Chapter 7
"Jute bags and clothing? It's not a bad idea. But it won't be able to grow quickly."-Mikoto
Hisako smiled at the hidden inquiry and passed the clan matriarch another paper. It laid out another business plan which consisted of a tea shop which would be run personally by her and would be made especially for ninja, although some exceptions will be allowed. The jute bags and clothing shops would be developed to consider ninja clothing at a later date when Hisako could manage to get her hands on the type of materials which would be needed to make their type of clothing.
For now, since the Uchiha already have a skill set consisting of making clothing it would be easy for her to get cheap labor. Of course, she needed to finalize some other important things but she had at least gotten something off her plate for now. [She hadn't even decided the location yet.]
"This is not particularly a bad idea... Do you have enough money to start it out?"-Mikoto
"I've spoken to various land owners and I should be able to buy enough to make the shop and perhaps even hire a few employees. But the problem is that I don't think I'll be able to procure the raw material needed. There is also a risk of running out of money within the first two months of starting the business."-Hisako
Mikoto nodded and asked her to make a copy of her jute and clothing business plan. She was willing to advertise to some people to invest in her shop. Hisako frowned at the idea though. It would get her enough money but, it would mean splitting up some part of her ownership. She had a lot of different plans aside from the ones she had showed Mikoto and there was also the notion of the Uchiha not being a part of the village which she had to put an end to. If someone interfered with all of this then it would be a big hindrance.
"For now, I don't particularly want any investments. I'll borrow some money from the people I know. I hope you'll understand if I ask for your assistance in the future."-Hisako
She bowed as she stated her request. Mikoto smiled and assured her of her support. After some tea, Hisako left to finalize her documents and decide the location of the shop. She knew that Mikoto was not pleased with her decision. According to her, it was time to show unity to the village or perhaps even unite with the village and Mikoto could put the notion forward through the people investing in her business. Hisako thought differently, political power was what the Uchiha needed right now and with power, allies would come over to their front door themselves.
Sighing loudly, she looked at the run down shop in front of her. Apparently, some 'thugs' had torn it down once and even though the police caught them soon after, no one bought this shop in fear of angering the 'thugs'. In her opinion, genin should not be called thugs if they have been granted the title of a ninja.
The shop was located at one of the corners of the shopping district so it usually did not attract many buyers. This was mainly the reason as to why the shop was quite cheap in comparison to the other ones she had seen. There was also the rumors of the 'thugs' which helped in lowering its price. Bringing the shop to an acceptable state to start off her business would make the shop cost her the average price of a store in the shopping district of Konoha.
She also needed to hire employees and gather raw material. There was also the dinner talk with Shisui's and her distant relatives which they would need to do soon as well. She sighed and rubbed her forehead as she could feel the future headaches she would be having.
After spending some time inspecting the shop once more, she went back to home. Itachi was waiting for her at the entrance and she smiled tiredly before letting him in.
He left after delivering a wooden box and refused her invitation for dinner or tea. He would usually at least stay for tea so it worried Hisako if he was perhaps feeling uncomfortable with her presence. She shrugged it off for now and chose to put away the box to check it later.
Hisako spent another week cleaning the place, buying the furniture and hiring people to fix and rebuild the store. The next thing she would have to do was to secure a contract with the raw material providers but she had to put it on hold for now.
"What is it, Shi-chan?"-Hisako
"Well, don't you think this dinner is going quite..."-Shisui
"Wildly?"-Hisako
They both looked at the drunken and passed out relatives on the ground with Shisui's father trying to keep a conversation going with his grandfather who looked ready to shout at the indecent behavior. Hisako once again looked at Shisui and the alcohol he had brought with accusation shining in her eyes.
"I told you to bring a light drink."-Hisako
"I asked Senpai and he said that this was 'the lightest drink'."-Shisui
"Shisui, ninja standards are different from civilian ones."-Hisako
Shisui nervously laughed at her complaints and once again looked at the very civilian members of his clan being drunk and out of their minds. At least he got enjoy a good show before he got scolded by everyone.