Cheng Huanian's business is already very big, especially the business of soap, soap, shampoo, and cream. Because Emperor Tianzhi issued a monopoly order, the profits are astonishingly high. Emperor Tianzhi has a share in this business, so Cheng Huanian does not
Dare to neglect.
Therefore, in Cheng Huanian's mind, his original printing factory and Qi Bookstore industry had fallen behind. Cheng Huanian had handed over the management of this industry to Lu Youlan. Lu Youlan was a scholar and had helped Cheng Huanian run the business of Qi Bookstore very early on.
, is Cheng Huanian’s close subordinate.
This time Jia Yun asked Cheng Huanian to find two more people to write poems in praise. Cheng Huanian took the lead and found Lu Youlan. Cheng Huanian also appointed Lu Youlan as the editor of "Qingbao".
Lu Youlan also had some contacts with Jia Yun. When he learned that he was going to write a poem praising Jia Yun, the new emperor, and publish it in the first issue of "Qing Bao" together with poems and essays by Ji Cunxiao and three ministers, he immediately became interested.
He was overjoyed and considered this not only a great honor, but also an opportunity to please Jia Yun.
Since the printing factory and Qiwenwu were handed over to Lu Youlan, Cheng Huanian's office moved from the flagship store of Qiwenwu on Guozijian Street to the outer study room of his own house.
However, since Cheng Huanian accepted Jia Yun's imperial order to establish "Qing Bao" a few days ago, he has arranged an office for himself in the "Qing Bao" newspaper office. Because this matter was arranged for him by the emperor, he also
Knowing the importance of this matter, I dare not neglect it at all.
Cheng Huanian has been staying at the "Qing Bao" newspaper office these days and sleeping in the newspaper office.
The "Qingbao" newspaper office was established in Dongsuier Hutong. Today, Dongsuier Hutong is equivalent to the industrial base of Jia Yun and Cheng Huanian. Half of the houses in this alley have been bought by Cheng Huanian or used as factories.
Or as an office.
On the morning of the ninth day of May, Cheng Huanian was staying in the newspaper office. Lu Youlan walked in. Seeing Cheng Huanian sitting at the desk drinking tea, he asked: "Sir, can you give me a cup of good tea?"
Cheng Huanian smiled slightly: "Pour it yourself."
Lu Youlan was not polite, poured herself a cup of tea, and sat opposite Cheng Huanian. Lu Youlan sipped the tea and praised: "As expected of you, sir. You have been so busy these days, and you didn't forget to bring the first-class tea with you."
Come and have oolong tea at the newspaper office."
Cheng Huanian said: "You know, I don't have many hobbies. I don't like romance, banquets, and even listening to plays. I only like reading and drinking tea. I like it very much, and in all kinds of tea.
Among them, my favorite is oolong tea.”
Lu Youlan said: "Excuse me, sir, what you said is wrong."
Cheng Huanian asked: "Oh? What's wrong?"
Lu Youlan said: "In my opinion, your husband's biggest hobby should be to make money, otherwise how could you earn such a big family business? Although your husband and I are both scholars, we are also businessmen. In my opinion,
, Making money is not a tacky thing, and those who can do it to the extreme are also talented, sir."
Cheng Huanian said: "For me, making money in business is just a career, not a hobby. What's more, my success in this matter is mostly due to good luck. It was this luck that allowed me to be able to do so in the first place.
I got to know the current emperor, who is not only accomplished in arts and martial arts, but also has unparalleled talents in business matters."
Speaking of Jia Yun, Lu Youlan suddenly became solemn: "Yes, the emperor is really a genius sent from heaven. I thought it was strange at first, but now that I think about it, it's not strange anymore. After all, this is the emperor's order!"
Lu Youlan added: "Speaking of my good luck, I owe it to the martial arts novel "Tian Long Ba Bu". It was because of this novel that my husband became acquainted with the emperor."
Cheng Huanian nodded. In the past few days, he recalled the first time he met Jia Yun. At that time, Jia Yun could only rely on his status as a martial arts student in Class A of Jing's Martial Arts School and a disciple of the Jia family to come to him to talk about "Tianlong".
"Eight Parts", I want to make some money from it.
Now, only a few years have passed, and the young man from back then has actually become the emperor and raised an army to seize the throne. This makes Cheng Huanian find it incredible.
At this time, Lu Youlan looked at the "Qingbao" placed on the desk, and was about to say something, when suddenly a boy came to report: "Master, Su Xiucai is asking for an audience outside the hospital."
Su Xiucai was Su Zhiwen. This time he also had a poem praising the new emperor, which was published in Qingbao.
Cheng Huanian said: "Please come in."
Cheng Huanian then asked Lu Youlan: "Have you guessed the purpose of Su Xiucai's visit this time?"
Lu Youland said: "I'm not here to blame you for publishing his poems in Qingbao. I'm here to thank you."
Since Jia Yun had said hello that "Qing Bao" should be kept secret before its release, Cheng Huanian naturally complied. Before the release of today's newspaper, apart from Cheng Huanian, only Lu Youlan and relevant personnel of the newspaper and printing factory knew about this matter. Not only were these people tricked by Cheng Huanian
He was under a gag order and was under guard for the past few days.
Therefore, Su Zhiwen didn't even know that his poems would be published in Qingbao.
Previously, Cheng Huanian approached Su Zhiwen and asked him to write a poem praising the new emperor. The poem would be seen by the new emperor. Su Zhiwen agreed excitedly and refused to accept any money, thinking that this matter was his utmost responsibility.
It was a great honor and an opportunity to please the new emperor, so I racked my brains and spent a day and night writing this poem.
In the alley where Su Zhiwen lived, there lived an official family. The master of this official family was a second-rank minister of the Ministry of Justice. This minister of the Ministry of Justice only gave birth to a legitimate son. He was a wealthy and honorable young man who could not study well. This young man
With a pair of wealthy eyes, he never looked down on talented writers like Su Zhiwen who made a living by writing martial arts novels.
Just today, this young man came to Su Zhiwen's house in person, brought the first issue of "Qingbao", pointed to a poem signed "Su Zhiwen" in the newspaper, and asked if it was written by Su Zhiwen. Su Zhiwen was dumbfounded after reading the newspaper.
, and then he was overjoyed.
The young master confirmed that the poem was indeed written by Su Zhiwen, and his attitude toward Su Zhiwen improved. He even said that when he reported back to his father, he would probably send a congratulatory gift...
The reason why the young master has such an attitude is that he knows that the "Qingbao" should be issued under the instruction of the new emperor. Moreover, Xiao Fu, the Minister of Punishment, also has a poem published in the newspaper, and Xiao Fu is the boss of his father.
Su Zhiwen was so excited that even his parents and wife were excited too.
Su Zhiwen spent a lot of money to buy a pound of good tea, and hurriedly rushed to Cheng Huanian's house. As a result, he learned that Cheng Huanian was not at home but in Dongsuier Hutong. Su Zhiwen hurriedly rushed to Dongsuier Hutong and found
The "Qingbao" newspaper was founded just a few days ago.
At this moment, Su Zhiwen walked into Cheng Huanian's office. He first greeted Cheng Huanian and Lu Youlan, and then said excitedly: "Sir, I saw "Qing Bao". I didn't expect that the poem that Mr. asked me to write before was actually
For the sake of being published here.”
Cheng Huanian said: "I need to apologize to you for this. When I asked you to write this poem, I did not specify that it was going to be published in Qingbao. It was just because the emperor had explained that before the Qingbao was published, it needed to be
It has to be kept secret.”
Su Zhiwen was frightened: "How can I bear your apology? I should be grateful and considerate to you for this matter. This time, one of my humble works can be published in the "Qing Bao" and read by the current emperor, and it can be included with the news of the current emperor's enthronement.
It is truly an honor to publish it together with the poems and essays of several ministers!"
After saying that, Su Zhiwen handed over the good tea he bought: "Here is a pound of high-quality tea. It is the oolong tea that Mr. likes. I specially bought it as a thank you gift for Mr., please accept it. Mr.
If you don't collect it, it will be wasted if it is kept by people like Wan Sheng who don't know how to drink tea."
Cheng Huanian took the tea leaves and looked at them carefully. Based on his experience, he recognized that this pound of tea was indeed of high quality, in line with the grade of tea he usually drank. Such a pound of tea should cost more than ten taels of silver.
, for a talented writer like Su Zhiwen, it is already a considerable expense.
Cheng Huanian said: "This tea is your wish. If I don't accept it, I will let you down. You may even mistakenly think that I don't favor you, so I will accept it."
Su Zhiwen said: "Thank you, Mr.
Cheng Huanian suddenly took out twenty taels of silver: "Here are twenty taels of silver, which is the retouching fee for your poem. I wanted to pay you the retouching fee before, but you didn't accept it, so you should pay it now."
Su Zhiwen hurriedly said: "No, I just said that it is a great honor for my poem to be published in Qingbao this time. How can I charge retouching fees? What's more, it's just a poem. Even if Mr. wants to retouch it,
How can it be worth so much money?"
Cheng Huanian said: "You'd better keep it. I'm not afraid to tell you now. The emperor ordered me to found Qing Bao. Since your poems are published in it, you should pay for the retouching, otherwise the emperor will know about it."
If you do, you might blame me for not handling the imperial mission properly."
Su Zhiwen: "..."
Well, with such a high-sounding reason, Su Zhiwen really couldn't refuse, and he didn't even dare to refuse. According to Cheng Huanian, if he refused again, wouldn't he be disobeying the emperor's order?
However, Su Zhiwen still said: "That's alright. In that case, how can I embarrass you, sir? It's just that twenty taels of silver is really a lot. Two taels of silver is even more."
Cheng Huanian said: "I will give you twenty taels this time. Firstly, your poem praises the emperor. It would be inappropriate to pay less for the polishing fee. Secondly, your poem was published in the first issue of "Qingbao".
Giving you the retouching fee is considered auspicious. Third, the martial arts novels you wrote in the past few years have also made me a lot of money. Although I have received a thank you gift before, it is still not enough. These twenty taels of silver also have a thank you gift.
the meaning of."
Seeing that Su Zhiwen was still hesitating, Cheng Huanian said: "Take it, if you don't accept it, I will be annoyed."
Su Zhiwen then bowed to express his thanks and stepped forward to take the money.
After Su Zhiwen left, Lu Youlan smiled and said: "I also have a poem waiting for Qingbao this time. Why don't you also give me a writing fee of twenty taels of silver?"
Cheng Huanian said: "Isn't your retouching fee already given to you?"
Lu Youlan was confused: "When was it given? How could I not know?"
Cheng Huanian pointed to the tea cup in front of Lu Youlan: "Isn't that right!"
Lu Youlan suddenly couldn't laugh or cry: "..."
Well, it’s also a poem praising the new emperor. Su Zhiwen got twenty taels of silver as retouching fee, while Lu Youlan’s retouching fee was just a cup of tea. Even though it was the best oolong tea, it was just a cup of tea!
Lu Youlan was not depressed at all. He knew that the main reason why Cheng Huanian paid Su Zhiwen such a high retouching fee was because Cheng Huanian was a Confucian businessman. In Cheng Huanian's view, life was not easy for a writer like Su Zhiwen.
Lu Youlan smiled and said: "That's all, that's all, just think that I have received the polishing fee. In fact, this time my husband asked me to serve as the editor of "Qing Bao" and also let my poems be published in the first issue of "Qing Bao".
I am extremely honored, but I am currently in the period of national mourning. After the national mourning is over, I will hold a banquet to thank you sir."
After the two continued chatting for a while, Lu Youlan left.
Cheng Huanian was the only one left in the office. Cheng Huanian was sipping the fine oolong tea and looking at the fine oolong tea leaves just sent by Lu Youlan. He quietly thought to himself: "I wonder if I will have the opportunity to be rewarded with a Dahongpao by the emperor in the future?
"
As a person who likes tea, especially oolong tea, Cheng Huanian has long had a dream, that is, to drink the real Dahongpao. The so-called real Dahongpao is Dahongpao produced from the Dahongpao mother tree in Wuyi Mountain. This kind of tea can be said to be the most delicious.
Good oolong tea.
However, Cheng Huanian has not been able to realize this dream, because the real Dahongpao is so precious that the annual output is less than one kilogram, and almost all of it is given as tribute to the emperor.
And now Cheng Huanian has hope for this dream. The current emperor is Jia Yun!
…
…
That morning, there were still four people who couldn't laugh or cry. They were Ji Cunxiao, Feng Xie, Xiao Fu, and Xu Shi.
When Jia Yun approached Ji Cunxiao to write a narrative to praise him, she concealed the fact that the narrative would be published in Qingbao. Similarly, when Jia Yun approached Feng Xie, Xiao Fu, and Xu Shi to write poems to praise him, she also concealed the fact that the narrative would be published in Qingbao.
Well, Ji Cunxiao and the others didn’t even know that Jia Yun founded Qingbao.
It wasn't until this morning that the four of them saw the first issue of "Qingbao" and they suddenly realized it!
The four of them were all depressed. They were depressed because Jia Yun did not tell the truth in advance, and they felt that they were being used by Jia Yun. Their praising poems were published in the "Qing Bao", which seemed to declare that they were Jia Yun's die-hard supporters.
, also has a sense of flattery.
The most depressing thing is Feng Xie. Although he, the Minister of Rites, surrendered to Jia Yun, he was still dissatisfied with Jia Yun. Well, now he suddenly became a die-hard supporter of Jia Yun by writing poems in "Qing Bao".
, he is also a great scholar today and feels that this kind of thing is detrimental to his character as a minister of the Ministry of Rites and a scholar.
The one who was the least depressed was Xiao Fu. Xiao Fu was originally a die-hard supporter of Jia Yun. Even so, he was also depressed this time.
Feng Xie hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help but find Ji Cunxiao, and instigated Ji Cunxiao to come to Jia Yun who was guarding the funeral in Qianqing Palace. Feng Xie expressed his dissatisfaction tactfully.
At this time, Jia Yun suddenly took out four small bags of tea: "There are four bags of tea here, each bag is half a tael of tribute tea Dahongpao from Wuyi Mountain. Minister Ji and Feng Shangshu each have one bag, and there are two bags. Yu Ji Your Excellency, please give it to Minister Xiao and Minister Xu for me. This big red robe is my apology to you, and it is also a refinishing fee for you."
Ji Cunxiao, Feng Xie: "..."
After coming to his senses, Ji Cunxiao, who was also depressed at first, said gratefully: "I thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"
After saying this, Ji Cunxiao did not forget to remind Feng Xie: "Why don't you thank Feng Shangshu quickly?"
Feng Xie: "..."
In my mind: Mr. Ji, have you become rebellious too quickly? We agreed to come to the emperor to complain together, but half a pair of big red robes bought you off? It’s a pity that you were a world-famous Bachelor of Ji!
Feng Xie knew that if he were to sell the half-tael red robe that "I" rewarded, he would be able to sell it for several thousand taels of silver, because it was too precious and could not be bought with money on weekdays, and Ji Cunxiao had always Ji Cunxiao likes to drink tea. For Ji Cunxiao, these two big red robes are definitely a big temptation.
After hesitating for a moment, Feng Xie also said gratefully: "I thank the emperor for the reward!"
This is several thousand taels of silver, and he, Feng Xie, also likes to drink tea!