Selling Glass Mirrors at the Market

As Xiao Mingshu spoke, she subtly changed the subject, probing with a casual, conversational tone:

"Young Master Shen's Lineage has such a profound foundation, and you've already Qi Refining Second Layer, yet your family hasn't provided you with a Storage Law Artifact?"

Shen Jingchuan knew this was a test to see what he was capable of, so he immediately made up a story:

"Our Shen Household is different from other Lineage. From a young age, we are taught that everything must be earned through our own efforts, and there are no free lunches. Furthermore, my Spirit Root aptitude is poor, so I am not valued in the clan, and this kind of Law Artifact is definitely not for me."

Xiao Mingshu nodded slightly upon hearing this, already understanding. She had already guessed that the other party was a disciple from a cultivation Lineage, and hearing this made it seem reasonable—a mediocre offspring from a collateral branch, unable to receive preferential treatment from the Lineage's resources, had to venture out on his own to make a living, which fit the current situation.

Shen Jingchuan thought for a moment and said to Xiao Mingshu, "Your Highness, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

After saying that, he turned and left the main hall, heading straight for the storeroom in the west courtyard. The storeroom was already piled high with goods he had prepared during his previous returns from the modern world, with all sorts of items stacked to the brim.

He first found ten boxes of pocket watches and ten boxes of wristwatches, twenty-four watches in each box.

After thinking about it, I took ten more boxes of portable folding makeup mirrors—all palm-sized models with clear mirror surfaces, convenient to carry around. Each box contains twenty-four mirrors, so ten boxes would contain two hundred and forty mirrors.

He dared not use his ancestral Spatial Ring, fearing that the fluctuations in Spiritual Qi would be detected by the other party, so he relied solely on his bare hands to move the items.

The cardboard boxes weren't heavy but took up a lot of space. He first moved the boxes to the garden, carrying four boxes at a time, and then transported them to the main hall of the second courtyard.

As they passed through the garden, Lin Qingyao chatted with Bai Ruoli, followed by Qinghe, Ju'er, Yue'er, and a group of maids including Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua.

Seeing him carrying boxes, the group quickly came to greet him.

"Why didn't you say anything and carry it all by yourself?" Lin Qingyao said as she stepped forward to take the boxes. She was in good health and carried one box in each hand steadily without any effort.

Bai Ruoli also stepped forward and carefully picked up a box. She was frail and could only carry one box at a time. She followed and walked slowly towards the main hall.

The remaining maids also stepped forward to help, each carrying one or two boxes, and the team carrying the goods quickly grew. What would normally be a task requiring seven or eight trips was accomplished quickly with many hands, and in no time all thirty cardboard boxes were moved into the room and stacked neatly.

After all the women had left, only the two of them remained in the main hall. Shen Jingchuan raised his hand and pointed to the twenty cardboard boxes on the ground, then said:

"Your Highness, there are twenty boxes here in total: ten boxes of wristwatches and ten boxes of pocket watches, twenty-four watches in each box, for a total of four hundred and eighty watches. Both men's and women's styles are available."

Xiao Mingshu raised an eyebrow, quite surprised. "So many this time?"

"When the Lineage found out you could exchange your goods for Spirit Stones, they immediately stopped supplying you from other places and focused all their efforts on getting supplies to me."

Shen Jingchuan continued making things up in a normal tone:

"If Your Highness sells quickly, we can grit our teeth and squeeze out some more sales."

Xiao Mingshu's eyes immediately brightened, and she leaned forward slightly:

"Don't worry, this stuff is in high demand in the market. There are already a lot of people asking around. If you hadn't been able to bring out so much stock, I was planning to..." She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, changed the subject, and just smiled, not explicitly stating that she wanted to raise the price.

Shen Jingchuan didn't follow up on the conversation; instead, he shook his head.

"Your Highness, I don't actually recommend that you raise the price too high. Currently, the Zhou Household sells them in both Chang'an and the Capital, and you can buy one for a thousand taels of silver. If the price difference between the market and the residential market becomes too large, some cultivators might get greedy and buy them from the mortal realm to resell in the market, which would cut off our source of income."

"Speaking of which, I was just about to tell you."

Xiao Mingshu waved her hand, her tone resolute:

"From now on, either don't sell to those two places in the mortal realm, or sell less and at a higher price. Don't sell them for a thousand taels anymore. Control the quantity strictly. Sell them for two thousand or three thousand taels each, it's up to you. The less the quantity, the better. That way, I can stabilize the price in the market, and no one can steal my business."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingchuan pondered for a moment and immediately understood the crux of the matter. In the mortal realm, the money earned from selling goods was mostly gold and silver, which was not easy to exchange for Spirit Stones. At most, it could cover the daily expenses of the manor or help the refugees in Hu Tieniu's area, so it was of very limited use to him.

"Your Highness is right."

He nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about that. From now on, I will only give the Zhou Household fifty watches a year, split between Chang'an and Capital, with a price no less than two thousand taels per watch, so that he can sell them slowly."

A single place might only produce two or three coins a month, which wouldn't affect Your Highness's business in the market. With the high prices in those two places as a comparison, your sales in the market will be much better."

Xiao Mingshu's brows relaxed upon hearing this, and she smiled and nodded at him:

"You're smart, kid. You know what's important."

Shen Jingchuan smiled as well, turned around, bent down and opened a cardboard box next to him, took out a palm-sized folding makeup mirror, flipped it open with his fingertips, and handed it to Xiao Mingshu:

"Your Highness, please take another look at this."

Xiao Mingshu reached out and took the mirror, then stared at herself intently. Suddenly, her wrist jerked, and the mirror almost slipped from her grasp and fell.

"It shines so clearly? Is this Law Artifact?"

She murmured something unconsciously, then shook her head, carefully feeling the back of the mirror with her fingertips for a moment, then frowned and said:

"Wait, there's not even a trace of Spiritual Qi; it's just an ordinary object?"

A thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly realized. "Back in the Capital, I heard people say that a kind of glass mirror had appeared in Chang'an, reflecting people in perfect detail, much clearer than bronze or jade mirrors. They said it came from Yuxi Prefecture. I should have realized that this thing must be the work of your Shen Household."

As soon as she spoke, she secretly weighed the Shen Household's significance in her heart—they could even make ordinary objects to such an extreme degree. Although they didn't seem to be Law Artifacts, the level of craftsmanship was much more difficult to achieve than many low-level Law Artifacts. The Lineage's foundation was probably deeper than she had guessed before.

Just as he was pondering this, he heard Shen Jingchuan ask:

"Does Your Highness think this mirror will sell well in the market?"

"Is that even a question?" Xiao Mingshu chuckled, picked up the mirror, and examined herself twice, her tone certain:

"It's sure to sell like hotcakes. Ordinary people use bronze mirrors, which are blurry and dull, and need to be polished every two months. Cultivators with limited means also make do with bronze mirrors, while those who are slightly better off use jade mirrors made from spirit jade, which are said to nourish the complexion. However, in terms of clarity and brightness, they are not even half as good as this mirror."

She paused, then said:

"If you really need to tidy up your appearance in an emergency, a cultivator can use Spiritual Qi to condense Water Mirror Technique, but the reflection won't be very clear. However, that Law Technique requires a lot of Spiritual Qi to maintain, which is quite troublesome."

You're a man, you wouldn't believe how attractive this thing is to female cultivators—it's only the size of a palm, it doesn't take up much space in Storage Bag, you can use it as soon as you take it out, it doesn't consume any Spiritual Qi, and it even illuminates every single strand of hair clearly.

Just you wait and see, whether they're low-level female cultivators or high-level female relatives, I guarantee everyone will have one in the future."

"However, to be fair, this shouldn't be sold at too high a price."

She then changed the subject and added:

"That's ridiculously low. People might as well save up to forge a magic Law Artifact with a reflection function, which would actually put them at a disadvantage. Volume is the best strategy; small profits but quick turnover will earn them more. Tell me, how much Spirit Stones is needed for this mirror?"