Chapter 29: Having Money

…

More than ten days later.

Liang Shicheng, who had taken an instant liking to Gao Qiu, invited Gao Qiu out for wine.

Upon meeting, Liang Shicheng smiled warmly: "Younger brother, I have a great opportunity to bring you along."

Gao Qiu, ever shrewd, did not ask what the great opportunity was—he replied: "If elder brother is willing to bring me along, I'll go into water or fire, and if I shirk from helping with my life, may I meet a violent death, fall prey to a vile illness, and die an untimely death!"

Seeing Gao Qiu say such words, Liang Shicheng dropped all pretense and took a finely crafted brocade box from a nearby eunuch, placing it on the table: "Younger brother, do you know what this is?"

The brocade box was made of premium wood, its lid embroidered with golden thread in ornate floral patterns, radiating an air of distinction and elegant refinement.

Gao Qiu silently speculated: "This box is so exquisite—the object inside must be extraordinary."

Suppressing his curiosity, Gao Qiu shook his head: "The object inside must be no ordinary thing—I dare not guess."

Liang Shicheng chuckled: "The object inside is indeed extraordinary, but since I ask you to guess, it must be something you've seen before."

Saying this, Liang Shicheng opened the brocade box—inside lay a crystal-clear bar of soap.

"Soap?!"

Because of his excellent performance on the pitch that day, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan had each been gifted ten bars of soap by Zhao Yu.

Gao Qiu had already tried it—the soap was truly miraculous.

Gao Qiu also knew that the women of the Prince's Mansion, including the Wang Fei, had all raved about the soap after bathing with it.

Zhao Ji, who already used the Song Palace's Jade Dragon Cream for beauty, had even given the soap the elegant name "Clear Fragrant Jade Dew" to show his fondness for it.

Yet Gao Qiu could not fathom how this soap related to Liang Shicheng bringing him along.

Liang Shicheng did not let Gao Qiu wonder long—he confessed: "That day, my Great Lord did not elaborate, but this soap is no ordinary thing—it was crafted by a remarkable woman, using rare ingredients and intricate processes; each bar requires meticulous labor to achieve its lasting fragrance and skin-nourishing, beauty-enhancing effects. It has already won the favor of the palace ladies. My Great Lord, upon seeing it, decided to sell it publicly, and I am one of those in charge."

Gao Qiu began to understand Liang Shicheng's meaning and asked quickly: "What is the price of this soap?"

Liang Shicheng held up three fingers.

Gao Qiu guessed: "Thirty wen?"

Glancing at the exquisite packaging, Gao Qiu thought: "Thirty wen won't even buy this brocade box." So he amended: "Three hundred wen?"

Liang Shicheng shook his head: "Three guan."

Gao Qiu stared in disbelief: "So expensive?!!!"

One guan was roughly equivalent to seven hundred renminbi in Zhao Yu's previous life, enough to buy five dou of rice in this era.

A single small bar of soap was worth enough to feed an adult for half a year.

No wonder Gao Qiu was stunned by the soap's price.

But Liang Shicheng added: "Three guan is only the price my Great Lord gives to distributors. Whether they sell it for five guan or ten guan, my Great Lord doesn't care."

Gao Qiu, ever clever, did not question the Wang Fu's pricing—he cut straight to the point: "What is the current market price?"

Liang Shicheng answered honestly: "Minimum five guan; in the palace, it's already been bid up to ten guan."

Gao Qiu's eyes lit up—he immediately declared: "No matter how much I earn, half will go to elder brother."

Liang Shicheng smiled even brighter: "Younger brother, you speak plainly and swiftly—then I'll stop hiding anything. To be honest, I was merely a junior eunuch before, with few reliable people under me. Otherwise, why would I share such a profitable venture with you instead of monopolizing it myself? Now that I see you are no petty schemer, I give you my word: when others cannot get soap, you will always have ample supply."

Next, Liang Shicheng discussed specific sales plans with Gao Qiu. Since Gao Qiu lacked capital, Liang Shicheng offered to handle the first batch himself—he would pay the Wang Fu only after selling the soap.

After speaking a while, Liang Shicheng sighed regretfully: "That day, Li Dalaung was right—if we sold this soap to Fan Lou and the other seventy-two wine houses, the Young Ladies would flock to it. But we have no connections there—we'd be outmatched."

Gao Qiu immediately offered a plan: "What's hard about that? Li Dalaung is handsome, generous, elegant, and writes swiftly with skill—he calls himself 'Li the Rogue.' The Young Ladies in brothels adore his charm and even pay him to be their lover. If we bring him along, who can compete with our trio?"

Liang Shicheng thought: "Hooked." But aloud he said: "If Li Dalaung truly has such talent, bringing him along won't hurt…"

The next day, Gao Qiu brought Li Bangyan to meet Liang Shicheng—the three instantly agreed and partnered to sell soap.

Once they started, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan realized Liang Shicheng was truly leading them to wealth.

The soap, upon launch, sold like wildfire.

In Jingcheng, officials, noble families, even commoners all took pride in owning a bar of soap.

The soap had become more than a luxury for daily cleansing—it had become a symbol of status and taste, instantly turning into an indispensable topic and gift in social circles.

As a result, even the Wang Fu's full-scale production could not meet demand.

Gao Qiu had a large gang of ruffians—plenty of hands; Li Bangyan, through his wide network in brothels and wine houses, easily opened the market at Fan Lou and the other seventy-two establishments, flooding the Young Ladies with soap; Liang Shicheng could always secure soap for Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan when others could not get any.

Through their seamless cooperation, in barely over a month, Liang Shicheng, Gao Qiu, and Li Bangyan each earned tens of thousands of guan, becoming fabulously wealthy.

Of course, the biggest earner was Zhao Yu behind them.

The soap's cost was less than one hundred wen.

Zhao Yu gave every person in the Wang Fu—no matter who—three guan per bar.

Per bar, Zhao Yu netted two guan and nine hundred wen.

After selling for a while, Zhao Yu found the packaging tedious and stopped providing boxes to distributors.

This further lowered costs.

In barely a month, Zhao Yu had earned hundreds of thousands of guan.

Besides Zhao Yu's massive profits, everyone in the Wang Fu, from top to bottom, had also benefited.

Of course, no one else had earned as much as Liang Shicheng.

Liang Shicheng earned so much not only because his trio with Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan was exceptionally capable, but because Zhao Yu had ordered that Liang Shicheng be given first priority for supply.

Precisely because he had more supply than others, Liang Shicheng's trio captured the largest market.

After over a month of profit-sharing, Liang Shicheng had grown intimately close to Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan.

At this point, Liang Shicheng reported to Zhao Yu: "Great Lord, Gao Qiu and Li Bangyan now obey me blindly—they can be made to betray their master. When shall I have them lure the Prince to brothels?"

Zhao Yu smiled faintly: "Not yet…"

…

(End of chapter)