Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Shen Qing pushed the cart back to the Yan residence.

As soon as I entered, I saw two excited faces greet me.

"Madam Shen, Madam Shen is finally back!!"

"Madam Shen, we have something important to discuss with you!"

Yan Wenli and Xin Heng each said a sentence, their faces flushed with excitement, as if they were drunk.

Shen Qing was puzzled: "Wait a moment, let me tidy up my stall first."

"You don't need to clean up, I'll have the servants do it." Yan Wenli said, gently pushing Shen Qing forward two steps from behind, and quickly signaling the servants to get started.

Xin Heng stood to the side with a beaming smile, his eyes burning as he looked at Shen Qing.

Shen Qing asked in confusion, "What happened? What's wrong?"

"No rush, no rush, Madam Shen, please sit down for a while, have some tea and rest well before we talk!" Yan Wenli's tone was filled with excitement and anticipation.

Well, she can't guess it for now anyway.

It wouldn't be bad to go have some tea first.

With this in mind, Shen Qing followed Yan Wenli and Xin Heng to sit in the main hall.

Upon arriving at the main hall, Yan Wenli and Xin Heng immediately began serving her tea and water, and offering her snacks, treating her with exceptional hospitality.

"Madam Shen, the tea should be warm enough now, you can drink it. Please try some!"

"This osmanthus sugar cake is delicious; the little girls all love it. You should try it!"

"These are seasonal fruits, they're very sweet, have a taste!"

The two were so enthusiastic that Shen Qing was a little scared.

However, the tea was delicious, and the fruits were indeed sweet.

After finishing her meal and drinks, she finally couldn't help but ask, "What was that important matter you were talking about earlier?"

"Madam Shen, we've come up with a way to raise money!!" Xin Heng exclaimed excitedly.

Yan Wenli continued, "I told you, in the end we decided to raise money from all the wealthy and powerful merchants in the capital, but..."

"Didn't you say before that those powerful and wealthy businessmen wouldn't fall for it anymore?" Shen Qing asked, puzzled.

"Yes, that's because what we sold to the powerful and wealthy before were all useless junk. But this time it's different. This time we're going to make money off those powerful people and make them cry out that it's worth it."

"So, you wouldn't be..." Shen Qing had a vague suspicion in his heart.

"Yes!" Xin Heng jumped out. "Madam Shen, your hot pot is so delicious. Those powerful and wealthy merchants are not short of money. Selling the hot pot to them will definitely raise a lot of money."

"You'll profit too, Madam Shen; it'll be a win-win situation!"

Xin Heng's eyes lit up.

This method was suggested to him by Madam Xin when they were having hot pot noodles together late last night.

That's absolutely a brilliant idea!

This time, what was sold to the powerful and wealthy was not useless junk, but a delicious hot pot that you'd want to eat again and again.

"Will this work?" Shen Qing frowned slightly.

If hot pot is sold to powerful and wealthy merchants to raise money for building palaces, how much money would one pot of hot pot cost? Wouldn't that be an exorbitantly priced hot pot?

Those powerful and wealthy businessmen aren't fools; do you think they'd foot the bill?

Before Xin Heng could speak, Yan Wenli answered:

"Okay, those powerful and wealthy people are used to the good things and have seen the best. They have no interest in ordinary things at all. Hot pot is a novel thing, and it's a completely new experience for them. They will definitely be unable to resist trying it."

"What's more, Madam Shen, your hot pot is truly amazing. It's so delicious that it's almost overwhelming. Even if they spend a lot of money to eat it, they won't feel it's not worth it. They'll never forget it."

"If hot pot becomes popular among the powerful and wealthy, those who haven't eaten it will feel inferior, and they will spend more money to eat hot pot so that they have something to brag about."

Yan Wenli, as expected of the Minister of Revenue in charge of money, spoke eloquently about these matters.

The meaning is not hard to understand. In modern terms, those wealthy and powerful people have been living in luxury since childhood, and their threshold for happiness is too high. Ordinary things cannot stimulate them.

Hot pot, being a novelty, perfectly satisfies people's curiosity.

At the same time, hot pot is especially delicious.

There is indeed a possibility of success.

"So, how much are you planning to sell a hot pot for?"

Yan Wenli held up five fingers: "Five hundred taels!"

Five hundred taels???!!!

Shen Qing's eyes widened slightly.

Why don't you just rob it? Why give away a hot pot as a gift?

Five hundred taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family to live a life free from worries about food and clothing.

Five hundred taels of silver could be used to pay the salary of a county magistrate for more than ten years.

Five hundred taels could buy a top-notch house, or thirty to fifty ordinary houses.

Now, Xin Heng and Yan Wenli actually want to sell a hot pot for the exorbitant price of five hundred taels of silver, it's simply...

It's unbelievable.

"Isn't five hundred taels a bit too much...?"

"Oh dear, it's a bit much, but building a palace requires just too much money, and we have to raise the money as quickly as possible. We have no choice." Xin Heng's mind was full of thoughts about spending money.

Timber costs money, craftsmen cost money, everything costs money.

"Madam Shen, we'll also add some mystery to the hot pot, some gimmicks and stories. Five hundred taels is a lot, but those powerful and wealthy merchants will definitely spend it," Yan Wenli continued.

He already had a complete plan in mind.

"As long as you agree to sell hot pot, leave the rest to us."

Shen Qing thought about it and realized that this matter didn't seem to do her any harm.

That way, we can complete the system task sooner.

So he nodded: "Sure."

!!!

"She agreed! Madam Shen agreed!!"

Xin Heng jumped up with joy. He was already a middle-aged man and usually very composed, but at this moment he was as excited as a young boy.

God knows how long this matter of building a palace had troubled him.

Yan Wenli also breathed a sigh of relief: "Madam Shen, thank you. For every hot pot we sell, we will give you 10% of the profit. I believe that it won't be long before you can settle down in the capital."

Settling down? When did she decide to settle down in the capital?

Shen Qing smiled and waved his hand: "No need, just give me five hundred coins for each hot pot."

The 10% profit that Yan Wenli mentioned amounts to fifty taels of silver, which is quite a high price, to be honest.

She figured that most of the money held by the powerful and wealthy was obtained by exploiting the people, and she didn't want to take it.

It would be better to have Xin Heng and Yan Wenli take this silver to the emperor to report back.

Five hundred coins was the price set by the system, which she thought was quite good.

"How can this be? You're the one who mainly made the hot pot..." Yan Wenli frowned, feeling that he was giving Shen Qing too little.

"I only sell a thousand servings of hot pot here. Whether I can even raise the money to build the palace is another matter."

Shen Qing hadn't forgotten that the system's task was to sell one thousand hot pots.

She ran out of hot pot broth.