Seizing the Market

Whether in modern times or after transmigrating to ancient times, Zhao Ruxi is an extremely opinionated and assertive person. She likes to be in control of everything. Even if the other party is someone she trusts deeply, she will not hand over everything to them.

Although the more you know, the faster you die, she couldn't bring herself to ask nothing and ignore everything.

At the very least, she needs to be aware of the situation.

Her resolve had already softened, but she still asked, "Where's your second brother? Can't you discuss it with him? You're just doing all the work for him. He doesn't lift a finger, and you're the one struggling behind the scenes. What's the point?"

"He'll definitely have to contribute; he'll be the one charging into battle. I don't want to sit in that position, so like you, I'll naturally prioritize my own safety when something happens."

Xiao Lingyan said seriously, "But he's different from you. I definitely hold back in front of him; I can't tell him everything. But you are someone I trust wholeheartedly."

Although she knew that this guy was just flattering her and his goal was to get her to do his work and offer him advice, Zhao Ruxi couldn't deny that she felt quite pleased to hear those words.

She said, "Alright, tell me, what are you planning to do?"

Xiao Lingyan then whispered his plan to Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi felt that Xiao Lingyan's strategy, which involved familiarizing himself with the situation and gathering information over this period, was quite appropriate. She shared some of her own ideas, and the two complemented each other, refining the plan before finalizing the entire proposal.

"Alright, that's about right. After all, some things can change in an instant, and adjustments need to be made based on the specific circumstances. It's hard to say how things will develop; we can only make a rough plan," Zhao Ruxi said.

Xiao Lingyan nodded. "You're right."

He said, "There's another reason I asked to meet you today. The clock that Fu Yunlang bought has been transported to the capital."

As he spoke, he recounted the details of the deal to Zhao Ruxi, and also mentioned the incident of leading Fu Yunlang to the palace to present the bell the previous day.

He had only assembled four clocks in the south and sold them to Fu Yunlang through a missionary, receiving 20,000 taels of silver in return.

The steel used for the clock is better than that used for a safe, the parts are finely crafted, and the wood used for the outer base is also of good quality, making it more expensive. Including shipping costs, the cost of a clock is approximately five hundred taels.

The missionary was bribed with two hundred taels of silver, and the four bells brought in a profit of seventeen thousand eight hundred taels.

Although this business deal couldn't compare to Zhao Ruxi's safe business and was quite troublesome, it was just the beginning, still in the publicity stage. As long as they didn't lose money and could even make so much, Zhao Ruxi and Xiao Lingyan were quite satisfied.

Moreover, in Fu Yunlang's later business deal, Xiao Lingyan also received a 10% cut, and the auction house received another 10%. Although the profit was not much, it was enough to recover the cost of making the clock.

Zhao Ruxi felt unhappy after calculating how much money Fu Yunlang had earned.

She said, "With a few shills, a single clock could fetch tens of thousands of taels of silver, right? I went through all that trouble to build this clock, and you went through all that trouble too, only for Fu Yunlang to end up getting the lion's Datou and getting a bargain. I'm so unhappy about that."

"When the border becomes critical and supplies are scarce, and your father and brothers' lives are in grave danger, Fu Yunlang will have to return the money he has. He's just holding onto it temporarily," Xiao Lingyan comforted him.

After thinking about it, Zhao Ruxi gave up on the idea.

This money should have been earned by her. The benefits of donating supplies through her are naturally different from those of donating supplies through Fu Yunlang.

If she found Fu Yunlang agreeable, that would be one thing. But ever since she transmigrated, because of the Gathered Treasures Studio incident, Fu Yunlang had used his wealth and power to pressure her, trying to make her work for him. Naturally, she didn't have a good impression of Fu Yunlang. She felt uncomfortable when he received any benefits.

But her original intention in creating the clock was to change the political situation and save them, these cannon fodder. As long as she could achieve her goal, she was willing to suffer some losses.

Furthermore, Fu Yunlang stepped forward to take the brunt of the attack, drawing fire and dealing with numerous open and covert attacks, which was no easy feat, so it's only fair that he reaps some benefits. She, on the other hand, chose to stay in the background, only able to earn money through technical skills.

Thinking about it this way, Zhao Ruxi's anger subsided.

"It's alright. Once Fu Yunlang goes south again, I'll have the missionary raise the price a bit. As long as we get a taste of success from this auction, even if it's seven or eight thousand taels of silver per bell, I think Fu Yunlang will buy it," Xiao Lingyan said.

"Once these bulky clocks stop selling, we'll make some other shapes, smaller and more delicate, like cuckoo clocks, and then we'll harvest another crop of sales."

Zhao Ruxi nodded and reminded him, "Jiangnan is a huge market, don't forget to ship there. You can also open your auction house there, but you have to be quick and seize the opportunity. As long as your identity is established, no one will dare to imitate you, and your auction house will be a unique business."

Xiao Lingyan lightly tapped the table. "You reminded me, we really have to do it this way. Auction houses are a business that only makes money and never loses, and there are no costs involved. As long as you have a stable identity, it's very easy to imitate. If others learn from this and gain an advantage in various provinces, I won't be able to say anything then. After all, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Before the concept of auction houses spreads, I need to quickly send people to various provinces to open auction houses."

"By the way, your painting will also be auctioned." He recounted his conversation with Kang Shilin at the Kang Residence.

"I understand," Zhao Ruxi said. "My master is so impatient, how could he wait for you to tell me? Last night he sent someone to the Earl of Suiping's Residence to explain the situation and even took my painting away."

Xiao Lingyan laughed, "That's fine, saves you the trouble of figuring out how to get it to me."

The two had many things to discuss. After finishing that, Xiao Lingyan remembered the Feicui and asked, "Have those rough stones been cut? What's the quality of the Feicui?"

In his past life, he loved reading novels about gambling on jade. Out of curiosity, he even went to the southern border with a friend who was buying Feicui raw materials, visited several famous mines, and gambled on stones a few times.

Although the Great Jin is a fictional era, its geographical location is exactly the same as the terrain of their modern country. This gave him great advantages.

Before sending people to buy the mines, he specially drew a topographical map and instructed his subordinates to search according to the map. If someone was mining, he would buy the mine directly; if no one was mining, he would buy the site after confirming that there was indeed mineral deposit underground and then hire the locals to mine it.

His men followed the directions he gave them and indeed found several rich mines. Only one of them was being mined, but the amount being mined was small, and it still had great potential for exploitation.