Plotting to Seize the Business
As soon as Quentin Qian finished speaking, Mia Qian nervously clenched her sleeve, her pupils contracting. "Grandpa, do you think Lily Evans had her fourth uncle secretly buy porcelain because it’s related to her shipping fleet?"
Quentin Qian stroked his beard and nodded, "It's possible. Most of Lily Evans's businesses are food-related, and she’s never sold porcelain in the Kingdom of Jin. But she’s bought so much porcelain—she must have a market for it. Where do you think she could sell all that porcelain?"
"Grandpa, I think Lily Evans loaded the porcelain onto her ships and sold it overseas!" Mia Qian blurted out. "Grandpa, Lily is quite shrewd in business—she’d never make a losing deal. That means shipping porcelain abroad must be profitable. But... Grandpa, do you know where her fleet went during those six months at sea?"
Quentin Qian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Mia, I honestly don’t know the answer to that. All I know is we have Jin and Chu here, but across the sea—who knows what’s out there? But your second uncle works as a Defense Officer in Ningport, and I’ve heard him mention that sometimes ships from across the sea dock at Ningport. The people on board look different from us—their hair is golden, their noses are high, and their eyes are blue or green. We can't understand their language; they’re just like foreigners."
"Foreigners..." Mia Qian mused, lowering her head. "Oh! Grandpa, I just remembered—when I was walking in the garden the other day, I saw a man with golden hair and blue eyes. He seemed to be one of Lily Evans’s men! Grandpa, do you think that foreigner could be the kind of person Second Uncle was talking about—from across the sea?"
"He must be!" Quentin Qian slapped his thigh. "Now it all makes sense—Lily Evans bought porcelain to have her foreign subordinate ship it overseas and sell it! Hmph, I wonder how much profit this business makes. Your second uncle has been Defense Officer in Ningport for years, but every holiday he comes home complaining about being broke and poor. Why couldn’t he spot this kind of business opportunity?"
"Alright, Grandpa, since we know there’s money to be made, you should write to Second Uncle and have him secretly investigate. If this business is really profitable, let’s get in on it too! Second Uncle is the Defense Officer in Ningport—that’s Qian family territory. We’ll have plenty of ways to make sure Lily Evans’s business can’t go on!" Mia Qian said.
Quentin Qian’s face blossomed into a wide smile. “Well done, Mia! This is a brilliant idea! Lily Evans is good at business, so let’s simply snatch her trade and take the ready-made profits. I’ll write to your second uncle now to have him prepare a fleet and find a foreign partner. Also, I’ll write to my old friend in Kingston...”
Quentin Qian was a man of action. He immediately picked up his brush and began writing.
In the letter to Eric Qian in Ningport, Quentin Qian instructed him to secretly investigate Lily Evans’s fleet business, then have the Qian family fund and organize their own fleet, and do everything possible to obstruct Lily Evans’s ships from sailing out to sea.
Quentin Qian finished writing two letters in one go and immediately ordered them to be sent out in secret—one to Eric Qian in Ningport, and one to Ma Lao, the porcelain family patriarch in Kingston.
He personally handed the letters to the servant. Feeling delighted, Quentin Qian watched as Mia Qian poured him a cup of tea and smiled, “Grandpa, when we snatch Lily Evans’s business, don’t forget it was my idea.”
Quentin Qian laughed heartily, “Good child, today I finally see you have quite the knack for business! I’d say our Mia is no less than Lily Evans. No—she’s even better than Lily Evans!”