I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 29: Rich

...

More than ten days later.

Liang Shicheng, who hit it off with Gao Qiu at first sight, invited Gao Qiu out for a drink.

When they met, Liang Shicheng smiled honestly and said, "My dear brother, I have a great thing to bring you."

Gao Qiu was very clever. He didn't ask what good news it was. He just said, "If you are willing to take me with you, I will go through water and fire. If you are not willing to risk your life to help me, I will let you suffer misfortune, get sick, and die!"

Seeing Gao Qiu had said such a thing, Liang Shicheng stopped talking and took an exquisite brocade box from the eunuch beside him, placed it on the table, and asked, "Brother, do you know what this is?"

This brocade box was made of fine wood, and the lid was embroidered with brocade patterns in gold thread, exuding an extraordinary aura and elegance.

Gao Qiu thought to himself, "This box is so exquisite, the things inside must be extraordinary."

Gao Qiu suppressed his curiosity and shook his head: "The contents of the box must be extraordinary. I dare not speculate."

Liang Shicheng smiled and said, "The contents of the box are indeed quite impressive. However, since I'm asking you to guess, it must be because you've seen it before."

As he spoke, Liang Shicheng opened the brocade box, and inside the box lay a piece of crystal clear soap.

"Soap?!"

Because of their good performance on the court that day, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan were rewarded with ten bars of soap each by Zhao Ya.

Gao Qiu has tried it and found that this soap is indeed magical.

Gao Qiu also knew that after bathing with soap, the Duan Wang Consort and other women in the Duan Wang Mansion all praised the soap highly.

Zhao Ji, who used Song Palace Jade Dragon Cream for beauty care on a daily basis, even gave the soap the elegant name "Qingxin Yulu" to show his love for it.

However, Gao Qiu was a little confused. What did this soap have to do with Liang Shicheng taking him with him?
Liang Shicheng didn't let Gao Qiu wonder for long before confessing, "My king didn't elaborate that day, but this soap is actually extraordinary. It was developed by a remarkable woman, using exquisite ingredients and intricate craftsmanship. Each piece is meticulously crafted to ensure its rich, long-lasting fragrance. It nourishes the skin and beautifies the complexion. This soap has won the favor of the empresses in the palace. Seeing this, my king decided to sell the soap to the public, and I am one of the people responsible."

Gao Qiu understood what Liang Shicheng meant, and he quickly asked, "How much does this soap cost?"

Liang Shicheng held up three fingers.

Gao Qiu guessed: "Thirty cents?"

Taking a look at the exquisite box, Gao Qiu thought to himself, "Thirty wen can't even buy this brocade box." So he changed his words and asked, "Three hundred wen?"

Liang Shicheng shook his head: "Three strings of cash."

Gao Qiu looked incredulous: "So expensive?!!!"

One guan is roughly equivalent to 700 yuan in Zhao Ya's previous life, and can buy five dou of rice in this era.

A small bar of soap is enough to feed an adult for half a year.

It is no wonder that Gao Qiu was shocked by the price of the soap.

Who would have thought that Liang Shicheng would say, "Three strings of cash is just the price we give to the salesperson. As for whether they sell it for five strings of cash or ten strings of cash, we don't ask."

Gao Qiu wisely did not question the price of Prince Shen's mansion, but instead asked directly, "What is the current market price?"

Liang Shicheng told the truth: "The lowest price is five strings of cash, and the price in the palace has already reached ten strings of cash."

Gao Qiu's eyes lit up, and he immediately declared, "No matter how much I earn, half of it will go to you." Liang Shicheng's smile widened. "Since you're so forthright, I won't hide anything. To be honest, I was just a eunuch before, and didn't have many people to use. Otherwise, if you were making so much money in this business, why didn't I keep it all to myself and let you share in? Now that I see that you're extravagant and thrifty, you're definitely not one for the lowly, cheap things. I promise you that if others can't get the soap one day, you'll be able to supply it."

Next, Liang Shicheng discussed with Gao Qiu the specific idea of ​​selling soap. Gao Qiu did not have enough capital, so Liang Shicheng said that he would handle the first batch of soap and pay the Prince Shen's Mansion after they were sold.

After talking for a while, Liang Shicheng said with regret, "What Li Dalang said the other day was absolutely right. If this soap were sold in 72 restaurants like Fanlou, those ladies would definitely flock to it. But we're not familiar with those places, so it's hard for us to compete with them."

Gao Qiu, upon hearing this, offered a suggestion: "It's not difficult. Li Dalang is a handsome, generous man with an elegant demeanor. He is a skilled and skillful writer. He calls himself Li Langzi. Many prostitutes admire his charm and pay him handsomely to be their mistress. If we invite him, who can compete with the three of us brothers?"

Liang Shicheng thought to himself, "He's taken the bait." He then said, "If Li Dalang really has such a great ability, it wouldn't be a problem to call him along..."

The next day, Gao Qiu called Li Bangyan to meet with Liang Shicheng. The three of them hit it off and started a soap business together.

After getting started, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan realized that Liang Shicheng was really helping them make money.

This soap sold like hot cakes once it was released into the market.

The dignitaries, prominent families, and even ordinary people in Tokyo were all proud to own a bar of soap.

It seems that soap is no longer just a luxury item for daily washing, but has become a symbol of status and taste. For a time, soap has become an indispensable topic and gift in social occasions.

This meant that even though Prince Shen’s Mansion was making all its efforts to produce soap, the demand for it could not keep up with the supply.

Gao Qiu had a large group of ruffians under his command and had sufficient manpower; Li Bangyan, with his extensive connections in brothels, easily opened up the market of 72 restaurants such as Fanlou, and dumped a large amount of soap into the hands of the ladies in those brothels; and Liang Shicheng was able to get soap for Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan when no one else could buy it.

With their concerted efforts, in just over a month, Liang Shicheng, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan each earned tens of thousands of strings of cash and became wealthy.

Of course, the one who made the most money was Zhao Ya behind the scenes.

The cost of the soap was less than a hundred cents.

Zhao Ya gave three strings of cash to anyone who came from Prince Shen's mansion, no matter who they were.

For each piece, Zhao Ya made a net profit of two strings of cash and nine hundred coins.

After selling for a while, Zhao Ya found it troublesome and didn't even bring the packaging box to the seller.

In this way, the cost is reduced a lot.

As a result, in just over a month, Zhao Ya earned hundreds of thousands of strings of cash.

In addition to Zhao Ya who made a huge profit, everyone in Prince Shen's mansion, from top to bottom, also got a share of the profits.

Of course, there is no one else who has earned as much as Liang Shicheng.

The reason why Liang Shicheng made so much money was not only because the combination of Liang Shicheng, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan was particularly capable, but also because Zhao Ya gave an order to supply Liang Shicheng first.

It is precisely because they have more abundant supply than others that Liang Shicheng and his two companions were able to grab the largest market share.

After more than a month of making money and dividing the spoils, Liang Shicheng had become close to Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan.

At this time, Liang Shicheng came to report to Zhao Ya: "Your Majesty, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan are now obedient to my orders. They are likely to betray their master for personal gain. I wonder when I taught them to seduce Prince Duan to visit a brothel?"

Zhao Ya smiled slightly: "No rush..."

……

(End of this chapter)