving, since she made adjustments, some ladies and wives of prominent families did drift away.

These people indeed didn’t like squeezing in with ordinary folks to try on makeup.

She couldn’t change their mindset and didn’t want to lose these customers either.

Why hadn’t she thought of differentiated customer service before?

Tong Huaqiong, seeing Lu Zhaozhao had listened, continued, "I think you could also train your own makeup artists, recruit skillful girls to offer free makeup services to customers. Who doesn’t enjoy looking pretty? This will certainly attract more people to your shop."

This was an excellent idea.

No cosmetics shop in the whole city had makeup artists yet.

If she introduced this service, the fame of the Lu Family’s cosmetics shop would spread wider, and others would find it hard to compete.

Aunt Tong truly deserved her reputation; a few laps around the shop, and she had offered several strategies.

Thrilled, Lu Zhaozhao packed another box of goods to give to Tong Huaqiong.

Gratefully, Lu Zhaozhao said, "Aunt Tong, you won’t need to buy cosmetics elsewhere in the future. Whenever new stock arrives, I’ll have it sent to you in Qinghe Bay."