The sugar shops in Guangcheng opened earlier, and the effects they caused started earlier as well.
Therefore, the governor of Guangcheng had already begun writing secret letters to the capital, while the governor of Yuezhou, Cui, was still unaware of the news.
The sugar shop business became an instant success in He County, attracting countless wealthy families to compete for it, and merchants were envious. The forces behind them were also eager to make a move.
Sugar is too expensive!
Just a small packet of brown sugar costs one or two strings of cash.
To get the best quality, crystal-clear rock sugar, it costs over ten strings of cash.
This isn't sugar; it's clearly gold.
The price is astronomical, but the wealthy are even more extravagant.
This kind of "sugar" is unique in the world; it's not even found in the capital or Jiangnan.
For influential people, this is no longer just a condiment, but a symbol of status.
If you can't serve a bowl of brown sugar soup when visitors come to your home, it's considered disrespectful to the guests and a disgrace to your family for not being wealthy enough!
Later on, even ordinary people considered it an honor to serve sweet soup to their guests!
Of course, ordinary people can't afford high-quality sugar, but sugar shops offer "people-friendly packages".
Although they are all scraps or defective products of poor quality.
However, if you boil it into a sugar syrup, the effect is not much different.
So when the candy shop settled accounts at the end of the month, the display case found that the best-selling item was the "Benefit Package".
For a few dozen coins, you get a full half-pound.
It's still expensive compared to other agricultural products.
However, compared to the high-end candies sold by candy shops, which cost one or more strings of cash (a thousand coins) or even more than ten strings of cash, the "silver" and "gold" versions were already very cheap.
Some families, if they grit their teeth, can manage to buy a little bit.
They wouldn't eat it themselves, saving it specifically for guests or as gifts during holidays.
Within a month of opening, the sugar shop in He County successfully replicated the popularity of the sugar shop in Guangcheng.
From the wealthy to the poor, everyone in the county knew the famous name of "sugar".
How could such a booming business not attract envious people?
The largest merchant in He County was surnamed Chen and named Chen Guang. He was a local tycoon.
His backer was the governor's mansion.
The sugar shop had only been open for three days when Chen Guang, with his keen business sense, had already set his sights on it.
He specifically sent people to squat at the entrance of the sugar shop to inquire in detail about the prices of different grades of sugar, and secretly calculated the number of sugars the shop sold in a day.
In the evening, Chen Guang manipulated the counting rods and roughly calculated the sugar shop's daily turnover.
"Wow! More than five hundred strings of cash!"
That's equivalent to the monthly revenue of his most profitable shop.
Although, turnover is not the same as gross profit.
Furthermore, Chen Guang did not know the cost of this sugar.
However, receiving more than 500 strings of cash in a single day is still quite exciting.
Chen Guang continued to send men to keep watch.
After observing for a full month and confirming that the sugar shop's business was not a flash in the pan, but a sustainable way to make money, Chen Guang was tempted.
"We absolutely have to get our hands on this shop that makes so much money!"
As Chen Guang drank the warm ginger and brown sugar water, he felt as if the damp chill of winter had been dispelled.
Chen Guang considered finding the sugar shop's supplier, but after a month of waiting, he still couldn't find one.
The young apprentice he sent tried every means to get information out of the sugar shop's clerk, and finally learned that: "Our boss has a dedicated sugar-making workshop. All the sugar is transported directly from the workshop!"
We produce and sell our own products!
Therefore, the formula becomes extremely important.
Following the sugar shop, Chen Guang finally found the workshop.
A fishing village located by the sea.
However, the fishing village was heavily guarded, and any stranger who entered the village would be discovered immediately.
Getting into the village is difficult enough, but sneaking into the workshop built in the mountain valley is even more difficult!
Unable to infiltrate the workshop, their plan to steal the secret formula failed.
Chen Guang was not giving up, so he ordered his men to buy a whole batch of all the candy in the candy shop.
They found artisans and studied them carefully, trying to find out how sugar was made!
...After more than ten days, they could only roughly deduce that the sugar was made from sugarcane.
As for the specific procedures, we still have no way of knowing!
Chen Guang: ...
He spent a whole month trying every business strategy he could think of, but to no avail.
Finally, Chen Guang had no choice but to use his "connections"—
"Madam, I've done the calculations, and this candy shop brings in over 30,000 strings of cash a month. That's equivalent to the entire annual income of all our shops!"
In the backyard of the governor's mansion, under the corridor outside the main room, Chen Guang stood bowing.
The lady he mentioned was none other than Zheng, Cui Boyong's wife.
Madam Zheng owns shares in all of the Chen family's shops.
Every year, through these businesses, Madam Zheng could receive a dividend of four or five thousand strings of cash.
Over the years, Madam Zheng amassed a considerable fortune for the Cui family.
With this money, not only could the entire governor's mansion live a life of luxury, but it could also send a large amount of wealth to the families in the capital and the second prince every year.
"Is this really true?"
Madam Zheng was tempted.
One shop can earn in a month what all of the Chen family's businesses combined in a year!
With such exorbitant profits, if I were to take a share, wouldn't I be able to get even more money at the end of the year?
What's more, if they completely seize control of the shops, the hundreds of thousands of strings of cash they earn each year will all belong to the Cui family!
Madam Zheng's eyes were a little red, and her heart was pounding wildly, considering herself a noble lady from a prestigious family.
However, Mrs. Zheng was not someone who only cared about money; she possessed at least some composure and intelligence.
"What is the background of that shop? And which powerful family is it backing?"
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