Prince Gu Yuzhi's melancholy was only temporary; he would deal with the future later, since he would definitely be grown up by then.

Looking at the child who had suddenly become energetic again, Shu Xiaohan couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, the world of children is still simple."

She wanted to say that she had a way to streamline long ledgers, but she wasn't from a finance background and only knew basic income and expenses; she couldn't calculate profits or anything like that.

Most importantly, Arabic numerals, like the alphabet, are not suitable to appear so abruptly.

Everything still depends on the young prince growing up.

At this moment, Shu Xiaohan and Gu Yuzhi's brainwaves miraculously overlapped, both hoping that time could pass faster.

Half an hour later, the three people outside the screen finally removed all the medical clinic's accounts and reorganized them into new ledgers.

Mu Sheng drank two glasses of water before speaking: "I already know the purchase price that Li's Medical Clinic gave us. From our cost perspective, it's 10% lower than theirs, so our profit is still very considerable."

Actually, it's acceptable if the price isn't too low, after all, the quality of the medicinal herbs at Wen's Medical Clinic is truly excellent.

The impact of the closure of Li Ji Medical Clinic will be long-term. Mu Sheng is very confident that he will eventually attract the entire Mobei medicinal herb market.

Xie Changshi remained silent, and Mu Sheng's heart lingered in mid-air, unwilling to settle down.

He climbed up from the very bottom, and if it weren't for the Wen family, he would still be in a very awkward position. Logically speaking, he should consider the interests of the Wen family first.

That's why Mu Sheng knew how difficult it was for these small pharmacies to survive. He wanted to fight for them, even if it was just 10% of their profits, so that these pharmacies could survive.

Under Xie Changshi's gaze, Mu Sheng swallowed hard, his voice growing softer and softer: "Steward Xie, I do have my own selfish reasons for saying this, but I only spoke up after ensuring the interests of the Wen family."

Xie Changshi stared straight at him and slowly said, "Before you came to see me, did you tell these medicinal herb merchants that the supply price would be lower than that of Li Ji Trading Company?"

Mu Sheng looked confused for a moment, then realized what Butler Xie meant, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "This humble servant would absolutely not dare to make such a decision on his own!"

Chief Secretary Xie disliked people who acted on their own initiative. Even when the young prince was still clueless, he still made sure that the young prince's consent was required before anything could proceed.

It doesn't matter if the young prince doesn't understand; he can explain it in a simpler way several times until the young prince fully understands.

He can offer suggestions throughout the process, but he will never make decisions for the young prince directly.

Mu Sheng had shown great sympathy for the owners of these small pharmacies from the very beginning, so it was understandable that he would have such a suspicion.

Only after hearing him say no did Chief Secretary Xie's brows relax: "I will report your suggestions to the young master."

He thought for a moment and then said, "Here's what you'll do: reply to all the selected shopkeepers and set the time for tomorrow noon. The young master will go with you."

Chief Secretary Xie had a premonition that Li Yanping was very likely to have figured out what was really going on with the Wen family business, so Shen Yu'an, the young master of the Wen family, could no longer stay in seclusion and had to confirm his identity.

Mu Sheng secretly pondered Xie's thoughts and felt that Xie had taken his advice into account. He said in a relaxed tone, "Then I'll head back now."

After Mu Sheng left, Gu Yuzhi came out from behind the screen. Before he could ask any questions, Xie Changshi told Gu Yuzhi the accounts he had compiled in detail: "Manager Mu is right about one thing. The price we pay to other pharmacies is 10% less than Li Ji's, and the profit is still quite considerable."

Gu Yuzhi knew what "one percent" meant and heard Mu Sheng's price quote. He pondered it for a while but couldn't figure it out, since not all medicinal herbs were priced the same.

Teacher Shu said it's okay if you don't understand, since she's still young and her subordinates do.

You still need to learn these things when you grow up, so that your subordinates don't fool you.

Gu Yuzhi kept all these words in mind, so he wasn't in a hurry even though he couldn't figure it out. He blinked his big eyes as Xie Changshi explained things to him one by one. Looking at the thick ledger, Gu Yuzhi realized why Xie Changshi and the others had spent almost an entire afternoon on what was just a small pharmacy.

After Gu Yuzhi listened with a slightly bewildered expression, Chief Secretary Xie asked, "Does Your Highness think Mu Sheng's suggestion is feasible?"

Wen Xiuzhu then had a chance to interject: "Your Highness, I think it's not advisable! The purchase price of medicinal herbs is public knowledge among pharmacies. Li Ji Medical Hall has raised the price of medicinal herbs to this level, yet these pharmacies are still open, which means they are still making a profit. Your Highness's medicinal herbs are of better quality and efficacy than those of Li Ji Medical Hall, so there is no need to lower the price."

Gu Yuzhi was somewhat bewildered, and before he could speak, Shu Xiaohan said, "What do you mean there's no need to lower prices? Manager Mu already said that many clinics and pharmacies have gone bankrupt because of Li Ji Trading Company. This kind of scandal involving Li Ji Medical Clinic is a perfect opportunity for Your Highness to win over the hearts of the people!"

"What do you mean by winning people's hearts!" Wen Xiuzhu retorted sharply on this point. "Your Highness has already incurred the wrath of Li's Trading Company. If you lower the purchase price by 10% at this time, what will the people at Li's Trading Company think? Most importantly, will the managers who get their medicinal herbs from Wen's Trading Company truly be grateful to Your Highness?"

Not necessarily.

People are inherently self-interested. Would these pharmacy owners really be willing to give up 10% of their profits?

They might think, if Wen's Trading Company can give up 10%, why not 20% or 30%?

Having been in the business world for so many years, Wen Xiuzhu knew better than anyone the complexities of human nature. He emphasized, "Your Highness, people are inherently greedy. I still maintain that the price absolutely cannot be lowered."

Shu Xiaohan instinctively wanted to retort, but then she saw Wen Xiuzhu's already small eyes narrow into squinty ones, and cold knives were flying straight at her.

She eventually kept quiet. After all, when it came to business matters, Wen Xiuzhu was the one who knew the ropes.

Gu Yuzhi remained silent, and neither Xie Changshi nor Wen Xiuzhu offered any further advice. Many things were up to Gu Yuzhi to figure out for himself.

He was indeed a little confused, but that didn't stop him from putting himself in others' shoes.

Just like when she was in the palace, a concubine in the same hall, Zhaoyi, was very compassionate towards the palace maids because of her poor background. She would let them off lightly when they made mistakes. However, the palace maids did not appreciate her for what she did. Instead, they thought she was easy to bully.

Gu Yuzhi had overheard the palace maids gossiping behind the backs of this Consort Zhaoyi, calling her a fool...

Thinking of this, he suddenly spoke up: "Chief Secretary Xie, I think Mu Sheng's suggestion is not good."

Manager Wen is right. If he makes concessions from the very beginning of the cooperation, those pharmacy managers will only think that they are easy to bully!