Marketing methods

Jin Xiaoxiao decided to hire several experts to protect Old Madam Jin, which would require a large sum of money, so she needed to earn money.

After she got up, she asked her maid to count the gold and silver, which turned out to be six thousand taels.

That's enough capital.

Jin Xiaoxiao has already come up with a business idea to make money, but she is too young and lacks prestige, so she needs a partner.

She took the money and headed straight for Jin Yuantang's courtyard, but she found nothing there.

"Second Miss, yesterday the Old Madam instructed that Third Master should go to Jiangnan. Third Master left before dawn this day."

The best partner ran away, and Jin Xiaoxiao turned and left in disappointment.

“Yuanyu, I am very disappointed in you! You handled such a small matter worse than Yuanbao. After your father passed away, didn’t you understand the situation of our Jin family? It seems glorious, but in reality, it is full of crises and surrounded by wolves! I know you are kind and gentle, which is not a bad thing. But the business world is like a battlefield, and we must not be soft-hearted, otherwise the Jin family will be eaten alive!”

Jin Xiaoxiao stumbled into the old lady's courtyard by accident. She sat on the threshold with her chin in her hand and listened to the old lady scolding people. Sure enough, the old lady was still the most shrewd.

No wonder the Jin family declined so quickly after the old lady passed away. The eldest son was kind, the second son had no ambition in business, the third son was naive, and Jin Yuanyuan sided with outsiders. None of them were reliable.

Jin Yuanyu listened respectfully with his head bowed. After the old lady finished speaking, he said with shame, "I have troubled my mother. It is my stupidity."

The nicer Jin Yuanyu's attitude, the more headache Old Madam Jin felt. She opened her mouth, but decided to avoid the situation altogether, saying, "Fine, you can leave now."

Upon hearing this, Jin Xiaoxiao pulled Ji Jun and hid in the flower bushes.

Jin Yuanyu came out, when suddenly a young boy rushed up to him, "Father, I..."

Jin Yuanyu raised his hand and said, "Your grandmother is in a bad mood, so don't make a scene. We can discuss this later. Don't disturb your grandmother's rest." With that, he turned and left.

Jin Xiaoxiao peeked out from the flower bushes to examine the boy, who was her cousin, Jin Minzhi.

As she looked around, Jin Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up. A business partner had come knocking on her door!

She and Ji Jun followed behind Jin Minzhi until Jin Minzhi sat down in the corridor. Jin Xiaoxiao waved in front of him, and only then did Jin Minzhi come back to his senses.

Upon seeing Jin Xiaoxiao, Jin Min instinctively smiled. "It's Xiaoxiao! Are you lost? Brother will take you home." He stood up to hug Jin Xiaoxiao.

Jin Xiaoxiao hid behind Ji Jun. "Brother, I'm not lost. I came here specifically to find you."

Jin Minzhi asked in surprise, "Looking for me?"

Jin Xiaoxiao tilted her head, revealing her small white teeth, "I want to do a big business deal with my brother."

Jin Minzhi chuckled, squatted down, and asked, "What big deal?"

Jin Xiaoxiao kept everyone in suspense, "Brother, I'll go back and prepare some things first, then we'll meet in your courtyard later."

Jin Minzhi stood up. "Okay, I'll go back and wait for you." He took a step and then turned back to tell her, "Xiaoxiao, the sun isn't high yet. You can come to find me later. I'll be waiting for you."

Jin Xiaoxiao waved goodbye to her warm-hearted brother, when suddenly she felt a warmth on her body and a slight feeling of weightlessness. She was being picked up by Ji Jun.

Jin Xiaoxiao looked at her questioningly, asking why she was being hugged.

Ji Jun pulled the cloak tighter around her, saying, "You're cold."

Ji Jun carried her back to Buquan Courtyard.

After retrieving her things, Jin Xiaoxiao hurriedly went to her brother's yard.

"Brother, could you please ask everyone to move aside?"

Kim Min-ji followed her instructions and made everyone leave.

Next, with Ji Yun's help, Jin Xiaoxiao demonstrated how to make soap to Jin Minzhi.

Jin Minzhi looked at the sealed bamboo tube and hesitated before asking, "Is it done?"

Jin Xiaoxiao shook her head, "After it's shaped and cut, it needs to dry for at least a month."

Jin Minzhi nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Jin Xiaoxiao continued her experiment. She took out bottles and bamboo and made a simple distillation device to distill baijiu into alcohol.

She put the alcohol away, took out the peach blossoms, and after another series of steps, obtained peach blossom essential oil.

She mixed alcohol, water, and essential oils on the spot to make a small bottle of peach blossom perfume.

"Brother, smell it."

Jin Minzhi took the small porcelain bottle, and the sweet and gentle fragrance of peach blossoms wafted out, as if she were in a peach blossom forest.

"Brother, how do you like this peach blossom perfume?"

Kim Min-ji's eyes showed admiration, "Very good."

He had never seen or heard of such a bizarre method of production. Jin Minzhi's expression was complicated. "Xiaoxiao, why would you..."

Jin Xiaoxiao knew there was this part to come. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jin Minzhi suddenly covered her mouth.

"Xiaoxiao, promise your brother that you will not let a fourth person know that you can make perfume, apart from the three of us."

Jin Xiaoxiao slowly opened her eyes wide. Her brother was protecting her?

Perfume is indeed a big business, just as Xiaoxiao said, but the tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind. It's definitely not a good thing for Xiaoxiao to be exposed to the public!

Jin Minzhi gently patted Jin Xiaoxiao's head, "I've learned the perfume-making process, so leave the rest to me. I'll draft a contract later, with the profits split 60/40, and Xiaoxiao getting 60%."

The Kim family actually managed to raise a true gentleman like Kim Min-ji!

Jin Xiaoxiao was a little tempted, but she restrained herself, "Brother will have a harder time in the future, so let's split it equally!"

Jin Minzhi couldn't persuade her otherwise, and finally agreed to split the profits 60/40 with her.

"How does brother plan to promote the perfume?"

"Can't we just sell them in our own shop at home?"

"Will my brother take over the Jin family's business in the future?"

"Won't."

"The perfume belongs only to my brother and me. Our business must be separate from the family business. Without the Jin family's name, the perfume will have no reputation, so we must promote it."

A surge of pride welled up in Jin Minzhi's heart.

Jin Xiaoxiao patiently explained, "Brother, any flower can be made into perfume. We can sell them individually, or we can create a set for each season. We can also make a collector's edition that includes all the flowers of the twelve months, as well as popular editions based on color, classic editions based on scent, and so on."

Jin Minzhi suddenly understood. "I get it! We can differentiate between cold and sweet fragrances based on gender." Then he asked, "So how do we promote it?"

Jin Xiaoxiao counted on her fingers, "We can write poems about perfume, make up stories for storytellers to tell, distribute flyers, have our sisters and elders take them to banquets to display, or give a few sets to ladies of high status we know. Oh, right, the imperial examinations are about to begin, we can also make refreshing perfumes to give to the candidates, called 'A Bright Future.' Not only will we gain the favor of the candidates, but if one of them passes the exam, brother will also have more connections, right?"

After digesting his thoughts, Jin Minzhi straightened his sleeves and surprisingly bowed to Jin Xiaoxiao.

Jin Xiaoxiao was taken aback.

Jin Minzhi straightened her shoulders, her eyes shining brightly. "Xiaoxiao is really amazing. I didn't know doing business was such a complex subject!"

Jin Xiaoxiao humbly replied, "It's not that I'm amazing." She was just a marketing copyist.

"Coo coo"

Jin Xiaoxiao turned her head and found the source of the sound—Ji Yun's stomach.

Jin Minzhi, being understanding, said, "Xiaoxiao, your brother is hungry. Would you like to have some dinner with him?"

Jin Xiaoxiao grabbed Ji Jun's hand, which was resting on his stomach, and pulled him into the front hall with Jin Minzhi.

Watching Ji Yun wolf down her food, Jin Xiaoxiao remembered that there was still one thing she hadn't done.

She put down her chopsticks and asked Kim Min-ji, "Brother, do you know any martial arts masters?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Minzhi also put down her chopsticks. "Brother, you really know him? Xiaoxiao is asking who this is?"

"That's great! Brother, can you invite a master to our house to teach us martial arts?"

Kim Min-ji took a sip of tea. "Okay."

Late at night, Yue Xiao visited the Jin family again.

He had just climbed into Jin Yuanyuan's yard when a childish voice suddenly came from above.

"You've finally arrived!"

Yue Xiao looked up and saw a strange little girl dressed in white with disheveled hair sitting leisurely on the courtyard wall.

He stopped in his tracks. "Who are you?"

Jin Xiaoxiao tilted her head to look at him, her pupils strikingly black in the moonlight. "Me? I've come to take your life!"

The gray clouds had just dispersed, and the bright moonlight illuminated her pale face and blood-red lips. The shock of seeing this scene was too great. Yue Xiao's pupils shrank, and his gaze shifted, inadvertently noticing her shadow. He sneered, "Playing tricks."

Jin Xiaoxiao followed his gaze and noticed the figure on the wall. She slapped her forehead and said, "A miscalculation."

"Sorry, sorry! It was wrong of me to scare people, but climbing over someone's wall in the middle of the night is even more shameless!"

Yue Xiao's face turned ugly. "You brat, you're asking for death!"

Jin Xiaoxiao clutched her heart, "I'm so scared, someone's going to eat the children!"

Squeak—

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and Jin Minzhi, holding a torch, led several people in.

"May I ask why you sneaked into my home so late at night..." She paused, then, to protect her aunt's reputation, changed her words, "The Jin family?"

Yue Xiao, feeling confident and fearless, glanced sideways at Jin Yuanyuan's boudoir.

In the boudoir separated by a wall, Chuanbei glanced at the sleeping incense that was already half-burned, and tucked the blanket around the sleeping Jin Yuanyuan.

Seeing that Yue Xiao ignored him, Jin Minzhi's tone became harsher, "If you don't give me an explanation, don't blame me for resorting to violence."

Unable to bear seeing the male lead so arrogant on the Jin family's territory, Jin Xiaoxiao deliberately said, "The Princess Consort of Yi has passed away. I heard that there is a concubine in the Prince's mansion who is very much favored by the Prince. I wonder about this princess consort's position..."

Yue Xiao suddenly raised his eyes, his killing intent shooting towards Jin Xiaoxiao as if it were a tangible force.

Jin Xiaoxiao instinctively leaned back, but Ji Jun caught her before she fell.

A flash of cold light, and Ji Yun drew his sword.

Hearing the noise, Jin Xiaoxiao quickly stopped him, "Don't get excited, don't get excited." She pressed Ji Jun's hand and pushed the knife back.

Despite their numerical advantage, the male protagonist's men are all outside the courtyard. If they were to actually fight, it would be hard to say who would win!

Jin Xiaoxiao weighed the pros and cons carefully and considerately offered the male lead a way out, "Young Master Yue, would you like to stay at the Jin family home for breakfast?"

Having his identity exposed, Yue Xiao finally looked at him properly, "Very good. Kid, I'll remember you!"

Yue Xiao gave Jin Xiaoxiao a deep look, then turned and climbed over the wall to leave.

One month later.

Fuxing Restaurant.

The patrons in the restaurant gathered together to talk about two things they had never seen before—Glory Soap and Glory Perfume.

"Excuse me, could you tell me the story behind this Glory Soap and Glory Perfume? Why are you all talking about them?"

"This is what the out-of-towner who just arrived in Beijing asked."

His words caused a sudden, sharp silence in the restaurant. Then, the crowd erupted into a frenzy, like water falling into a pot of boiling oil.

People were all talking at once, vying to speak.

"Brother, you may not know this, but it is said that Rongguang soap and Rongguang perfume are ancient recipes that have been lost."

"Yes, yes, it is said that using these two items can transform a person's appearance and make them admired by thousands."

"Legend has it that there was a beggar who accidentally obtained the secret recipe for these two items. After making the actual items, he attracted a goddess from heaven. The goddess fell in love with him at first sight and stayed in the mortal world to teach him to read and write. Five years later, the beggar passed the imperial examination and became a famous minister."

"It is said that a kind-hearted peasant girl once helped a beggar, and the beggar, in gratitude, passed on the formula for perfume to her. From then on, the girl possessed a unique fragrance, became famous, and was married by a nobleman who admired her, where she was showered with love and affection."

The man listened intently, "Where can I buy these two items?"

"You've come at the right time. Tomorrow, the sixth shop on Metasequoia Avenue, called Rongguang Perfume Flagship Store, will officially open for business."

After he finished speaking, the man glanced unintentionally at a corner of the lobby.

Jin Minzhi, who was sitting in the corner, nodded to him.