Chapter 35: The Top Traffic of Yinzhou

"Brother Liu..."

Zheng Yueru had already changed into her female attire; at this moment, she was angry, and her face and body took on a bit more of a feminine form, her coquettishness tinged with charm.

This actually left Liu Zheng stunned for a moment.

No, no!

Liu Zheng's heart wavered; he couldn't be like this!

A real man should build a career and achieve success; how could he be obsessed with these romantic entanglements? He was currently discussing business! He absolutely could not be seduced by this feminine charm. Thinking this, he lowered his head and took a fierce gulp of tea, only then hardening his heart to cast his gaze toward Fengming Tower. At this moment, Fengming Tower was planning to open for business, and for a time, the sounds of singing and laughter were exceptionally lively.

"Brother Liu, wouldn't this be going too far? My Zheng Family has never done business like this before!"

Zheng Yueru gripped her wine cup tightly.

Liu Zheng laughed heartily: "Miss Zheng doesn't look like a qualified merchant right now; you want to reject me without even looking at the goods? Why don't I call the Wang Family and the Cao Family over to have another round of bidding?"

"You cannot!"

Zheng Yueru shot Liu Zheng a cold glance, her pouting appearance making her look even more adorable.

Damn it!

Liu Zheng didn't dare to look at her again. Why had this girl become more and more charming lately? Was it because the two of them had become much more familiar with each other?

"Brother Liu, why don't you tell me first what it is?"

Zheng Yueru felt she had lost her composure today and hurriedly collected her emotions.

Liu Zheng chuckled; in business, one must naturally let others see the effect of the goods first.

He first asked about how business at Fengming Tower had been lately, and Zheng Yueru knew it like the back of her hand, rattling off the details as if they were her own treasures. Under Liu Zheng's few gimmicks, business at Fengming Tower had indeed improved significantly. In just one short month, it had actually turned from a loss to a profit, and with the help of the fine wine, the earnings were quite substantial!

Zheng Yueru was indeed worthy of being an expert in this field; knowing that this was a critical development stage for Fengming Tower, she naturally wouldn't sit idly by and exhaust her resources. From the profits, she took out a considerable amount of money and found those slave traders to buy many young girls to train...

"Slaves?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng's eyes narrowed slightly.

Recently, he had been worried that as the scale of his Shen Gong Workshop grew larger, the number of craftsmen was becoming fewer and fewer. This was a matter that gave him a headache; only now did he realize why, in ancient times, population was the number one Dividend!

Soldiers need people.

Craftsmen need people!

Farmers still need people!

With Yinzhou's mere three hundred thousand people, excluding some elderly and women, how could that be enough?

Therefore, today, Zheng Yueru's mention of slaves had indeed reminded Liu Zheng.

By his estimation, as his Shen Gong Workshop slowly developed, tens of thousands of craftsmen, or even over a hundred thousand, were possible. After all, he still couldn't achieve true modern industrialization.

Therefore, this was also a problem that urgently needed to be solved!

"What, is Brother Liu interested too?"

Zheng Yueru was indeed a shrewd person; she instantly captured Liu Zheng's thoughts and then laughed heartily: "Brother Liu's Shen Gong Workshop must be short of manpower, right? Do you need my Zheng Family to help?"

Profiteer!

Now it was Liu Zheng's turn to feel depressed.

This Zheng Yueru had clearly scratched his itch; this would naturally turn into a bargaining chip for her!

Cunning woman!

"Then it will be a three-seven split! Miss Zheng must help me trade for one thousand able-bodied slaves every month!"

Liu Zheng knew the Zheng Family had this channel.

Zheng Yueru smiled bitterly: "But Brother Liu, I won't hide it from you, recently the Zheng Family has stockpiled too much of this fine wine in Yinzhou, and there hasn't been much progress in terms of sales..."

Liu Zheng was taken aback.

What was the situation? His white liquor wasn't selling?

This was something he had never thought of.

But upon hearing the explanation from the eldest Miss Zheng, Liu Zheng finally understood the root cause.

Whether it was the Zheng Family or the Cao Family, the price they got the goods from him for was already not cheap. Added to the fact that the logistics costs in this era were too high, by the time it reached all parts of the country, the price of the fine wine was already approaching, or in some places even exceeding, "Immortal Brew"!

This made it unacceptable for many people.

It was very simple; such expensive wine, sitting on the counter.

For those who hadn't tasted it, who would spend so much money to experience it?

Very few!

At least for now, these fine wines were still following a high-end route, but their reputation had not been opened up at all.

The saying that "good wine doesn't fear a deep alley" was pure nonsense.

Thirty taels a catty; who would buy it without any reputation?

So now, in the sales of white liquor, some problems had appeared, and the Zheng Family's capital chain was a bit tight?

"Promotion!"

Liu Zheng was anxious. His brewing speed had already picked up, and this workshop was his main source of profit; absolutely no mistakes could be made!

"What is promotion?"

Zheng Yueru looked completely bewildered.

"Doing advertisements, do you understand advertisements? To make it widely known! If that doesn't work, do ground promotion, hold events!"

The more Liu Zheng spoke, the more confused Zheng Yueru became.

Liu Zheng felt helpless; people in this era were too rigid in doing business!

After pondering for a moment, his eyes lit up: "So-called advertising is letting more people know how good our fine wine is! Understand? Use every possible Method! Like this, today I will demonstrate it for you, but only once! You call Manqing over!"

Zheng Yueru looked at him strangely and smiled ambiguously: "Does Brother Liu want to indulge in romance today? Hahaha, Manqing has been waiting for you for a long time!"

Indulge in romance your head!

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes so hard they almost flipped back.

I am demonstrating for you what an advertisement is, what it means to spread the word, and what the effect of an advertisement is!

Soon, the tender and gentle Shen Manqing arrived before Liu Zheng again, wearing a light veil. When she saw it was Liu Zheng, this once-famous talented woman of Jinghua felt her delicate body tremble. With a voice filled with infinite resentment, she lowered her head and whispered, "Manqing greets Young Master Liu. Has Young Master Liu come today to instruct Manqing in music?"

Pfft...

Upon hearing this resentment, Zheng Yueru nearly spat out a mouthful of wine. She coughed a few times and, suppressing a laugh, deliberately looked out the window.

Liu Zheng's head immediately began to ache.

What is going on?

Is he too charismatic? He really can't handle these beauties showing him favor at every turn.

"Ahem..."

He drank some wine to steady his nerves and said calmly, "That's right, I have indeed come today to exchange musical skills with Miss Manqing."

"Oh!"

Shen Manqing's face was filled with desolation.

"Of course, I've also come to fulfill our agreement, haha!"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily.

Shen Manqing's delicate body trembled, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's: "What agreement?"

Liu Zheng downed another cup of "Drunken Yinzhou" to add a bit of intoxication to himself, then became slightly more unrestrained, laughing loudly: "Today, how about Liu Zheng removes Miss Manqing's veil?"

"Ying..."

Being teased so publicly, how could Shen Manqing endure it, especially with Zheng Yueru present?

Zheng Yueru glared at Liu Zheng helplessly.

Ever since this fellow first came to Fengming Tower, he had hooked the soul of her top courtesan, Shen Manqing. Yet, for the entire month that followed, he hadn't visited even once.

Now that he's here today, he's teasing her so uncontrollably.

Poor Manqing...

"Manqing is at the Young Master's disposal..."

Shen Manqing endured her shyness.

Liu Zheng continued: "But not here!"

"Ah?"

The two of them looked over in unison.

Liu Zheng pointed to the top floor of Fengming Tower and chuckled: "It's on the Cloud Platform!"

"What?"

Both women's expressions changed simultaneously.

Zheng Yueru stood up first, her face cold: "Young Master Liu, you cannot! The Cloud Platform is exposed to the wind on all sides. Miss Manqing's skin is like congealed fat, like white jade—this absolutely will not do!"

The Cloud Platform, which was the highest floor of this Fengming Tower, had long been renovated according to Liu Zheng's design concepts into a rather unique structure. Rather than calling it a building, it was more like a proud, solitary pavilion standing tall in Yinzhou with an extraordinary temperament, truly worthy of the grand name "Cloud Platform."

But because of this, it was windy on all sides. In the summer, the Cloud Platform was absolutely romantic—a place where one could reach out to pluck the stars, sip wine, play the zither, play chess, and overlook Yinzhou. But in winter... especially in the winter of Yinzhou, it was hard to describe.

Especially since it had just snowed these past few days; if one were to play a piece on the Cloud Platform, wouldn't their face crack from the cold?

Let alone Shen Manqing, Zheng Yueru wouldn't even bear to let the lower-tier courtesans in the flower house go up there!

How could Liu Zheng not know the logic behind this? He thought to himself, if I don't put on this grand display to advertise, how will I get the money from your Zheng Family? He stared deliberately at Shen Manqing and asked with a smile: "What, is it that you, my so-called soulmate, don't even dare to accompany me in playing the zither?"

"Young Master..."

Shen Manqing's eyes turned red upon hearing this.

"Brother Liu!"

Zheng Yueru still wanted to persuade him.

Liu Zheng had already stood up and said: "No need to say more. In half an hour, on the Cloud Platform. I will bring the sheet music to you later!"

"Fine!"

Shen Manqing bit her silver teeth and raised her head to look bravely at Liu Zheng.

Watching these two, Zheng Yueru felt they were both crazy.

Soon, this matter spread throughout all of Yinzhou.

"What?"

"Playing the zither on the Cloud Platform?"

"Are they crazy? This is the dead of winter!"

The people of Yinzhou, upon hearing this news, flocked over to watch.

"Who?"

"Miss Manqing? She is going to remove her veil to play the zither?"

In the Post House, those travelers, merchants, scholars, and poets also ran over quickly upon hearing this.

The young masters and even the young ladies and socialites of the three Powerful Clans came to join in the excitement.

Since this Miss Manqing had debuted, she had never once removed her veil.

What's more, in front of so many people!

What is this County Marquis's son trying to pull now?

In the private room.

As Zheng Yueru applied the substance Liu Zheng had given her onto Shen Manqing's face, she said indignantly: "Manqing, he is acting recklessly, why are you following suit? If this face of yours is ruined like this, wouldn't that be a waste of a heavenly treasure?"

"He said that applying this to you will definitely have no ill effects!"

"Setting aside whether it's true or not, even if it is, he is using you! Why are you so foolish!"

Zheng Yueru was nearly driven mad with anger.

Only now did she realize what kind of scheme Liu Zheng was playing!

In his own words, it was "advertising"!

This playboy was truly detestable! He actually had a peerless beauty like Shen Manqing "advertise" his goods!

In the bronze mirror, a face of peerless beauty wore a faint, gentle smile.

"Yue Ru, few are those who understand the music; when the strings break, who is there to listen?"

Shen Manqing took a sniff of the Snow Cream and giggled foolishly: "Do you know what kind of divine melody the Fisherman and Woodcutter's Dialogue that Young Master Liu gave me just now is? Mmm, it smells so good... Perhaps, it really does have miraculous effects?"

"You have truly gone mad!"

Zheng Yueru could not bear to watch any longer and fiercely threw the "Snow Cream" and "Lip Balm" in her hands toward Shen Manqing.

Shen Manqing giggled, stood up, and took her close friend's hand, saying: "Yue Ru, you know me. I could have married those young masters in Jinghua, but why did I come to Yinzhou with you? Was it not for the sake of music? Now that Young Master Liu is teaching me, why should I not be happy?"

Zheng Yueru smiled bitterly: "Are you happy about the music, or the person?"

"Yue Ru..."

Shen Manqing was overcome with shyness.

She was mad!

She was beyond saving!

Zheng Yueru simply stopped thinking about Shen Manqing's affairs and instead began to seriously study these fragrant items in her hands.

However, would they really be as miraculous as Liu Zheng claimed?

By applying these things, one would no longer fear the biting winter wind, nor fear chapped lips, nor fear the cold wind damaging one's face? She saw Shen Manqing happily run to the side to practice her repertoire.

Zheng Yueru could not help but blush, and she also used her hand to take out some of this fragrant ointment and applied it to her face.

Mmm, it really smelled good...

Suddenly, Zheng Yueru gave a bitter smile.

If these things truly had the effects that Young Master Liu claimed, then his demand for eighty percent of the profits was certainly not excessive!

How exactly was this Liu Zheng's brain wired?

Fengming Tower had not even opened yet, but the people arriving here today were already an endless, bustling stream.

Zheng Yueru had still underestimated Shen Manqing's drawing power; she did not know that a woman like Shen Manqing would absolutely be treated like a celebrity in later generations—she could be called the number one source of traffic in Yinzhou! It was just that these ancient people had no idea what advertising was, so how could they know how to make good use of it?

The news had only just spread, and young masters, merchants, scholars, and even daughters of wealthy families from all over the city had come running.

Some wanted to catch a glimpse of Shen Manqing's peerless beauty.

Some wanted to hear Shen Manqing's peerless zither music.

Others wanted to see just how beautiful the woman who had bewitched their husbands really was. Of course—among them were not a few who had come with purely malicious intent. In this Yinzhou weather, wouldn't her little face rot away after being blown by the cold night wind for a while?

But regardless.

Today, before Fengming Tower had even opened for business, the wine was already sold out, and Liu Zheng urgently had another batch transported over from Shen Gong Workshop. Every restaurant and tavern near Fengming Tower was already packed with people.

Even on the rooftops, there were people wrapped in sheepskin coats, shivering as they watched.

Liu Zheng was stunned by the sight.

It had only been a whim of his; he had not expected such a massive turnout.

Was this what a traffic-driving celebrity was?

"Has it not started yet?"

"Come out quickly!"

"Come out quickly, this young master will reward you!"

"Hmph, let's see what kind of ghost she turns into today!"

Amidst the repeated calls and the flickering lights.

Two figures appeared on the Cloud Platform.