Shipin Dalizheng

Before Wei Wu could ask what crops they were dealing with, Rong Dashan called out, "Prince Tang, Third Master Du is here, and he's brought new molds."

Rong Tang once promised to help the Du family shop improve the quality of its goods in order to sell them at a high price. Now half a month has passed, and it is time to fulfill his promise. He walked out of the small door and appeared in the outer storefront of Fu Xinzhuang.

The sorghum sugar had long since sold out, and now they were releasing cane sugar. The color was slightly different, but the flavor seemed purer, which didn't affect sales. Third Master Du had just picked up a new mold from Rong Qianqi. He felt that Prince Rong was a very particular person. He had his own shop, and sugar and wine were only supplied to his shop. He heard that several mansions had signed contracts with Rongjia Village to supply wine, and the prices were the same as his shop, so those shops later simply let him carry the goods.

How could he bring something for free? Of course, he also made a small profit from it. Now the income from the sugar and wine shop is considered the mainstay of their Duke's Mansion.

Even the wine business, which was not optimistic at first, gradually became the first choice for banquets in various prefectures because of its low to medium price and medium to high quality wine.

He was now very grateful that Fuxinzhuang Winery had a 15% stake in the Duke's Mansion, and he did not refuse a trial sale.

When the two met, they tacitly laughed it off, not mentioning what happened in the city, but only talking about new plans.

"Master Du, I don't know how much you know about packaging, but generally speaking, goods are like people: 30% appearance and 70% dressing. For example, if I wear rags, I look like a beggar, but if I wear fine clothes, I look like a nobleman."

Third Master Du looked him up and down and said, "That can't be right. Even if Prince Rong is wearing rags, he still looks noble. It's not about what he wears."

"I'm serious. The same piece of candy, wrapped in oil paper, only sells for a few coins, but when placed in a beautiful box, it can be worth ten times as much. Nobles buy candy to enjoy the delicious taste, but if it's stylish enough, it can be exchanged as a gift to show respect."

Mr. Du said, "Our candies are now valuable gifts given to each other. They are very prestigious."

Rong Tang endured it, feeling like she was flirting with a blind man.

"I mean, it can be even more advanced and valuable. Make it into a popular shape, and give it a special meaning beyond its own value. For example, you can compare it to dreams and yearnings, longings and expectations. There will always be people with enough money willing to pay for it..."

Mr. Du Sanye was like a duck hearing thunder.

Rong Tang gave up telling him the story and decided to speak the truth.

The new molds produced candies with new shapes. Rong Tang pointed to one set and said, "This is the Cowherd and Weaver Girl set. Look, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, staring at each other across the river, longing for each other but unable to see each other..."

"Indecent and immoral."

Rong Tang choked, pushed the box aside, and took out another one. "This is the Hundred Years of Happiness Set. It's suitable for unmarried couples, and can be given to each other by newlyweds. Old couples can also use the same surname, but I'm afraid old men don't have the heart to do so."

Then I showed him the boxes of pairs of geese, mandarin ducks, five successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and the top scholar in the imperial examinations, more than ten kinds in total.

"These are all packed in special boxes. Good meanings represent good expectations. It depends on the customer's needs, and you can recommend the right one. Each box contains less than two taels of sugar, and the minimum selling price is the price of a jin of sugar. I'll still charge you 200 wen per jin. You only need to pay the extra box price of 10 wen each, which means a box of 50 wen per box. You can sell it for 500 wen."

Mr. Du's heart skipped a beat. This was too dark.

"Do you think this box is beautifully printed?"

Mr. Du looked at the box. Indeed, the box was neither too soft nor too hard, with both sides being snow-white. It was printed with unique colorful paintings. Whether it was flowers, people, or animals, they were all lifelike. At ten cents, it was expensive, but the key point was that no one else had it.

"and this."

Rong Tang pushed the last box over mysteriously. The box was a bit heavy, weighing about half a pound. The outside of the box was printed with various extremely handsome men, each of whom was a unique beauty in the world.

Mr. Du looked dazed. "What is this?"

"I named it 'The Twelve Zodiac Signs of Handsome Men,' and there's a profile on the back of the box. Mr. Du, please don't judge it first. Take it home and show it to your daughters and nieces, and then ask them if they'd be willing to pay five taels of silver for a box."

Mr. Du Sanye was confused after hearing this and took all the new products back. He did not go to the store, but returned to the Duke's Mansion first. He walked around his yard a few times, asked the maid to call his daughter over, and asked her to pick a box of candy.

Although Miss Du likes sweets, she can't be tempted by them since they are already available in her shop. But the candies in the boxes are all very beautiful, and the pictures printed on the outside of the boxes are also very beautiful. She really can't put any of them down.

Finally, she saw the Twelve Zodiac Signs of Handsome Men among a pile of boxes. The portraits of extremely handsome men on the boxes were so eye-catching, especially when she saw the introductions of the characters on the back of the boxes, her face turned red.

"Dad, I want this. I'm going to give it to my cousin."

Mrs. Du's niece is getting married soon, and Miss Du is thinking about what kind of dowry gift to give her, and this candy is just right.

Mr. Du's eyebrows jumped, "This box is five taels of silver."

"Ah! So cheap!"

Because they were cheap, Miss Du bought a few more boxes, including a pair of geese, a mandarin duck, and a Hundred Years of Happiness. She said, "When my cousin gets married, I can put more of these on the return gift list. Aren't they more beautiful than the usual fruit gift boxes?"

Mr. Du's eyebrows jumped again when he heard this. If some new products were produced, they could be used as gifts for weddings, which would be another big order indeed.

Think about it a little more broadly. If someone sends out wedding invitations and includes a box of wedding candy, wouldn't it be more impressive?

Mr. Du couldn't sit still any longer. He pointed at the box of handsome men and asked, "Are you sure the ladies in the boudoir like this tune?"

He was embarrassed to say that the twelve candies in the box were actually twelve handsome men's portraits. The background introduction of the characters on the back of the box was also very explosive. It said that there was a country of women across the sea. The king was a woman and she had twelve handsome men in her harem, namely Fengjun, Guijun, Shujun, Dejun, Xianjun, Zhaojun, Huijun, Cejun, Shujun, Liangjun, Caijun and Shijun. The twelve handsome men corresponded to an identity.

Mr. Du Sanye had no idea what kind of weird brain could come up with such a rebellious rebellion against the Tiangang harem, and he was even more unsure whether he would be criticized to death by scholars in the court and the public if he launched this candy. Giving such a gift was probably equivalent to giving a pornographic picture.

Miss Du blushed, "Oh, Dad, this is a box of candy."

Mr. Du Sanye stopped talking. He decided to give it a try. At worst, he would be scolded by the old scholars in Beijing. In the end, he would not lose money by dismantling the boxes and selling them individually.

By the time he went to order again, the finished product was ready for him. With mixed feelings, he returned to Du's Candy Shop with his new products and posted a notice outside the store, accepting orders for wedding candy. He also planned to pay for a wedding candy set for his wife's niece's wedding, using it all as a promotional gift.

From then on, the Du family sugar and wine shop led a new trend in weddings and marriages in Beijing. A box of candy was sent with the wedding invitations, and a box of candy was given as a gift in return. Later, these were also given to the third day after the birth of a child and the full month after the birth of a child. In fact, only high-ranking officials could afford it. Ordinary people or poor low-ranking officials could not afford it.

Of course, this is all a story for later. Rong Tang asked some people in Fuxinzhuang to continue making sugar, some to brew wine, and some to prepare to harvest sorghum and rice. He himself moved to Rongjia Village, where the waterwheel workshop had been in operation for several days.