The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 126

Ying'er drank three cups of tea.

Shen Yuan couldn't help but sigh at his young and vigorous body.

Looking at the charming and blurred face in front of him, Shen Yuan stretched out his fingers to wipe Ying'er's
But he didn't expect that the girl would slightly open her lips and hold his finger.

Needless to say, this must be a skill he acquired from eating candied haws on a daily basis.

"Greedy girl." Shen Yuan stroked the girl's bangs lovingly and said with a smile: "From now on, Master, buy Ying'er more candied haws every day."

Ying'er blushed, lowered her eyes and nodded, feeling secretly delighted. Today she had discovered her son-in-law's special hobby, and she would serve him wholeheartedly in the future.

"Aunt, will Ying'er have a child?" Ying'er hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question in her heart, her tone soft and shy.

Shen Yuan looked at Ying'er's cute expression, who seemed to understand but not quite, and smiled, "There won't be any children."

Next he gave Ying'er a lesson, but he only gave a brief account so the girl should be able to understand.

"Oh." Ying'er lowered her eyes in deep thought, and her veins popped up again. The girl was confused again. She had just...
"Ying'er, help your brother-in-law take a bath." Shen Yuan said, reaching out for the belt around the girl's waist.

----

The wonderful time passed like water, and more than half an hour went by in the blink of an eye.

Ying'er had collapsed in Shen Yuan's arms at this time, with her head lowered, not daring to look up, her slender hands playing with the water in a panic.

Shen Yuan gently stroked the girl's jade-like back. He could clearly see that her fair skin and bones were still flushed, and it was obvious that she had not yet recovered from the hard work just now.

Feeling her lover's gentle and caring actions, Ying'er's heart was filled with joy and sweetness.

And that tingling feeling seemed to always linger in the girl's heart, unable to be shaken off.

The two hugged each other for a while, then stood up, put on their clothes, and went to the main house.

On this side, Baochai and Qiu'er were still chatting.

"Mr. Shen." Baochai raised her eyes and looked at her husband with a smile.

Seeing that Shen Yuan had been gone for almost an hour, and now he came back in changed clothes, with Ying'er following behind him, she could naturally guess what her husband had just done.

Baochai didn't mind this. After all, her husband doted on her every day and she was obviously a little overwhelmed. It was good to have Ying'er help her husband enjoy himself.

Shen Yuan smiled, walked to the table and sat down.

"Brother Shen." Qiu'er also greeted him softly.

"Yes." Shen Yuan nodded to the two girls, looked at Baochai, and said in a gentle voice: "Sister, have you decided on the release date of the glass mirror?"

Baochai nodded and said softly, "Everything is ready. We plan to sell it in the shop on Chaoyangmen Street three days later, on June 18th."

"June 18th?"

Shen Yuan felt a little strange when he heard this, because that day coincided with a shopping festival of a certain JD in the future.

However, glass mirrors are absolutely scarce in this world, so he doesn't need to do any low-price promotions.

After a brief thought, Shen Yuan asked, "Sister, do you think many people will buy it?"

Baochai smiled with confidence in her beautiful eyes, and said softly, "The selling price of the glass mirror is temporarily set at twenty taels. We estimate that among the millions of people in Shenjing, there should be tens of thousands who can afford it. But this time we are only going to sell one hundred."

When Shen Yuan heard this, four words popped up in his mind, and he murmured: "Hunger marketing?"

Baochai's approach is indeed very similar to the hunger marketing of Lei in later generations, except that Lei created market hunger by limiting quantities at low prices, while Baochai adopted the method of limiting quantities at high prices.

It has to be said that Baochai is indeed very good at business, which makes Shen Yuan look at her with new eyes again.

"Hunger marketing?" Baochai repeated, her beautiful eyes flashing as she looked at her husband with a somewhat surprised expression.

Although she didn't quite understand the specific meaning of the word "marketing", the literal meaning of these four words did accurately fit her high-priced and limited-quantity sales strategy.

"It seems that my husband is quite knowledgeable about business." Baochai looked at her husband with a smile, two dimples on her cheeks, and a hint of cuteness in her elegant temperament.

Shen Yuan caressed his wife's fair cheek and said with a doting smile, "Sister, there's no need to praise me. You are a business genius."

This is not false; some of his ideas about business were merely derived from information from later generations.

It is indeed even more commendable that Baochai can have these ideas given the limitations of this world.

Qiu'er was listening to the conversation between Shen Yuan and Baochai. Seeing that the couple had a mutual understanding, she couldn't help but feel envious. She didn't know what she should do to help Shen Lang like Baochai.

Shen Yuan's face showed a trace of thought at this time. After thinking for a while, he said softly: "To achieve the goal of hunger marketing, there is another key point, and that is publicity."

Baochai took over the conversation, nodded her head gently, and said in a delicate voice: "My husband is right. I have asked the shopkeeper Su to contact Hanmozhai. Starting tomorrow, Hanmozhai's tabloid will do a comprehensive promotion of our glass mirrors."

Hanmo Zhai is a property of Tianyuan Trading Company. Shen Yuan had already discussed this with Gao Yue, so Hanmo Zhai would naturally cooperate with the publicity without reservation. Moreover, Tianyuan Trading Company would also be able to get 50% of the profits from the glass mirrors.

When Shen Yuan heard this, he looked at Baochai with some surprise in his eyes.

He gently pinched his wife's smooth face and said with a smile: "Madam, you are really capable. I am impressed by you."

"Hmm~" Baochai groaned and gave her husband a shy look, her jade-like face suddenly flushed.

The dignified and quiet beauty would only show her cute little woman appearance in front of Shen Yuan, but at this moment, her sister Qiu'er was beside her, and her husband didn't know how to restrain himself.

Shen Yuan didn't care. The three girls in the room were all his women and there was nothing to worry about.

However, he was still a little hesitant about how to tell Baochai about Qiu'er's affairs.

Unlike Ying'er, Qiu'er is not taking a concubine. If she asks for an imperial decree in the future, it will not only give her a title, but also involve the issue of distribution among her offspring in the future.

Of course, Shen Yuan did not have to abide by the rules of etiquette in this world. He would prepare a basic inheritance for each of his wives, concubines and children. Although he would not make everyone rich, he would at least ensure that everyone had enough food and clothing.

Giving these ladies of noble families status is more to give an explanation to their maternal families.

As for everything else, whether it was material or love, Shen Yuan would not treat them badly. Even for the girl Ying'er, he tried his best to give her enough care and love.

A true gentleman is one who is lustful but not lewd. He goes for both the body and the heart. This may be the difference between Shen Yuan and those studs.

Shen Yuan withdrew his hand and stopped teasing his wife. He asked, "Has the shop on Chaoyangmen Street been given a name, Madam?"

Baochai smiled sweetly and said, "Yes, let's name it 'Jingyue Tower'. What do you think, my husband?"

"Jingyue Tower." Shen Yuan murmured, and said with a smile: "What a good name, flowers in the mirror and moon in the water, seeing the nature in the clear space, following the flow and being at ease, although illusory, it is beautiful and quite artistic."

Baochai was happy to receive the approval of her husband.

They chatted for a while and had dinner together, then Qiu'er went to her residence in Huifang Garden.

Before Shen Yuan and Baochai got married, Qiu'er had already lived there and had her own separate double courtyard.

After Qiu'er left, it was almost the evening. "Madam, it's getting late. We should rest."

Shen Yuan walked up to Baochai, carried her in his arms like a princess, and went to the couch in the inner room.

"Husband, I... I haven't taken a bath yet." Baochai was suddenly picked up, and her arms subconsciously wrapped around the boy's neck, with a hint of embarrassment and panic.

Shen Yuan whispered in her ear, "Madam, you are so pure and innocent, how could I despise you?"

"But--"

Bang!
The young man patted the beautiful woman's tender and perky buttocks, and ripples of white and soft skin appeared.

"It's okay, I'll wash it later..."

"Uuuuu~"

----

On June 18, the 17th year of Yuanzhen
It was a midsummer afternoon, the sun was blazing in the sky, scorching the earth, and the air was filled with heat waves that seemed to swallow people up.

Shen Yuan left the New Army Guard Office and took a carriage straight to Chaoyangmen Street.

Today is the day when Jingyue Tower sells glass mirrors. This is his first business in this world of Red Mansions and the beginning of his business empire. Of course he has to go and witness it.

A quarter of an hour later, the carriage arrived at Chaoyangmen Street. Unlike other places with few pedestrians, this place was obviously much more lively.

This is the most prosperous commercial street in Shenjing City. The road is wide and long. This street is not subject to curfew. Merchants on the street do not close their doors at night and are open 24 hours a day.

Although it was a midsummer afternoon, there was still a constant stream of cars and pedestrians on the street, and the cries of hawkers could be heard one after another on the busy streets.

There are shops on both sides of the street, colorful flags fluttering gently in the breeze, and various signs hanging in front of the shops, attracting the attention of passers-by.

The carriage stopped in front of a large shop. Shen Yuan got out and looked around.

The shop door is more than ten feet wide, and on the two-foot-high door beam hangs a gold-rimmed sign with three large characters "Jingyue Tower" written on it.

Because Hanmozhai's tabloids had been promoting the news for three consecutive days, the entire Shenjing City should have known about Jingyue Tower's sale of glass mirrors.

Shen Yuan couldn't help but sigh at the speed at which Hanmozhai disseminated information and public opinion.

At this moment, the area in front of Jingyue Tower was very busy and people kept pushing in.

Although many people in Shenjing had seen Shen Yuan, he was in casual clothes at the moment and the two guards around him were also wearing ordinary long gowns, so he did not attract much attention.

Come to think of it, even if celebrities in later generations often appear in videos, when they occasionally appear on the street, if they are not promoted in advance, apart from a few die-hard fans, few people may recognize them.

Shen Yuan entered the building and took a quick look. The shop was much larger than he had imagined. It was a three-story square building.

In the middle of the first floor is a spacious hall with a half-meter-high platform on the north side. The hall is filled with tables and chairs of different sizes where guests can sit and drink tea.

There are some private rooms of different sizes on the second floor.

The third floor looks like a place for meeting guests.

When Shen Yuan saw this layout, a lot of ideas popped into his mind.

This place is very suitable to be built into a small shopping mall. Now there are only glass mirrors, but in the future there will be cakes, milk tea, soaps, perfumes, etc. All can be displayed and sold here.

The hall on the first floor can be used for new product launches and can also be used as a storytelling stage. When novels such as The Legend of the White Snake, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Journey to the West are published, storytellers can be invited to the building to tell the stories.

It integrates exhibition and entertainment, and his products and scripts are outstanding enough. In this world, it can be said to be a dimensionality reduction attack.

Taking money out of the pockets of the wealthy people in the Great Zhou through commercial means may be easier than radical political reforms, and it can be regarded as a means of strengthening the country by robbing the rich and helping the people.

Of course, this also requires him to have sufficient status and ability to preserve this budding business empire. In this light, Shen Yuan's decision to give concessions to Tianyuan Trading Company was indeed far-sighted.

A waiter saw that Shen Yuan and his friends had no intention of taking a seat, so he stepped forward and said, "Dear guests, please come in?"

Shen Yuan looked at the waiter and asked in a clear voice, "Where is your shopkeeper Su?"

The waiter was puzzled when he heard this and asked hesitantly, "May I ask who you are?"

As soon as the waiter finished speaking, a woman in her twenties came over. Although she was a woman, she had a capable temperament.

The woman said respectfully, "Mr. Shen, Madam is waiting for you on the third floor."

This woman is the shopkeeper hired by Baochai, named Su Yu Niang, who is currently in charge of the specific affairs of Jingyue Tower. She had met Shen Yuan in the Shen Mansion before, so she naturally knew that the young man in blue in front of her was the husband of the boss, or in other words, he was the real boss of Jingyue Tower.

Shen Yuan nodded to Su Yu Niang, and then followed Su Yu Niang's lead and went upstairs.

The waiter was left stunned for a long time, surprised and curious about the identity of the young man in blue, who could make the shopkeeper so respectful to him.

Shopkeeper Su led Shen Yuan and others to the third floor and came to a unique private room.

"Madam is inside." Su Yu Niang explained, "This room is specially reserved for Madam."

Shen Yuan nodded and told the two guards beside him: "Stay outside."

"Yes, sir." The guard responded respectfully.

Although Su Yu Niang knew that Shen Yuan was the top martial arts champion and that he had recently led his troops to participate in the military parade outside Chaoyang Gate, when she saw these two tall and resolute guards being so respectful to Shen Yuan, she felt even more in awe of the young man in blue in front of her.

Seeing Shen Yuan had entered the room, she gathered her thoughts and went downstairs.

Shen Yuan entered the room and looked at the decoration style inside. It was soft yet grand, which was quite in line with Baochai's temperament.

After walking around a landscape screen and a few steps inside, they saw the familiar Jinling quartet: Baochai, Ying'er, Qiu'er and Xiangyun who were dressed in men's clothing.

"Husband."

"Brother Shen."

When Baochai, Qiu'er and Xiangyun saw Shen Yuan coming in, they all greeted him. Ying'er, adhering to her duty as a maid, stood silently behind Baochai, but her eyes as she looked at her own son-in-law were filled with affection that could not be concealed.

Shen Yuan greeted the three girls one by one, and then smiled gently at Ying'er.

Then they sat around the table, and Ying'er poured fragrant tea for them.

"How are your preparations, Madam?" Shen Yuan seemed to be accustomed to calling Baochai "Madam" now.

Baochai nodded lightly and said in a delicate voice, "Well, everything is ready and will start soon."

"Today will definitely shock everyone." Xiangyun clenched her fists, her eyes full of anticipation.

Qiu'er on the side was also looking forward to it. They already knew the details of the glass mirror sales in advance and believed that it would bring unexpected surprises to the guests.

(End of this chapter)