Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

After a day of turmoil, Dugu Jin finally calmed down and became interested in this novel winery.

So, led by Li Yu and Li Chengqian, she first visited the temporary granary. The temporary granary, ten zhang long and six zhang wide, amazed her.

Next, they toured the winemaking process, which greatly intrigued Dugu Jin, who came from a prestigious family. She had seen others make wine before, but this was the first time she had ever seen it done this way.

"Son, can this wine really sell for 30 strings of cash per dou?" Dugu Jin took another sip of the baijiu, her delicate eyebrows furrowing from the spiciness.

While handing his mother a glass of water, Li Yu joked, "Mother, you don't know this, but all the military generals in Chang'an are drunkards, and all the civil officials claim to be unrestrained drinkers. Even those literary giants are all like the deadbeats who can't write poetry without getting drunk."

"My child, you've already tasted this wine. Other wines are no match for it in terms of strength. Just repackage it and give it a sensational name, and you'll be able to make your investment back many times over in no time."

Dugu Jin was a woman from a prominent family and knew nothing about business. She was completely confused by her son's explanation, so she simply ignored it and led a group of henchmen to find out where the wine Liu Shi had been drinking had been stolen.

With his mother gone, Li Yu had some free time, so he ordered the kitchen to prepare a few dishes and instructed Lai Fu to invite the other playboys over.

.........

"Brother Yu, you're not going to ask for money again, are you? My family is really broke. We have to buy meat on credit from the butcher shop to have a meal."

Li Yu dismissed Changsun Chong's pitiful words as utter nonsense. A dignified county magistrate's mansion, and Li Er's maternal relatives, were they really going to starve after only offering a thousand strings of cash?

Cheng Chumo's words were very much in line with his personality. After taking a bite of braised pork, he mumbled, "It's alright! Brother, if you need money, just ask the steward. My father instructed me before he went to war that whatever you do, I must give you my full support."

The person from the Niu family who came was Niu Jinda's eldest son, Niu Tong. He was not only kind but also extremely generous, and he got along very well with Li Yu when they first met.

Seeing that Li Yu had called them here to discuss something again, they assumed it was because they were short of money, so they said, "Chu Mo is right. Brother Yu, if you are short of money, you must tell your brothers. You can take any money you want from the house."

Li Yu was somewhat moved by what the others said. Of course, except for that cunning rascal, Changsun Chong.

Needless to say, Cheng Chumo had his mind completely focused on Li Yu.

Niu Tong, on the other hand, made Li Yu feel somewhat ashamed.

Of these families, the Niu family has the lowest rank. Although Old Niu is Li Er's confidant, judging from the work he does, it's impossible for him to be ennobled like Qin Qiong or Cheng Yaojin through military merit. So, he is only a baron now.

Even this was obtained through Li Er's insistence, so a thousand strings of cash might have truly emptied the Niu family's coffers.

Thinking of this, Li Yu stopped being mysterious and said directly, "Actually, inviting you here this time has nothing to do with money. The investment money hasn't been used up yet."

Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, he continued, "I've called you here for three important matters."

"What is it?" they all asked in unison.

Li Yu paused for a moment and then said, "The first thing is to choose a shop. There are no special requirements; any shop in the East Market will do."

After saying that, he looked at Li Chengqian, then at Li Tai and Li Ke, and said to the three of them, "I'll leave this matter to you three. I'll provide the money. Your father has connections everywhere, so as his sons, this shouldn't be too difficult for you."

After hearing Li Yu's words, Li Tai and Li Ke both looked at Li Chengqian. Seeing that their elder brother had nodded, they also said that there was no problem.

"The first thing is done!" Li Yu cleared his throat and continued, "The second thing is to do publicity!"

"Publicity? What is publicity?" Everyone was curious about this new word that Li Yu had never heard before.

"Publicity is about making the wine famous!" Li Yu explained.

"How do we fight?" Everyone stared at Li Yu, waiting for his answer.

"That's easy." Li Yu smiled knowingly. "Have you ever heard the story of Shang Yang moving the log to establish trust?"

Of all those present, only Cheng Chumo was illiterate, so Li Yu had to explain to him separately: "Before implementing his reforms, Shang Yang erected a three-zhang-high wooden pole at the city gate to gain the people's trust. He then publicly ordered: Whoever can move this wooden pole to the north gate will be rewarded with thirty strings of copper."

"But at first, the people thought it was too easy and suspected it was a scam, so no one dared to do anything. So the merchant increased the reward to 150 strings of cash."

"The bounty increased, and at that moment, a scoundrel stepped forward from the crowd, picked up a wooden pole, and walked to the north gate. So, the merchant kept his word and gave the money to the scoundrel on the spot."

"And then what? So what?" Cheng Chumo was still puzzled.

Li Yu glared at Cheng Chumo: "In this way, Shang Gong successfully gained the trust of the people, and as a result, the people had no further objections to the rewards and punishments during his reforms."

"That's it? People actually believe that?" Cheng Chumo curled his lip, utterly disdainful. "Old Cheng always keeps his word; wouldn't that earn him the people's trust?"

"That's right!" Li Yu nodded. "Then I'll leave this matter to you. As for how to promote it, just do whatever I tell you."

After arranging things for Cheng Chumo, he didn't forget to instruct the others: "And you guys are responsible for acting alongside Chumo."

Seeing that everyone had agreed, Li Yu continued, "The third thing is very easy to do, which is to design a trademark for the wine."

"Trademark?" After encountering so many unfamiliar terms throughout the day, everyone was filled with questions.

"A trademark is meant so that people can immediately recognize our Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) just by seeing the logo!"

After a pause, Li Yu continued, "Not only that, even if this pattern is embroidered on clothes in the future, people will think of wine first, not clothes."

"Therefore, this trademark must be memorable. Among our group, only Xiao Chong's calligraphy and painting are truly exquisite and lifelike, so the trademark project is entrusted to you. Remember, it must be related to the name 'Erguotou' (a type of Chinese liquor), and not too vague or ambiguous."

The others nodded, and seeing that Li Yu had finished making the arrangements, they asked, "We all have things to do, so what will you be doing?"

"Are you stupid!" Li Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Look at those beaded necklaces, aren't they all strung together with a cord? From now on, I'll be that cord, specifically responsible for supervising you and cleaning up your messes."

After looking around and seeing that the others were still unconvinced, he raised an eyebrow: "What? Why don't you do it yourselves?"

Although they were unconvinced, everyone knew in their hearts that only Li Yu was capable of doing this job, since he was the one who came up with the idea...

Seeing that no one dared to try, Li Yu chuckled inwardly: Try to compete with me in slacking off? I've been slacking off for two lifetimes...

.........