Sales Soar

Empress Shengyao produced glass, so glass bottles weren't a problem. The most important thing in canning was controlling the cost of sugar.

In this era, there was no saccharin, so it was impossible to minimize the cost of canned goods. But Zhao Ruxi discovered that there were still quite a few wealthy people in the capital and Jiangnan who were willing to spend money on canned goods.

Everyone knows sugar is expensive, so if you sell canned goods at a higher price, as long as they taste good, people will still buy them. Instead of focusing on low profit margins and high sales volume, creating a luxury trend is also a viable strategy. It all depends on how you implement it.

"Let me think about it, and come up with some other ways to make money. Then you can choose which one is better," Zhao Ruxi said.

Seeing Lady Zhu's expression that said "I can't take away my daughter's business," she added, "Mother, I have plenty of ways to make money, I just don't have the time. If you don't do this business, wouldn't it be a waste? If the recipe for canned goods gets out of the village, wouldn't it just benefit someone else?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Zhu no longer refused.

In her mind, Zhao Ruxi should live like other noble ladies, spending her days eating, playing, and dressing up, living a carefree life. She and her parents, Zhao Yuanxun, were the ones who earned money to support the family.

But this child was so capable that he took on the heavy responsibility, which made her and her husband feel guilty.

If she didn't do this business, she couldn't possibly expect her daughter to worry about business matters while she was studying for her exams, could she? So this was something she had no choice but to do.

If the family were living comfortably and not short of money, then their daughter wouldn't need to work so hard.

Lady Zhu immediately sent a steward to accompany Ma Sheng to the Little Peach Manor Little Peach Manor to see how they were making canned goods.

A couple of days later, Zhao Ruxi also offered a few ways to make money, discussing them with Lady Zhu to see which one she was willing to try on a small scale. If successful, they could then expand the business.

For the next month, Zhao Ruxi focused intently on her studies, receiving individual tutoring from her teacher at the Beining Women's Academy every day. However, she would occasionally ask Qingfeng to inquire about the newspapers.

It is unknown how Grand Princess Shangde spoke to the Emperor, but in the end the Emperor agreed to allow the newspaper to be addressed directly to both men and women. At Grand Princess Shangde's request, he also gave the newspaper the four large characters "Qiming Ten-Day Gazette" (启明旬报).

The name "Qiming" was conceived by Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui. This was the first privately run newspaper in the Great Jin, and they hoped that it would be like the morning star, bringing light to the people of the Great Jin, especially women.

As Zhao Ruxi suggested, the newspaper was enlarged and expanded to eight pages, with a significant increase in content.

Grand Princess Shangde grew up in the palace, and her ability to control people's hearts was unmatched by Zhao Ruxi. In the first few issues of the newspaper, she did not show the slightest feminine bias, and one page even featured articles written by male Confucian scholars.

After several issues, the newspaper gained recognition and sales soared, reaching over five thousand copies by the fifth issue. Moreover, due to its affordability, many people subscribed to the newspaper for the entire year. It was at this point that she began to subtly incorporate women's topics into some of the content, truly implementing the "subtle and pervasive" approach proposed by Zhao Ruxi.

The ancients were not bombarded with advertisements and had never experienced what "exaggeration" or "false advertising" meant, so the advertisements were incredibly effective. Wang Printing House, the silk shop under Grand Princess Shangde's name, and Xiao Ruotong's Gathered Treasures Studio Silver Shop all saw their sales Youyu compared to the previous month because they had placed advertisements. Seeing this, other shops in the capital also came to contact the shopkeepers.

"Zhiwei, Miss Zhiwei."

That day, Zhao Ruxi got off the carriage at the entrance of the Beining Women's Academy. Just as she was about to go in, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

She turned her head and saw He Yuqi sticking her head out of the carriage window. Before the carriage had come to a complete stop, she jumped down and ran towards Zhao Ruxi.

"Don't rush, be careful not to fall," Zhao Ruxi hurriedly called out.

He Yuqi followed her up, smiling shyly, "I've been wanting to thank you, but I was worried I might be bothering you."

"Thank me? What are you thanking me for? I didn't help you at all." Zhao Ruxi knew what she meant, gave her a reproachful look, and asked, "Are you going in to find Madam Cui? Let's go in together."

He Yuqi was indeed looking for Madam Cui. Madam Cui's house wasn't far from the North Academy, so the two were going the same way.

She followed Zhao Ruxi inside, saying, "Madam Cui told me everything. It was because I asked you for help that you wanted to help me and more women like me, which led to the idea of starting a newspaper. The newspaper is doing so well thanks to you; your idea was truly brilliant."

"It's all thanks to you that it was done well, it has nothing to do with me," Zhao Ruxi said with a smile.

He Yuqi waved her hand dismissively and continued, "Zhiwei, you have no idea how much this newspaper has helped us. A while ago, two of our classmates from the North Academy got jobs as editors at the newspaper, which prevented their families from letting them marry off their children so easily. There were also those who were already married, but because their articles were published in the newspaper, their in-laws treated them differently. They not only felt that what they did brought honor to the family, but they were also worried that something bad about their family might be written into the articles, exposing their shortcomings and shame."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Zhao Ruxi was genuinely Gao Xing for her classmates.

Her initial intention in suggesting the newspaper to Madam Cui was this, but whether it could truly help these women remained to be seen. Often, ideals are lofty, but reality is harsh. Ideals may not necessarily be realized.

She is now Gao Xing to discover that someone has genuinely benefited from this matter than she has made money or achieved academic success.

She now understands why Madam Cui was so enthusiastic about doing such things.

"There are also many hardworking women whose fates have been changed because they were able to work in the Princess's textile factory." He Yuqi said, looking at Zhao Ruxi with great admiration, "Zhiwei, you are truly amazing."

Zhao Ruxi waved her hand. "No, the only ones who can change their own destiny are themselves. If you hadn't been willing to fight and had instead obeyed your families' arrangements, you wouldn't be where you are today."

Seeing the fork in the road ahead, she quickly waved again. "I'm going to the North Academy, the teacher will be here soon."

Then He Yuqi saw Zhao Ruxi walking forward, her pace unhurried and her demeanor composed. The two maids behind her had to jog to keep up. In no time, the three figures disappeared from her sight.

He Yuqi blinked, stood there in confusion for a moment, and then went to Madam Cui.

The days spent focused on studying still flew by, and soon it was the end of May, the time for the provincial examination.