Liu Tan's interest immediately piqued upon hearing this. The innkeeper on the other side was still explaining with a smile, "Well... you'd have to ask our boss. I don't know where it came from."
The man frowned and said, "Where is your boss? I want to discuss a business deal with him."
Liu Tan walked over with his hands behind his back and said with a smile, "What business do you want to discuss?"
The man turned around and saw Liu Tan. He was startled at first, a little suspicious, but he still asked gently, "Could it be that young master is the owner of this inn?"
The shopkeeper didn't dare to say anything. He knew a little about the situation of this inn. He secretly glanced at Liu Tan and thought that the age did match. If it was really... He couldn't help but feel his legs go weak for a moment.
Of course Liu Tan would not reveal his identity. It would be easy to find out who was backing the inn, and then his cover would fall off.
He smiled and said, "No, but by chance, I know the toilet you are talking about."
The man smiled gently and said, "The toilet I'm talking about may be different from the one young master is talking about."
The attendants around him couldn't help but look at Liu Tan again, thinking that it was rare for his husband to be so amiable, but... this young man was really handsome, he had never seen such a handsome young man, no wonder his husband always had a bad temper, but now he could speak to him in a friendly manner.
Liu Tan said, "I know, it's a siphon toilet, right?"
The man probably didn't expect Liu Tan to actually know the answer, so he asked, "My surname is Yan, and my given name is Chong. May I know your full name, young master?"
Liu Tan paused for a moment, then bowed and smiled, "My surname is Lu, and my given name is Wu."
Yan Chong smiled and said, "So it's Lu Xiaolang. I wonder if you have time. I'd like to learn more about siphon toilets. How about I host you? Would you be willing to do me the honor?"
Liu Tan said, "Of course I can, but I need to settle down first. If Mr. Yan is not in a hurry, please wait for me."
Yan Chong immediately said, "There's a good restaurant in the city called Changtong. If Lu Xiaolang doesn't mind, I'll go ahead. Once you've settled down, you can come find me there."
Liu Tan replied, "Okay, please wait a little longer, Mr. Yan."
Yan Chong exchanged a few polite words with him and turned to leave. The innkeeper looked at Liu Tan cautiously and asked, "Young Master..."
Liu Tan glanced at him without saying anything. Li Ling stepped forward and presented a jade token. The shopkeeper saw it and immediately nodded and said, "Please follow me."
The innkeeper arranged them to Tianyuan, which was the private territory left by Liu Tan for himself.
He hadn't thought he'd live here before, but thinking about what if friends and relatives wanted to come over, he decided to leave a few courtyards.
The shopkeeper called over his most skillful servant. The servant had never seen the shopkeeper so fawning before. After bowing, he withdrew and asked, "Shopkeeper, who is this young man?"
The shopkeeper immediately put his index finger to his lips and said, "Shut up! Just do whatever they tell you to do. You're incredibly lucky, you know that?"
Although the servant was bewildered, he nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Yan Chong sat in the restaurant and pondered, "Who has the surname Lu? Which prominent family in Chang'an has the surname Lu?"
The servant beside him asked, "How did you know he was from a prominent family?"
Yan Chong smiled calmly, "Let's not talk about anything else. That young man has a striking appearance and an extraordinary temperament. How could he be an ordinary person? Add to that the silken clothes he wears, along with the gold, silver, and jade, and it's not something an ordinary family can afford. Furthermore, it's said that the siphon toilet was made for Your Majesty by the King of the Northern Territory. Aside from Your Majesty and the Crown Prince, only a few have been able to obtain one, and even fewer have seen one. For him to utter the words siphon toilet means he must have seen one."
The servant was puzzled: "If it is so precious, why did it appear in an inn here?"
"It is said that this Tongda City was built by the King of the North. What's so strange about that?"
The servant boy's eyes widened immediately: "Could it be that... the young man just now is..."
"Impossible." Yan Chong said decisively: "Even if it is an alias, there must be a trace. The King of the Northern Territory is the legitimate son of the Emperor and Empress, and there is no Lu among his relatives."
The servant boy didn't say anything. Instead, Yan Chong narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Could it be... a descendant of Lu Jia?"
The servant was stunned for a moment before reacting: "Lu Jia? Is that the Lu Jia who was sent as an envoy to Nanyue twice during the reign of Emperor Gaozu?"
Yan Chong nodded. Not many people knew the name Lu Jia now. He was a native of Chu. He was eloquent and had written works such as "Xinyu". Most importantly, he made great contributions in the execution of Lu.
It is also for this reason that although Lu Jia did not achieve anything outstanding after him, he was able to do well thanks to his father's influence.
Chang'an is associated with the surname Lu, and it is very likely that he is a descendant of Lu Jia.
As soon as Yan Chong finished his judgment, he felt a fragrant breeze. Looking up, he saw the young master Luwu.
After Liu Tan sat down, he saw Yan Chong ordering the dishes to be served and introducing the restaurant. He said, "Some of the dishes are really delicious. Young Master, since you're new here, you should try them."
After all the dishes were served, Liu Tan tasted them briefly and found that they tasted quite good.
Yan Chong, who was sitting in front of him, saw that the young man had an indifferent expression, as if the dishes in front of him were nothing special, and he became more and more certain of his judgment.
He smiled and poured a glass of wine for Liu Tan, saying, "Come, try this pure wine. It was invented by the King of the Northern Territory. I had the honor of tasting it in Chang'an before. I didn't expect to be able to taste such a fine wine in Tongda City."
Liu Tan paused, took a sip, and said, "Let's put the food and drink aside for now. Let's talk business with Mr. Yan first. What you are looking for cannot be found in Tongda City."
Yan Chong asked, "Oh? Where are we going?"
Liu Tan said, "Of course it's Shuofang City, the capital of the Northern Territory. You know this item was invented by the Northern Territory King. If you want to buy it, you'll have to try your luck there."
Yan Chong said with some embarrassment, "But... I'm just a merchant. I'm afraid I may not be able to meet His Majesty the King of the Northern Territory."
Liu Tan smiled, slapped a silver medal on the table and said, "I have something here that can allow you to meet the Minister of Agriculture Lin Xiu."
Yan Chong's eyes lit up when he saw the silver medal. This was a good thing. Even if it was not a siphon toilet, there were many things that could be sold in the Northern Country. As a businessman, he had always wanted to find a way, but he could not find one.
He looked at Liu Tan and asked, "I wonder if Mr. Lu would be willing to give up his love?"
Liu Tan pretended to be a dandy and said, "This silver medal is of no use to me. I was forced to come out this time. My family asked me to do business, but I'm not interested in it. How about this... I'll lend you this silver medal. No matter what business you do in the Northern Territory, I'll get a share of the profits. That way I can explain myself to my family."
Yan Chong didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this: "Lu Xiaolang, this... this is inappropriate."
Liu Tan waved his hand and said, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. Just let me bring the money back before the end of the year."
This was the first time Yan Chong heard of doing business this way, and for a moment he didn't know how to explain it to the other party.
There is no way. The other party is obviously a fool who doesn't understand business. Who would invest like this?
He thought for a moment and asked, "How much money does Lu Xiaolang hope to make?"
Liu Tan tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, "It doesn't have to be too much, maybe a thousand strings of cash."
Yan Chong almost vomited blood after hearing this!
He trembled and said, "Lu Xiaolang, you're joking. This... I'm afraid this won't work."
"Then... eight hundred strings of cash?"
Yan Chong was still trembling. Liu Tan was very impatient: "At least 500 strings of cash. If you can't do it, I will find someone else."
Seeing him about to leave, Yan Chong immediately said, "Okay!"
At most, it's equivalent to spending 500 strings of cash to buy this silver medal. It's worth it anyway.
After hearing this, Liu Tan said, "When are you going to Shuofang City? I'll go with you and give you the silver medal then. I need to go around for a few days first."
Yan Chong thought that he was not too stupid.
He agreed immediately, and Liu Tan chatted with him about some nonsense about Chang'an, and then they parted ways in the restaurant.
After they left the restaurant, Li Ling whispered, "Your Highness, this person doesn't seem to have any outstanding qualities."
Liu Tan said indifferently: "I don't need them to have any special qualities. I just need to lead these merchants to Shuofang."
Li Ling frowned: "But this person may not be willing to tell others."
After all, no one wants to add competitors to themselves.
Liu Tan suddenly laughed and said, "Who expects him to spread the word?"
Li Ling looked at Liu Tan in confusion, and then he saw Liu Tan pull out a handful of at least dozens of silver medals as if by magic and said, "I have a lot of these."
Li Ling was a little surprised: "Then why did Your Highness ask him for money?"
Liu Tan smiled slightly: "These people are all fox-like. If I offer them to them, they might not be able to get through. Things that are too easy to get will arouse their vigilance."
Li Ling looked down at the silver medals and tried to recall: It seemed that just now... his prince asked that person for five hundred strings of cash?
If each one can be "sold", the total amount would be five or six thousand strings of cash!
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