Planning for the Future

The Bai Residence.

Jun Jingyi had come in person.

He had prepared three portions.

One was for Lady Wang, the head of the household, one for her daughter Bai Ruoxin, and one for Bai Ruoli.

Jealousy was a terrible thing, and he did not want to bring Bai Ruoli any trouble because of it, even if those two were bound to meet a bad end in the end.

But that was none of his business.

"Delicious..."

Lian'er exclaimed softly, her face flushed with excitement as she stole a glance at Jun Jingyi.

She felt that Young Master Jun was truly amazing.

He could do anything.

And he had even given something this delicious to a servant like her. He was truly... a good person!

Now she wanted her young lady to marry him even more!

"Ahem..."

Beside her, Bai Ruoli coughed softly and shot Lian'er an exasperated look.

What a hopeless girl.

Even so, she was also very fond of the mooncakes, especially the ones with red bean paste filling!

She raised her eyes to look at the smiling Jun Jingyi before her.

Bai Ruoli asked, "These mooncakes must be quite expensive, aren't they?"

"Ten taels of silver!"

Jun Jingyi spoke casually.

"Ahem..."

Bai Ruoli choked on the tea she had just put in her mouth.

She stared blankly at the half-eaten mooncake in her hand.

How was she eating mooncake? She was eating gold!

But then something suddenly occurred to her, and Bai Ruoli frowned slightly. "Young Master Jun, you're remarkable. If I'm not mistaken, you also gave these mooncakes to many of Tianfu City's influential people, didn't you?"

Jun Jingyi said nothing.

Bai Ruoli understood.

Once again, she marveled inwardly at Jun Jingyi's ingenuity... at least in matters of trade, he was practically a monster.

He gave the goods to influential people.

Once they grew fond of them, he would spread the word that they were precious. To save face, the influential people would certainly say nothing and would even be happy to have received such a fine gift.

After all was said and done, the guy had merely given away a few boxes of food.

And just like that, mooncakes had become a luxury in the eyes of ordinary people?

It all seemed so natural...

Add that story to the mix, and it was as though anyone who did not eat mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival from now on was utterly incapable.

When the time came, everyone would take pride in it!

She knew it now: this guy was going to lie back and count his money again!

She had to hand it to him!

To take the art of trade this far...

Jun Jingyi did not deny it.

This was an open strategy to begin with, and he had never expected others to be unable to see through it. But what if they did?

Take diamond rings in later times, for example. Who didn't know they were useless, just a shiny stone? But so what?

If you've got the guts, don't buy one when you get married!

Everyone else has one, but you don't.

See whether your wife agrees, and what other people say about you.

As expected, two days later.

Thanks to Jun Jingyi's deliberate efforts, people in every corner of Tianfu City were discussing mooncakes.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I'm telling you, those five-kernel mooncakes are delicious. No wonder even the county magistrate likes them."

"Pfft, the red bean paste ones are obviously better. Those are Master Jin's favorites."

"Nonsense! The mint ones are the best. Those are Young Master Jun's favorites!"

In the city's major restaurants, people were constantly arguing about it.

The closer the Mid-Autumn Festival drew.

The more briskly mooncakes sold.

Once again, Jun Jingyi began thinking about opening a bank.

He was running out of room for his money at home again!

After all, it was no longer just Tianfu City.

Like a plague, mooncakes had swept across Jiangnan in a short time, thanks to merchants everywhere sparing no effort to promote them.

In short, there was one saying throughout the Yan Kingdom now.

If you don't eat mooncakes, what kind of Mid-Autumn Festival are you celebrating?

Anyone who celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival without eating mooncakes was sure to be looked down on...

Although mooncakes were not difficult to make, they had arrived so suddenly that most merchants had been caught unprepared. For the time being, Jun Jingyi had earned seventy percent of the money to be made from them.

It got to the point that Jun Jingyi began worrying about having too much money.

He pondered how to put it to use.

To him, money was just a number. He had no shortage of it, and leaving it in a warehouse like this was too wasteful.

Especially when he was racing against time to fight for his life.

Not using it was too wasteful!

Watching him, Sikong Ye had a strong urge to slap him.

What a bastard...

Throughout history, no one had ever heard of someone worrying about having too much money!

"I say, if you're really troubled, why not give the money to me? I guarantee I'll spend every last bit of it."

"Get lost!"

Jun Jingyi rolled his eyes.

Then he made up his mind.

It seemed it was time to begin the next stage of his plan: start a chain and open his restaurants throughout the Yan Kingdom, and even all three kingdoms.

On the one hand, he would make money.

On the other, it would also serve as a hidden move.

For instance, he felt his intelligence gathering was still somewhat lacking.

Relying solely on the Beggar Sect...

Was still not quite enough.

It was unstable.

He needed a more capable intelligence organization, and these restaurants would be perfect for the task.

Then there was another thing.

Military might!

It was time to put it on the agenda.

Right now, he was like a dynasty from later times, the late Qing: a child riding around in front of adults in a carriage made of gold, loaded with gold, silver, and jewels.

It was fine as long as those adults did not need money, but once they did, his current military strength was still far too weak.

Possessing a treasure was a crime in itself!

With that thought, Jun Jingyi looked at Sikong Ye and smiled faintly.