What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 303 Isn't he just a treacherous minister?
Not only did the Empress not understand, but Princess Baicheng, Liu Siyun, and others also completely failed to comprehend Su Mo's thoughts.

With a profit margin of several dozen times, Su Mo actually chose not to sell!

Su Mo glanced at everyone, finally fixing his gaze on Liu Siyun, clearly intending to give the gossipy beauty a hint: "Lirenfang deals in high-end luxury goods. High-end brands are most vulnerable to devaluation!"

"If a customer buys it for 250 taels of silver today, and someone else offers 200 taels tomorrow, should we sell it?"

"The key to doing business is to consider things from the customer's perspective."

"If a customer buys clothes for 250 taels of silver today, and someone else buys them for 200 taels tomorrow, how will the customer feel?"

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but show thoughtful expressions.

Su Mo then looked at Liu Siyun, his expression becoming increasingly serious: "From now on, you will be in charge of overseeing all these businesses."

Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively looked at Liu Siyun.

Everyone knows how enormous the Su family's business is.

He actually intended to give it to this concubine who didn't even have a formal title?
If it were anyone else, let alone a concubine without a title, they might not even trust their own brothers, and would definitely hold on tightly to what they have in their own hands.

For some reason, even the Empress felt a growing sense of jealousy!
Liu Siyun was also startled and was about to speak when Su Mo, without giving her a chance, immediately added, "You must remember, Lirenfang doesn't sell clothes, but creativity and design!"

"It is not possible to calculate costs using only materials, labor, and other expenses."

"For example, there's only one of size 18 garments. Most people who are willing to buy such clothing don't care about the price, but rather about its uniqueness!"

"As long as we stop producing the same styles, the value of these clothes will continue to increase; they will never depreciate!"

He paused slightly, his expression becoming even more serious: "Only when customers are short of money can readily exchange the clothes for cash to repay the purchase price can our brand be truly established!"

Liu Siyun's heart skipped a beat: "Like the limited edition bicycle with the chain that you sell, or the limited edition four-wheeled carriage?"

Su Mo nodded: "That's exactly right!"

"Low-end sales focus on volume, while high-end sales emphasize quality and culture!"

"As long as you consider things from the customer's perspective and understand their psychology, the business will naturally go smoothly."

Zhong Yin and Princess Baicheng both stared at Su Mo in shock.

This child's manipulation of people's minds is truly terrifying?
I hope I don't accidentally sell him out!

Thinking of this, Zhong Yin suddenly remembered the letter with only the word "Wei" in it!
What the hell!

Had I already fallen into this kid's trap?

The Empress finally sighed and said, "Hearing your words is worth more than reading books for ten years!"

"Only now do I realize that doing business, like the art of emperors, requires understanding people's hearts!"

"Is this what you mean by understanding one principle and comprehending all principles, sir?"

Su Mo quickly said, "My lord, please don't misunderstand!"

"How could I possibly understand the art of rulership! I'm just used to putting myself in other people's shoes and considering things from their perspective."

"If you understand what others need, you will naturally know what they are doing."

The Empress chuckled lightly: "Just as you knew that the Wang family would definitely use any means to deal with you today?"

"Therefore, the young master devised a plan to invite Princess Leng, Minister Zhong, and Ye Wenshan to confront the Wang family's shop?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Yin's face instantly darkened.

The Empress had dug a hole for herself! Su Mo knew something was wrong and hurriedly said, "My lord, don't talk nonsense!"

"This humble servant sincerely invited the Princess and the Minister to come, not to oppose the Wang family."

"As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!'"

"This humble servant didn't even know that the Wang family had invited that great Confucian scholar Gai Zong to help them, how could I have thought of using Princess Leng and Lord Zhong's influence to suppress them!"

Princess Baicheng suddenly said calmly, "Su Xianzi's words come from the strategy chapter of Sun Tzu's Art of War."

"Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated; know yourself but not the enemy, and you will win one and lose one; know neither the enemy nor yourself, and you will be defeated in every battle."

"Since Su Xianzi could write such a military treatise, he would never fight a battle unprepared. How could he not have planned ahead?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Yin's face instantly turned from dark to shocked, and he exclaimed, "This kid is also knowledgeable in military strategy?"

Princess Baicheng looked toward the Empress.

The Empress laughed and said, "Prince Su knows far too much."

"He not only wrote Sun Tzu's Art of War, but also the Thirty-Six Stratagems, each one exquisite and ingenious!"

Su Mo's forehead creased with annoyance: "My lord, this is what the white-bearded old man told me!"

The Empress looked at Su Mo with surprise: "Didn't you say last time that this was something the old Taoist priest with the white beard told you about?"

Su Mo coughed twice and said awkwardly, "Perhaps I remembered it wrong."

"Anyway, it wasn't the white-bearded old man who said it, it was the white-bearded Taoist priest who said it!"

He truly didn't remember which guy he had used as a cover-up!
The Empress covered her mouth and chuckled!

Zhong Yin was dumbfounded.

He was a discerning person, and he knew the value of Sun Tzu's Art of War just from the phrase "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."
How could a mere child like him possess such profound knowledge of military strategy?
The Empress looked at the bewildered Zhong Yin with a half-smile: "Otherwise, Minister Zhong, how do you think Young Master Su wrote Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

Zhong Yin suddenly gasped, looking at Su Mo in shock, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Was the Romance of the Three Kingdoms really written by Su Mo?"

The Empress said slowly, "Anyway, the skills that Young Master Su displayed in the past were all said to have been taught by the white-bearded old man and the white-bearded Taoist."

"Only Romance of the Three Kingdoms is acknowledged as his work, with his concubine Xue Yishu and Meng Yuankai's daughter acting as ghostwriters."

Zhong Yin was completely speechless.

The Empress has no need to deceive herself.

So, if Romance of the Three Kingdoms really was written by Su Shi, then we can only say that this guy was truly a prodigy!

But at such a young age, where does he get so much knowledge?

Could he be a reincarnation of a terrestrial deity?
Sure enough, not long after, the manager of Lirenfang rushed back.

Her pretty face was full of admiration as she looked at Su Mo, and she said excitedly, "Lord Su, the guest has bought the clothes! Two hundred and seventy taels!"

The Empress's heart skipped a beat: "They really bought it?"

The manager of Lirenfang quickly replied, "Yes!"

"She hesitated at first, but when she heard me say that this dress was one of a kind in the whole world, and that our shop would not make the same style of clothing again, she bought it without hesitation!"

She paused, then quickly added, "She also left her address, saying she was from the Hu family in Yiningfang, inside the city, and told me to send someone to inform her if there were any nice designs in the future."

Nangong Sheyue suddenly said to the Empress, "The Hu family of Yiningfang is a major Hu merchant."

"This woman must be the female head of the Hu family."

The Empress breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Su Mo: "This time, I truly admire Young Master Su!"

As she spoke, she glanced out the window at the sky and said, "It's getting late, I must take my leave now, my lord."

Su Mo quickly said, "This humble servant will see you off, esteemed lords!"

Leng Liuxi nodded and said, "Alright."

She actually wanted to leave earlier, but she wanted to wait for the results to verify Su Mo's statement.

And indeed, Su Mo's words proved true.

People are buying the uniqueness of the product; they don't care about the price difference of twenty taels of silver!
Su Mo used real-life examples to teach her skills!

This method is useful in business, and it can be used in the imperial court as well; it just depends on whether you can learn and apply it flexibly!

Before everyone left, Su Mo naturally had someone deliver the gift boxes that had been prepared in advance!
Well... it should be said to be an essential prop for advertising.

Princess Baicheng accepted it without any hesitation.

Zhong Yin glanced at the Empress, and seeing her nod slightly, he accepted the brocade box without further ado with Su Mo.

In the past, even if the Empress had agreed, he would never have accepted it.

But he's still sulking!
I feel like I've been completely tricked by Su Mo!
Anyway, this guy's money comes easily, so if he doesn't get some compensation, his Dao heart won't be at peace!

Hmph, at worst I'll just wear the wool sweater a few more times when I'm off duty and see if it's really as warm as he says!
……

After the Empress and the others left, Su Mo stayed in the shop to oversee the situation.

In addition, it was rare for all the women in the family to come out together, and Qinghefang was also one of the most bustling and prosperous places in the capital.

Su Mo generously gave each woman one hundred taels of silver, telling them to go out and buy whatever they wanted!
Of course, even when buying things from their own shop, the accounts still need to be settled. Although Su Mo holds all the shares in Su's Department Store, the accounts still need to be settled, and the rules cannot be broken!
The women naturally didn't stand on ceremony with their men.

If outsiders can take the master's money and gifts, why can't I?

Even Yin Rou reluctantly accepted it.

Although Xue Yishu and the others now earn quite a lot of money each month, it far exceeds the ten taels of silver that Chen Qianyu dreamed of back then!
At that time, Chen Qianyu felt that ten taels of silver a month was too much and she had no idea how to spend it!
Now it's a full fifty taels a month!

Especially Xue Yishu, who copied Romance of the Three Kingdoms for Su Mo, made Su Mo very happy. She secretly gave her more than 300 taels of silver as her private savings, making her a hidden little rich girl!
Lin Moyin didn't want to go anywhere.

Having been separated from Su Mo for a long time, he had many things he wanted to say to her alone.

However, seeing that Xue Yishu and the others were all excited, she, as the first wife, couldn't very well spoil their fun. So, at Xue Yishu's urging, she reluctantly took them out for a stroll in Qinghefang!
……

Su Mo was in a great mood.

The two stores had a successful opening. Although the profits don't seem as high as Baiyujing and Yanyulou right now, the key is that it's easy to open branches, unlike restaurants which have restrictions on MSG!

Once word of mouth spreads and branches are established one by one, it's no exaggeration to say that you'll be making a fortune every day.

However, Wang Wensheng, who was in charge of the paper sales at the Wang family bookstore, was not in a good mood.

Looking at the cold, hard paper in his hand, his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot!

The shopkeeper and his staff were all silent and cautious, lest they be scolded!
no way!
At first, my family's bookstore did have some business, and quite a few people came in to buy paper.

But before long, the place became deserted, even after Wang Wensheng put up a 10% discount sign across the street.

The quality of Lengsu paper is far superior to that of Wangjia paper.

It can even be used as a low-grade Xuan paper for painting!

In fact, Wang Wensheng himself believed that even if cold Su paper sold for two taels of silver per ream, there would probably be quite a few people willing to buy it.

Wang Wensheng's face only relaxed slightly when a middle-aged scholar walked into the shop.

He reached out and rubbed the stiff muscles in his cheeks, then quickly went to meet them.

"Mr. Zhu, may I ask about Mr. Gai's situation?"

The middle-aged scholar was Zhu Gongtu, a fellow townsman of Zhu Bi, the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, and a Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examination).

He came to the capital to participate in the imperial examination and stayed at Zhu Bi's residence. Under Zhu Bi's recommendation, he became a disciple of Gai Zong to study painting.

Even though Wang Wensheng was the head manager of the outer branch of the Wang family, he didn't dare to show any disrespect to others.

Zhu Gongtu shook his head: "Master Gai lost face in front of that junior, he must be very angry, I'm afraid he won't come to the bookstore to lecture again!"

Wang Wensheng frowned immediately.

Gai Zong, a master of painting and calligraphy, had a large following and many admirers. If he were to give lectures in a bookstore, he would naturally attract a huge flow of customers.

He hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Zhu Gongtu and said with a solemn expression, "I would be grateful if Mr. Zhu would make the trip."

"I believe that once Mr. Gai's anger subsides, he will come to the bookstore to give lectures."

After saying that, he secretly slipped ten taels of silver ingots to Zhu Gongtu.

Zhu Gongtu weighed it in his hand for a moment, then discreetly put it into his sleeve before slowly saying, "In that case, I will make another trip."

"Whether it will succeed or not, I cannot guarantee."

Wang Wensheng smiled and said, "This time it will definitely succeed."

Zhu Gongtu was slightly surprised: "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Wensheng explained, "Mr. Zhu, you said that I, as a renowned scholar and painter, was famous throughout the capital. I said I would come to the bookstore to give lectures, but when I heard that the young man across the street was the Imperial Tutor, I decided not to come here again."

"We know that this is Mr. Gai's noble act of not arguing with the younger generation, but others may not think so. They may misunderstand that Mr. Gai is afraid of that kid's status as the Imperial Tutor."

Zhu Gongtu's eyes lit up immediately!
He thought to himself that Wang Wensheng must have some ability to become the head steward of the outer sect of the Wang family.

Once this explanation is presented to Gai Zong, Gai Zong will have no choice but to come!

He immediately bid farewell to Wang Wensheng and left in a hurry.

After Zhu Gongtu left, Wang Wensheng's face darkened again.

Gai Zong will definitely come.

However, after the lectures, I fear I will have to sever all ties with the Wang family and never have any contact with them again!
The relationship between the seven great Confucian scholars and Golden Core cultivators of Shenjing and the Wang family was severed because of that Su family brat.

Wang Wensheng didn't know whether what the head of the family (Wang Hao) did was worthwhile!

Thinking of this, his gaze involuntarily fell on Leng Suzhi.

He sighed again.

Suddenly, a shrewd-looking man walked into the shop: "This humble servant greets the head steward!"

Wang Wensheng immediately asked in a deep voice, "What's the situation over there?"

The man quickly replied, "I have already followed the steward's instructions and sent someone to Su's Department Store to purchase paper. We bought more than a thousand kilos, and the money is almost gone."

Wang Wensheng was stunned: "What? More than a thousand cuts?"

"He actually has so much cold Su paper?"

The man gave a wry smile: "That's not all!"

"I thought I could buy all of his cold Su paper, but the shop assistant brought over a thousand more reams of paper!"

"Hmm... Also, a lot of people who weren't our people went to buy paper; we probably sold a total of two thousand dollars worth!"

Wang Wensheng was dumbfounded.

Two thousand dollars doesn't sound like much.

The Wang family has a total of seventeen paper mills, which can produce four hundred reams of Wang family paper a day.

The problem is, that kid's Gufengshan Paper Mill, all told, has only been under construction for two months now, right?
If he produces 20 reams of paper a day, that's 1,200 reams in 60 days!

Where did he get two thousand reams of paper?
He frowned deeply: "Have you found out how much paper the Su family's paper mill produces per day?"

How could he possibly have so much paper to sell?

The man shook his head: "The Su family's paper mill is extremely heavily guarded; all I know is that it has three large pools."

"Their pools are half again as big as ours, and the materials they put in seem to be mainly bamboo, which can be seen everywhere. One of their paper mills probably produces as much paper as three of ours!"

Wang Wensheng pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "The main factor limiting paper production is the pulping craftsmen."

"This kid has countless refugees on Lonely Peak Mountain, and enough space to dry paper. His paper production is probably far greater than we estimated!"

The man hesitated for a moment: "Should we continue to have people buy more cold-pressed paper?"

Wang Wensheng said without hesitation, "Yes!"

"The cost of such quality cold-pressed Su paper must exceed ten coins per sheet!"

The man couldn't help but remind them: "There are many refugees in Lonely Peak Mountain, labor is cheap, and materials are everywhere!"

Wang Wensheng snorted: "Then it will definitely be eight coins!"

"The price is nine qian, so there should be a slight profit. As long as the price doesn't rise, we can keep buying the paper and transporting it elsewhere. The profit will definitely be huge. He's doing all the work for us for nothing!"

"If we raise prices, we won't be able to compete with Wang's Paper!"

The man thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "Although I sent many people over, there are still a great many other paper buyers."

"Why doesn't the head steward further lower the price of Wang's paper, so that those paper buyers who are tempted by cheap prices will switch to our bookstore?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Wensheng's expression suddenly turned helpless.

"Selling at a 10% discount is already the limit!"

"If the price goes any lower, I'm afraid other shops won't be able to sell their paper!"

The man agreed.

The Wang family sells paper, and this isn't their only shop.

It's not feasible for all stores to sell paper at an 80% discount.

It seems the only solution is to get more people to go to Su's Department Store and snap up the cold Su paper, leaving them with no paper to sell!
That kid doesn't even understand the principle of "higher prices for larger quantities," yet he offers to ship paper back to customers who buy large quantities for free!
Such a foolish person has become a major threat to the Wang family.

The man couldn't understand it at all; what kind of logic was this!
Isn't it just because he has Zhang Junyi's good looks that he got close to the Empress's sycophant?

Why is the Vice Minister using it so sparingly?

　Do the godfathers still have a few monthly passes left to tip the kid?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)