Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Chapter 376: Selling Sons to Raise Military Funds

Fortunately, Master Qiao San arrived within a quarter of an hour.

In Mr. Qiao's thirty years of business, this was the first time he'd heard of someone wearing their women's clothing to promote other products in his shop, even surpassing their latest fashions. He wanted to see who this person was, daring enough to take on the Qiao family's business.

The shopkeeper saw Mr. Qiao San coming and hurried over to greet him. He pointed to the two girls and said, "Mr. Qiao San, these are the two girls. What they have are really good things."

Master Qiao San was stunned. Wasn't it the shopkeeper who just reported that an unknown nobleman was interfering with the shop's business? Why did the statement change now?

Fortunately, Master Qiao San had seen a lot of the world. He had his servants push through the crowd and said to the ladies, "I want to see what kind of good business has found its way into my Qiao family's shop."

If he was too domineering, he might upset these ladies and ruin the reputation of the Qiao family, so he might as well take a look at the goods first.

It turns out Xia Liang was gently applying moisturizer to the backs of everyone's hands, leaving their skin feeling soft and smooth, like a child's flawless skin. In this dry climate, this moisturizer is truly perfect.

Besides, Luo Yu stood in the crowd with his citrus-colored lips. The lips were brightly colored, plump and moist, very tempting. Master Qiao San couldn't help but take a second look.

Many ladies were asking how much the moisturizer cost. Luo Yu smiled and said, "We're not here to sell goods. If there are ladies or young ladies who really like it, I can give some to a few ladies and young ladies. However, there aren't enough. I can only see which ladies and young ladies are most suitable. How about I give it to a few people at random?"

"Are you really going to give it away for free?" The lady who asked the question was shocked. She didn't even want to sell it for a hundred taels just now, and now she's thinking of giving it away for free?

When Master Qiao San heard this, he thought that this girl had a really big ambition. She must want to expand this business, right?

Unable to resist his curiosity, he asked the housekeeper in detail and found out that the girl was here to sell her house.

Mr. Qiao San had been exposed to business since childhood, and he could tell at a glance whether a person was cut out for business. He understood some of the meaning behind the girl's words.

The girl was bold and careful. She came to the best clothing store and tried on the most expensive clothes. She did this simply to attract the attention of these nobles and then to promote her products. However, she was not selling to them to make money. So there was only one possibility: she was looking for business opportunities.

"Excuse me, young lady, how much do you want for this recipe for moisturizing cream and lip balm?"

The loud voice of Master Qiao San broke the noise in the room. When everyone saw that it was the famous Master Qiao San who rarely appeared in public, they all stepped aside and whispered to Xia Liang about what color lipstick they wanted.

Luo Yu saw that Master Qiao San was dressed like a nobleman, wearing a dark satin robe, with a kind and enthusiastic face. He was indeed a top businessman.

"I suppose this must be Mr. Qiao San? I've heard of your great name for a long time, but I never expected to see you in person today. You're truly a prominent figure in the business world, with the demeanor of a great businessman."

Master Qiao San had heard too much insincere flattery, so her words didn't cause any ripples.

"Oh, then do you know what our Qiao family mainly does?"

I really don't know about this. Luo Yu smiled awkwardly and said flatteringly: "I really don't know the details, but the rumor is that it's the Qiao family in the north and the Murong family in the south. If the Murong family has it, I'm sure the Qiao family will have it too."

"Just tell me straight up, how much do you want for this recipe for your so-called moisturizer and lip balm?"

Luo Yu chuckled. It seemed that businessmen valued efficiency and didn't like beating around the bush. So don't blame her for being rude.

"One million taels of silver."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of ladies who were picking out free lipsticks all fell silent. This recipe costs one million taels, so doesn't that mean the lipstick must be sold for a few hundred taels?

Master Qiao San and the shopkeeper's faces slapped again and again, but in the end, they suppressed their urge to curse with self-control.

Xia Liang secretly wiped his sweat. Sister Luo Yu really asked for too much! How brave!

She looked around secretly again. Fortunately, there were no thugs with sticks. Otherwise, she couldn't guarantee that the shop would not be messed up. It would be a pity to lose so many beautiful dresses.

While the ladies and young ladies were quiet, Xia Liang stuffed the most popular peach-colored lipstick into Master Qiao San's hands.

"Master Qiao San, I heard that you have an unmarried Miss Qiao Er in your family. If you give her this lipstick, she will definitely be happy."

"How do you know my second daughter?"

Xia Liang chuckled and said, "I just asked your servants."

Before Master Qiao San got angry, she opened the lipstick and explained, "Look, the wooden shell of our lipstick is made with a special trick. You can gently twist it by hand to put the lipstick in and out. Once the lid is closed, it becomes very small and easy to carry."

Luo Yu nodded and said, "If Master Qiao San wants to make more money, he can use fine wood to make intricate carvings on the shells and sell them. This way, he can sell them at a higher price. For cheaper products, you can just make a small round wooden box and apply it by hand. Different price points have different packaging. If your Qiao family has the channels, you can use iron products to make the shell packaging, which is easier to store."

As Master Qiao San listened, he realized that the girl had indeed come prepared.

"It seems that the young lady is very confident in these products, but the one million taels of silver you mentioned for this recipe..."

"If Master Qiao San feels that's too high, we can go into the inner room and talk about it."

Luo Yu had originally only hoped to sell the item for around 100,000 yuan, but with a group of distinguished customers already in the shop, she decided to raise the price a bit, as a heads-up. Besides, if someone was quoting a price, there would naturally be someone else to bargain with. They were all experienced business people, and none of them were simple.

Master Qiao San smiled, this girl is no ordinary girl.

Luo Yu asked Xia Liang to greet these distinguished guests outside, and she took a few more products to give to Master Qiao San.

After entering the inner room and taking a seat, she handed the moisturizer to Master Qiao San and explained, "This moisturizer is also a good thing. It's many times better than those manufactured on the market. It's also non-toxic and harmless, and extremely skin-friendly. Even men can try it. Especially in autumn and winter, applying it on your face will reduce dry skin and make the skin smooth and delicate. It will make it easier for women to put on makeup."

"It seems that you are indeed an expert, but why do you want to sell it to our Shanzhou City? Wouldn't it be better to sell it in the direction of the capital?"

"Master Qiao San probably hasn't heard of our Liangzhou Fang family yet. Although this product sells well in the south, I think the climate in Shanzhou is dry and the demand is even greater. Besides, the Qiao family is a large and powerful family and has the ability to expand and strengthen this business. In the future, if you expand to the south, our Fang family will not compete with you for the market share of similar products. This can also be considered as market integration and there is no conflict."

"The Fang family? I've heard that the Liangzhou Fang family opened a free library for the entire city. Could it be this Fang family you're talking about?"

"Exactly!"

Mr. Qiao's frown suddenly relaxed, then gave way to amazement. He had certainly heard of the reputation of the Liangzhou Fang family. He'd even had the good fortune to see some of their so-called picture books. He'd initially assumed they were children's books, but they turned out to be some bizarre futuristic products. When some of these things were truly developed by skilled researchers, the Qiao family even sent people south to investigate, including the business model. They later discovered they were impossible to imitate, simply because they lacked a unique and ingenious technique. But he hadn't expected this young woman before him to claim to be from the Fang family. Was this a blessing from heaven? Or were they using the Fang family's name to deceive people?

Luo Yu smiled sweetly: "It seems that Master Qiao San doesn't believe that I am from the Fang family?"