After sealing the letter, Xie Changshi handed it to a guard, instructing the guard to find someone to take the official route and ride at full speed towards the capital.
The sounds of bustling crowds drifted in from outside the window. Gu Yuzhi's face lit up with excitement, but he deliberately put his hands behind his back and pretended to be serious: "Master Xie, come with me for a walk in the street."
Manager Wen wanted to check on the business situation downstairs, but he was drawn to the lively atmosphere downstairs.
While in the capital, he had never left the palace, and now he was filled with curiosity about the common people.
Xie Changshi lagged half a step behind Gu Yuzhi, assigned two guards to protect him closely, and followed Gu Yuzhi out of the inn.
As soon as he stepped out of the inn, Gu Yuzhi squinted slightly at the glaring sunlight and said silently, "Manager Wen, Teacher Shu, please come out."
After a familiar light flashed, Manager Wen and Teacher Shu appeared in his mind.
However, unlike before when their senses were closed, Manager Wen and Teacher Shu now seemed unusually small: "Manager Wen, is this alright?"
Manager Wen nodded repeatedly: "Of course, Your Highness can take a walk around. If you need anything, I will remind you."
Having received a positive answer, Gu Yuzhi stepped outside. As soon as he left the inn, he was attracted by the sugar figurine stall across the street. Just then, Manager Wen asked him to stop nearby for a moment, so Gu Yuzhi went up and looked at the little rabbit drawn by the stall owner with amazement: "What is this made of? It smells sweet."
Seeing that Gu Yuzhi was exquisitely handsome and dressed in unusual linen clothes, with two tall guards following behind him, the shopkeeper immediately handed him a sugar figurine of a dragon and said with a smile, "Young master, you can take a look. This is a sugar painting."
Gu Yuzhi took the sugar painting, brought it to his nose and smelled it. It had a sweet smell, and he exclaimed in surprise, "It really is made of sugar!"
Who knew you could use sugar to create art!
Gu Yuzhi looked at the all-powerful Chief Secretary Xie with sparkling eyes, as if Chief Secretary Xie's calligraphy and paintings were quite valuable.
He was thinking about what else besides sugar could be used to create paintings, and if he stamped everything with Xie Changshi's seal, wouldn't he be able to sell them for a lot of money?
As soon as Xie Changshi handed over the money, he saw Gu Yuzhi like this and unconsciously took two steps back. His face clearly showed his refusal, saying, "Your Highness, you are not right, you did not do this." He hesitated and said, "Your Highness, may we walk forward a little further?"
Just then, Gu Yuzhi received a reminder from Manager Wen. He walked around looking at the sugar painting with his hands. When Manager Wen said, "Your Highness, please wait a moment," he stopped for a moment near a certain stall, looking at the things on the stall with great curiosity. When Manager Wen said it was ready, he continued to the next location.
After strolling around for about half an hour, Gu Yuzhi was too tired to walk any further. There was no time to rent a sedan chair, so two guards took turns carrying him. It took another half an hour to walk around all the surrounding commercial areas.
Upon returning to the inn, Xie Changshi brought over a bowl of white fungus soup from the kitchen. Gu Yuzhi really enjoyed this sweet soup, and after happily finishing it, he told Xie Changshi to go and rest.
After the room door closed, Gu Yuzhi sat on the bed, closed his eyes, and communicated with Manager Wen, his tone full of anticipation: "Manager Wen, how is it? Have you seen any suitable small businesses?"
He wanted to make money quickly so that he could build his mansion smoothly next spring; otherwise, he wouldn't have enough money to last until next year.
Thinking about it this way, Gu Yuzhi felt that he might be the most tragic prince in history...
Manager Wen, radiating confidence, said, "Your Highness, according to my rough count, there are three large restaurants in Changzhou Prefecture. Two of them are frequented by high-ranking officials and nobles, so they must have connections. The other is frequented by commoners, so its prices should be lower. There are two cosmetic shops, one expensive and one cheaper. There are two jewelry shops, one specializing in jade and the other in gold and silver. There are three pharmacies, but only one has a doctor on staff. There are two cloth shops, one of which can make clothes..."
Shu Xiaohan was amazed by Manager Wen's eloquent speech. In just one hour, Manager Wen had memorized so much and was able to analyze so much from it.
Indeed, everyone has their own expertise. With this kind of observational ability, even in the modern era of high-tech development, Manager Wen will definitely be able to build his own business empire.
Gu Yuzhi was getting drowsy listening to the music. The aftereffects of walking too much suddenly seemed to come over him, and he couldn't stop feeling sleepy.
He forced himself not to yawn, and only after Manager Wen finally shut up did he hurriedly ask, "Then, Manager Wen, do you have any suggestions for what's suitable?"
Manager Wen smiled and shook his head: "Your Highness, this is just a summary of the specific business layout. Next, Your Highness needs to send people to understand the specific situation. No matter what industry it is, we need to understand the specific costs. For example, what kind of cuisine do these three restaurants sell? Which cuisine is more popular? And what is the approximate price of this cuisine? How much is the rent for the restaurants? How many waiters are there? What is the monthly salary of the manager and waiters? Where do they get their vegetables and meat, and what are the approximate prices of these things? And what else is needed to prepare for opening a restaurant..."
Gu Yuzhi felt the drowsiness that had been half dissipated gradually returning.
Manager Wen's voice seemed to fade into the distance: "Only after we've clarified all the costs can we decide, based on the available cash in the warehouse, which industries are worth getting involved in. Until we have other sources of income, we can't afford to take too many risks..."
Now Gu Yuzhi was even more drowsy. He blinked hard, but still couldn't resist the sleepiness. His body became more and more slumped until he woke up with tears in his eyes when his forehead hit the headboard with a thud. He covered his forehead embarrassedly and said, "I'm sorry, Manager Wen, I don't understand any of what you're saying."
Gu Yuzhi felt somewhat frustrated. It was supposed to be a small business, so why did it feel so difficult...?
Manager Wen found it both amusing and frustrating; it was indeed difficult for His Highness Prince Wen.
These intricacies of doing business would be troublesome even for an adult who doesn't understand them, let alone a child like His Highness Prince Wen.
But thinking of the system tasks, Manager Wen had no choice but to patiently persuade him: "Your Highness, these things sound complicated, but as long as everything is allocated properly, once you get the hang of it, the speed will naturally pick up. And calculating costs is pretty much the same in these industries, it's basically the same."
Gu Yuzhi rested his chin on his hand for a while before saying, "Then I'll tell Chief Secretary Xie and have him make the arrangements."
He covered his mouth and chuckled to himself. In any case, Xie Changshi had been making arrangements for the whole journey, and he had also claimed to be the steward to avoid revealing his identity outside.
Without further ado, Gu Yuzhi strode to open the door and said, "Have Chief Secretary Xie come over here. I have something important to discuss with you."
The guard responded in a low voice, then turned and knocked on the door next to him. Gu Yuzhi peeked to the side and realized that Chief Secretary Xie lived next door.
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