Chapter 26: A Prosperous Opening, An Astonishing Debut

"Boss Ye, congratulations on your grand opening. I heard your little shop carries some novel items, so I specifically brought a few distinguished guests to broaden their horizons."

Madame Wang, standing beside Shopkeeper Wang, covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, scanning the surroundings with disdain. "This is it? The place is small, but the ambition is certainly large. Who in the capital doesn't know that for skincare and beauty, 'Wanfang Studio's' Jade Cream is the only choice?"

Another woman, Madame Li, chimed in, "Indeed. Our faces are far too precious; who would dare use products of unknown origin on their skin?"

For a moment, the customers who had been showing interest in the shop stopped, watching the unfolding scene.

Su Yuniang’s expression shifted, and she was about to step forward to argue, but Ye Qingyan raised a hand to stop her.

Ye Qingyan walked out from behind the counter. Without a hint of panic, she wore a faint smile. She nodded slightly toward the noblewomen, her voice clear and resonant. "The ladies are quite right. One must indeed be extremely cautious with what one applies to their face."

Shifting the tone of the conversation, her gaze landed on Madame Wang. "Whether a product is good or not cannot be proven by words alone."

She gestured to the side, inviting them toward a corner of the shop partitioned by a screen. "My shop has set up a special experience area. For today's opening, all trials are free of charge. Would you ladies care to try it?"

Free?

The ladies exchanged glances, their initial guard softening instantly. Since it was free, there was no harm in trying. If it proved poor, they could publicly ruin her reputation, which would also serve as a favor to Shopkeeper Wang.

Madame Wang was the first to walk in. "Fine. I’d like to see what kind of medicine you’re selling in this gourd."

Shopkeeper Wang followed behind, the sneer on his lips deepening, waiting to watch Ye Qingyan make a fool of herself.

The private area was quiet and elegant, and Su Yuniang had already prepared everything.

Ye Qingyan said to Madame Wang, "Madame, please."

Su Yuniang stepped forward, gently removing the heavy makeup from Madame Wang’s face. Her technique was professional and soothing, causing even the critical Madame Wang to relax involuntarily.

The first step was cleansing.

A gentle soapberry extract melted at her fingertips, carrying a faint, fresh botanical scent. Unlike the harsh, alkaline soaps of the past, this cleanser left Madame Wang feeling refreshed and transparent, without a hint of tightness.

"Oh? This is actually quite good," she couldn't help but touch her own face.

Ye Qingyan smiled silently and signaled for Su Yuniang to continue.

Next came the main event: the facial mask.

Using a small jade spoon, Su Yuniang evenly applied a transparent, gel-like paste onto Madame Wang’s face. The cool sensation of the paste instantly soothed the heat of the skin.

"What is this?" another woman, Madame Zhang, asked curiously.

"This is called a facial mask, implying that it 'covers the face and forms a film on the skin,'" Ye Qingyan explained. "Its purpose is to infuse the skin with moisture and nutrients, smoothing out dry lines."

While waiting, the ladies gathered around Madame Wang, whispering and commenting. Shopkeeper Wang stood with his arms crossed, looking on with contempt. In his eyes, these were all mere gimmicks to attract attention.

A quarter of an hour later, Su Yuniang washed the mask away with warm water.

When Madame Wang looked into the mirror again, she froze completely.

The face in the mirror—the skin looked like a petal saturated with water: supple, plump, and radiating a healthy glow. The fine lines around her eyes, which usually required thick powder to conceal, had faded significantly. Her overall complexion had improved by leaps and bounds.

"Is... is this me?" Madame Wang reached out, her fingertips trembling as she touched her cheek. The smooth, tender sensation felt impossibly real.

The other ladies leaned in to look, and a chorus of gasps echoed in the room.

"Good heavens! Sister Wang, your skin... it’s like a peeled egg!"

"The effect is simply divine! It’s a hundred times better than the Jade Cream!"

The sneer on Shopkeeper Wang’s face stiffened. He rushed forward, unable to believe his own eyes.

"How is this possible? It’s only been a quarter of an hour; how could the effect be so immediate?"

Madame Wang turned abruptly and grabbed Ye Qingyan’s hand, her eyes burning with excitement. "This mask! How is this mask sold? How much is a bottle? I want them all!"

This loud declaration ignited the entire shop.

The customers who had been watching from the sidelines suddenly erupted.

"I want to try it too! Let me try!"

"Me too! I want to experience it as well!"

Ye Qingyan pulled her hand back from Madame Wang’s grip and spoke calmly, her voice carrying clearly throughout the shop: "Thank you all for your kind favor. However, the ingredients for this mask are rare and the production process is complex. To ensure quality, we can only provide a limited supply each day."

Limited?

Upon hearing these words, everyone became anxious.

"Then how can we buy it?"

Ye Qingyan smiled slightly and proposed the plan she had prepared long ago: "To ensure we can serve every distinguished guest properly, all products in this shop are available for purchase only to members."

She paused, watching the longing in their eyes, and continued: "For today’s opening, we are launching membership cards. A deposit of one hundred taels grants you a Silver Card membership, enjoying a ten-percent discount. A deposit of five hundred taels grants a Gold Card membership, enjoying a twenty-percent discount and priority access to new products. A deposit of one thousand taels grants a Jade Card membership, enjoying a thirty-percent discount, unlimited purchases of all products, and the option for exclusive, personalized home service."

"Want to buy? You must first top up and register as a member."

Once this was said, Shopkeeper Wang’s complexion could no longer be described as merely ugly; it was darker than the bottom of a pot.

As for the noblewomen, they had no time for reserve now.

"I’ll get the Jade Card! One thousand taels, correct? I’ll do it right now!" Madame Wang was the first to pull bank notes from her sleeve.

"I want a Jade Card too! I won't let Sister Wang get ahead of me!" Madame Li refused to be outdone.

"Get me a Gold Card! Quickly!"

The situation instantly spiraled out of control. To secure their buying rights, the noblewomen scrambled to slap bank notes onto the counter. Su Yuniang and the newly hired staff were overwhelmed, the beads of the abacus clicking rapidly as they collected money until their hands grew weary.

On the first day of "Yanyu Studio’s" opening, before a single product had officially been sold, the amount collected from membership top-ups was already an astronomical figure, far exceeding the monthly profit of "Wanfang Studio."

Shopkeeper Wang stood outside the crowd, watching the booming scene, feeling the world spin.

"It’s over. I brought people to sabotage the place, only to personally elevate them to a pedestal."

The cosmetic market in the capital was about to change from this day forward.

He could no longer stay, so he squeezed out of the crowd, dejectedly fleeing back to his own shop.

It wasn't until evening, after seeing off the last of the reluctant customers, that "Yanyu Studio" finally quieted down.

Ye Qingyan collapsed into a chair, exhausted, but a proud and slightly appreciative voice echoed in her mind.

【Rebel, it seems you are not entirely useless. This talent for "amassing wealth" has a bit of the flair I once had.】

Ye Qingyan couldn't be bothered to respond, focusing instead on counting the day’s accounts with Su Yuniang.

"Boss, today... today we collected a total of thirteen thousand six hundred taels in deposits!" Su Yuniang’s voice was trembling; she had never seen so much money in her life.

Ye Qingyan nodded; the figure was within her expectations.

But just then, her finger, which had been flipping through the ledger, suddenly stopped.

"Wait," she pointed to one of the entries. "What is this anonymous deposit of five thousand taels? It’s for the highest-tier Jade Card, yet no name or residential address was left."

Su Yuniang was also stunned. She carefully recalled the moment. "There were too many people at the time. I only remember a servant dressed in plain clothes coming over, dropping the note, and leaving without saying a word. I thought it was just a lady who didn't want to reveal her identity..."

Five thousand taels was not a small sum. Which lady would be so lavish, yet so mysterious?

Ye Qingyan asked all the shop staff, but no one knew.

Just as she was puzzled, a young maid in charge of chores ran in from the backyard and handed her a folded note.

"Boss, someone threw this in from the back door just now."

Ye Qingyan felt a stir in her heart and unfolded the note.

There was no superfluous nonsense on the paper, only two elegant and powerful brush-written characters and a vermilion seal.

The characters were: Huaian.

The pattern of the seal was an emblem she had never seen before—shaped like a burning flame, yet also resembling a bird with wings spread wide.

Huaian?

It was him.

How did he know about her opening today? And why would he send such a large sum of money in this manner?

And what did this seal represent?