"Okay! I'll go with you, Your Highness. But I tell you, you'll have to sell the melon yourself when the time comes. I won't help you." Fang Zheng gritted his teeth.
Go! If you don't go, this kid will go to the princess and fan the dark wind and light the will-o'-the-wisp.
He has learned bad things! Who knows what nonsense he will tell the princess, we must be on guard!
Li Yuanzhao smiled happily when he heard this.
"Don't worry! I'll sell it, but do you think we can sell this melon for ten taels?"
Fang Zheng turned around and walked to the door, calling Liu Jin to come in holding a melon.
He put the melons on the stone table in the yard and called the servants to cut them into pieces with knives.
As soon as the watermelon was cut open, Fang Zhengyi just kept shaking his head.
It’s still that egg-like, hollow watermelon, mostly white flesh, and doesn’t look sweet!
"Your Highness, do you like to eat this cold melon?"
Li Yuanzhao looked at the watermelon and said, "I don't like it very much. The taste is average, but it's big!"
Great, that's a strong reason!
Bigger is better!
"That's it. The winter melon is still an ordinary winter melon. It just looks big and is more delicious. Compared with ordinary fruits, it is not outstanding."
"The only advantage is that it appeared in a season that shouldn't have appeared. Is this alone worth ten taels of silver? Obviously not!"
"And if Your Highness openly sets up a stall in the palace, according to my experience, the ministers will not buy it. It would be a blessing if they don't report you! So it will be very difficult to sell it at ten taels!"
"So if you want to make it worth the money, you have to create a gimmick to make it worth the price of ten taels!"
"For example, if it's not sweet, you have to find a way to make it sweet!"
Li Yuanzhao was confused: "It's already like this, it's all picked, how can it still be sweet?"
"I don't know, Your Highness. It's you who sells the melons, not me."
"Also, the most important point is that you can't cheat people when selling things. If you can't make it sweet, then don't say it is sweet. The buyer is not a fool. If you do this, you will not be able to do business in the future." Fang Zhengyi said seriously.
Li Yuanzhao showed a strange smile on his face: "Old Fang, stop pretending! Are you kidding me?"
Fang Zhengyi also sneered: "Although I use some language skills in doing business, both parties can usually benefit from it, which provides a basis for continued cooperation."
"Secondly, if you cheated me so badly, it must be a one-time deal and I will never cooperate with you again!"
"Third, if you want to lie, then lie for the rest of your life, or you can make up for the lie. Otherwise, don't do it if you are not sure!"
"Your Highness is the crown prince, and a man without integrity cannot stand! Business has always been a win-win for both parties. False propaganda is just a technique, and honest business is the way! And it is a long-term way! Do you understand, Your Highness?"
Li Yuanzhao pondered, "Hmm... I'll think about it."
.........
The next day.
Liu Jin took people to pull two carts of watermelons to the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony early in the morning.
When the court meeting was over, the ministers filed out of the hall and saw the two carts of eye-catching watermelons at a glance.
Then Fang Zhengyi and Li Yuanzhao were seen jogging to the car.
Li Yuanzhao picked up the sign on the car and stood there, facing the ministers!
As soon as Fang Zheng sat on the melon cart, he couldn't help but cover his face.
As expected...this piece of land is too empty, and selling melons seems particularly weird!
The ministers who had not yet walked down the stairs saw the prince put up a sign and rushed over.
Although many ministers were wearing glasses at this time, the distance was too far to see clearly what was written on the sign.
When I got closer, I saw that the signboard held by Li Yuanzhao's men clearly read "Winter melon, no money if it's not sweet"
Li Yuanzhao saw people coming one after another and shouted loudly: "Melons for sale! Melons for sale!"
Fang Zhengyi quickly turned aside to indicate that he didn't know him.
Unexpectedly, Li Yuanzhao reached out and poked him twice: "Lao Fang! Help me shout!"
"You don't need my help!"
"That's not helping!"
Fang Zheng had no choice but to turn his body sideways and shouted weakly: "Selling melons! Selling melons!"
At this time, more and more people gathered, and finally surrounded the melon stall.
"Come, come, everyone, come and see the melons I sell! If they are not sweet, I won't charge you for them!" Li Yuanzhao couldn't help getting excited when he saw so many people coming.
A group of ministers looked at Fang Zhengyi with cold faces.
Suddenly, Li Yansong stepped out of the crowd, looked at the melon stall and then at Fang Zhengyi, and shouted angrily, "Fang Zhengyi! You are so bold! How dare you instigate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to sell melons in the palace? How disgraceful!"
The crowd immediately echoed: "Fang Zhengyi is making trouble again."
"Yeah, why is it so restless all day long?"
"Mr. Li is truly selfless..."
Just as Fang Zhengyi was about to explain, Li Yuanzhao spoke first: "It has nothing to do with him! This is the melon I want to sell!"
"Since everyone is here, come and try my melon. If you like it, buy one!"
After saying that, he picked up the knife beside him and started to cut the melon into ten pieces with a snap.
A large pool of juice instantly burst out from the melon and flowed onto the ground.
Li Yansong was immediately shocked: "Your Highness, why is there so much water in your melon? This must be a rotten melon!"
Li Yuanzhao was unhappy: "What water? What water? That's juice!"
"Master Li, try it and see how it tastes. It's called honey melon!"
A slice of watermelon was handed to Li Yansong, but he did not take it. He looked at Li Yuanzhao coldly: "Your Highness, stop messing around."
"This is the palace. How can Your Highness, as the crown prince, sell melons here?"
"I was the one who sold the glasses last time! Didn't you buy one too? Why can't I sell melons today?" Li Yuanzhao asked back with an innocent look on his face.
"That...that's different!" Li Yansong blushed.
It really doesn't make sense. I can't just say that I can sell my glasses just because I can use them, right?
The prince has really become a bad boy following Fang Zheng!
"Hey! Where can I get melons at this time? They are already out of season!"
Someone in the crowd suddenly interrupted and everyone's attention was instantly diverted.
Right! Where are the melons in the world now?
Li Yansong just realized that something was wrong and his eyes couldn't help but wander to the melon.
Li Yuanzhao handed the melon forward at the right time.
Fang Zhengyi's voice came slowly: "Everyone, please don't worry about tasting and buying. Your Highness is not selling melons for profit."
"This is a charity sale. The money from the sale of melons will be donated to the poor people..."
Since he wants to sell it, he can only say this. Otherwise, judging from the attitude of the ministers, the melon will not be sold today!
Sure enough, once the charity sale was mentioned, the voices of opposition became much smaller.
Seeing that the prince's hand was still raised, Li Yansong couldn't help but take the watermelon.
"Master Li, please try it and see how it tastes."
Li Yansong smiled bitterly, took a small bite, and suddenly his eyes lit up, exclaiming: "Sweet! Really sweet! I have never eaten such a sweet melon. It is worthy of being called honey melon. There is really a fragrance of nectar in it. It is really extraordinary!"
.......
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