"This... this is Taoyuan County? Have we gone to the wrong place?"
Princess Yuzhen said in surprise.
"Zhang Shuo, tell me, have we arrived in Taoyuan County, or have we gone the wrong way?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo quickly looked at the large, colorful characters on the door. "Welcome to Taoyuan County!"
"Your Majesty... my lord, this should be the right place, this is Taoyuan County!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang immediately said, "Let's go and ask!"
At that moment, several people dressed in blue uniforms and wearing red hats were chatting idly under the gate.
Of course, the conversation was about how Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his companions were unsophisticated and ignorant of the world.
"Hey, look, they're coming over. We can totally rip them off if they're visiting Taoyuan County for the first time!"
"Hehe, perfect timing! Quick, call Zhang Mazi and tell him we have business!"
As they spoke, each of them took out a cell phone and dialed a number saved as "Zhang Mazi".
"Hey! Zhang Mazi, we have a big order in the South Urban District, come over right away!"
"Okay, got it! Coming right away!"
And just like that, the phone call ended.
At that moment in Taoyuan County, a man with a face full of pockmarks quickly turned on his fire and sped off towards the highway.
That's right, the once small Taoyuan County is now quite large, and it even has a highway.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, is this Taoyuan County?"
Zhang Shuo asked a young man with a smile.
"Hey, gentlemen, it looks like this is your first time visiting Taoyuan County! This is Taoyuan County!"
"Gentlemen, why is Taoyuan County so huge? And what's with all these strange things?"
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang walked over and pointed to the screen that was still playing advertisements, asking a question.
"Oh, sir, you don't know, Taoyuan County was just a small county town a year ago, and it didn't look like this back then."
"That's right, the reason our county has developed to its current size is entirely due to the county magistrate."
"What's going on with this magical box? I saw someone inside, but now it looks more like a moving image, though it's incredibly realistic!"
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang pointed to the giant screen and said.
"Sir, you don't understand, do you? This is called a display screen, and what's on it is called an advertisement. Look, it's an advertisement for this product, Xizhilang Jelly. My child really loves it!"
As he spoke, the young man twisted open the bag's lid and began to suck up the contents.
"Hmm, gentlemen, would you like to buy some? This is a local specialty of Taoyuan County, it's very delicious!"
How much is this?
"Hehe, sir, this stuff is extremely rare! A single bag costs ten taels of silver!"
"What? There's only so much of this, and you want 10 taels of silver for a bag? Why don't you just rob someone?"
Zhang Shuo exclaimed in surprise.
"Haha, gentlemen, this Xizhilang Jelly comes in several varieties. This one is apple flavored and is a limited edition. The original price of a bag is 10 taels of silver, but since this is your first time in Taoyuan County, we're offering it at half price—one tael of silver a bag. How about it? Would you like some?"
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage had never seen such a tactic before.
Thinking to myself, "This originally cost 10 taels of silver, but now it's only half price, just 5 taels. It's a great deal!"
Seeing the expressions on their faces, the deliveryman quickly added, "Oh, right, come on, here, I'll give each of you a bag, it's free. If you like it, you can buy more; if you don't, that's fine too!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage were overjoyed. They hadn't even paid yet, and they could eat first! They knew that each bag of this stuff cost 10 taels of silver.
So, without thinking twice, they simply twisted open the lid and started eating.
"Mmm, it's really delicious!"
"Yes, it's so sweet, and it's soft and chewy in my mouth, so delicious!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang remarked that even as the ruler of a nation, he had never tasted anything so sweet and delicious.
Seeing this, the deliveryman quickly said, "By the way, for first-time customers, besides the 50% discount, we also have a promotion: buy one bag, get one free! Would you like to buy some?"
At this moment, a young man next to them quickly added, "Just a heads up, once this stuff gets to the county town, the price will go back to 10 taels of silver a bag, and there won't be any more discounts!"
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage had never encountered such a tactic before, so how could they resist such temptation?
"Is that really true? A bag that sells for 10 taels of silver is now being sold at a 50% discount for only 5 taels of silver, and it's buy one get one free?"
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang carefully confirmed it again.
"Haha, gentlemen, it's true! We have surveillance video here, and it even has audio recording. We wouldn't dare lie to you, otherwise, if you report us to the county magistrate, we'll be sentenced!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage completely disregarded the possibility of surveillance videos and recordings, and immediately asked, "How many of these do you have?"
"Ahem, we have a lot, more than ten boxes, with 20 bags in each box."
"By the way, if you buy more than one box, we'll only charge you 90 taels of silver per box, and we'll even give you a free box!"
Hearing what the two young men said, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage could no longer resist and said directly, "Alright, we'll take them all!"
Thus, a total of 20 boxes were collected. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage bought 10 boxes and gave away 10 boxes as gifts. Each box cost 90 taels of silver, for a total of 900 taels of silver, an exorbitant price.
That's not all; because Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage bought so much, the two young men only charged them 800 taels of silver.
This delighted Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his entourage, who thought they had gotten a great deal!
"Ahem, that's so great, really wonderful!"
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang praised the two young men.
"Haha, gentlemen, this is all thanks to our county magistrate's excellent teaching; we must be polite to everyone!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's admiration for Qin Hao increased even more, and his favorability towards him soared.
Zhang Shuo, Wang Gonggong, and the guards standing nearby also looked at Qin Hao with admiration, marveling at how amazing Qin Hao was, managing to govern Taoyuan County so well in just one year!
As for Princess Yuzhen, her face was flushed, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
At this moment, a young man asked, "By the way, gentlemen, you're going into the county town; you can't ride your horse-drawn carriage in!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was dumbfounded and quickly asked, "Why is that?"
"Ahem, gentlemen, this is a rule set by the county magistrate: carriages are strictly prohibited from entering the city. It's considered uncivilized, and in serious cases, it could result in fines and imprisonment!"
"What? What kind of rule is this? It's so unreasonable!"
"Ahem, gentlemen, this is because carriages entering the city would affect the appearance of the city, so they are not allowed in."
"Then how do we get in?"
"Ahem, gentlemen, it's simple, you can go in by car."
"By the way, you can entrust your carriage and horses to us for management. You only need to pay a management fee of 100 taels of silver, and we can take care of them for you for a month!"
"Hmm, really? We're only here for a few days, so we don't need to pay for a month, right?"
"Ahem, gentlemen, that's fine, but the minimum payment is for a week. Seven days would cost 50 taels of silver. What do you think?"