This Shop's Business Is Booming

When high-ranking generals returned from the frontier, they should go home, freshen up, and then submit a memorial to the Emperor, reporting on the affairs of the frontier. If the Emperor wished to summon them, he would bring them to the palace for questioning; otherwise, they could return home after the eunuch relayed the message.

So Fu Yunkai hurriedly ate a few bites of food, rinsed his mouth, and then entered the palace.

It was late afternoon, Xiao Ge was reviewing memorials when he heard that Fu Yunkai had returned. He summoned him for a brief meeting, asked a few questions, inquired about the soldiers at the border, and then dismissed Fu Yunkai.

"Do you know where the Second Highness is?" Fu Yunkai asked his attendant as they left the palace.

The attendants knew that every time Fu Yunkai returned from the border, after paying homage to the Emperor, he would always go to Xiao Lingpu for a drink and a chat.

However, since the soldiers could not contact the princes before meeting the emperor after returning from the border, he waited until Fu Yunkai the palace before sending someone to inquire about Xiao Lingpu's whereabouts.

"My lord, I just sent someone to inquire at the Second Highness's villa. I heard that the Second Highness and the Fifth Highness are currently at a teahouse in the south of the city," he said.

"A teahouse?" Fu Yunkai in surprise.

Xiao Lingpu was a very self-disciplined and diligent person. He never indulged in sensual pleasures and spent his days either handling official business, reading, or practicing martial arts, holding himself to very high standards.

He would never set foot in places like teahouses or theaters. As he put it, "I'd rather spend that time reading a few more pages of a book, practicing some boxing, or strolling through the streets to understand the lives and conditions of ordinary people."

He himself was like this, so he was even stricter with his younger brother, fearing that Xiao Lingyan would go astray and become a spoiled royal. Therefore, he forbade Xiao Lingyan from going to such places.

"There are quite a few teahouses in the south of the city. Do you know exactly where they are?" he asked.

"I know. The Second Highness's gatekeeper gave me the detailed address."

The attendant gave an address.

Fu Yunkai finally understood. "Isn't this the address on the invitation Yunlang gave me? Could it be that the Western Ocean water clock is sold in this teahouse?"

The attendant nodded. "That should be it."

Fu Yunkai mounted his horse. "Let's go, lead the way."

The group then headed to the south of the city.

Upon reaching the south of the city, after walking for a while, the attendant pointed to a two-story shop and said to Fu Yunkai, "Sir, this is a very prosperous shop recently. It sells safes. The Madam also bought a deed for a safe to store her jewelry a few days ago. I heard that this shop is owned by the Emperor himself."

Fu Yunkai glanced at it and saw a plaque hanging above the shop door with three large characters written in a flamboyant style: Baoning Pavilion. The signature was Xiao Ge.

However, it was only afternoon, and while other shops were still open for business, Baoning Pavilion was closed.

He asked, "Why aren't you opening the door?"

"Business is booming," the attendant chuckled. "His shop only offers a dozen or so safes a day, and people send their servants to line up before dawn. Within fifteen minutes of opening, all those safes are sold out. What are the shopkeeper and his staff doing sitting in an empty shop when there's no stock left? They naturally close down."

Fu Yunkai never cared about these things. Even though the shop was owned by the Emperor and his mother had bought one, he didn't pay any attention.

Hearing this, he became curious. "What kind of cabinets are they selling? Why are so many people buying them?"

"It was an iron cabinet with a new type of lock. Back then..." The attendant vividly described the grand scene of lock-picking in front of the Court of Judicial Review a while ago.

"Although the price isn't cheap, one can last for decades or even centuries. Who doesn't have something valuable to store? Besides, this business belongs to the Emperor, so all the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital come to buy them."

Fu Yunkai glanced back and asked, puzzled, "According to you, this safe has been on the market for a while now, right? Are there really that many wealthy and powerful families in Beijing who would want to buy this kind of safe?"

Are all the wealthy families in Beijing so rich that each one needs more than a dozen safes to store their gold and jewels?

"Hey, isn't this just showing off? If these safes were openly sold, that would be fine. But they're hard to buy, so naturally, those who manage to get one are proud and will have to show it off."

The attendant laughed, "Those aristocratic families often have three or four generations living together, with many members in their households. If the eldest son's family buys one, should the second son's family buy one too? If the fifth young mistress sees that the third young mistress bought a safe to store her dowry, should she also buy one, so that others won't think she doesn't have a valuable dowry and laugh at her?"

"When people from other places see that all the wealthy and powerful in the capital are buying them, they think that if they had one, not only could it be used to store things, but it would also make them look good. Wouldn't they want to find a way to buy a few too? Wouldn't that make the shop's business boom?"

Fu Yunkai silent.

Fu Yunkai suffered hardships for several years while living with his parents at the border when he was young. When he was eight, his father was promoted and the family moved to the capital. He stayed in the capital with his mother for a year, but his father was worried that he would grow up badly and took him back to the border.

Therefore, what Fu Yunkai saw and interacted with in his daily life were mostly soldiers on the border and the poor people there. He couldn't stand the extravagant atmosphere in the capital.

However, even if I don't like it, I can't criticize it, since everyone has their own way of living. Besides, it would be troublesome if others heard about it.

He didn't want to talk about it anymore, looked ahead, and asked, "Is this the street? Which house is it exactly?"

Another servant, afraid of missing the place, kept looking left and right.

He pointed ahead and said, "Sir, we've arrived."

The plaque above the house was covered with a red cloth, but there were two guards standing in front of the gate. They were the same guards who usually followed Xiao Lingpu, and Fu Yunkai's men were very familiar with them.

The two guards also saw them. When Fu Yunkai dismounted, they quickly stepped forward and saluted. "General Fu, you're back?"

Fu Yunkai tossed the reins to his attendant and asked, "Second Highness and the Fifth Highness inside?"

"Yes, yes," a guard replied. "I will escort General Fu inside."

Fu Yunkai followed him inside. Turning past the screen by the door, he immediately saw Xiao Lingpu and Xiao Lingyan. The two were facing away from the door, pointing at the table and talking.

Fu Yunkai walked over and called out to the two of them.

"You're back?" Xiao Lingpu was pleasantly surprised. "I knew you should be home in the next few days."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Fu Yunkai pointed to the upstairs and downstairs areas and asked, "Fifth Highness, what are you doing?"

"Didn't Yunlang tell you? This is a deal I made," Xiao Lingyan said with a smile.

Seeing that his friend was unclear, Xiao Lingpu led him upstairs, found a private room, ordered tea and snacks, and then explained the auction to him in detail.

Xiao Lingyan, and seeing the two chatting so animatedly, he said "Excuse me" and went back to his own business.