Return to Yuxi Prefecture
Zhou Tong excitedly looked up at Shen Jingchuan and asked in a low voice:
"Brother Shen, you just said that this watch was made by your Lineage. I wonder... if it could be brought to Chang'an for sale? I'd like to help sell it."
Shen Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat. He had just spent five thousand taels to redeem Bai Ruoli, and was now basically penniless, just in need of income. He also had more than a hundred different kinds of watches and pocket watches in his spatial storage, both men's and women's styles, which he had been planning to sell when the opportunity arose.
He nodded immediately and smiled:
"Of course, I brought a shipment with me this time."
Zhou Tong's eyes immediately lit up, and he leaned forward, exclaiming, "That's wonderful!"
"Brother Zhou, you're familiar with Chang'an," Shen Jingchuan said slowly, taking a sip of his tea. "What do you think would be a suitable price for a watch like this? To be honest, the craftsmanship is too intricate; our Lineage's production capacity is limited, and we can't produce many even in a year."
Zhou Tong, "Brother Shen, this thing isn't sold to ordinary people at all. It's not for telling time; it's for status! Think about it, if I wore one of these on my wrist, the only one of its kind on the street, and those richer young masters saw it and didn't have one, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
This kind of thing has to be priced high; the more expensive it is, the more people will want it. Once the desire to show off and compete with others kicks in, they're willing to spend any amount of money. If you ask me, the starting price shouldn't be lower than five hundred taels of silver per piece."
Shen Jingchuan nodded inwardly upon hearing this; this line of thought coincided with his own. After a moment's thought, he spoke:
"Alright, let's do it your way, Brother Zhou. I only have one hundred pieces of stock on hand right now, and I'll give them all to you to sell. But let me make this clear from the start: our production capacity is limited, and we don't know when the next batch will be available. Take your time selling them, no rush. We'll set the price at two hundred taels of silver per piece. Is that acceptable?"
"Two hundred taels?" Zhou Tong was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed—the profit margin was even greater than he had expected. He immediately patted his chest and replied:
"Great! Absolutely! Don't worry, Brother Shen, leave this to me, I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly!"
"There are quite a few styles, both men's and women's, including wristwatches and pocket watches."
As he spoke, Shen Jingchuan took out a pocket watch from his pocket, pressed the spring with his fingertip to activate it, and the watch cover popped open with a "snap," revealing the clear markings inside. He then demonstrated it to the group of people.
Zhou Tong stared wide-eyed, his confidence growing stronger; this business deal was sure to be incredibly profitable.
He nodded hastily, "Brother Shen, I'll take this list to my father when I get back. But this batch of goods costs a total of 20,000 taels of silver, which I can't decide on my own. I need to go home and inform my father, and come to pick up the goods and make payment first thing tomorrow morning."
After the banquet, Zhou Tong, clutching the watch, staggered home. He didn't even bother going around the front hall, heading straight for his father's courtyard in the back. The candles inside were long gone, and his father, Master Zhou, had already retired for the night with his concubine.
"Father! Father, get up quickly! It's extremely urgent!" Zhou Tong shouted, pounding on the door, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.
From inside the house came Master Zhou's incoherent cursing:
"You damn brat! What are you howling about in the middle of the night? If you don't have something important to say, I'll break your legs with a stick!"
The concubine was also awakened. Recognizing the voice of the eldest son, she dared not complain at all, but instead gently advised:
"Master, judging from Tong'er's tone, it seems he really has something urgent to attend to; he's probably not just joking around."
Master Zhou snorted, sat up cursing, and, with his concubine's help, put on his outer robe and slipped on his shoes to walk to the central hall.
He sat down in the armchair, picked up the chilled tea that was cooling on the table, took a big gulp, and said with a stern face:
"Speak, what is it? You'd better have something important to tell me in the middle of the night."
Zhou Tong couldn't wait any longer. He took two steps forward, pulled the watch from his pocket, and presented it to his father like a precious treasure.
"Dad, look at this!"
Master Zhou glanced at it casually, but his gaze instantly froze. He reached out and took it, examining it from all angles. His fingertips touched the cool metal case, and as he watched the hands on the dial move steadily, the sleepiness on his face vanished instantly.
After Zhou Tong finished explaining the purpose and origin of this item, as well as the fact that the Shen Jingchuan Lineage made it themselves and had limited production capacity, Master Zhou finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"I never imagined... that the Shen Household would possess such abilities. They are clearly no ordinary Aristocratic Clan family."
He tapped his fingertips on the table, his businessman's shrewdness instantly kicking in:
"You're saying you're planning to sell it for 500 taels apiece? That's too conservative! This item is unique in the entire Great Qian Kingdom. It's all about status and prestige. People would be scrambling for it even if it cost 800 to 1,000 taels! Those princes, royal family members, and wealthy salt merchants aren't lacking money; they're lacking rare items that others don't have."
The next morning, just as Shen Jingchuan was packing his things to leave, Zhou Tong arrived.
Shen Jingchuan took out the hundred watches he had prepared the night before and handed them to him, accepting the 20,000 taels of silver notes.
Su Yan and Xu Mo also came to see them off. The group walked out of the city and accompanied them for five miles before stopping to say goodbye.
After bidding farewell to Zhou Tong, Su Yan, and Xu Mo, the group headed straight for Yuxi Prefecture.
A few days ago, Shen Jingchuan had given his four-wheeled carriage to his teacher, Great Confucian Yan. This time, Bai Ruoli and her maid Qinghe were traveling with him. The two of them, along with Xiao Yue'er, all sat in the Lin Household's carriage. The coachman, Liu Hu, no longer had the job of driving the carriage, so he rode Little Red behind the carriage, fully armored and acting as a guard.
Shen Jingchuan rode Big Black in front of the carriage, while Little Black Big Black Treading Snow followed slowly behind without being tied up. Lin Qingyao, her face covered with a plain veil, rode beside him on horseback.
Since the engagement was arranged at the inn, she had become much more reserved, remaining quiet the whole way. She would only occasionally glance at the back of the person beside her before quickly looking away, her hand lightly gripping the reins, her whole being exuding a shyness of being newly engaged.
As they traveled towards Yuxi Prefecture, Lin Qingyao's gaze couldn't help but fall on the three Whirlwind Horses ahead. Needless to say, the Big Black horse was magnificent, but even the two mares, Little Black and Treading Snow, were tall with long legs and glossy manes, their bearing far surpassing that of ordinary horses.
She was already shorter than Shen Jingchuan, and the horse she rode was more than a head shorter than the Big Black. When she and the horse were next to Shen Jingchuan, she always looked small, and there was a hint of envy in her eyes.
After traveling about forty or fifty li, a teahouse appeared by the roadside. Lin Shan reined in his horse, signaling everyone to stop there for a rest and to let the people and horses catch their breath and drink some water.
While everyone was busy with their own things, Shen Jingchuan had already noticed her expression earlier, and he raised his hand to call out, "Qingyao, come here."