vstars Chapter 523 The Power of the Harem Cannot Be Ignored
Chapter 523 The Power of the Harem Cannot Be Ignored
Fortunately, the response was timely, and within a few days, Liuxiang Pavilion indeed experienced another surge in orders.
Jiang Xiaoqi is not an imperial merchant, but he is better than one. His turnover in the past half month is almost equivalent to half a year's turnover in normal times.
The Second Prince's gift made the Empress the top influencer and product promoter in the harem.
Jiang Xiaoqi wasn't incapable of handling people; she directly ordered the Supreme Edition Set from the system store as a thank-you gift.
I spent 500 points, which is quite a significant expense.
When the day of the lecture arrived, the gifts were still sent to the Second Prince.
"Sir, you are too kind. My mother only mentioned it to a few concubines and didn't do anything else."
"Your Highness, you can't say that. The business of Liuxiang Pavilion has been booming recently, all thanks to Her Majesty's promotion. A small gift is nothing."
Jiang Xiaoqi then took out a Supreme VIP card and handed it to the Second Prince. "This is a Supreme VIP card from Liuxiang Pavilion. I only made ten of them. This is the first one, and I'm giving it to Her Majesty the Empress."
Using this card at Liuxiang Pavilion not only gives you a 20% discount, but also gives you priority access to try out new products for free.
The second prince quickly took the exquisitely designed black card. The words on the card were golden, making it look like real gold.
"This card looks really impressive. Is it only Mother who has one? Sir, I want one too!"
Jiang Xiaoqi only brought one card, but considering that Chen Lin had already opened a shop next to her own, she came up with an idea.
"What does Your Highness need? You can just use your facial recognition, or you can make a list of what you need and give it to Eunuch Chen. He will bring it back to you when he returns to the palace. Not only will it be 20% off, but you'll also get more free gifts if you buy more!"
The Second Prince was satisfied. He especially liked this kind of "exceptional" favoritism.
Even without a VIP card, he's still more impressive than those with one.
"Haha, thank you, sir. But I don't really have as much demand as the women in the harem. They buy them by the cartload."
I think one bottle of shampoo and one bottle of shower gel will last me a month, so I really don't need a VIP card.
"It's all thanks to the ladies of the harem for giving us face. The products from Liuxiang Pavilion don't have a long shelf life, so we should have bought less."
Jiang Xiaoqi was telling the truth. The downside of not having chemical preservatives is that even though some natural plant preservatives are added, the effect is definitely not as good as the chemical version.
Plant-based preservatives are extremely expensive, but fortunately, Jiang Xiaoqi is an honest seller and didn't bring any real industrial-age products to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"It's alright, it's alright. They have plenty of money. They can't spend it all normally, so they'll definitely spend it as much as they can when they get the chance."
Let them buy it; if they don't use it all, they can give it as gifts. Perhaps in the future, the entire palace will be filled with the fragrance of Liuxiang Pavilion~
After chatting for a while, Jiang Xiaoqi explained the Empress's intentions to the Second Prince. The Second Prince showed no surprise, clearly having guessed his mother's purpose.
"What you're reminding me of is that the Empress Dowager wouldn't speak without reason; she has already begun to make arrangements within the palace."
The first group of concubines who went to Liuxiang Pavilion to buy things were those who were neither favored nor had children, while the second group were those who were favored but had no children.
The third group to visit Liuxiang Pavilion were probably the concubines who only had daughters; this was certainly no coincidence.
This was the Empress Dowager's deliberate act; she wouldn't intentionally approach the concubines who had princes right away.
Now the Emperor values the teaching of the tutors at the Princes' Academy very much. According to Chen Lin, the Princes' Academy submits the princes' homework to the Imperial Study every half month.
The Emperor has begun to personally oversee the upbringing of his younger brothers, and has even taken the time to check their homework.
This kind of treatment used to be reserved for me alone. From now on, it seems everyone will receive it.
The second prince said this with a hint of self-deprecation, as he could never go back to his childhood. It was hard to tell whether it was regret or nostalgia.
"Your Highness must understand the Empress's good intentions, and also understand the Emperor's predicament. Being in the midst of this situation, it is natural that one cannot be completely unaffected by emotions, but you have more important things to do."
It's fine to wallow in self-pity; you can write a memoir later when you're in that position. Now, pull yourself together and face everything that needs to be faced.
Jiang Xiaoqi didn't want to be a motivational speaker, but since the Second Prince was clearly in low spirits, she felt it necessary to give him a pep talk from time to time.
Sure enough, the Second Prince didn't need anyone to persuade him a second time; he had already adjusted himself. He really is a worry-free "baby".
"Sir, I understand. I will try my best to control this bad mood in the future."
"You don't have to hold it in. You always need an outlet, right? Eat something good, read some travelogues or novels you like to clear your head. Anything will do!"
The Second Prince seemed to have suddenly thought of something and immediately asked Chen Lin to serve some refreshments and tea.
"Sir, please try these dozen or so pastries and see how they differ from the recipe."
"They're all done so quickly? The imperial chefs are really amazing."
Chen Lin shook his head. "Lord Jiang, this wasn't made by the imperial chefs. There are too many varieties, and the imperial chefs have other things to do and can't handle it all."
These are some master craftsmen I found in the community. After signing a contract, I let each of them learn one or two recipes. In just two or three days, they made more than ten kinds of pastries.
"Lord Jiang, I've already sampled these pastries, but I've never tasted the original Jiang family version, so I can't comment on them. That's why I thought I'd trouble you to take a look."
In reality, it's just a taste test to see how it differs from the dim sum produced by the Jiang family. If the difference is too great, there's still time to make improvements before opening.
It must be said that Chen Lin is very steady and meticulous in his work. When the shop was being renovated, he set up the pastry workshop in the backyard of the shop before any construction was needed.
The baking of pastries later did not delay or affect the decoration of the shop in front. The trial production was not large. Some were given to the workers and chefs, and some were taken back to the palace, so there was not much left.
Jiang Xiaoqi first praised Chen Lin for his methodical approach to things, and then tried each dish one by one.
Each snack was small in portion, but there were so many different kinds that, with a dozen or so of them and a cup of tea to balance it out, I was basically half full.
"Your Highness, there's no need to prepare my portion for lunch. I'm already quite full."
The second prince covered his mouth and chuckled. He and Brother Lin didn't mean it. Who knew that the master had such a small appetite?
I should have brought it out as dessert after lunch; they were just too impatient.
"These plum blossom pastries are very well made, and the shapes are also very good. These matcha pastries are a bit bitter. You can tell the chefs to reduce the amount of matcha powder used."
And these pineapple cakes... the filling is a bit too sweet. Many people in our Great Zhou Dynasty enjoy pastries, but the highest praise for a pastry is always, "This pastry is good, very delicious, and not cloyingly sweet."
Everything else is basically the same as what I did at home, so we can give the experienced craftsmen some encouragement.
This "incentive" is, of course, a reward. After all, the business hasn't officially started operating yet. Although contracts have been signed, it's not time for everyone to receive free wages.
Giving core employees a little something extra at this time will bring pleasant surprises after the business opens.