Holding an Auction
Upon hearing this, Fu Yunlang dared not utter a word.
When he bought the clock, the missionary insisted on a price of five thousand taels of silver. With shipping costs added, the cost of the clock alone was over five thousand taels of silver.
Selling them through auction might fetch a high price, but it's also possible they'll only reach six or seven thousand taels. Most importantly, there are only three. Even if each bell can sell for ten thousand taels of silver, he can only earn a total of fifteen thousand taels.
Excluding the one he gave away... no, the one he sold to the Emperor, he only earned ten thousand taels of silver after working hard all day.
But those "safes" were different. Although they only sold for eight hundred taels of silver each, they were self-produced, ensuring a continuous supply and generating huge profits.
No wonder the Emperor didn't approve of his deal.
Seeing his dejected expression, Xiao Lingyan comforted him, saying, "Don't look down on this small business. Think about it, you invested in the Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion, and you've put in a lot of effort over the past six months. Look how much silver you've earned!"
These words immediately comforted Fu Yunlang.
In the past six months, Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion has only earned Fu Yunlang a little over three thousand taels of silver. But after his trip to the south, he not only broadened his horizons but also earned several thousand to tens of thousands of taels of silver. Moreover, he just did the Emperor a great favor.
This favor could be very useful. If my father and brother ever do anything wrong in the future, the emperor might be lenient towards them, considering that he sold a clock at a loss today.
After this incident, will his father and elder brother still complain that he has accomplished nothing?
"Besides, this business of yours isn't just a one-off transaction. Next time you go south and find that missionary, you might be able to buy a few more clocks, and maybe even some other good things from the Western Ocean," Xiao Lingyan said.
Fu Yunlang's eyes lit up.
He stopped and bowed deeply to Xiao Lingyan: "Thank you, Your Highness, for taking me to Jiangnan back then. If I hadn't traveled far with you then, even with this great opportunity, I wouldn't have dared to go south. Yunlang thanks Your Fifth Highness for your guidance back then, and also thanks Your Highness for your advice today."
"No need for formalities." Xiao Lingyan helped him up. "You weren't the only one who went to Jiangnan with me back then, but you were the only one who actively took action and achieved results. That shows your own competence; I dare not take credit for it."
He patted Fu Yunlang's shoulder forcefully. "Yunlang, people always look down on merchants, but they don't know the joy of making money, and everyone needs money. You have a talent for business, and you can't waste it. As long as you have money, when your father and brothers are worried about the army's pay and provisions, you can donate a little. Not only will your father and brothers be grateful, but even the emperor will reward you. This is where a man can make a name for himself."
These words struck a chord with Fu Yunlang.
His father never gave him a kind look when he came home, always complaining that his mother had spoiled him.
A boy longing for his father's approval finally gets his father back, only to be met with constant scolding and disdainful looks. His father always tells him to learn from his older brother. How could he not feel resentful?
So he wanted to prove to his father and brothers that even without going to the border to fight the enemy, he could still achieve great things.
The thought of his father and brother having to beg him for material help made him feel incredibly pleased.
"Your Highness is right. I will definitely work hard and achieve great things, so as not to let Your Highness down." Fu Yunlang shouted as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
"Alright, I'll wait and see." Xiao Lingyan laughed.
The two continued walking, Xiao Lingyan asked him, "How do you plan to bid for those three clocks?"
When this was mentioned, Fu Yunlang seemed somewhat bewildered.
He scratched his head. "I'll have to find out more about that. I've heard that when masters of calligraphy and painting sell their works, they do it through auctions. But I don't know the specifics of how it works."
"I know that. As soon as you mentioned the auction, I had someone inquire about it," Xiao Lingyan said.
Fu Yunlang's eyes lit up, and he bowed, saying, "Please tell me, Your Highness."
"They are usually insiders or people who particularly love calligraphy and painting and have come to buy it before. Several people get together, each writes down a price on a piece of paper for the owner, and after the owner looks at it, he sells the calligraphy and painting to the highest bidder. The other bids are destroyed privately so that no one can see them."
"Oh? Then, in that case, won't our clocks not fetch a high price?"
This clock is just a novelty, making the time more accurate and clearer. But it's not essential. Everyone has a water clock at home, so not having a clock doesn't prevent you from telling the time.
He set a starting price of five thousand taels, which was already considered very high by others. When bidding, everyone would at most raise the price by one or two thousand, not five thousand directly. Nobody's money comes from thin air.
Even if the price increases by two thousand, he'll still lose money. Besides the clock for the emperor, he also has to cover shipping costs.
Besides, he was the second young Marquis of Pingnan's Residence, penniless and powerless. He usually associated with other good-for-nothing playboys like himself, whom his father and brothers considered useless. Even if they had money, it wouldn't be much; five or six thousand taels of silver wasn't something they could easily come up with. Even if they could, they wouldn't be willing to spend it all on something that was neither good for eating nor wearing.
But he has no contact with those in charge. Even if he sends them invitations, they definitely won't respond.
This is really difficult.
He looked at Xiao Lingyan pleadingly, "Your Highness, what should we do? Are we going to lose money on the bell?"
Fu Yunlang wasn't entirely naive. After returning from the south, he knew he couldn't handle this alone. Moreover, the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence was in cahoots with the Second Prince and Fifth Prince, and it wouldn't be good to completely exclude them from making money.
The Second Prince was a close friend of his elder brother, and he was unwilling to cooperate with him; on the contrary, the Fifth Prince had been very kind to him from the beginning, giving him guidance and advice on many occasions, and even taking him to Jiangnan. He was very grateful to the Fifth Prince.
So he approached Xiao Lingyan, gave him a 10% share of the profits, and begged him to take him to the palace to present a clock to the emperor.
So it's not bad to call this clock "our clock".
Xiao Lingyan stroked his chin and hesitated, then said, "How about I open an auction house?"
"What auction house?" Fu Yunlang asked curiously.
"These are rare items that everyone wants. I'll collect them all, hold an auction, and invite wealthy people from the capital who are interested in these things to participate. Everyone will bid on the spot, and the highest bidder will win. I'll take 10% of the sale price as a reward."
Fu Yunlang's eyes lit up as soon as he heard that.
He couldn't invite those with power and money, but Xiao Lingyan was different.