Chapter 46: A few days later, the profiteer arrived...
A few days later, it was the day for everyone to set off for the northern border. Song Youning arranged Lin Qinglan to be the manager of Zuixian Pavilion in advance.
He also sent Mu Qi to secretly write in "Dagan Fengwuzhi" that Master Jinzhi was an old friend of the owner of Zuixian Pavilion. Because his friend's business was not going well, he was about to move into Zuixian Pavilion and use Zuixian Pavilion as the place to sell the new book "Dagan Fengwuzhi". He was mainly responsible for selling the classics and novel items that Master Jinzhi found during his travels in famous rivers and streams.
Zuixian Pavilion became an instant hit in Bian Jing due to the reputation of "Golden Branch Prince". Book fans gathered in front of Zuixian Pavilion, wanting to see with their own eyes what was new about the shop opened by the world-famous Golden Branch Prince.
In order to expand his business empire in Dagan, Song Youning also spent a lot of money to completely renovate Zuixian Pavilion, which had three floors, and changed its dilapidated state, and renamed it "Jinzhi Pavilion".
The restaurant that was originally unable to make ends meet has been transformed into a grocery store with a wide variety of goods: women's rouge and powder are displayed in carved sandalwood cabinets, and men's Xiangfei bamboo folding fans are hung beside the green jade screen.
There are also fine wines and delicacies collected from all over the country, such as grape wine from the south, lychee honey from Lingnan, and crab roe cakes from the south of the Yangtze River, all of which are served in glass cups and gilded boxes. The entire Jinzhi Pavilion is full of dazzling and colorful delicacies.
There is a special incense-testing table at the entrance of the hall. Amidst the submerged incense mist, the goods in the pavilion are three times richer than the market in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".
The first floor of Jinzhi Pavilion is the gourmet food area. As soon as you enter the door, you will be greeted by the rich and mellow aroma.
The vast gourmet food area displays the delicacies Song Youning has collected from all over the world: amber wine, candied longan from Lingnan, crab meat and lion's head from Jiangnan, air-dried venison from northern Xinjiang...
In order to attract customers, Song Youning specially set up a "try before you buy" policy.
Rich or poor, everyone could hold silver chopsticks and pick up jade plates to savor the wine. For a time, the Golden Branch Pavilion was bustling with guests, and the sound of laughter and praise, mixed with the aroma of wine, lingered all day long.
In the center of the first-floor hall, an exquisitely carved hollow round platform rises from the ground, with five accountants sitting in the middle.
They were either counting beads or keeping account books. As their fingertips flew, silver and money flowed into the coin box like water. The crackling sound of the abacus became a unique rhythm in this worldly life.
The second floor is the grocery area, specializing in selling novelty gadgets.
Some of them were interesting objects discovered by Song Youning during his travels around the country, and some were wealthy people who saw that the business of Jinzhi Pavilion was so booming and wanted to display their own goods to join in the fun.
So these merchants recommended themselves to Song Youning, and only after being screened and quality inspected by Song Youning could they sell their products in Jinzhi Pavilion.
However, if you want to have a place here, you must first pass Song Youning's test. Those with poor quality are not accepted; those that are flashy and impractical are not accepted; only novel, interesting and practical treasures can find a place on this sandalwood shelf.
Stepping onto the second floor, it feels like stepping into a bazaar of all nations.
This floor specializes in selling rare items from around the world, including the rare items Song Youning collected during his travels: a sound-making glass crystal, a night-shining pearl with a head as big as a head, and a bone flute carved by nomadic peoples from the Great Wall...
This second floor not only has all the new and interesting things in the whole Dagan, but also merchants from other countries come here to buy things like muskets and saltpeter from the northern border, and expensive agate and jade beads from the southern border.
As for the third floor, it is the treasure area, which has not yet been opened to the public and is in a confidential stage. Even the shopkeeper Lin Qinglan does not know what is inside.
The "Zuixian Pavilion", which originally only operated as a restaurant, now not only sells Jinzhi Gongzi's "Dagan Fengwuzhi", but also launched limited editions of books, Jinzhi Gongzi's signed editions, and novel small items that Jinzhi Gongzi brought back from his travels.
Since the new product is unique and has the Golden Branch Prince as a gimmick, the whole Dagan is talking about it.
No other shop in the entire Bianjing could compare with the rich merchandise of Jinzhi Pavilion. The goods of the largest grocery store in the past were not even a fraction of hers. In a short period of time, Jinzhi Pavilion successfully transformed from a restaurant to a grocery store, and became extremely popular for a while.
Song Youning is not stingy and does not hide his wealth. His main goal is to make money together.
She would try her best to invite any businessman who wanted to join in the fun. As long as they paid money and used her name "Jinzhi Pavilion", they could cooperate with her and sell Jinzhi Pavilion's goods in various places.
Due to the high quality of the goods in the pavilion and the people's scrambling to buy them, the Jinzhi Pavilion of "Golden Branch Prince" has become a hot commodity among thousands of businessmen.
In addition to spreading his fame, Song Youning also did not fall behind in terms of image.
Not only did they take the opportunity to launch their own exclusive business name and logo of Jinzhi Pavilion, a copper coin made of golden branches was printed on the flags of Jinzhi Pavilion and its cooperating shops.
The dark brocade base, the gold thread outlines, and the pure gold flagpole fully demonstrate the grandeur of the Golden Branch Pavilion.
Not only the flags, but every item sold is also branded with the Jinzhi Pavilion logo, using Song Youning's original inlay technique, so there is no need to worry about counterfeiting by unscrupulous merchants.
The rise of Jinzhi Pavilion was like a spring breeze passing by overnight, and it took root in the imperial city in an instant.
It is not like those century-old stores that have been cautious in their efforts. Instead, it seems to be a rare treasure that was born out of the right time, place and people. It did not cost the court a penny, and did not take a single brick or tile from the people. It just broke out of the ground at the right time, and in the blink of an eye, it grew into lush branches and leaves, and stood tall like a canopy.
Its appearance quietly reshaped the capital's commercial landscape. Silk shops in the East Market began adopting the "try before you buy" policy, while teahouses in the West Quarter also adopted the Duobao Pavilion's displays. Even more remarkable, the foreign merchants who once hawked their wares in the alleys now gathered under the light of the Golden Branch Pavilion, forming a small international gathering at the feet of the emperor.
Since the opening of Jinzhi Pavilion, Lin Qinglan, the nominal shopkeeper, has been so busy that he hardly knows the change of day and night.
She originally thought that doing business was just about fiddling with an abacus and counting money, but she didn't realize that the business was as complicated as a spider web. She had to deal with the inspections of tax collectors in the government office and the temptations of various merchants. Today she had to mediate a dispute between her clerks, and tomorrow she had to verify the authenticity of the goods.
What gave her the most headache were those foreign merchants who came here because of her reputation. They had red hair and green eyes, and they couldn't speak the language. It took them a long time to understand that they wanted to bargain. But before Song Youning left, she reminded her that she should not only deal well with the local merchants, but also take good care of some foreign merchants, as they would be of great use in the future.
After Song Youning hastily explained some trivial matters in the capital, he quietly left with the northern expedition army.
Before leaving, she only brought Chuntao with her to serve her personally. Before leaving, she also sent Chuntao to tell her that she had taken care of everything in the capital for her. She only needed her to stabilize the status of Jinzhi Pavilion. If she had enough spare capacity, she could prepare more goods and bricks and tiles for building houses, and she would transport them to the border after some time.
And Mu Qi was still staying in the Jinzhi Pavilion's bookstore as usual, updating the "Dagan Fengwuzhi" for her.
As for Xiao Liuzi, Song Youning had sent him to teahouses and taverns in Bianjing early on, where he pretended to be a storyteller and made up jokes about the strange happenings in the Golden Branch Pavilion. Sometimes he would pretend to be a wealthy man and "accidentally" show off the treasures in the pavilion in gambling houses and taverns. Now he has become a little famous in Beijing and is known as the successor of the "Golden Branch Prince".
Once, when he was drunk, he slammed the table and shouted, "Do you know? The moisturizing cream on the second floor of Jinzhi Pavilion, if ground into powder and applied on the face, can whiten and nourish the skin, and make people more than ten years younger!" And the next morning, before the door of Jinzhi Pavilion opened, a long queue had already formed outside the door. He was really good at shouting.
Song Youning sat in the sedan chair and looked at the secret letter from the capital. Everything was arranged very well. She nodded. Lin Qinglan did not disappoint her.
Suddenly she lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and looked out. It was sunset outside. The endless cedar forest pressed against the sky like an inky wave, and occasionally the sound of birds chirping could be heard.
She looked around and frowned. The size of the cedar forest was within her expectations, but this... this water vapor all over the sky.
Before entering the forest, you can smell the unique fishy and damp smell of the swamp in the air, and faintly hear the gurgling sound of mud surging.
It was originally thought that the cedar forest was abandoned by the people of the Three Kingdoms because there were some ferocious beasts and corpses, but it was unexpected that there were large areas of swamps scattered in the forest. No wonder it was clearly located in the center of the Three Kingdoms, but the other countries abandoned it.
This cedar forest, lying at the junction of three kingdoms, nominally belonged to the Northern Kingdom. However, because it was a burial ground for the three kingdoms and was infested with ferocious beasts, it became a dangerous place for merchants and travelers to avoid, and the Northern Kingdom therefore paid little attention to it.
But in her eyes at this moment, the swamps with dead bubbles looked like boiling silver paste.
Chun Tao was confused. She watched her master walk towards this strange forest with a determined smile on his face. Her eyes widened as she said, "Your Highness, why are you going to stay in this damn place..."
Song Youning glanced at her with a smile and explained, "Chun Tao... this is not a ghost place... this is my treasure pot..."
Her delicate chin lifted proudly, her tone wanton: "They dare not touch it, so I can take it openly... Before long, this will become my biggest treasure chest..."
Song Youning stroked her fingertips, gazing at the endless green scenery in the distance. The green echoed with the distant pine forest. "Since they are so polite... then I will respectfully obey your orders..."
She suddenly chuckled: "Chun Tao! From now on, the merchants of these three countries, the seizure and ownership of goods, and the silk caravans of other countries will have to pay tolls on the plank road we built." Chun Tao frowned, not knowing what to say.
"Jiuxiao, come out!" Song Youning suddenly whispered to the person outside the sedan. His voice was not loud, but it was sonorous and powerful.
With a whoosh, the curtain of the sedan chair was suddenly lifted by the cold wind, and a red shadow appeared like a lone wolf.
A young man dressed as a warrior suddenly fell from the sky. The collar of his red sheepskin coat was still stained with fresh blood, and the silver bells woven into his hair jingled with his breathing.
He raised his hand and wiped his face, revealing a pair of surprisingly bright eyes between his fingers: "Your Highness?"
"elder brother!"
When Chuntao saw the boy, she was so excited that she almost jumped up, her face full of joy.
"Taomei!" The young man turned his head towards the voice and saw Chuntao in an instant.
He was startled, grinning with his lips revealing his white teeth. He rushed over and picked up Chuntao horizontally. The headband bell on the boy's forehead jingled, expressing his joy at the moment.
Song Youning was also moved by the two. She looked at the reunited brother and sister. The boy's rough hands were clumsily wiping away the girl's tears. The fur from the sleeves of his sheepskin coat brushed against her cheek, causing Chuntao to burst into laughter. "Brother!"
Suddenly she thought of the scene when she first met the two of them.
At that time, she was still a little kid. She sneaked out of the palace and planned to buy Yanjin plums from a shop in the east of the city. As a result, she met a ragged brother and sister at the corner of the street in the east of the city.
Jiuxiao and Chuntao were very different back then. They were both thin and short, hiding in a corner and not daring to see anyone.
Although he was pale and thin due to hunger, Jiuxiao was like a little wolf cub when he was young. As soon as she passed by, she protected the young Chuntao behind her with red eyes, while Chuntao timidly grabbed her brother's tattered clothes tightly and refused to let go.
It’s not like now, teasing her every day!
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