"Royal sister, what have you gained and learned?" Ye Jingchen asked Ye Jingshu and the others.
Ye Jingshu took out two small oval porcelain bottles, each about three fingers wide, from her sleeve.
The small porcelain bottle was bare and dusty, with nothing on it, and looked very cheap.
The other small porcelain bottle has an exquisite pattern of blooming flowers symbolizing wealth and prosperity, and the bottle itself is particularly glossy, making it look very delicate.
“The lip rouge in here is exactly the same, and the one in this bottle is even more delicate—” Ye Jingshu said, pointing to the rough bottle.
"But this crude bottle only sells for fifty coins, while this exquisite one sells for one tael of silver! Is this selling a bottle or lip rouge?!" she said indignantly.
The bottle of lip rouge that cost one tael of silver was first bought in a refined and elegant shop, while the bottle that cost fifty copper coins was bought later in a very inconspicuous little shop. If the two shops hadn't been quite far apart, she would definitely have gone to the first shop to argue with the shopkeeper!
“But, Your Highness, this bottle is exquisite, with a delicate and glossy texture, and the pattern is exquisite and vivid, just like real flowers; while the other bottle is rough and has no embellishment. The two bottles are worlds apart, so isn’t it normal that the prices are different?” Ye Jingyu sat next to Ye Jingshu and observed the two bottles before drawing his conclusion.
"Of course I can tell that the bottle is more valuable, but I paid for the lip balm, not the bottle. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?!" Ye Jingshu said unhappily.
"Elder sister, before we know what's inside these two bottles, just looking at the bottles, which one do you think is better?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
"Of course it's this one!" Ye Jingshu said without hesitation, pointing to the exquisite bottle.
“You see, people are very superficial. They are easily misled by appearances and do not pay attention to their inner qualities. If these two porcelain vases were put together for sale, those who are not short of money would probably not even glance at the dull porcelain vase next to them, because they would feel that the bare porcelain vase does not match their status.”
Ye Jingshu wanted to refute, but she felt that Ye Jingchen's words made a lot of sense and she couldn't refute them.
If she hadn't had other motives, she wouldn't have stepped into that inconspicuous shop, and therefore wouldn't have discovered this matter.
"The value of a product actually has two aspects: the value of the product itself and the value that people assign to it. Packaging a product is an example of assigning value to it."
"This porcelain vase looks high-end and classy, pleasing to the eye. There are so many wealthy noble ladies in the capital, so naturally there are plenty of people willing to spend money on this packaging. They are not just buying lip rouge, but also happiness and satisfaction, so the money is well spent."
Ye Jingshu thought back and realized that before she discovered that the lip rouge she bought for one tael of silver and fifty coins was exactly the same, the reason she spent one tael of silver to buy that bottle of lip rouge was because she thought the porcelain bottle was very beautiful.
However, after discovering that the two bottles contained exactly the same lip rouge but had vastly different prices, she felt cheated by the owner of the first shop, and looking at the beautiful porcelain bottle again, she only felt irony.
"Knowing how to package goods to increase their value and thus gain more profit shows that this businessman has a good business sense and knows how to maximize his own interests!"
"But the merchants who used ordinary porcelain bottles to store lip rouge had the advantage of honesty. They sold lip rouge, and that was all they sold. At such an affordable price, even ordinary people could grit their teeth and buy it."
"Although these two shops sell the same lip rouge, their customer base is different. One shop specializes in serving wealthy and noble ladies who are willing to spend money and wouldn't think it's not worth spending a tael of silver to buy a bottle of lip rouge. As for the other shop, they serve ordinary people, and affordability is their best selling point. Their existence is also meaningful because it allows ordinary girls to pursue beauty."
Ye Jingshu was initially somewhat unhappy. It wasn't that she was heartbroken about the one or two taels of silver, but rather that she felt the merchant was flashy and frivolous, too cunning, and was deceiving them, the customers.
But after Ye Jingchen's analysis, her displeasure vanished, and she found businessmen to be quite an interesting group.
Seeing that many of the kids had thoughtful expressions, Ye Jingchen seized the opportunity to continue instilling values in them.
"Have you all heard the story of buying the box and returning the pearl?" he asked the children.
Some children nodded, while others shook their heads.
"Xiao Liu, would you like to tell this story to everyone?" Ye Jingchen called on Ye Jing'an.
Ye Jing'an: ......
He didn't really want to tell the story; he felt that his elder brother, the Crown Prince, was going to use this opportunity to trick him again!
But since his elder brother has specifically mentioned him, his obedient and sensible persona cannot be ruined!
"A man from Chu was selling his pearls in Zheng. He made a box out of magnolia wood, scented it with cinnamon and pepper, adorned it with pearls and jade, decorated it with roses, and embellished it with feathers and kingfisher feathers. The man from Zheng bought the box but returned the pearls." Ye Jing'an recited this story word for word.
"Wow—Little Six is so amazing! Clap clap clap—" Ye Jingyu clapped his hands in praise.
"The Sixth Prince is indeed remarkable; he can remember such tongue-twisting characters at such a young age," Yun Shu echoed.
Faced with the praise from the two academically challenged students, Ye Jing'an didn't really want to pay attention to them, but for the sake of his image, he still put on a sweet smile.
"Thank you, Third Imperial Brother! Thank you, Prince Yun! It's nothing!"
"You recited it very well! Do you know what lesson this story teaches us?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
Ye Jing'an's heart tightened; a trap had been set!
The story of "buying the box and returning the pearl" tells of a foolish man from Zheng who lacked foresight and spent a lot of money on a fancy but impractical wooden box, only to lose the most valuable pearl.
But is the question my elder brother asked really that simple?
Is this ornate wooden box meant to convey the same meaning as that beautiful porcelain vase?
But the porcelain bottle and lip rouge in front of the princess only cost one tael of silver, while the price of pearls was extremely high. No matter how beautiful the wooden box was, its value could not compare to that of pearls!
Ye Jing'an hesitated.
"You don't know? Then do you know, Jingyu?" Ye Jingchen asked Ye Jingyu, suppressing a laugh, seeing Ye Jing'an's conflicted expression.
“Brother Crown Prince, this story teaches us that we should not be short-sighted and put the cart before the horse. However, I think the man from Zheng must have really liked the wooden box more than the pearls inside. What he was willing to pay a high price for was the wooden box itself, so for him, the wooden box was more valuable than the pearls.”
"Jingyu said it's very good! Jing'an, reading is not just about reading, but also about understanding. Understanding the meaning of the book is more important than being able to memorize it. Don't put the cart before the horse in the future!" Ye Jingchen said gently.
Ye Jing'an: !
He's still young, and his facial expressions aren't quite right yet. When he heard the words "putting the cart before the horse," his little face turned into a paintbrush of colors, a mix of blue, red, white, and black.
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