For many years, Great Jin had enjoyed favorable weather and prosperous commerce, with a flourishing scene across the nation.
As the center of Great Jin, the capital naturally attracted merchants from all directions, each displaying their unique skills.
There were four relatively bustling commercial streets in the capital. Shen Xuan had already seen one, it's the canal dock at the south gate entrance.
Due to its convenient transportation, it gathered merchants from all over the country. Everything from furs to medicinal herbs, foodstuffs, porcelain, and more was sold there.
The second commercial street was Zhuangyuan Bridge in the northeast of the city, near the Imperial Academy. Many students and literati gathered there, making it somewhat similar to Lezhou's Jinli Street.
The street mostly featured restaurants and teahouses, hosting elegant gatherings and poetry sessions daily. There were also large bookstores, stationery shops, and jade stores. Guiyun Tower in the capital was located here.
The third commercial street was Linlang Street in the northwest of the capital, the most upscale commercial street in the entire city. Only renowned noble families or immensely wealthy merchants lived nearby.
The goods sold on this street included jewelry, jade, intricate heavy embroidery, rare perfumes, and ceremonial tea accessories, all at exorbitant prices.
There weren't many customers walking the street; most were government officials' family members or rich children who spent lavishly.
The last was the capital's largest commercial street, Zhinjin Street (literally "Throwing Gold Street"), located in the central area southeast of the capital.
Along both sides of this street were many high-end restaurants, teahouses, brothels, operas, and other entertainment venues, attracting wealthy customers with purchasing power.
Besides these, there were also ordinary eateries, fabric shops, embroidery workshops, tailors, cosmetics, hair oils, fake hair buns, silk flowers, jewelry, and various other popular shops.
Street performers put on shows along the road, and traveling vendors walked through the alleys, hawking small snacks, pastries, handkerchiefs, combs, and other small items affordable to common folk.
As a result, Zhinjin Street was constantly bustling with people, with an endless flow of customers, making it the liveliest of the four commercial streets.
Today, Shen Xuan brought Jinzhi and Jingui with him. He told Mama You that he was going to tour the capital, but his actual purpose was to inspect these commercial areas.
He first found a broker and had him meticulously describe the layout of the various commercial streets in the capital.
The Canal Dock, apart from the small stalls along the street, mainly dealt with wholesale businesses, so Shen Xuan decided against going there.
Given his current status in the capital, it would definitely be unsuitable for him to set up a street stall again. As for opening a shop, Linlang Street was too high-end.
He had no source for jewelry and jade, and he knew nothing about ceremonial tea or incense making, so it wasn't suitable for him either.
After filtering, Shen Xuan decided to explore Zhuangyuan Bridge and Zhinjin Street.
He went to Zhuangyuan Bridge first, walked the entire street, and generally got a sense of the prices there.
By the time he finished, it was nearly noon. Shen Xuan thought for a moment and decided to have a meal at Guiyun Tower.
Guiyun Tower here, like the one in Lezhou, also held elegant gatherings year-round, constantly frequented by literati and scholars.
A ger like Shen Xuan was certainly not a regular customer of Guiyun Tower. However, seeing Shen Xuan take out a silver ingot and say he wanted to book a private room, the doorman respectfully invited him in.
A private room at Guiyun Tower in the capital cost ten taels of silver, much more expensive than in Lezhou.
Shen Xuan entered the private room and saw the waiter bring in a set of tea and pastries. This set of tea and pastries was included in the room fee, but ordering other dishes was extra.
As the waiter poured the tea into the cups, Shen Xuan immediately recognized the aroma of his own honey scholar tea.
"This ger, this is our signature tea, honey scholar tea. Please have a taste," the waiter said. These days, many ger and young ladies frequently came to Guiyun Tower specifically for this honey scholar tea.
"This tea is quite unique. I wonder what the price is if sold separately?" Shen Xuan asked.
"One taels of silver per pot, and you can refill it as much as you like," the waiter said. "If ger enjoys it, our shop also sells special tea paste for ten taels of silver a jar. You can mix it yourself at home."
'The owner of this Guiyun Tower certainly knows how to make money!'
Shen Xuan clicked his tongue, sighing inwardly. He asked the waiter to bring over the tea paste sold by the restaurant. It was a jar no bigger than two fists, yet it cost ten taels of silver.
Its opening was sealed with red paper sprinkled with gold, bearing the Guiyun Tower emblem.
"Thank you, I don't need it for now." Shen Xuan returned the jar of tea paste to the waiter, ordered a few dishes, and then invited Jinzhi and Jingui to sit and eat with him.
"Now that we're out, there's no need to be so formal," Shen Xuan said. "You two, try this tea and tell me what you think?"
Although Jinzhi and Jingui were born into the Marquis's household, their families were merely ordinary servants, and this was their first time in such a setting.
They had long smelled the fragrant tea and were dying to try it. Seeing Shen Xuan invite them to taste it, they were naturally very happy and took a sip.
As soon as the tea touched his lips, Jingui's eyes widened in surprise, and Jinzhi was even more vocal, exclaiming,
"What kind of tea is this? It's so sweet and delicious! No wonder it's sold at such a high price."
"It is indeed very expensive," Shen Xuan chuckled.
He thought that Guiyun Tower was a big establishment after all. With this tea recipe, they were truly thriving, likely earning a substantial income each month just from this recipe.
If he had relied on this recipe to open a shop in Lezhou, he probably would have made a lot too. However, since he had already given the recipe away, Shen Xuan didn't feel it was a pity.
After the meal, Shen Xuan called for the waiter and asked him to summon Shopkeeper Mei. When Shopkeeper Mei arrived, he was quite surprised and pleased to see that the guest in the private room was Shen Xuan.
He immediately stepped forward and said, "It's Shen Ger! I heard you are now residing in the Marquis's mansion and was thinking of calling on you, but I didn't expect you to come yourself."
Shen Xuan politely exchanged greetings with Shopkeeper Mei and briefly mentioned that he had already established his own residence outside the Marquis's mansion.
Shopkeeper Mei was amazed, "It's a residence bestowed by the Empress Dowager! Such an honor is truly beyond the reach of ordinary people."
He became even more respectful. At this point, Shopkeeper Mei took the liberty of waiving Shen Xuan's bill, saying it was his treat. He also invited Shen Xuan to visit more often when he had time.
Shen Xuan knew that Shopkeeper Mei's politeness was likely due to his connection with the Marquis's mansion.
He didn't refuse Shopkeeper Mei's goodwill but did mention that he might start a business in the capital and asked for some advice on the ways of doing business there.
Knowing that Shen Xuan would not be using the honey scholar tea recipe for business again, Shopkeeper Mei felt relieved and generously shared some insights into doing business in the capital with Shen Xuan.
For example, competition in the capital was fierce, and to avoid being squeezed out, popular shops needed one or two powerful backers.
Either the owners behind them were court dignitaries, or they had invested in the business. Furthermore, to do business in the capital, one also had to properly bribe the yamen runners of the Shuntian Prefecture (the local government), to avoid trouble when paying taxes.
Shen Xuan nodded, noting everything down. Shopkeeper Mei then asked with some curiosity, "Shen Ger, since you're no longer doing tea business, what kind of goods are you planning to sell?"
"I haven't decided yet," Shen Xuan said truthfully. "First, I need to see what sells well in the capital."
Shopkeeper Mei replied, "Then I wish Shen Ger a smooth and early opening. I will certainly come to support you."
After a few more polite exchanges, Shopkeeper Mei left, and Shen Xuan led Jinzhi and Jingui out of the shop.
While Shopkeeper Mei and Shen Xuan were conversing, Jinzhi and Jingui stood by, barely daring to breathe.
Now, having left Guiyun Tower, they finally dared to ask, "Shen Ger, did the Guiyun Tower shopkeeper say that the tea we drank earlier was from your recipe?"
"You're too amazing! How could you create such delicious tea? And Shen Ger, are you really going to do business in the capital?"
The more time they spent with Shen Xuan these past days, the more they felt that Shen Xuan was not just an ordinary country ger as rumored by outsiders, but someone with truly formidable abilities.
Moreover, he was generous and often rewarded them, treating them quite amiably on a daily basis. For example, during that lunch, Shen Xuan had invited them to eat with him.
If it had been any other master in the mansion, they would probably have gone hungry all day, waiting until they returned to the mansion to eat.
If Shen Xuan's business did well, he would have more money. With more money, he would be more generous and have a more stable footing in the residence.
Jinzhi and Jingui had seen all sorts of masters in the Marquis's mansion and deeply understood that in these grand, intricate family compounds, money truly spoke loudest.
Take the Marquis's concubines, for example. Concubine Wen wasn't the most beautiful, but she lived the best life. Concubine Wen came from a merchant family, and when she married, her family gave her some land and a shop.
So, she was never short on money. Not only did she use money to smooth things over with many of the household servants, but she could even set up a private small kitchen in her courtyard.
In contrast, among the other two concubines, there was Concubine Kong, a talented woman from a juren (provincial graduate) family.
She was the most beautiful in appearance and had the highest birth status. However, because her family was poor, she had no personal savings and lived a very tight life in the mansion, relying solely on her monthly allowance.
Whenever New Year's or other festivals came around, and younger relatives from other families visited, Concubine Kong would have to send the gifts the Marquis had given her over the years to the pawn shop to sell, just to scrape together presents.
Over time, Concubine Kong accumulated no savings and always looked quite shabby. Furthermore, as she had been in the mansion longer, her beauty was no longer as fresh and striking as when she first arrived.
The Marquis visited her less, making her life even harder. The servants all knew Concubine Kong was stingy and were unwilling to serve in her rooms.
Anyone with a bit of skill would try to find a way to get out. As a result, those assigned to her in the Xue mansion were now two clumsy maids, who were not only slow in their work but also inept at conversation, making the entire courtyard seem desolate and making the Marquis even less inclined to visit.
Jingui: "Shen Ger, you are truly capable. I'm so glad I followed the right person."
Jinzhi: "In the Xue mansion, only Madam and Concubine Wen have shops from their dowries. But Concubine Wen's shop seems to be managed by her family. She only collects profits and doesn't oversee it herself. Shen Ger, you can even run your own business, that's truly amazing!"
Earlier, after witnessing Shen Xuan conversing freely with Shopkeeper Mei, they had secretly resolved to wholeheartedly follow him.
This time, even before Shen Xuan could speak, both of them swore to the heavens, vowing that they would not reveal a single detail of what they saw today to a second person upon returning.
Shen Xuan had deliberately brought Jinzhi and Jingui out and revealed some of his circumstances to them, observing their reactions to see if they were truly useful.
Seeing that they were quite perceptive, Shen Xuan was satisfied. He nodded and said, "Just follow me. As long as you are loyal, I will certainly not treat you poorly."
"Rest assured, I will ask the shizi to transfer your indentured servant contracts to me. Once your contracts are with me, your promotions will be at my discretion. In the future, even if you offend others in the mansion, they'll have to ask me first before daring to hit or sell you. I'll be your backing."
Jinzhi and Jingui immediately beamed with joy. Shen Xuan's words had officially accepted them as his own people. Their loyalty to Shen Xuan deepened even further.
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