After Lü Bin left, when Zhao Cheng and the others went down to meet the generals, Cai Yilu pulled Zhao Cheng aside.
"Young Prime Minister, may we speak privately for a few minutes?"
Zhao Cheng gave Zhao Wu a wink, signaling him to take Xia Qiqiu and Shu out first.
Seeing that no one was around, Cai Yilu actually clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Zhao Cheng at a 90-degree angle!
"Brother Cai, what are you doing?"
"Young Prime Minister, please lend me a hand!"
"Brother Cai, you're being too polite. The money for this tea today wasn't earned by me alone; it's all thanks to you for introducing me to Lü Bin."
Zhao Cheng patted Cai Yilu's arm and said, "You won't be shortchanged on the tea money; we'll split it 50/50."
That's not what I meant!
"Oh? So what do you mean?"
"Please take me with you when you're doing business selling art books!"
Zhao Cheng smiled slightly, thinking that Cai Yilu had indeed guessed it and had not disappointed him.
After Lü Bin was exposed by Zhao Cheng, Cai Yilu stopped talking to him. However, Zhao Cheng continued to act, and later even brought out a sample of the second volume of "Yingyingying", which was actually unnecessary.
Zhao Cheng did this to test whether Cai Yilu could guess anything.
"I don't understand," Zhao Cheng continued to feign ignorance.
"Young Prime Minister! My brother Zhao! Please stop teasing me!!"
Cai Yilu said with certainty, "Lu Bin is right about one thing: no matter how strong his connections are in Yanchuan, he can't possibly get his hands on a sample of an unreleased picture book. That kind of thing is their secret!"
"Look at the catalog you just took out. The image quality, the colors, the workmanship—it's more than just a sample; it's probably a hand-drawn book!"
"The sketchbook is the real secret! You even carry something like that with you at all times, so this sketchbook business is yours!"
Zhao Cheng did not refute further, but remained silent.
Cai Yilu understood that this was tacit agreement and immediately said, "If Young Prime Minister is willing, I will no longer act as a middleman and will cooperate with you instead. As long as you give me enough volume, I can use Kangye as the center to open up the entire Southern Zhou market!"
"The sales of the second volume will then be used to support the first volume, allowing us to reprint the first volume and further increase its price and sales!"
"If you do the math, this catalog can make us a lot of money!!"
"Are you so confident?" Zhao Cheng knew what Cai Yilu meant; in his previous life, it was equivalent to Cai Yilu becoming Zhao Cheng's general agent for Southern Zhou.
"Anything I say now is just a verbal guarantee. Wait two more days, and you'll see where my confidence comes from." Cai Yilu even kept everyone in suspense, saying, "The person who opens up the Southern Weekly market is none other than me!"
If Cai Yilu truly possessed such great abilities, Zhao Cheng would be more than happy to have him.
The soap and toilet water business was handed over to Wu Sisi and Xiao Luomu. Wu Sisi was in charge of the production center, and Xiao Luomu was in charge of the market in the thirteen cities of Jingdong. They had already done a very good job in this business. The next strategic move was to attack Changsui and then spread out to cover the entire Jing Kingdom.
Zhao Cheng felt that this model was also perfectly applicable to the sale of picture albums.
As long as Cai Yilu is capable, Dong Hua will be in charge of the domestic market, and Cai Yilu will be allowed to develop the Southern Weekly market. Once the market is successfully developed, the serialized novels will also be introduced to Southern Weekly.
After all, compared to the 'brutal' capital city in the eyes of the Southern Zhou people, serialized novels had a better market in the civilized Southern Zhou.
“Okay, let’s talk again in a few days.” Zhao Cheng wasn’t in a hurry. Since Cai Yilu was keeping him in suspense, he would take the opportunity to observe for a few more days.
Such strategic matters cannot be rushed.
That night, Zhao Cheng and his group returned to General Jianzhong's mansion with Pu Jian. However, after settling Xia Qiqiu and the mansion's soldiers, Zhao Cheng was pulled out for drinks by Bi Fansheng and Song Cheng.
According to them, Zhao Huan, as a general and prime minister, was usually very restrained, and they hadn't had a good time drinking with him for many years. Now that Zhao Cheng had grown up, they would treat him like Zhao Huan and get him drunk, so that Zhao Cheng could pay off the drinking debt Zhao Huan owed.
Zhao Cheng immediately gave it a thumbs up, saying, "What a great example of the son paying for the father's debts!"
So he got drunk and didn't get up until the early morning of the next day.
After waking up groggily, Zhao Cheng wandered around the room and felt that something was wrong.
The furniture and furnishings in this room don't look like a guest room at all; they look more like Park Gon's master bedroom.
He went to find Zhao Wu and Xia Qiqiu and learned that the two sisters shared a room, Zhao Wu shared a room with a soldier, and the rest shared rooms with three people each.
They hadn't been out for long when it was time to eat. Looking at the table full of fish and meat, Zhao Cheng, who had just gotten drunk, had no appetite. He drank a bowl of soup and was about to leave when Park Gon led two cooks in in a flurry.
Seeing Park Gon's face covered in soot, Zhao Cheng laughed and said, "Uncle Park, what are you doing? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were personally starting the fire and cooking!"
"Haha, no, no, I just went to the kitchen to urge them to serve the food!"
"Is there any more food?"
When they first came in, Park Geon blocked Zhao Cheng's view. Only after he stepped aside did Zhao Cheng see that the two people who came in with Park Geon were carrying a basket, which contained a whole roasted lamb!
"What the heck..." Zhao Cheng felt a nausea and exclaimed, "Eating roast whole lamb in the middle of the day? Uncle Park, what kind of family do you have?!"
"Stop talking nonsense! Sit down and eat. Want a drink?"
Zhao Cheng shook his head vigorously, saying, "I'm not drinking anymore, I really aren't drinking anymore!"
Not only can I not drink, I can't eat either.
Zhao Cheng didn't move, and neither did the others. Seeing this, Pu Jian said sternly, "When you come to my house, you have to listen to me. Forget about this kid, you can all start eating!"
He then pointed at the guards and shouted, "How many of you used to be my soldiers? Have you all forgotten?"
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