chapter 43

Chapter 43: Profiting

The group closed the door behind them.

Regardless of what Liuzheng had created, the atmosphere was thick with anticipation.

Qi Yanbing even held his breath, afraid to speak out of turn.

Even Zheng Xue, with his deep, black eyes, was fixed on Liuzheng.

The sense of expectation was palpable.

Shen He lagged half a step, following them closely.

Liuzheng's old footstool had long been discarded.

He casually opened one of his storage chests, which contained several compartments.

The one he opened was at the top and was locked.

Qi Yanbing whispered, "Should I unlock it?" He seemed eager.

Liuzheng ignored him and used a key. With a soft click, he unlocked it.

That small sound, coupled with the focused gazes of the three sets of eyes around him, accelerated Liuzheng's heartbeat.

His palms felt slightly sweaty.

What he had crafted this time was different, very different from anything before.

As a result, Liuzheng was not as confidently assured as he usually was.

Taking a deep breath, the young Shen He beside him whispered, "Big brother?"

If Liuzheng was too nervous, Shen He was willing to do it.

Hearing Shen He's voice, Liuzheng felt significantly calmer.

The design was drawn by Shen He, and he had watched it being crafted. Once it was done, Shen He was the first to see it.

Back then, Shen He had been ecstatic, praising him endlessly.

Thus, Liuzheng believed what he had made should be satisfactory.

The lid of the box was lifted.

Revealing its content.

It was still a fan.

Qi Yanbing immediately looked disappointed, "Is it still a fan? This looks quite similar to the ones we sold before."

The earlier tension dissipated, and Qi Yanbing resumed his chatter.

Out of curiosity, he asked, "Is this not really a fan but something else, just shaped similarly?"

Liuzheng replied, "Can you be quiet for a moment? Just watch."

Liuzheng then took the fan out of the box.

Shen He reached out to help, supporting its base. Together, they placed it on a small table.

Qi Yanbing glanced at the handle and instinctively tried to rotate it, murmuring, "Let me try... Why is it harder to turn? If it's more challenging to use, it'll be even harder to sell... Ah, it's stuck."

The corners of Liuzheng's lips lifted subtly. His gentle eyes shimmered with a mix of pride and anticipation, well-hidden beneath his calm demeanor. He slightly nodded, saying, "Let go."

Qi Yanbing did so.

Shen He had seen this once and had already experienced his moment of excitement.

He took a seat on the small couch beside him, reaching out casually to grasp the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of cold tea to quench the heat.

Zheng Xue extended his hand silently.

Shen He poured him a cup as well and pressed it into his hand.

Holding the tea cup, Zheng Xue took a small sip, his gaze lingering on the fan, unwavering.

Qi Yanbing released his grip.

The handle began to move.

Without any human touch, the handle shifted from its previous position, moving upward and returning to where Qi Yanbing had originally turned it.

But that wasn't the most astonishing part.

What truly shocked everyone was when the fan started spinning.

The blades whirled rapidly, ushering a cool breeze onto Zheng Xue's face, lifting the hair at his temples, leaving him frozen in place.

The cold tea in his mouth took considerable effort to swallow.

In stark contrast to Zheng Xue's silent astonishment,

Qi Yanbing's emotional outburst was nothing short of fireworks.

Bang! Explosion!

Qi Yanbing paced around the small table, murmuring, "What is this? How did this happen? Liu Zheng, be honest, did you learn some sorcery from Xiao He? Are you showcasing your newfound skills? Thank you for trusting us, but this is against nature. We shouldn't use it to make money, even if it means losing out..."

Liu Zheng: "..."

Shen He: "..."

He poured a cup of cold tea and thrust it into Qi Yanbing's hand, "Brother, take a sip."

Gratefully, Qi Yanbing replied, "Thanks, Xiao He." and downed it in one go.

After finishing, he continued, "Liu Zheng, seriously, our little He might be naive, but how could you follow suit? Isn't that right, little He...?"

And there he locked eyes with Shen He.

Shen He blinked.

Qi Yanbing: "..." quietly placing the cup back down.

He forgot; their "little He" wasn't a child.

He had always been older than them.

Now, Qi Yanbing began to suspect that his dear "little He" might be deceiving him.

But sometimes, often, and on many occasions, he felt that what his younger brother He said might be true.

Qi Yanbing oscillated between belief and disbelief, choosing to believe selectively.

At this moment, he chose to believe.

Liu Zheng lowered his head, pressing his fingers to his temple, exhaling deeply.

Zheng Xue approached and poured another cup of water for Qi Yanbing, "Have another drink."

Qi Yanbing: "..."

Zheng Xue nudged him aside.

Better to keep naive little He away.

The guy had failed several times, and this year, young He would be taking the academy exams; he couldn't afford to be influenced at this crucial time.

With defiance in his heart, Qi Yanbing glanced at the fan, still spinning without human intervention, feeling an eerie unease.

After a moment, the handle undid the rotations made by Qi Yanbing.

Gradually, the blades halted, and the fan fell silent.

Liu Zheng looked up at Zheng Xue, inquiring, "What do you think? This is called a wind-up mechanism, from a book Xiao He showed me. He drew it for me a while ago, and after much contemplation and visits to various blacksmith shops, I managed to recreate it half a month ago."

Zheng Xue's mind raced, "Wouldn't blacksmiths find it hard to make? It's not easily replicated nor mass-produced, and its cost would inevitably skyrocket compared to previous models."

Delving into this, Zheng Xue began to speak more.

His tone was calm and analytical, weighing the pros and cons.

Liu Zheng nodded in agreement, concluding, "Moreover, it requires assembly. I think we can only employ a few trustworthy individuals. We must ensure discretion. The recruits from before might not be suitable..."

Shen He leaned in, sharing his modern marketing insights, "We don't need to produce many, brother. Even with mass production, most people can't afford it. Moreover, this is far more novel than the previous fans. We can make it a sensation and cater specifically to the elite and affluent."

His eyes sparkled with mischief, "The wealthy love rare novelties, and the more expensive it is, the more it signifies their status. We can charge a premium without producing in bulk."

Shen He added, "We should limit the production."

The term "limited edition" was quite overused in the modern world.

Compared to the advanced business strategies of the modern era, ancient commerce lacked variety and flair.

Many would flaunt their power and status to suppress others. Unlike today, where even food stalls could employ myriad marketing tricks.

Shen He had firsthand experience of this; his parents had bequeathed him properties on a street, always alive with gossip from various shopkeepers.

Shen He felt bad about exploiting ordinary citizens for money, but had no qualms about taking money from the wealthy elites.

Hearing this, Zheng Xue's eyes brightened, and he praised, "Shen He, you're so clever."

Being praised, Shen He grinned, revealing a set of tiny white teeth.

Clearly, like Shen He, Zheng also seemed to take great joy in the act of making money.

He thought even further; just a suggestion from Shen He would inspire him to extrapolate numerous ideas and details from that strategy.

Eventually, they decided not to sell the fan based on its current design by Liu Zheng.

First, they'd sell a basic version.

Then an upgraded version.

And finally, a deluxe version.

Once counterfeits started to appear, they would then introduce the simplified version made by Liu Zheng and sell it at a lower price.

Shen He, after hearing this, looked stunned with widened eyes.

He thought to himself, is this the business acumen of a billionaire's son?

Such an adept way of making money, it's impressively ruthless.

That's just too impressive!!

Doesn't this mean we can earn money in several rounds!?

Zheng Xueze was not entirely satisfied with his own idea, murmuring, "Let's settle on the general plan for now. I'll think through the details and inform you later."

Shen He nodded vigorously, "Whatever you decide will be best, brother!"

Setting aside his suspicion that Liu Zheng might be using some sort of sorcery, Qi Yanbing smiled, "I actually have a suggestion."

Qi Yanbing seriously proposed, "If the goal is to have them spend heavily for the sake of status, then the first one to use our product could be him."

He pointed upwards.

Shen He, joyfully munching on pastries with her legs crossed, nearly choked upon hearing this, "Cough, cough, cough!!"

She declined, "Cough, no way! Cough, cough, cough!"

Liu Zheng patted her back and offered her water, "Take it easy. Speak slowly."

After swallowing the pastry, tears welled up in Shen He's eyes from the choking.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Brother, if you do this, be careful it doesn't become an exclusive item for the palace. Then how will we sell it? We'd have to wait for palace orders and let the emperor bestow it on others. If the palace orders, dare you raise the price? If we do, it might expose us in a few days, and our family would know it's our doing."

They'd been doing this for a long time, all the while keeping it from their families.

Zheng Xueze was the most carefree. He got his business connections from his maternal grandfather, who was delighted to see his interest and gave in to all his requests without asking too many questions.

As for Qi Yanbing, he leveraged the connections he built over the years, not those of the Prince Heng's Mansion.

The mansion might vaguely know about his endeavors, but as long as he wasn't being wasteful or getting into trouble, Prince Heng's only concern for his grandson was his poor academic performance. Everything else, he let him handle on his own without meddling.

As for Liu Zheng... he was the tech guru. He's been into these gadgets since he was young. Unless the Liu family caught him red-handed, it was hard to associate these inventions with him.

Then there's Shen He.

Shen He awkwardly fiddled with the back of her hand.

She felt guilty.

With the male lead always watching, she constantly felt like she had become transparent under his scrutiny.

Let her be transparent then, but all of this was to secure her future retirement. If discovered, how would she manage to take her wealth with her?

Or what if the male lead, upon realizing her wealth, no longer wanted her by his side? What then?

Honestly, it's her own fault for being too successful.

Initially, she just wanted to save a bit for her retirement.

Shen He's feelings of embarrassment and guilt were evident on her face.

The enthusiasm of the other three waned a bit. Zheng Xueze was the first to say, "Indeed, it's not feasible. We should avoid involving the royal family."

Liu Zheng nodded in agreement, "We shouldn't be overly audacious."

With his suggestion rejected, Qi Yanbing quickly pivoted, "Alright, let me think of someone else who might be suitable."

They all knew Shen He didn't want her family to find out.

Or more precisely, she didn't want the crown prince to know.

The three of them were indifferent; even if their families found out what they were up to, there'd likely be no objection.

Shen He, not quite certain what they had imagined, breathed a sigh of relief seeing them drop the idea.

Her spirits lifted, her eyebrows relaxed, and a vivacious smile brightened her youthful face.

They put the fan away, leaving it for Zheng Xueze to collect in a box later.

Once that matter was settled, Liu Zheng asked, "Shen He, is the crown prince expected to return at the beginning of June?"

The reason Shen He dared to frolic so freely now was the crown prince's absence.

A recent incident involving poisoned rice in the southern regions implicated many officials, starting from local ones and extending to those in the capital. Outraged, the emperor dispatched the crown prince to personally investigate the case and soothe public sentiment.

It's been a little over three months since he left.

Counting the days, everything that needed to be done has mostly been taken care of. Time to return to the capital.

Besides, Shen He's birthday is on the twelfth of next month. The crown prince surely wouldn't miss it.