Chapter 65 Chapter 65 Since the opening of Xuanzifang,...
Xuanzifang has been doing great business since its opening.
Although there were no long queues outside the theater like Xianwei, the store was always crowded with customers, and the price of soap was high, so the store made more than one hundred taels of silver every day.
The courtesans and prostitutes in several nearby brothels sent their servants over to buy soap, saying that the customers liked the smell.
There are also wealthy merchants like the Sheng family, who are very rich. I love to keep up with the fashion, so I won't miss out on new things like soap.
People like them would not buy soap for just themselves. It is the festive season now and every household is preparing New Year gifts.
The soap has a beautiful shape and nice packaging. Many people have never heard of it, and it is also very presentable as a gift.
Plus, its price is not much different from that of high-quality silk flowers, so it’s not too expensive. Many families came specially to purchase a whole set of soaps and added them as holiday gifts to other families' brothers and sisters.
As a result, many wives of prominent families in the capital also received soap as festival gifts.
This soap was a new thing, and the people who received it would inevitably find it rare, so they started talking about it after dinner.
Gradually, the reputation of the soap became popular among the famous families in Beijing. The reputation of Xuanzifang was also well-known in Beijing.
Taking advantage of the peak season for purchasing New Year gifts before the Chinese New Year, Xuan Zifang's business is getting better and better. Chen Xuan also makes a lot of money and is busy counting money at home every day.
As the end of the year approached, he received several more invitations from the Princess of Jinning County. But he has been too busy lately and couldn't get away, so I could only write a message to decline.
Unexpectedly, after declining several times, one afternoon when Shen Xuan was busy behind the Xuanzifang, the Princess of Jinning County came to the door in person to look for someone.
Shen Xuan was shocked. He didn't expect Jin Shiyue to come directly to his shop. He didn't know when the other party knew that Xuanzifang was his property, so he quickly invited her into the backyard of the shop.
It turned out that Jin Shiyue had received a holiday gift a few days ago. When he opened it, he found it was a set of soaps, exactly the same as the one Shen Xuan had given him before.
This holiday gift was presented by a merchant who had some dealings with the royal palace. After Jin Shiyue made some inquiries, she learned that the soap was sold by Xuanzifang, a new shop that had recently opened on Zhijin Street.
This Xuanzifang specializes in selling soap, but it has only been open for over a month.
Jin Shiyue originally thought that Shen Xuan's gift was also bought from this Xuanzifang, but when he calculated the time, he found that it opened more than half a month after Shen Xuan gave him the gift.
The Princess of Jinning found this matter quite strange, so she told it to the Princess of Jinning.
After hearing this, the princess thought about it carefully before saying to Jin Shiyue, "This shop called Xuanzifang should be opened by this Brother Chen himself."
How could Shen Xuan open this soap shop by himself? Jin Shiyue was shocked and sighed in her heart, and was a little bit unbelievable.
However, when he combined the name of Xuanzifang and the name of Shen Xuan, he felt that there was probably nothing wrong with this.
At this time, Princess Jinning said again: "Last time you invited this Brother Chen over, I saw that he was polite and well-mannered, and he was more polite than many famous wives in the capital. Even if he opened this soap shop independently, it would not be unexpected."
"Plus, you and him had a disagreement in the Ye Family Paddock last time, but he saved your life regardless of the past. Such a person is worthy of deep friendship."
"Yue'er, don't look down on him just because of his low status. You have been held in high esteem by your father and me since you were a child, and your temperament has really been spoiled."
"You have such a flamboyant personality, and you have already suffered a lot from Qian Ruofang. If you don't change in the future, I don't know how you will suffer outside. But this brother Chen is very patient and complements you very well. You might as well invite him to your home more often and interact with him more."
Prince Jinning and Emperor Wu of Jin were not born of the same mother. Most of Emperor Wu of Jin's other brothers were sent by him to remote fiefdoms in the Great Jin. However, Prince Jinning kept a low profile and with the assistance of Princess Jinning, he was able to stay in the capital and live a stable life as a prince.
Princess Jinning was born into a prominent family. She was the daughter of the former uncle of the emperor, Lu. She was extremely talented and was specially assigned to Prince Jinning by the late emperor.
After she married into the palace, Prince Jinning treated her with great respect and had no concubines for more than 20 years, with her as his only wife. The couple had a loving relationship and had a son and a brother, which showed that she was a very intelligent woman.
Although Jin Shiyue has a flamboyant personality outside, she listens to her mother very much at home.
He immediately said: "I have sent many messages to Shen Xuan a long time ago, but he kept saying he was busy and couldn't refuse. How could I underestimate his status?"
"Forget it. Since he is busy running the shop, I guess he won't have time. At worst, I can go find him in person."
"That's possible." Princess Jinning nodded after hearing this.
She knows her child best. Although Jin Shiyue has a bad temper, one good thing about her is that she is not a petty person.
Seeing how he acted, he had already recognized Shen Xuan's character. If he wanted to interact with him, it wouldn't be a bad thing to take the initiative.
So today, there was a scene where Jin Shiyue came directly to the gate of Xuanzifang.
Shen Xuan welcomed him into the backyard and made some good tea to entertain him. Jin Shiyue didn't drink tea either, but took a good look around Xuanzifang. After seeing a lot of soaps that hadn't been removed from the molds, she said, "So this shop is really yours. No wonder you didn't have time to spare even when I posted a message to you."
"You may not look impressive, but you know everything. I have to admire you!"
After saying that. Jin Shiyue waved her hand, called the attendant beside her, and said that she wanted to buy twenty sets of soap from Xuanzifang.
"Why did you buy so many soaps at once?" Chen Xuan said hurriedly, "If the one I gave you last time is used up, I can give you and the princess another set. Why spend so much money?"
Jin Shiyue heard this and said, "Let's put this matter aside. You are doing business, not running a charity, I can't take it for free."
"Besides, the New Year is coming soon, and my family will have relatives, big and small, and many foreign guests coming to visit. I was originally wondering what gift to buy this year, but now that I have these soaps, it will save me a lot of trouble. But your soaps are still a little cheap, and they are not enough for me to give as gifts. I need to buy some more cloth, silk, flowers, etc."
Shen Xuan heard him speak so generously, and thought that a lean camel is bigger than a horse. The Jinning Palace seems to be low-key, but with just a New Year gift, they are much richer than ordinary families!
So he did not stop Jin Shiyue anymore, but asked someone to take Jin Shiyue's attendant over and pack up twenty sets of soap.
After Jin Shiyue finished selling things, she felt refreshed. After taking a look at the Zijin Street outside, she said, "This Zijin Street is much more lively than Linlang Street. There are many delicious and fun things on the street."
"I heard there's a snack shop called Xiyuan Xianwei on this street. They sell fried chicken and a snack called red oil skewers. They're both delicious. Why not buy some and try them now?"
Chen Xuan found it funny when he heard it. He didn't expect that when Jin Shiyue came to Zijin Street, she wanted to eat the food made in her shop.
Seeing Jin Shiyue asked the attendants around her to buy it, he didn't say much.
After a while, the attendant came back empty-handed and said to Jin Shiyue cautiously, "County Lady, when I went there, there was a long line outside the shop. When it was my turn, everything was sold out."
"Why did you sell out all the goods when it was your turn? You are so useless." Jin Shiyue was unhappy and blamed the attendant.
Chen Xuan took a look and saw that the attendant was only thirteen or fourteen years old. After being scolded by Jin Shiyue, his eyes turned red.
It's just past the afternoon. The Chinese New Year is approaching these days, and the business of the Theater Xianwei is better. It does close very early every day.
Seeing that Jin Shiyue was still angry with the attendant, he felt sorry for the attendant and took over the conversation and said, "How about this, you come to my house later and I will cook a meal for you to taste."
"You can cook too?" Jin Shiyue's attention was immediately drawn to Shen Xuan after hearing this.
"I used to cook for myself when I lived in the countryside. I know how to cook, and the food I cook is pretty good," Shen Xuan said to him.
Jin Shiyue thought about it and it made sense. Shen Xuan used to cook for himself, and she was curious about his cooking skills, so she agreed.
So Shen Xuan left the shop early today and took Jin Shiyue to the Shen Mansion.
Anyway, the servants in Xuanzifang have already prepared it, so he doesn't need to watch it all the time, which is very convenient.
This was Jin Shiyue's first time as a guest at the Shen Mansion. When she arrived at the door of the Shen Mansion, she found that although the Shen Mansion was not big, its location was good.
After all, it was a house awarded by the palace. Yangliu Lane, one of the three streets in East City, was surrounded by officials’ houses. The public security was very good and it was very quiet.
After entering the yard, Jin Shiyue led him into the backyard. He called Suyun and Suyue over, treated them to delicious fruits and tea, then he washed his hands, changed his clothes, and went to the kitchen to cook.
Although Shen Xuan hasn't cooked in person for a long time, he has learned the skills and has not lost his abilities, and he still has the necessary skills.
He first made a sweet and sour mandarin fish. Then he took out the spices he had prepared earlier and made a fried chicken and a dish of skewers with red oil.
Afterwards, Shen Xuan told Chef Huang to stir-fry two green vegetables and add a clear soup. Then he asked Jinzhi Jingui to come and serve the dishes to Jin Shiyue.
He had just returned to the house when he heard Jin Shiyue pointing at the fried chicken on the table and asking, "Why does this chicken smell so good? Was it you or your cook who made it? I've never seen it before!"
After hearing this, Shen Xuan smiled and said, "Don't you want to eat the fried chicken of Xiyuanxian? This is it."
Then he pointed to the red oil skewers next to him and said, "This is a red oil skewers, which is also the signature of Xiyuan Xianwei. It tastes spicy, I don't know if you can get used to it, why don't you try it?"
Jin Shiyue was stunned when she heard this, and after a while she blinked and said, "How come your family can make the signature dish of Xiyuan Xianwei? Did you open that shop too?"
Shen Xuan smiled but didn't say anything, but the expression on his face showed his agreement.
Jin Shiyue then said with certainty, "It is indeed true! You actually opened the Xianwei Theater! How are you so capable?"
He took a bite of the fried chicken right after he said that. I just felt that the skin was crispy and delicious, the chicken was tender and juicy, and the taste was amazing. Then I ate the red oil skewers. Although they were spicy, they were fragrant. Finally, after eating the sweet and sour mandarin fish, he said, "Ah, now it seems that if you don't look at your background, you and the prince are quite a match."
Shen Xuan was speechless after hearing this, thinking that Jin Shiyue really didn't know how to talk, no wonder she offended people everywhere.
He deliberately raised his eyebrows and said, "Although my status is lower, I know more than the prince? How come I am not worthy of him?"
Jin Shiyue heard this and said, "You don't understand the prince. He is not only of noble status, but also knows many things! For example, among the unmarried men in the capital, is there any man whose talent and knowledge can surpass his?"
"He is an excellent calligrapher. He once received praise from His Majesty himself for his poetry at a palace banquet. He is also very famous in the Imperial Academy. He writes excellent policy papers and is often taken to elegant gatherings for others to read."
"Most of the sons of noble families in the capital don't like to study, and they rely on their family's connections to seek official positions. But the prince passed the Autumn Examination the first time he took part in it last year, and he was the top scorer in the capital. The Spring Examination will soon be the selection of Gongshi, and with his talent, he will surely pass it in one try."
"Besides, he has been learning martial arts, riding and archery from his uncle Ye since he was a child. Every time he attends a banquet or an event, he is not inferior to Ye Chen on the polo field."
"If there is anything he can't compare to you, it's probably opening a shop to make money." Jin Shiyue thought for a moment and said, "But the Ye family was an important official for three dynasties, and the family background is rich. The birth mother of the prince was favored by the Ye family, and when she got married, she took half of the family property to the Marquis' Mansion."
"Now that she has passed away, she only has one child, the prince. All these properties are naturally in his name. There are more than ten farms in the suburbs of Beijing alone, not to mention other shops and countless gold and silver."
"That's why, which girl or boy in the capital wouldn't want to marry him? Not to mention he has an unrivaled appearance!"
Jin Shiyue was originally an admirer of Xue Fenglin. Although she is no longer competing with Shen Xuan, when she heard Shen Xuan questioning Xue Fenglin's ability, she immediately turned into a prince flatterer and flattered him.
After hearing this, Shen Xuan immediately thought of the money box that Xue Fenglin had given him last time. There was indeed a thick stack of land deeds and house deeds in the box, and they forced them into his hands for safekeeping, which scared him very much.
At the same time, he thought to himself: Xue Fenglin is indeed rich. With the property he has, as long as he doesn't commit the serious mistake of confiscating his property and exterminating his clan, he can just lie at home and squander it, treating money like running water. I'm afraid he won't be able to spend it all in his next life.
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