noffsinger Chapter 228 Young and mature
Chapter 228 Young and mature
Zhou Chang's idea was directly rejected when Fu Ming arrived the next day.
"Your Highness, it's good to have the exclusive marketing rights, but firstly, we don't have that many stores. Secondly, snake oil is something that ordinary people can make by themselves and is not worth much money. If you want to make a lot of money, I'm afraid you can't." Fu Ming came to the conclusion without much thought.
"If Jin doesn't work, then the south won't work, and then the north won't work?" Zhou Chang had been making wishful calculations all night.
Fu Ming shook his head. "There are snakes in the south and the north, and the northern snakes are fatter when they hibernate. Our Four Flavors Pharmacy serves the rich and powerful, but we can't sell in large quantities. If we want to sell just snake oil to the world, how much manpower and material resources will be needed? It's not worth it, Your Majesty."
"Oh, it turns out there is a horse but no saddle." Zhou Chang had no choice but to give up.
It’s all my fault for not thinking carefully enough. I thought I was getting an advantage, but in the end it was all in vain.
Zhou Chang thought of Prince Yi's previous plan and tried to save his dignity: "Open the shops slowly. I have already asked Yuan Yu to exchange the three shops for silver. With this money, it should be enough to open three more medicine shops in different places across the country."
"If that's the case, it couldn't be better." Fu Ming nodded.
Zhou Chang had been struggling for so long but still had nothing. The 100,000 taels of silver yesterday was a donation from Yuan Yu, so he remembered the 100,000 taels of silver he had given her before and couldn't help asking, "Manager Zhong, why haven't you seen any movement on the 100,000 taels of silver, 50,000 taels from the north and 50,000 taels from the south?"
Fu Ming has been following up on this matter: "I am also anxious about the medicinal materials. Now that the situation in the north has been initially settled, there is a lot of work to be done. The 50,000 taels of silver in Chen Yuan's hand are probably not used for military supplies, but they should be able to be used for other purposes. As for the south... a few days ago, Mr. Zhong's classmate, ** Hong, wrote to me and mentioned that business in the south is not good now, and local officials are not cooperating. They have encountered some problems and are already overwhelmed. However, the money from the sale of three medicine shops by the prince can be used to deal with emergencies."
"Ah..." It would have been better if he hadn't asked. After asking, Fu Ming actually started to think about the money he hadn't received yet.
Zhou Chang's heart suddenly turned cold again.
Fu Ming continued, "I heard that merchants in the south are making trouble over the 'grass monopoly', and the failure of 'Lishengyuan's' business this time is also related to this matter. Although ** Hong just went there, he is inevitably involved. Alas, who would have thought that an unrelated matter far away in the south could implicate Mr. Zhang and cause him to lose his life."
"You also know about Mr. Zhang's affairs?" Zhou Chang had almost forgotten about the matter, but he didn't expect Fu Ming to bring it up again today.
Fu Ming sighed and said, "Alas, I just met Mr. Zhong. He happened to write a elegiac couplet and sent it to him, so I mentioned it."
Although Mr. Zhang was pitiful, Zhou Chang didn't want to think too much about it. He asked again: "Didn't Mr. Hong open a medicine shop in the south? Why is he related to this matter?"
Fu Ming explained, "Your Highness, the word 'quasi-cao' means anything with a grass radical and a wood radical, including tea and firewood, but most of them are medicinal materials. I heard that the southern drug dealers are now uniting to monopolize medicinal materials, and the medicinal materials in the projects that 'Lishengyuan' originally invested in are the top priority. It can be said that the prices of medicinal materials have been rising in recent years. On the surface, it is because of the disaster of war, but behind the scenes, 'Lishengyuan' and others are secretly raising the prices to make a profit. But now the drug dealers have united, and 'Lishengyuan' has fallen."
Zhou Chang was completely confused. He only knew that everything was connected, so he pretended to understand and nodded.
Afterwards, Fu Ming took his leave and went to discuss the matter of medicinal materials for the epidemic with Zhong Yu.
Zhou Chang was also not idle. He brought the skinny monkey into the palace to follow up on the purchase of medicinal materials by the Imperial Pharmacy.
However, after three busy days, one thing happened that was truly unexpected.
Qin Shou never showed up after that day. Originally, people thought that he was most worried about his son, but he allowed Qin Zhi to stay in Prince Yi's mansion and did not ask anything about him. He also did not take the initiative to send prescriptions over.
Originally Zhou Chang thought he had Qin Shou in his grasp, so he was in no hurry and just waited for him to come to him. However, three days passed without any movement from the other party. The news he got was that Qin Shou stayed indoors and did not come out.
Zhou Chang was worried but he could not go to Qin Shou's house to arrest people. He went to the epidemic area every day to check. Without any prescription, he could only give porridge and soup to the victims, but it could not solve the fundamental problem.
Zhou Chang had been physically and mentally exhausted for days and his appetite was getting worse. This morning, he barely ate two mouthfuls of porridge and put down his chopsticks.
The skinny monkey happened to walk over quickly and reported in a low voice: "Your Highness, the young master of the Qin Mansion has been clamoring to see you since yesterday. He hasn't eaten anything for a whole day. He still didn't eat this morning, saying that if he can't see Your Highness, he will continue his hunger strike."
"If you don't want to eat, just treat it as a gift. I can't eat much either." Zhou Chang was annoyed. "Why do you want to see me?"
Skinny Monkey was also in a dilemma: "He didn't say anything, he just said he would tell you after seeing the prince, and if the prince doesn't see him, he will go on a hunger strike."
"You won't die from starvation for two days." The two tadpole eyes of Qin Shou that were moving around appeared in Zhou Chang's mind again. It was disgusting just thinking about it.
"Your Highness, although Young Master Qin is not very old, he does not look like a joke. He has not eaten anything or even drank water since yesterday. I went to see him this morning and he did not look very well. After all, he is still a child..." The skinny monkey was worried.
Zhou Chang was annoyed, but he listened to her. After all, the child was innocent: "Forget it, bring him here."
"Yes." The skinny monkey responded and retreated.
Soon, the skinny monkey led Qin Zhi in.
Qin Zhi's willow-like body was still slender, and perhaps it was because he had not eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and night, but his feet felt weak and he walked lightly.
However, the servant boy who followed him did not change at all. He just followed with his head lowered, and did not even go forward to help.
"Student Qin Zhi, I am here to see His Royal Highness Prince Yi." Qin Zhi's voice was hoarse as he spoke, and his movements were solemn and slow. Although he looked mature for a young man, he looked more like an old man.
"Please sit down." Zhou Chang tried to be as easy-going as possible in front of the child.
Qin Zhi stood there without moving, pursing his cracked lips and saying nothing, only looking at Zhou Chang with his big dark eyes.
"Hehe, haven't you eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and night? If you have anything to say, sit down and talk. It will help you save your energy." Zhou Chang had never been stared at like this before. He felt that the pair of eyes looked less like tadpoles and more like two shiny black grapes.
Qin Zhi's figure shook, and he no longer forced himself, but he still bowed and thanked him, his tone solemn: "Thank you, Your Highness."
If it weren't for this face, the young man in front of him would really look like an old man, even his weak body.