The main reason was that he underestimated the appeal of billiards in this era of scarcity of entertainment, not to mention that one could place bets!

Anything that has something to do with gambling can become addictive.

An Jingzhi saw that it was dark outside and Gou Zi had not returned yet, so he asked his servants to go to the billiard hall to ask what was going on.

The servant trotted over and came back a quarter of an hour later.

He explained breathlessly, "Master, I went to see the billiard room and there were still many people there. Master Gou was still watching over there."

"Is there anyone playing in the dark?" He didn't expect that anyone would play so late at night, so there weren't many candles there, and even if there were, it probably wouldn't be very clear.

The servant replied, "The whole billiard hall is brightly lit. Lord Gou said those people bought the candles and lamp oil at their own expense."

Wow, An Jingzhi was amazed. They were willing to buy candles out of their own pockets just to have fun. But that’s okay. The more addicted they were to the game, the more money they would make. The billiard parlor charged by the hour.

"Since they paid for the candles themselves, it was our fault for not being considerate. Let's go back and tell Gouzi that we must return the money for the candles to them." We can't be greedy for such a small advantage.

After waving his hand to let them go, An Jingzhi found Dong Shuangyan's yard.

"mother."

Dong Shuangyan was counting the accounts in her hands. These were all the expenses she would incur in making cotton-padded clothes as she prepared to follow her son's instructions.

"Why are you here? Something happened at the billiard parlor?"

"Mother, what are you thinking about? The billiard hall is still brightly lit, and customers have to buy candles at their own expense to play billiards there."

Dong Shuangyan was surprised, "Is it really that fun?"

An Jingzhi briefly talked about their betting.

Dong Shuangyan asked worriedly, "Will this work?"

There are also gambling houses in Zeyun County, and each gambling house has government officials backing it. Otherwise, ordinary people would not be able to keep such a lucrative business.

"Don't worry, Mom. The bets made by the customers in this billiard parlor are between them. We don't make a penny."

"By the way, mother, I came to you this time because I want you to send a steward over for me."

Dong Shuangyan had thought of this before, but she didn't mention it because she was worried that her son's billiard hall would not be open for long.

"OK."

Dong Shuangyan thought for a moment and said, "There aren't many people in this mansion who are suitable for management. How about this? I'll have the housekeeper, Old Yang, send his son to manage the billiard parlor for you. His son often learns management skills from Old Yang, so he should be able to manage your billiard parlor."

An Jingzhi thanked her with a smile, "Thank you very much, mother."

"Why are you being so polite to my mother?"

With the new way of playing and its gambling nature, the billiard hall quickly spread throughout Zeyun County.

However, in just ten days, almost everyone in the entire Zeyun County knew about it.

Almost everyone who can afford it has been here.

But they don't always get the pool table.

If you can’t get a prize, you can only watch from the sidelines or place a bet with a few others. Watching has its own fun.

An Jingzhi would go on patrol occasionally, and when someone else took over, Gouzi would happily come back and follow An Jingzhi around to run errands.

After seeing the lively scene in the billiard hall, An Jingzhi felt very satisfied.

When the housekeeper Lao Yang's son saw An Jingzhi, he walked up to him very respectfully and said, "Master, you are here."

"Well, nothing's happened lately, right?"

"Everything is fine," the other party said with some embarrassment, "but there is something."

"If you have something to say, just say it."

The other party cupped his hands and said, "There are so many customers coming every day. Isn't our pool table a little short?"

Gou Zi also said, "Yes, Master, you see there are so many customers, but the ones who come across the pool table are always the same. And I heard that there are people outside who are imitating our pool table."

His uncle Niu has received many requests from people asking him to help polish stone eggs.

"This pool table is not difficult to make. You can tell how to make it just by looking at it." An Jingzhi was not surprised that someone followed suit.

"But adding more pool tables is definitely something we need to put on the agenda," he thought for a moment and said, "How about this, Gouzi, go get someone to bring in five more pool tables."

He turned to Lao Yang's son, Xiao Yang, and said, "Let's introduce a membership system in our billiard hall."

The other party was completely confused, so An Jingzhi simply took him to a quiet rest room and explained it in detail.

Xiao Yang is a smart man. He has learned a few words since he was a child and has learned a lot of management knowledge from his father, Lao Yang.

After An Jingzhi's explanation, he quickly understood.

He looked at this young master with admiration, who was considered uneducated by the people in the mansion.

"Master, this move of yours is truly..." He thought for a moment before uttering two words, "Incredible!"

In this way, even if someone follows suit and imitates the billiard parlor, their business will not be greatly affected.

Those who recharge their membership cards here are equivalent to being bound to their billiard hall.

"In this way, no matter what, if they want to play billiards, they will choose our billiard hall first." Gou Zi also looked at An Jingzhi with admiration. The eldest young master resolved their troubles with a simple stroke of the pen.

"This membership system can only reduce customer churn a little bit, but business will definitely be affected."

Xiao Yang said happily, "Business competition is like this. The young master's move has already saved our billiard parlor a lot of losses."

"When the five pool tables are moved in, our capacity to accommodate guests will increase significantly. Coupled with the introduction of the membership system, we will be able to maintain our current operating income, or even increase it."

Although those who come to play pool are all rich people, their money is not blown by the wind. If they become members, they can enjoy the benefit of charging ten taels and getting five taels free. No one will refuse.

Sure enough, after An Jingzhi's welfare policy was formulated, Xiao Yang officially launched it in the billiard hall the next day, and it was instantly welcomed by the customers.

While everyone was happy, there were also some doubts.

"Manager Yang, we've deposited money with you, but you don't have enough pool tables. If we can't use one for a month or two, what's the point of depositing money?"

"That's right, I've been here for five days straight and haven't touched a golf club once."

Xiao Yang quickly stepped forward to explain, "Everyone, I understand your concerns. Our young master has already hired someone to build a table tennis set overnight, and five brand new ones will be delivered soon!"

"These five cards aren't enough? There are so many brothers coming here every day."

Five cards are indeed not enough, but this is the only space available.

Even the VIP table upstairs had to vacate half of the space to place the table tennis table.

Although the guests said this, they were much less concerned about recharging their membership, and many people rushed to the counter to sign up.

The membership certificate is just a wooden plate, but it has its number on it, and each number has a corresponding customer information record.

This is to prevent others from stealing it.

Every time Xiao Yang registers a member, he will remind them that this membership card can only be used by the member himself.

Then he kindly explained that this was to prevent others from picking up the member's badge and using it privately.

This measure seems to protect the rights of members, and these guests don't have much objection.