Even though Xie Yushu had been very careful, the shop's glass shelves were still emptied in a single day. Many people still hadn't bought enough, and planned to find more people to go shopping together the next day to get more slots.
Those who could buy it only spent three or five yuan. They were all high-ranking officials and nobles. No family had more than a few dozen people, including the old and the young, the legitimate and the illegitimate. Who would get enough to go around?
They weren't the type to be short of three or five hundred taels of silver. If other families had it, they had to have it too. It wasn't just about money anymore; it was also about saving face!
Especially the ladies and young women, every month there are family tea parties, birthday parties, flower viewing banquets and the like. When they get together, they always compare themselves. Everyone else is using glass mirrors, while they are still using those old-fashioned bronze mirrors. They are too embarrassed to even speak!
As a result, limiting the number of people and the quantity actually made people's desire to buy even more frenzied!
Especially those who knew that the Han family had influence with Xie Yushu, and who went to the Han family indirectly to ask for help, were directly taken to Xie Yushu by the Han family.
Fortunately, the Han family was a lone force; ninety percent of the officials in the court had been impeached by the Han family patriarch, so they didn't have many friends. Otherwise, they wouldn't even have enough relatives to sell!
Xie Yushu never imagined that one day she would have to use connections to sell glass!
With business booming, Xie Yushu directly instructed Qu Xiaodie to hire several more caravans and escort agencies to transport all the glass from the manor over. She also told her to stock up on some more for the envoys passing through Tai'an Prefecture to pick up their goods there. She gave Qu Xiaodie a price list, identical to the one in the capital, and told her that the prices were uniform nationwide and there would be no room for negotiation.
At the same time, Han Zhongyu was informed.
This bustling scene lasted for seven or eight days, and envoys from various countries also arrived in the capital one after another.
Sure enough, they were immediately drawn to the glass upon entering the palace. Emperor Qingyuan, who was clearly planning to fleece them, was astonished by their expressions of amazement.
"Is this window paper made of crystal? It's so clear! Your country must be incredibly wealthy to have moved into a crystal palace!"
Emperor Qingyuan then said in a very friendly and humble manner
"Oh, not at all! It's just a local specialty, but it's really popular here!"
If you're interested, you might want to check out Hongwang Glass City on Xuanwu Street!
I heard that those things are in high demand and sold in limited quantities. To show my welcome to you all, when you arrive, just mention my name and say that I have spoken. Envoys can buy them first, without any limit!
So the envoys from various countries made a brief visit to the palace and then headed straight for the Glass City.
Qu Xiaodie was also very helpful. Upon receiving Xie Yushu's letter, she immediately bought ten large carriages and ten horses, hired fifteen carriages from a carriage company, and also borrowed five carriages from Han Zhongyu's government office.
All the rookies he had trained at his own manor were dispatched. Zhao Hu personally led the team, with Jin Ge and Zhao Tu providing backup. They also hired a Northern Escort Agency to escort them, and managed to arrive before all the envoys entered the capital.
Xie Yushu personally led a team to put the items on the shelves overnight, and held morning and evening meetings to review and improve the process, ensuring that no problems occurred in any aspect.
Then he would bring the silver back every day.
The next day, he went to the palace to deliver the dividends to Emperor Qingyuan.
Although Emperor Qingyuan had previously said that Xie Yushu would not have to pay taxes to the national treasury if she presented the prescription, he had invested money, saying that the national treasury would receive 30% and he himself would receive 10%.
Although the 30% from the national treasury no longer needed to be paid, Emperor Qingyuan still had to give his 10%. Moreover, since the other party was also writing inscriptions and doing publicity, Xie Yushu wisely raised it to 20%. Emperor Qingyuan was overjoyed to see that he had received tens of thousands of taels of silver in just over ten days!
For Xie Yushu, these envoys were walking gold nuggets.
Those who can come to foreign countries on diplomatic missions are usually high-ranking officials and princes and princesses of other countries. Since they are in other countries, they must be rolling in money and can spend it as they please.
I heard that glass is so scarce that there are limits on the number of people and the quantity available. People are afraid of missing out if they're too slow, so they're buying it like it's free. Specifically, this manifests as...
"Pack up this pile, this pile, this pile, and that pile!"
Every now and then, a few arguments would break out.
"This mirror was first set in my hands by the princess!"
"I'm definitely buying this set of cups!"
This caused Xie Yushu to occasionally sell out for two or three days, making people feel that the glass was worth fighting over.
After what happened that day, Chu Mingzhu stayed at home for a few days before starting to attend various gatherings again.
Because of her resentment towards Xie Yushu, Chu Mingzhu absolutely refused to buy glass products. Seeing those things was like seeing Xie Yushu, making her feel annoyed.
However, during this period, glass became incredibly popular in Beijing, transcending its status as a mere valuable item and becoming a hot topic of discussion among young women. Nowadays, if someone's bedroom windows, mirrors, and water cups are made of glass, it means they are at the forefront of fashion. If a room also has a pair of glass lampshades and artistic water cups, it is simply the envy of others!
Chu Mingzhu visited several places and found it was the same. Every time she saw her other girlfriends showing off these things, she felt both angry and furious.
Helpless, in order to fit in, she also ordered Tao Hong to queue up and buy a set. When she heard Tao Hong say that it cost four or five hundred taels of silver, she was so angry that she cursed Xie Yushu as a bandit.
Having suffered several losses at Xie Yushu's hands, Chu Mingzhu hated her even more. Especially since Xiao Yi returned that day, he was absent-minded except when he went to court, and he would often get drunk. He never took the initiative to contact Chu Mingzhu, and when Chu Mingzhu went to see him, he was often dead drunk.
He replaced all the windows in the general's mansion with new ones, buying them all from Xie Yushu's shop. She spent her days at home reminiscing about him, and Chu Mingzhu saw this and was very anxious.
So he sent a letter from Granny Qian to Consort Chu in the palace, hoping that Consort Chu would urge Emperor Qingyuan to remind Xiao Yi about Chu Mingzhu's marriage.
When Consort Chu learned of Xiao Yi's situation, she was furious at Xie Yushu, that little vixen, for being so ungrateful and daring to openly humiliate her, and at Xiao Yi for being so attached to his lover that he disregarded the bigger picture.
Without informing Emperor Qingyuan, he directly sent someone to Xiao Yi's residence to remind Xiao Yi, a man of stature, not to be obsessed with women, and not to betray Chu Mingzhu's deep affection, and to stop making empty promises.
"With a promising future, why worry about not having women?"
As for Xie Yushu, he truly wished he could get rid of her as soon as possible!
Consort Chu's thoughts raced. She thought that the Fifth Prince's stitches had been removed, and that the Imperial Hospital had been learning her medical skills for several days, so Xie Yushu was hardly of any use. It just so happened that the Empress Dowager's birthday was coming up in a few days, and she would definitely have to go to the palace then, since the palace was her territory.
Xie Yushu's guards are incredibly powerful; they'll never be able to enter the palace. When that day comes, we'll teach her a lesson. Don't think that just because she found a few prescriptions for the emperor, she can act arrogantly in the capital and disregard the Chu family. She'll be in for a beating.
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